PTT Program 5 Day 1 Video 2.txt

A stage manager is responsible for the artistic integrity of the production he or she is working on. By this, we mean that the stage manager works with the actors, technicians, musicians, designers, creative personnel, producers, unions, and front of house staff to bring the director's vision from w...

A stage manager is responsible for the artistic integrity of the production he or she is working on. By this, we mean that the stage manager works with the actors, technicians, musicians, designers, creative personnel, producers, unions, and front of house staff to bring the director's vision from words on a page to a live performance on a stage. As an influential leader of the show, several of the most important responsibilities for the stage manager are communication and the managing of people and personalities. Stage managers bring so much of their personality and individual strengths to their job. It takes a particular type of person to work closely with such a large group of people and handle it all with ease. There are certain qualities a stage manager should possess. 1st and foremost, a good stage manager needs to be creative and have good artistic sense. You can't just be good at creating paperwork on the computer. You're dealing with actors and other professionals in a live performance situation. You don't get a second or third chance to do another take like we can do in this program. Dealing with the pressure of live performance is sensitive in nature. A stage manager needs to be a self motivated, level headed, even tempered individual who is a strong collaborative leader with an ability to anticipate and adapt to changing scenarios presented on a daily basis. It is also extremely important to keep your sense of humor. We aren't solving world peace. I wish we were. We are presenting theater, and while backstage can be dangerous, and we must approach our job seriously, you can still love what you do and be approachable, available, and fun. Lastly, you must be an organized individual who is supportive and empowering to all those involved in the process. One pitfall some young stage managers sometimes fall into is the power trip syndrome. A stage manager has a considerable amount of power. If you use your power to boss people around and demean them, you will fail as a stage manager. Actors and technicians will work harder for someone they respect than someone they fear and dislike. I've had the good fortune to work on Broadway and regional theaters, dinner theaters, and go on the road with small tours and some of the biggest musicals. As Tom said, each theater company and production is different, but as a leader of the team, you have to lead with an open mind and strong sense of what the production means. The next thing we need to address is technology and communication. Just like technology has changed the way people communicate in day to day life, it has changed the way people in theater communicate. In this age of laptops, tablets, smartphones, email, Facebook, Twitter, texting, and other future technology we haven't even thought of yet, the stage manager must be adaptable and open to using advances in technology. For many years, stage managing was a pencil and paper based craft. When I started stage managing, scripts, prompt books, and calling scripts all printed on paper, and blocking business cues and other notations important to a production were written down in pencil. Rehearsal and production notes were written out and either hand delivered to actors and department heads or were posted on a call board, the nerve center of the theater. The call board was the equivalent of an electronic server or a home page, but the people involved in a production had to physically go by the call board to get the latest information. Everyone involved with the production was expected to check the call board several times a day to get notes, check for changes in rehearsal schedules, anything to do with the production. Many, if not most theaters, still use a call board but have added electronic communication to their way they get information to everyone. At the time of this filming, email is a major form of communication on a production. A stage manager will find creating email distribution lists for various groups on the production can help save time and also be much clearer. The technical staff, actors, musicians, etcetera. You can send one document to a large group of people with one button push. You can sync your email with your phone and have access to email files from anywhere you are in your day. Email has eliminated a lot of phone calls and time trying to set up phone meetings, giving notes, asking questions. Email also gives you a trail of reference to see where there might have been a miscommunication somewhere along the line. One word of caution though. You cannot recognize tone in an email, so be careful about how you communicate on emails. Don't try to be funny or clever because people could misinterpret that as being sarcastic or snarky. For instance, a note could read, your line reading of come over here was was like the 3 stooges were on stage. The actor could interpret that as, your line reading come over here was like the 3 stooges were on stage. Or your line reading of come over here was like the 3 stooges were on stage. Just politely communicate as simply as possible. Leave humor or serious problems for face to face conversations where people can read your body language and vocal inflections. If you know your production is going to be an open ended extended run or you're going on an extended tour, you may find putting your prompt book and calling script into a computer is a much better option than using paper copies, as long as you have the permission from the publisher. Some publishers allow you to download copies of their scripts, which allows you to manipulate the script into whatever format you like. Other publishers don't. New stage managers may come in to replace you, and using a downloadable script or typing the script comment format that the crews will be familiar with, but he or she will still be able to personalize the document. Some stage managers like to load their book into their laptop or tablet and call performances from it. I still like a paper printout in front of me. However, if you decide to call the show from an electronic calling script, make sure, 1, you always have the calling text backed up so you can go instantly to plan b, 2, add any changes to the show to your backup, and 3, are always prepared for the worst case scenario. Text messaging is a helpful communication tool for stage managers as well. On a daily basis, I use text messaging to alert department heads of things like a casting change for the performance that day and if an understudy will be going on so they could prepare the correct wigs, costumes, etcetera. I may also text message the cast to let them know if there would be a fight call or lift partnering rehearsal prior to the performance. If a cast member is sick and going to be out of the show for a performance, I prefer to get a phone call so I have a better idea of how sick they are and how many performances they may be out and what they may need. Text messaging still leaves room for miscommunications. There are great resources, cloud servers and websites that provide online hard drives that allow you to share files. This can be a major asset to a stage management team during a rehearsal and show process. By allowing the team to share access to the files, you've eliminated multiple copies of documents having to email them back and forth. Remote access to your files from any computer can also be extremely handy. It saves you time and keeps the most recent version of a document rehearsal or performance if possible. This gives them time to process the notes and not be put on the spot just prior to a performance. I tend to type out all of my notes for understudies following their rehearsals and go over them, but then allow them to keep the copy. This gives them a written record of their notes. Understudies can go on regularly or sporadically depending on the performer they are covering and their consistency in the show. I know high schools, colleges, and community theaters are using social media like Facebook to have a group site to post rehearsal notes, schedules, call times, etcetera. This can keep a large group of people connected. The development of sites that also allow for file sharing and calendar creation also help in the continual mission of being better organized. At the time of this program, theaters have not adopted one standard format that is an accepted industry standard. It's important to find out the format used by each theater and learn to use that format. Research and develop your own theater's format. I appreciate the convenience of using technology to communicate basic information. But like we said a minute ago and is important enough to look at again, I still think face to face, person to person interaction can't ever be replaced when complex or sensitive communication needs to happen. Remember what live theater is all about. It's telling stories where the audiences watch characters interact with each other. How can we expect to move a live audience with our stories when the director, stage manager, actors, and technicians communicate with each other only by emails and text messages, and don't ever interact face to face? In this program we're going to demonstrate the traditional paper and pencil based method of stage management. If you have technology available, by all means, use it as long as you stay within the format set by your theater company. Now let's hand the program over to Tom who will walk us through preshow preparations and prep week.