#stage management

[scythematrix66]

Me as a Propsmaster: *enthusiastically making endless, constantly revised lists and hiding away for hours upon end painting wooden staffs, goblin mode at 50% capacity at all times* "ALRIGHTY WHAT'S NEXT? HIT ME. HIT ME!"

Me as a Stage Manager: *thinks going to bed at 11 is early, loopy from exhaustion at all times, running on caffeine and stress, +3 dex from writing endless emails, is terrified of authority (somehow is the authority????), is totally confused at all times, just Trying My Best* "Alrighty guys, welcome to rehearsal today we're doing scenes one and two, remember we're off book next week so please learn your lines...please..."

[thoughts-of-a-stagemanager]

Conversations with Lighting Buddy….had to share, hope you all are doing well! ❤️

[nameless-formless-entity]

watching cynthia interact with the thespians is so funny to me as a stage manager/lighting tech doing theater in college. cause like. actors are so much /pos. last semester i was apsming a show and the director INSISTED that the stage management team participate in all the bonding games and exercises at the start of the production. and one of the exercises was the meisner exercise they’re doing in rotpl. and my (and the psm’s) reaction to it was “this is weird and very, very silly, why are we staring into each others eyes talking about our hair color.” and the cast was so into it.

like it’s so clear to me that all of these actors are just grown up theater kids (affectionate) and i’m just trying to imagine how god damn hilarious it was for ari to have to act like they were absolutely baffled by everything they’ve been surrounded by (presumably) a good chunk of their life. and nim had to be so god damn serious about a high school play and i just can’t. imagine being at your job and having to act like that person from high school.

also nancy’s line about not being an actor and not respecting the profession while thinking she’d be great at it sent me. because like. can you imagine being on a film set FULL of actors, including yourself, and having to say that completely deadpan. i honestly don’t know how tricia didn’t lose it entirely.

[whatislifebesidesrehearsal]

SM: Fifteen. We all know it's not actually fifteen, but tell the actors anyway.

Stagehand: Thank you, fake fifteen.

you gotta do what you gotta do

[cripple-punk-dad]

Sometimes I think "is stage management really the right career for a crippled AuDHD guy" and then I stay up all night in the throes of passion for spreadsheets and script formatting and do a prep weeks worth of paperwork in like 6 hours for a friend's (not even, we have exactly one class together and have interacted a total of three times) 4 week unpaid production of an interpretive dance version of a famous Bengali playwright's utterly devastating (but hopeful) script (Tagore's The Post Office)

You just can't get that in any other job, you really can't.

[simplyrival]

I just started to stage manage for my high school, and it is both the most exhilarating thing I've done, and the most tiring. The only thing keeping me going is the insane amounts of caffeine I'm having.

[chavisory]

It is 8:45 AM, I am preparing to leave for rehearsal, I get a text from our production manager that says "I need to prepare you for what you are walking into today."

And I am terrified that there's been some kind of behind-the-scenes interpersonal drama or that some kind of tragedy or budgetary nightmare has befallen. So I'm about to text back "Do you want me to call you?" when she sends me a picture of the rehearsal room.

And it's just.

Chairs.

There are just so many chairs.

[alonelyhedgehog]

High School Set

This is me and @orie-bis's child. Give her a round of applause for being a lovely ASM, while I'm being a hot mess. We open (and close) this week. We're doing Puffs (a ripoff of a certain franchise that's very popular). Anyways, if anyone has suggestions on how to be good at stagemanaging, please let me know (I need help).

[lauriemarch]

i care about theatre the way beth harmon cared about chess, the way andrew neiman cared about jazz, the way tracy flick cared about being school president. i care enough to kill me. i care so much that i hear it in the echoes around shadowed corners of my life, i see it when i close my eyes, it burns my skin and it closes in around my throat. i care. i care. i care. my heart is thudding so loud that i taste the beginnings of something rotten. i care.

[littlethingwithfeathers]

Stage Manager career advice

(some of this probably works for other paths too... especially #1) -Never ever turn down going out for a drink or coffee. You never know who will be there or what opportunities the person inviting you has up their sleeve. In the same vein, if you're out at a theatre social gathering and you're thinking of making an early night of it for whatever reason... stay around for one more drink (even if it's water). When the crowd starts to thin is when you usually strike social/professional gold, because that’s when the more intimate conversations happen.

-Always keep a set of stage blacks in your car, along with updated copies of your resume, and a set of nice interview clothes (just like... a polo, button up, or tunic dress top to throw on over your jeans/leggings). You never know when you might get asked to help in a pinch or marched into someone’s office for an interview on the spot.

-While we're on resumes, email yourself a copy of your resume and keep that email in your favorites folder so you can find it easily and email it to a potential employer should they ask for it. Make sure to keep it updated.

-Things to keep in your SM kit that you might not think of, but I never go without: granola bars, glucose tablets (even non-diabetics can have blood-sugar emergencies), a decent camera (it can be your phone), work gloves, rubber gloves, and kneepads.

-Go the extra mile when it comes to your crew and your actors. Learn how they take their coffee. Find out what their favorite candies are. Make sure there's a bottle of water on every musician's stand. Stage managers get an awful rap for being these unyielding emotionless deities on high, but it's easy to dispel that with little gestures and it buys you a certain amount of leeway to be curt without hurting feelings.

-I always give the same speech to my cast and crew about a week out from the beginning of tech. It goes like this: "The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic. If I answer a question or give you an instruction and sound quick or brusque, pretend that I said one of the following: Please. Thank you. You're welcome." Like the advice about water/candy/coffee, it buys you a certain amount of grace from your cast if you can’t be polite or watch your tone.

-Every job you do is the interview for your next job, sometimes in totally different arenas of arts management. A local theatre director may be at a concert you're managing. A local ballet director might have dancers in the musical you're calling. The director of a major arts council might spy you working electrics for your local stage hand union. You can never guess what's coming or who it will come from. Assume everyone might have or know of work for you someday. 

-Do little jobs sometimes. Go usher for a theatre you don’t work for. Drop in to help with strike or build for a couple hours. You might even want to volunteer your time sometimes, especially if you’re new in town. It gets you into spaces so people meet you. This is especially true in a small town, and it goes along with my previous point. You never know where opportunities might come from, and you don't want to miss out.  -A note about volunteering. It’s a dirty word among professionals... never do anything for free. BUT! When you’re starting out, again especially in a smaller town, volunteering is a great way to pick up skills. Go be a wrench monkey for a lighting designer. Go be a hand at build. Go to the costume shop. They’ll be THRILLED for the help and will absolutely teach you shit. So... it’s not for free. I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of value from volunteering because once they know what you can do, you can start leveraging them to pay you for things you already know how to do. Just remember... keep strong boundaries. Ask to be paid if you’re not being compensated another way... and exposure doesn’t count.

-Conversely, learn to say no when you need to, be it for something in a show, or for your own health. You're not everyone's friend and you're not everyone's savior.

Skills to learn: Learn to drive a stick shift. Learn to drive a moving van. Learn to read music (just passably... you don’t have to be Mozart). Take a dance class. Go be in the chorus for a play/musical if you’ve never been on stage before. 

[iisadvs]

worked as the audio two and ASM at my colleges Sweeney Todd

[yagoodoobee]

working on a show [ASM] where i am doing a lot of movement on stage while needing to keep my headset in place. thoughts and opinions on this innovation?

[leslieexplainsitall]

I'm conflicted

I did a networking event back in September and met with a producer of a touring production company and we hit it off. We mostly talked about how to break into touring and possible vacation sub opportunities. I was really excited to connect with this company after the event, but I didn't get their contact information until 3 weeks later. Regardless, I sent an email anyway, hoping to get my foot in the door.

In October, I got offered to SM a show at a company that I've worked at before. I accepted the offer and it starts in January. I even got to choose my ASM who I enjoy working with.

Last week, I decided to follow up with the producer, since it was over a month since I initially emailed them. They got back the next day and apologized for not responding earlier. They said they were in the process of finding a PSM for their next tour that starts in January and would be interviewing ASMs after. They then asked if I would like to be considered and that they'll keep my resume in the mix for vacation covers as well.

Here is where I messed up.

I responded said I had a show in January.

I should have consulted with more people before I said that because when I told my colleagues, they told me I should have taken the interview.

Since the January show is 6 weeks away and I haven't signed a contract, my colleagues encouraged me to email them back and say "Circumstances have changed with the show in January. And I would love to be considered for an interview."

Idk, it feels a little disingenuous. And I'm worried they backtracking might make me look bad.

Again, this is not a guarantee. I don't even know if it would actually be an interview or them just handing my resume to the PSM they hire. I don't know. But I feel like I jumped the gun.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this, that I can list later. But I just feel so conflicted.

[q2qsteeb]

Q2Q Redrew 49: Actors Happened To It

[whatislifebesidesrehearsal]

Stage Manager: they're the problem child. But they're the predictable problem child.

[felt-squirrels]

Listen I’m in a two week tech camp for like teenagers and such and it’s the same youth theatre group that put on the Mamma Mia show I was in so they know me and I get to be the House Manager and I’m so excited and my friend is Stage Manager so I’m one of the experienced people now? Holy crap?