PTT Program 5 Day 6 Video 1.txt

During tech rehearsals, you will have developed a checklist for your activities before each performance. It's important to make sure that you're consistent with attention given to each item on your checklist. If you change your pattern, you might miss something. Stage management is responsible for s...

During tech rehearsals, you will have developed a checklist for your activities before each performance. It's important to make sure that you're consistent with attention given to each item on your checklist. If you change your pattern, you might miss something. Stage management is responsible for sweeping and mopping the stage floor. There might be someone on the set crew that actually does the work, but it's often stage management. Stage management usually presets the props, although stage hands sometimes do this. Whether it's stage hands or stage management presetting the props, it's stage management's job to check it. If you are checking the preset, If there's a prop that must turn on, turn it on. If there's a lamp that must turn on, turn it on. It's not enough to simply set the prop and walk away. Make sure that the props are set exactly the same way every time. If there are pants folded in a suitcase, fold them exactly the same way every time. If there are props inside a briefcase, make sure they are in exactly the same place every time. Do it exactly the same way until you are asked by either the actor or the director to do it a different way. And then do it the new way, the different way, exactly the same way every time. Also, set props so that actors can pick them up off the prop table easily. If it has a handle, have the handles facing the actor. Then go back over your prop checklist and check it again. Don't move on to the next prop until you see it in the proper place, then check it a final third time. Make sure that all the scenery is in working order. Use the doors to make sure nothing is loose. Walk the set, test things to make sure nothing happened that wasn't reported to you. The general rule on checking scenery is if you operate it, you check it. Make sure your crew checks all the scenery they operate. Check all the flies, all the wagons should be checked, Check everything that could possibly go wrong. When your actors are called to the performance, check the call board. Make sure they all have signed in. If an actor is missing, get on the phone and find out where they are. You can also give the actors calls letting them know how much time before curtain. This series of calls varies from theater to theater. It all depends on when your actors are called. In an equity show, the actors that arrive no later than half hour, that's 30 minutes before the show. Now, they can arrive earlier if they have an extensive makeup to put on or a longer pre show process. But, in an equity show, they have to be there by half hour call. To announce a call, say, half hour, this is your half hour call. Half hour, please. This is your half hour call. Notice how often half hour is repeated? That's so that if someone is talking, they can hear it the second, 3rd, 4th, 5th time. Also, notice I didn't say half hour to places. By putting places in the call, there's a possibility that someone might only hear places and suddenly panic thinking they are late. The calls I give before a show are half hour, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, and places. Once the series is established, you cannot change it. People are counting on you to do the same thing every time. They might be waiting for your 15 minute call before they start their makeup. And if you omit it, they will be late. Keep it consistent. After you call 5 minutes, check-in with the house manager and see if they're doing alright. They might need a little bit of extra time, especially if the weather's bad. Once you call places, the actors will head to their respective places. Make sure you have an assistant there that will relay to you that the actors are in place. Before you start the show, check-in with the house manager one last time and make sure they're ready to go. Once you get the all clear from house management and your assistants backstage, it's time to start the show. Calling the show involves much more than just calling the cues. In addition to calling the cues, it means watching the show to make sure that everyone is doing exactly what they're supposed to do. It means being on the lookout for problems that might arise both backstage and on stage, and taking charge if there's an emergency. But the first part is calling the cues. As stage manager, you will be responsible for giving all the cues to the appropriate people. The list of people that you need to give cues to varies from show to show. You might not have a fly cue for some unit sets. You might not have any sound cues if you have a show that has live music. There are 3 parts to every called queue. The warning or standby comes first. The second is saying the name of the queue or queues. The final part is saying, go. Today, some stage managers use standby and some use warning. Standby indicates a higher level of immediacy, but often, the two words are interchangeable. Once you decide which works best for you, you have to stick with it. Consistency is important here, both in timing and wording. The rhythm you are striving for is an easy cadence that tells the operator to 1, get ready, and 2, execute the cue. I like to use the word warning as opposed to standby. I like to give my warnings about 10 to 15 seconds before the queue should be called. Warning, electrics 5.5 and sound b. I'd like to announce the cue about 5 to 7 seconds before I say go. Electrics 5.5, sound b. Go. Some sequences have several cues in the same warning. Warning, sound l. Sound l 1. Electrics 12, electrics 13, and fly 7. Soundell, electrics 12. Go. Sound L1. Go. Lectrix 13, fly 7. Go. You wanna make sure that the operator has enough time to get their finger to the button and pay close attention. But you don't want to get their finger to the button and doze off while they wait for you to say go. Always remain calm. You're in charge of running the show. You must remain calm. If people see you panic, that panic will spread like wildfire. If you should happen to make a mistake on a call, make a note to yourself, then forget about it until the show is over. If you're busy kicking yourself, your chances of making another mistake skyrocket. Don't let mistakes avalanche, creating more mistakes. Your diction must be clear. Speak evenly and clearly. Once you have established a volume level, stick to it. If your voice starts to become smaller and smaller, it's only a matter of time before someone doesn't hear their cue. You will have to both speak and listen to the show at the same time, not an easy trick. Never lose your place in the script while you are giving cues. Speak and listen at the same time. When you have your first public performance, there might come a time when you turn a page and see all these cues in your book. You might think to yourself, I've never seen this page before in my life. You have to trust the work you did in technical rehearsals. Trust that you have written down the cues correctly and follow your script inch by inch through the difficult sequence. In order to trust your book, you'll have to have made sure in tech that you made it clear as you possibly could. Do not ever try to commit a cue to memory. Make sure that it's clearly and plainly noted in your book. You should be able to land your cues on the targeted syllable. Circle the syllable for each cue. If it's early or late, try the syllable earlier or later. You need to be that specific. When you're done with a show, it's a courtesy to thank all the people on headset. A simple, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Good show will suffice. Maintaining the technical aspects of the show means not only the physical appearance of the scenery, lights, and sound, but also the structural elements and the timing involved in their use. If something breaks during a show, you have 2 options, either get it fixed or figure out a way to do the show with it broken. And we'll talk more about that later. But after the show, you'll need to let the department head in charge of the piece know that it's broken. If it's something that will take some time in scheduling, you'll probably want to call them on the phone right after the show. If it's something minor, you can leave them a note. If you're not sure, it's probably best to call them. This applies to every department. There might be a sound cue with a volume level lower than you've ever heard it. You can ask the sound operator to check the level. If the operator says, yes, the level was wrong, the problem is solved. If the operator says that that was the correct level, you'll probably want to run the queue before the next show. Oh, and keep in mind that sound levels vary depending upon the weather, how many people there are in the audience, and so on. Make sure that you have a system for notes to the department heads intact before you start your performance. Tell them where you will leave the notes for them, whether it's email or in mailboxes or the call board so that they know to check them on a daily basis. In theater, we are fully aware that the show changes on a daily basis. Everything has an effect on the performance, from the weather to the nightly news, to the health of the cast. It's theater. It changes. To those who crave consistency, I might suggest a job as a projectionist. That said, we need to expect our actors to be somewhat consistent in their performances. There are lights focused on specific areas for them. There are other actors expecting an already rehearsed timing and intensity. You and the rest of the crew are expecting a specific action at a specific place, and the director is expecting to see the show that they directed. If you're in a situation where your director is at every performance, then chances are, they'll take care of giving the actors notes. With the director present, the stage manager is generally relieved of the job of maintaining the actors. In professional theater, a director often leaves town once the show is up and running. That's when it becomes the stage manager's job to keep track of the actors. In academic theater, the director will attend almost every performance. If you have notes for the actors, check with your teacher or director before passing them on to the actors and the crews. Never allow staging to be changed without consulting the director. If there's a problem with the staging, say an actor is no longer physically able to do a certain move, or there's a new set of circumstances involved that require the staging be changed, talk to the director. Performance reports are a great way to give information about the show to specific individuals and departments on a daily basis. The first line in a performance report is usually the date. Then, there's a section for times and timings of the acts. When the show began, how long the acts played, how long the intermission was, and when the show ended. This is followed by a section for notes. Some performance reports are divided into categories for sets, props, costumes, electrics, and sound. These sections are to contain any problems that occurred during the performance. For example, if a chair broke, you'd write down in the props section which chair it was, what broke, and why it broke. The various department heads can read these the next day and adjust their schedules to make the fixes. If the note is major, like a broken chair, always follow-up with a phone call. Make sure that the department head has seen the note and is prepared to act upon it. Other information that goes into a performance report includes who was late to the call, if any substitutions were made, any areas of concern for you or others. You can also include a remark or 2 about the quality of the show. Did an actor have an exceptionally good show? Was there a standing ovation? Was it an unusually quiet house? All these could be included on the performance report. The key to handling emergencies is to quickly and calmly assess the situation and decide in the best course of action. If the emergency happens on stage, calmly evaluate how to fix it and see if there's a way to solve the problem without stopping the show. What resources do you have available to you? Say someone drops a tray on stage and the deck is now covered in milk and broken glass. How long do you have until the next scene shift? How long till the intermission? Do you have a character in a maid's outfit? In this situation, at this location, who would clean up the mess? Who needs to know there's broken glass and milk on the stage right now? Is someone just about to enter? Decide on the best course of action and then solve the problem. Tell your assistant stage manager what happened and how you're going to solve the problem. Jim and a knife fell off the table on the desk, by the desk. Ask ask Greg to pick it up on his next entrance. He should have plenty of time. You just put it back on the desk. If a piece of scenery doesn't wanna make an entrance, do you need the piece of scenery to finish the scene? How long will it take to fix? What other options are open to you? The idea of these kinds of problems is to solve it quickly and calmly. There are times when an actor is too ill to perform. In high school theater, always check with your teacher or director to see how they want to handle the situation. What options do you have available? If it happens before the show, do you have an understudy? An understudy who knows the blocking? Can they do it with a book in their hands? Do you need to rehearse it? If it happens during a high school show, tell your teacher or director, and they will find someone to take the actor to the hospital and find someone else to cover this performance. The audience will need to know and be told that someone else will play the role. The final option is to cancel the show. It can be done, but it should be done as a last option. In high school theater, it can only be decided by the teacher or director. If you see something happen in the house, maybe someone falls down, call the house manager. The house manager should handle emergencies in the audience. They might ask you to stop the show if the situation is serious. In high school theater, your teacher or director will make this call. If you need to stop the show, calmly ask the actors to leave the stage, addressing them by name. While house management is fixing the problem, discuss with your actors how they will get back on stage and where to pick up the action. You'll probably want to dim the lights for their entrance and bring them back up when it's time to resume the show, then wait for the all clear from house management. Theater. Ask the actors to meet in a designated area away from the audience, discuss where you want to pick the action up when the show resumes, and then wait for the all clear. Each emergency brings its own set of challenges. Sometimes there is absolutely no way to prepare for them. All you can do is act calmly, weigh your options, and then act. Many schools require an emergency card for each cast and crew member signed by their parents. That includes the student's name, family contact information, family doctor, insurance information, current medications, any known allergies or other medical conditions, as well as the preferred medical facility to be contacted in case of an accident. School law varies from state to state about dispensing medication to students. Check with your administration about what you can stock in your first aid kit, and be sure to follow school procedures regarding injuries. We recommend that all teachers and sponsors become certified in CPR and first aid. Remember, you don't wanna waste time looking for first aid.