Saying No. Sometimes.
photo credit: http://www.jantoo.com/cartoons
As a young Stage Manager in a new country I find myself saying yes a lot. Yes, I will work two jobs. Yes, I will do that gig for free. Yes, I will spend 48 hours straight in tech. Yes, I will carry all of the laundry after a show from Downtown to Astoria every night for four weeks… I don’t believe this is necessarily a bad thing. I’m not here to tell you the power of using “No” or anything preachy like that. I am instead going to share my tale of woe from when I took on a great deal of work and ended up lying side ways in a bush throwing up whilst a small boy dressed as Pinocchio held my hair.
This summer I was hired for three months to work as both a Stage Manager and a Director for a children’s summer camp. I would stage-manage three shows every three weeks, one of which being my own that I would Direct. Putting up these shows in a barn on a mountain in upstate New York was some of the best fun I have ever had as a theatre maker.
But Viki, you say, two jobs. Two jobs!? The work required from SMing children’s theatre (meaning theatre made by children) is vastly different to other kinds of shows. You become a chaperone, a guidance counselor, make-up artist, dresser and so much more than what is usually expected from a Stage Manager. When I also began Directing my first show, My Son Pinocchio, I struggled to find a balance. I eventually got the hang of things by doing paperwork at night and utilizing the help of an excellent assistant director. Everything was going very smoothly.
Until I started projectile vomiting on the day of my dress rehearsal.
Artistic Statement
After yet another summer filled with lots of theatrical adventures, I start the fall not only to begin my 2nd year as an in-school teaching artist, but also thinking about why I love theatre. What makes the theatre excite us as artists? What draws us into its seductive charm? What kind of theatre do we like to do to and why? Are we more of a Shakespearean artist or a musical theatre one? Or both? Or neither?
As theatre artists, especially emerging theatre artists, these are things we need to think about to take the plight of building our careers. The past 6 months (or so) in particular I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what that means for me as an artist. I’ve had a strong resume, cover letter, and bio for quite some time, but to figure out what kind of theatre work I want to search for, that was my challenge. So I wrote a new revised version of my artistic statement.
I first wrote an artistic statement when I was finishing grad school (which feels like so long now). That’s when this concept was first introduced to me. I think the one I wrote then was good for the first time out, but within the past year particularly I felt that it was more of a good starting point, but that it didn’t have everything that I’m interested in- just one thing. So I started my journey in thinking: what do I do, want to do, how I work, and why?
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
My summer has been a little bit insane so now I’m back down south it’s finally time to process what has happened and tell all of you wonderful readers.
Some of you may know that the largest arts festival in Europe happens in Edinburgh every August, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I had wanted to go for a very long time and was very close to working at it last year for a large company but unfortunately had to turn the job down. Therefore I was ecstatic when my boss said he wanted to take some shows up this year and wanted me to come up with him.
We took three shows up; 2 for the whole festival and the other just for a week. They were all very different; one was a two man straight play with two iconic British TV stars, one was a musical based on an album by Jaymay and the third was a children’s show. I was Stage Manager for all three, in hindsight I should have realised this was a challenge that I was not prepared for at the time considering the struggles I’ve had this year, however I ran into it with open arms. Read more…
The Best Note I Ever Got
I got caught off guard the first time I heard the phrase, “Learn to love auditioning.” I never thought of trying to love something that most actors disliked. While I was eager to apply this technique, it didn’t work right away. In fact, it didn’t work for a while. How was I supposed to suddenly change my mindset just like that?
There’s a plethora of awesome advice out there for actors and creative artists. Often times we’re left with this advice without specific instructions on how to apply it. Sometimes coaches want us to pay them to learn more. (Hint: If a career coach whose name rhymes with Ballas Cavers is offering a program, there’s a 99% percent chance it’s for you. Give her all your money!)
Most of the time, however, there’s a perfectly good reason they don’t tell us exactly what to do: They don’t know us.
The best note I ever got from an acting class was about “process.” Instructor Steven Ivich told us that process is “knowing what to do, when.” While there was a general guideline Ivich gave us, there were different ways to approach it. Everyone handles their process differently. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong way to go about it. It’s finding the way that works best for ourselves. Read more…
Note Taking Etiquette
Maintaining a long running production can be the toughest part of a stage manager’s job. One hopes that when the director has left, the cast will respect and listen to the notes that are given by the stage manager as well as the fight and dance captains. Equity dictates that actors are required to take these notes – it is part of their duties as listed with this union.
Recently, I witnessed a situation where an actor reacted unprofessionally to a note that was respectfully being given by the Music Captain at music call (interesting to note that Equity says nothing about music captains – it’s not in their vocabulary … yet). The Actor aggressively began shouting and verbally abusing the Music Captain in front of the entire cast, crew, and front of house staff. He then stormed away leaving behind a poisoned atmosphere. The Music Captain and Stage Manager handled the situation with grace and professionalism. The Actor was spoken to after he had cooled down. But it brings about some keys things to remember when giving and receiving notes for a production: Read more…
On Vacation!
Hi, lovely Green Room Blog readers!
As much as we all love this business, even Green Room Bloggers need a vacation now and again.
We’re spending this week relaxing and recharging, before launching into Fall full steam ahead.
See you on the flip side!
The Green Room 