Advice For Stage Managers From Dr. Seuss
Today would be his 115th Birthday. We all are familiar with his incredible stories, characters, art, intelligence and wit. And today, I’m going to explore how Dr. Seuss applies to stage managers.
Tag: stage management
Depression and Anxiety: Working With The Demons
I was once asked by a friend to tell me something about myself that he would not expect. I confessed to him that I secretly suffered from occasionally extreme bouts of social anxiety. He laughed. “You? Of all people! Yeah right.” To this day, I don’t believe he ever realized I was serious.
Evaluating Stage Managers: 5 Tips For Giving Performance Reviews
There is much debate in many companies, entertainment or otherwise as to whether performance evaluations are a waste of time. For the theatrical and live entertainment environment, mostly constructed by short-term gigs and freelance work they are not a common occurrence. Most people know they have done a good job when they get hired for the next gig.
Respect: The Middle East And Women At Work
I have been living and working in Dubai for nearly a month. In a country ranked by the UN in the bottom 5 as “not free”, I am a young, foreign, female stage manager leading a team of male technicians, surrounded by men on all sides. The only American in a sea of expats from the UK and the Middle East.
Show Calling: Effective Contingency Planning
There is no mistaking the look on a director’s or producer’s face when you first present the full list of everything that can possibly go wrong with the show. Depression, anxiety and worry are just some of the emotions when they realise the beautiful show they have pitched to the client may in fact go wrong at any moment!
Stage Management: Tailored Communication
One of the central elements of stage management is communication. We are tasked with circulating information to everyone involved in a production. Oftentimes, we keep distribution lists, existing solely to organize which person gets what information. Everyone receives the daily call, the production team gets the rehearsal reports, line notes are sent individually, and so on. Efficient communication can make the difference between a well-organized process and one filled with contention.
Stage Managers: Moving from Theatre to Ceremonies
My first experience of a ceremony was in 2008 when I was an ASM for the London Handover in Beijing – (the big red bus with Leona Lewis singing and Beckham kicking a football from it!) Originally out in Beijing as Stage Manager for the National Youth Theatre (who were singing the UK National Anthem), I threw myself at the handover stage management team for the 10 days we were out there and offered myself up in any way that could make me even the tiniest bit useful.
A Stage Manager Tells: Before Rehearsal Begins
Most people that work in theatre have a pretty good idea of what a stage manager does during rehearsals – at least, the things that can be seen. We take blocking notes, cue lines, keep track of the time, coordinate presets and scene changes, answer the questions, and solve the problems.
To Email Or Not To Email, That Is The Question
Email is so easy. It’s a great tool to speed communication and distribute information. We can send the exact same info to numerous people at the same time, have records of our communications, read and reply from anywhere, anytime.
However, it’s almost too easy. Our inboxes get flooded and we get buried under hundreds of emails competing for our attention and needing a response. We write in truncated words without full sentences, reply while in transit or multitasking and all this can actually result in worse communication instead of better.
A Moment With Sophie Mackay
TheatreArtLife was created by the live entertainment and theatre industry for the industry. Our contributors are industry professionals working about the globe on shows and productions. Spend “A Moment With” Sophie Mackay.
Stage Managers And Human Reaction Time
When I was first learning how to “be” a stage manager, I learned how to properly record blocking, how to lay out spike tape, and the best way to distribute a schedule. Nothing prepared me for having a direct impact on the physical well-being of my performers.
The Misconceptions & Myths Of Stage Management
I’ve been stage managing professionally for nearly 25 years, teaching stage management for 7 years and producing the Broadway Stage Management Symposium for 4 years. There are some common themes I’ve seen about how our profession is viewed (both inside and outside the industry). Below are the four most common and biggest misconceptions about the profession of stage management that I’ve seen.
An Incomplete List Of Things I’ve Learned In My 1st Year As A Freelance Stage Manager
As a freelance stage manager living in New York, I have learned a few things in the past year. Here is my incomplete list of knowledge I have acquired in this time.
I Am “They”: Hallway Talk From Performers
“Ugh, why are they making us rehearse this again?” “I can’t believe I have to come in early to train this act, they’re just wasting my time.” Hearing these words filter from the hallway into my office forces me to remember the few mindfulness techniques I’ve learned – deep breath, then focus on the breath leaving my body.
10 Ways To Improve Your Stage Management Repertoire In 2018
The New Year is upon us, and everyone at TheatreArtLife has their hopes pinned that 2018 will be a prosperous and fruitful year for our readers. As people kick off 2018, it is traditional that they should devote themselves to causes that will make them better, whether that falls towards heading to the gym more often or giving up their cancer sticks.
My TheatreArtLife with Terrence Williams
Terrence Williams took us backstage and behind the scenes for “The Unbelievables” load in day at the world famous Sydney Opera House on December 17, 2017. Terrence is a General and Production Stage Manager, TheatreArtLife Contributor and Founder of Stagecraft Academy. In case you missed, Terrence’s recent takeover, watch the full video.
Follow Up To 16 Essential Items For An Entertainment Technician
Tom Warneke’s 16 Essential Items For An Entertainment Technician article generated many comments and responses from around the globe, so we thought we would collate the feedback and follow up with the public’s suggestions and add to his list. So as decided by you all:
How Do I Get Your Job?
After a 15+ year career primarily working in large scale events, I often get asked ‘How do I get your job?’ by everyone from long term industry workers to recent graduates. It really is the most asked question after I explain why I lived out of a suitcase in about 15 different countries for the past 10 years. It is not an easy one to answer.
Lessons In Stage Management
When studying theater, one repeatedly hears the same cautionary tale… “If you can see yourself doing anything else for a career, you should do that instead.”
The Hello / Goodbye: Expat Life
It’s 12:55pm and you’re sitting in a busy café in Melbourne waiting to meet a friend. Just off a flight, you are really struggling to stay awake, but you will not let jet lag bring you down. You sit there wondering why you didn’t choose to go to Mexico or Hawaii instead. Somewhere you could have sat on a beach in the sun reading a book.
Ending Up In Las Vegas: A Stage Manager’s Story
My nightly commute home from work includes walking past the line for a Las Vegas nightclub, and wondering why so many young women have such terrible friends that let them leave their hotel rooms looking the way they look.
