STRIKE Help! (New Poster)

[feegee]

So I have a horrible confession to make... I'm a Stage Manager and I've never been to a strike.

I've always been a director or assistant director and was never a theater student, and while I know in theory what goes on I'm terrified of there being something I don't know that is generally understood by everyone else.

Most of my crew don't know I've never done this before.

Help?

[ReyYaySM]

First of all, you shouldn't feel horrible or apologize for never having been to a strike.  There's a first time for everything, and this is yours.  Be honest with your crew and the technical director/production manager. 

What type of production are you working on: university, community, professional, etc?  The type of production and the structure of the management will tend to dictate the stage manager's role in strike.  For some productions, the stage manager has no role in strike other than to remove his/her personal belongings from the booth/backstage and to turn in the production book for archival purposes.  In other strikes, stage management is responsible for striking props, furniture, and costumes to areas designated by the departments as well as pulling up safety tape, striking prop tables and running lights, etc.  Speak with the technical director/production manager/faculty advisor before strike to define exactly what is expected of you at strike.  And don't be afraid to ask questions. 

Here's the link to another thread that discusses the stage manager's role in strike: Pre-strike. 

[Jessie_K]

Make a list of everything that you put into the theatre and think of how you will get it out.

Do you need to supervise the entire strike?  Or are you just handling SM stuff (dressing rooms, props, general cleanliness. pulling up spike marks and signs)?

[zayit shachor]

dramachic and Jessie beat me to everything I wanted to say, but I will add:

Welcome to the boards!  I encourage you to head over to the Introductions page and, well, introduce yourself!  Good luck with your strike, and let us know how it goes.

[theatreannie]

We all have things we are new at- I am encountering a lot of things I haven't done before in my first year of grad school.

I would echo that you should talk to the TD and your production manager to determine what your responsibilities are.  Even if you had done many strikes already at a different theatre I would suggest doing this because every theatre has its own way of doing things.