Related to my other post about old theater manuals: I am currently incredibly thankful for technology. Here are some excerpts we can celebrate are obsolete:
- "It is desirable to have each edition [of the script] mimeographed. Mimeographed editions come in lots of twenty-five or more copies and are fairly costly (about $1.50 per copy, as an average). So, care must be taken that each edition is approved by the playwright, producer and director before being sent to the mimeographer." The Stage Manager's Handbook (1972), page 3 http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Managers-Handbook-Bert-Gruver/dp/0896760073 (Three cheers for home printers!)
- "Stage Manager's Daily Meeting: If the producer does not have regular and formal staff meetings, the stage manager's first duty is to check with the office for advice. The producer may not have been able to attend rehearsals and will want a progress report." The Stage Manager's Handbook, page 60 (Hooray for e-mailing rehearsal reports!)
- "During the tour the stage manager will need a certain amount of equipment and supplies. ... A typewriter is practically indispensable." The Stage Manager's Handbook, page 127 (Thank you, laptops!)
- "The Rehearsal Room. If you cannot rehearse on stage you will need to find a suitable room or space. There are many things to consider - ask yourself the following questions: ... Can the room be blacked out? - you may need to show slides ... is there a telephone you can use? Will it take incoming and outgoing calls? What's the number?" Stage Management and Theatre Administration (1994), page 20 http://www.amazon.com/Management-Theatre-Administration-Phaidon-Theater/dp/0714825166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392788634 (Wooo laptops and cell phones!)
- "If the director wants to rehearse with recorded sound you will need a tape recorder. ASk whoever is making up the sound tape for te production to make up a tape for rehearsal." Stage Management and Theatre Administration, page 28 (Yay for laptops, smart phones, music players, email, YouTube, the cloud...)
- "The text in the prompt script has to be accurate. Make all cuts clearly, using straight lines in soft pencil. Insert and change words distinctly. If a large section of the script has been rewritten retype the whole page. If the rewritten section is only a few lines long then type the new text on a slip of paper and stick it on top of the old text." Stage Management and Theatre Administration, page 35 (Four for you, computers! You go, computers!)
- (On rehearsal reports) "It is a good idea to keep one daily sheet of blank paper on the rehearsal table, dated, with each department's heading on it, so the stage manager os assistants can add all notes to one specific place. These notes should then be entered in shortened form onto the daily report and kept in a folder for the designer or crew." The Back Stage Guide to Stage Management (1991), page 85 http://www.amazon.com/Back-Stage-Guide-Management/dp/0823076814/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392789590&sr=1-1 (You're the best, internet.)
Aside from these specific anachronisms, I am learning a lot - particularly about how some SM responsibilities have evolved. For example, it makes total sense why the SM should be in charge of the rehearsal schedule - without internet, who's going to speak to all the actors, the director, and any techs who should be present and ask for their schedules? I'm also enjoying looking through the sample lists (of props, costumes, lights, and the like). Since they couldn't be quickly and easily changed as a shared computer file, they needed to be easy to edit while conveying all the necessary information for the designers coming by the office to read the reports while the SM wasn't around.
I think it's really cool how much things have changed, both within the industry and in civilian life, as technology has changed over the past fifty years. =)
