Silly things done when we're not at our best

[Tempest]

Stage Managers are not superheros. As much as we try not to let bad days affect our jobs, we are only human, and sometimes we have slips. I wanna know what sort of silly things you have done on a bad day, whether you're flustered because your alarm didn't go off, or you had a fender bender on the way to work, or you just broke up, or what.

Yesterday, I woke up 40 minutes late (on the first day of rehearsal!) because my alarm clock died on me. I had gotten a GIANT stack of new sheet music files to print the day before that I had to do once I got to the theatre on the cantankerous copier, and it started raining as soon as I came up out of the train station, carrying my laptop, backpack, and Kit. I was NOT having a good day.

Near the end of rehearsal, I looked up from the notes I was taking, and saw something absurd. I almost yelled at the offender to stop chewing on the curtains. The puppet that was chewing on the curtains. I had already opened my mouth when I remembered, it's a PUPPET. It doesn't have ears; it can't hear me. It doesn't act on it's own. And it doesn't have salivary glands, so it can't hurt the curtains.

I knew at that point I was just done with the day. I'm just glad I didn't actually say anything!

[On_Headset]

I've never done a stupid thing in my life, and don't let my previous employers, subordinates, coworkers, colleagues, or anyone in a position to know such things tell you otherwise.

Definitely not. Never. Not ever. Not even once.

Now, buy me a drink, and mayyyyyyybe I'll tell you a story about a friend of mine, Hon_Eadset...

[dallas10086]

You mean like today during a show when I stabbed myself with a pencil. And by stabbed, I mean there's lead lodged in my hand. I had to explain why I suddenly cried out between cues.

Sigh.

[Tempest]

Dallas, Ouch!

Awww, come on, no one else has ever succumbed to the just plan sillies?

[MatthewShiner]

At the end of the day . . . we are human.  During my divorce, I was informed of my wife's decision for the divorce ten minutes before I was supposed to leave for rehearsal - I was late - and not the best time to tell your wife, oh, do you mind if I call you back after I start rehearsal. 

We have life come up . . . it happens.

[dallas10086]

During my divorce, I was informed of my wife's decision for the divorce ten minutes before I was supposed to leave for rehearsal.

Yeah...for me it was telling my husband, after days of pressure to talk, that I wanted a divorce. Then having to go into first rehearsal the next day after a sleepless night. I texted my director that I may be quiet that day.

[BARussell]

When my head is totally somewhere else do to something that happened the previous day, I can get a bit scatterbrained and then a bit panicky. Like once I was thinking about whatever it was, which caused me to think I heard the cue line for a scene change in rehearsal which cause me to jump up and knock over a table in the middle of a quiet scene.

[ScooterSM]

At the end (~10pm) of the second back to back 10/12 we were working a particularly difficult cue sequence.  Every time we would get to the cue everyone was debating about the director would turn around to talk to the designer sitting behind him, so he wouldn't see it and we would have to reset and do it again.  The cue line for where we had to pick up the scene? "F**k this bu****it!"  After saying let's take it from "F**********t*" five or six times in a row over the god mic, I got the worst case of giggles I think I have ever had.  I was so embarrassed, but just couldn't stop.  I had to take a break and walk out of the theatre for a few mins to get it to stop. :-)

[SMscuba]

I accidentally sent out the last performance report of the run out to the production team of the next show I was working on. I'd been sending emails all day to the upcoming show, and just selected that contact group by habit. There wasn't any sensitive information or anything, but I felt pretty embarrassed that the whole production team got an email from me thanking them for the run of a show they weren't working on.

[jayscott]

I accidentally sent out the show report to the actors' email group, instead of their call report. I didn't notice this until the next day before the show when one of the Actors that had added some pauses into his dialogue mentioned to me he would try to "not get lost" in the scene as I had stated in the report.

Doh!

[Tempest]

I did a horrible one earlier this week. I sent the text: "Jon (specialty director for some very specific bits of the show) just left in disgust because we spent 40 minutes working a new gag instead of one of the things that doesn't CURRENTLY work. Tonight is a drinking night."

It was supposed to go to my girlfriend, who is my best cheerleader in difficult show situations and always helps me rally my mood and energy.

Instead, it went to the choreographer. 

[MatthewShiner]

I accidentally sent out the show report to the actors' email group, instead of their call report. I didn't notice this until the next day before the show when one of the Actors that had added some pauses into his dialogue mentioned to me he would try to "not get lost" in the scene as I had stated in the report.

Doh!

I've done this a lot . . . but it's a good reminder to make sure what you put in a performance report or rehearsal report doesn't say anything you wouldn't or haven't set to the actor's face . . . since when we send out things to emails - who knows where it will end up . . .

[loebtmc]

I did it for the first time on a recent show - twice - and thankfully I had been taught to write between the lines....

[jayscott]

I accidentally sent out the show report to the actors' email group, instead of their call report. I didn't notice this until the next day before the show when one of the Actors that had added some pauses into his dialogue mentioned to me he would try to "not get lost" in the scene as I had stated in the report.

Doh!

The note did say that" he found his way back relatively quickly" so it wasn't a total bad situation with the actor, and I had planned to tell him the next day before half hour, but he got to me first!

 

[DeeCap]

On a recent show there were two microphones: one for backstage for backstage to hear, and one for audience. They were clearly marked, but there were many 2am nights and I was awfully tired.

I told the audience of a thousand or so that we were at five minutes.