Is It Nap Time Yet?: a Stage/Time Management Ramble

I closed a show yesterday.  After 7 weeks of rehearsals, we had 3 preview shows, then a 5-week, Tues-Sun run. This particular show was unique in that is was actually a three play cycle running in rep with itself, so our last two Sundays were marathons - Part 1 at 2pm, Part 2 at 5 pm, and Part 3 at 8pm. All in all, a fairly standard run for a small but well-attended SF Bay Area theater. It was fun, rewarding, unique (definitely some stories that will get write-ups someday), and as is to be expected, I'm completely exhausted.

Yesterday, halfway through the marathon, a local director I know happened by and chatted with me for a moment, mentioning that he would be emailing me soon. This was, I'm sure, in reference to the fact that we've been email back-and-forth about me stage managing for his company sometime in the upcoming season.

Today, I got a message from the production coordinator of another local theater company who I know through a stage-managing friend, mentioning that some SM slots have opened up in their season.

"That's great!" I hear you say. "In this economy it's fantastic to be wanted for what you do and have possible job offers lining up!"  You're right, it is. It's great that I'm at a point where I'm known for being a good SM, and where people will both A) recommend me for jobs, and B) hire me on the strength of recommendations.   That is, in fact, how I got the gig I just closed: they lost their original SM right before rehearsals started, one of my actors from over the summer recommended me, and as the running joke went, they didn't even ask to see my resume, just my schedule. So yes, I'm thrilled that I'm getting job offers.

Trouble is, I'm really tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally - I am really, really tired. The thing that is the worst for me about working a show is that it leaves me with very little time for the stuff I'd like to do that is not immediately on a deadline or making me money (like writing, sewing, eating chocolate, playing the stupidly addictive Marvel Avengers Facebook game, etc.) So whenever I hit this mini-lull between the close of one show and the start of another, my knee-jerk reaction to people asking me to book up more time with SM gigs is basically "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

And then I get over it and make rational, grown-up decisions, but still.

See, the issue here, as best I can tell, is entirely one of time management. I know lots of stage managers who work full-time day job and run shows, and still have time to go out with friends two or three times a week, enjoy whatever their hobbies are, AND get a functional if not adequate amount of sleep every night (which is the real kicker). Obviously I'm doing something wrong, and I think it's got to do with time.  But is it not managing the time well, or do I actually have too much on my plate? It's a tricky one.

Plus, there's my least favorite consideration: the fiscal one. In my area, at my level, it is not possible to earn a living wage as a stage manager. That's fine, it is what it is. But it means that if I ever want to not live with my parents, I will have to either seriously up the ante as a stage manager (like, get to be top-level AEA and land some sweet rep or touring job), or more likely, I have to be able to get that living wage from somewhere else, like the aforementioned day job. That's possible. Most every stage manager I know has an office or retail job in addition to stage managing. But, the more hours you have to work to make what you need to live on, the less free time you have for anything but work...and we circle back around to my initial problem.

But the weirdest part of any of this ramble is that I constantly have to ask myself "Do I like stage managing?" because obviously if I don't, I should stop. But I think I do. Do I like it as much as I like writing plays or directing - no.  But it's a differently kind of like anyway, it's the kind that fulfills my not-quite-OCD and my type-A personality, rather than serving as my creative outlet.

So, here I sit in the mini-lull between shows. I'll check my email regularly this week and return whatever messages I get. I'm going on vacation, so I should get some time to write and hopefully reregulate my sleep cycle. And while I do all that, I'll ponder the bizarre nature of time and stage management and try to figure out how to tell when I really need a break and when I'm just being a wuss.

I Love the Smell of Office Supplies in the Morning: A Brief Introduction to Stage Management

Whenever I first tell people I’m in theater, the conversation generally starts off like this:

 Random Person: “How cool Are you an actor?”

 Me: “Not anymore. I mostly stage manage now.”

 Random Person: “Oh. Okay. What’s that?”

 Stage management is definitely one of the least glamorous jobs in theater and, if you’re doing it right, also one of the least visible. There is no Tony Award for Stage Management, and even if there was there would be no one to accept it; all the nominees would be off running shows.  So, I’m going to do my best to shed a little light on the mysterious and shadowy world of life behind the stage.

 A Brief (and Possibly Fictional) History of Stage Management

 In the history of theater, stage management is still relatively new. Since the SMs are usually too busy writing rehearsal reports and filling out building acquisition requests to contribute memoirs to the annals of time, we don’t have an exact date for the beginnings of the position. The concept of a stage manager seems to date back to Shakespeare (hey!) and Molière, although there is no record of what they actually did. (Some suggest their first job may have been as bouncers who kept non-company members from sneaking backstage.) Finally, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, everyone figured out that letting actors and playwrights manage everything as well as write and act was somewhat overcomplicated (especially with the advances in stagecraft and technology that were occurring), and so two distinct positions eventually evolved: the director, in charge of the creative elements of the play, and the stage manager, in charge of logistics, scheduling, and coordinating all the other personnel involved in the production.

 Okay, But What Does a Stage Manager Do?

 Short answer: everything.

The inevitable conclusion
of every stage management
team meeting.

 Well… not really, but some days it feels like it. The stage manager’s job usually starts months before the rehearsal process, attending meetings with the director and designers to take notes and build the schedules that will carry the production through to completion.  Although rehearsals for Hamlet and Merry Wives didn’t begin until June, I began attending production meetings and assisting at auditions in January. Because LSF works in repertory, we have the advantage of having two stage managers (yay!); however we also have the added challenge of having to schedule simultaneous rehearsals in two cities needing the same actors (resulting in many late-night phone calls and early-morning coffee-shop invasions as the SMs played what we started calling “scheduling Tetris”). Throughout rehearsals, the stage manager keeps the room running on schedule, keeps communications open between the director and designers, and of course, keeps notes on the staging, props used, costume changes, and all the other paperwork that will eventually become the master book during the run of the show. (The stage manager also functions as a psychiatrist, pharmacist, shuttle driver, and general handyperson during rehearsals. Unsurprisingly, many of us are also licensed bartenders.) Once performances roll around, the stage manager’s job is still a lot of paperwork – checklists before and after each show, reports on running times, and lists of cues. Traditionally, the stage manager “calls” the show, telling separate light and sound operators when to take cues. However, given the outdoor venue used by LSF, traditional calling is very difficult; the SMs are running their own light boards for these shows, and we’re lucky enough to have fantastic musicians who handle all the sound themselves!

 But Where’s the Fun in Paperwork?

Me, in the "light booth" behind the audience.

 Maybe I’m the exception, not the rule, but for me the fun of stage management is the organization. By taking on the mundane (and yes, occasionally boring) lists and schedules, the stage managers free the directors, actors, and designers to focus much more of their time and energy on letting their creative juices flow. Plus, I get the fun of being the problem solver.  Every night of Hamlet, I sit behind the audience and talk to my fantastic ASM on the radio so we can figure where the letter went (inside the actor’s pants pocket, as we suspected), what to do if one of the fencing gloves ever actually goes missing (conveniently, we have one right-handed actor and one left-handed, so they can share a pair), and of course, how to strike broken, misplaced, or windblown props and set pieces in the middle of a show (very, very carefully). We have a rigged costume, several quick changes, a sword fight (well, two…sort of), live music, a nontraditional playing space, and a half-ton Pageant Wagon that has to get moved just about every other show night.

 If we’re doing our jobs right as stage managers, the audience never sees or thinks about any of those things. They’re too busy being transported with the actors to the Forest of Windsor or the Castle of Elsinore, and we’re there to make sure nothing brings any of them back until the last bow has been taken. So please, pay no attention to the lady or gent behind the roadcase, and enjoy the show.

This piece was originally written for Livermore Shakespeare Festival's 10th Anniversary Blog.
Original Link: http://livermoreshakes.org/2012/07/stage-management/#more-2061

Go check out the rest of the LSF blog posts for some other fun commentary on various aspects of theater from auditions to commedia to baby skunks in an outdoor venue!

Building Your SM Kit: First Aid, Part 1

I've been bleeding a lot lately, as it is winter and my hands have decided to resemble Charlton Heston's lips after he's been dehydrating in the desert for weeks in The 10 Commandments.

And when they bleed, they look like the scene in Dracula, Dead and Loving It
where Renfield nicks his finger.

So, I thought now would be an ideal time to start my post series on what you should have in your box as a stage manager. (Sorry, kids, this is not the kinky kind of SM kit...well, I guess it could be, but that's a different blog.)

The Setup: Basically, every stage manager I know has their own version of the SM Kit, which is essentially their personal Mary Poppins bag out of which they will produce every/any thing that might possibly be asked for in the course of a show. Obviously the contents will vary from show to show and venue to venue, but there are a lot of basics that pretty much all SMs will have.

First Aid

When I was first building my kit, I just went to the store and bought this 140-piece sucker you see on the left here. (Confession: I just had to process stage vs house directions to remember if this photo was on the right or the left.) Anyway, something like this makes a great starter, because it comes with most of the basics. However, it also comes with a bunch of stuff you will hardly ever use, like a glowstick (not kidding), and stuff that you will need to use allthe time but should replace, like those flimsy plastic tweezers (more on those later).

But, as many years and several boo-boo prone actors have taught me, there are certain items that you will need all the darn time and should stock in bulk. Here's a few of the items that I've found are indispensable parts of my kit.

Band-Aids

We're starting here because of my blood-gushing hands. I am of the opinion that everyone should have Band-Aids on their person all the time, but especially if you are in charge of a room full of actors. Actors are a unique species of human, as they are so dedicated to whatever they're pretending to do that they will frequently forget about the real-world consequences of that action. (Strangely, this is also a common problem among internet trolls. Huh.) There is one gal I've worked with several times who is notorious for this: she will crawl on the floor, jump onto furniture, do pretty-much anything the director asks her to do, and then when I call break she'll come over to me and say "Umm...by the way I'm bleeding." Every single show we've worked on. Even the one where Iwas the sound crew, not the SM. So needless to say, I keep a lot of Band-Aids on hand. here are a few of my favorites:

Clear Water-Block Band-Aids:

There are a gift from heaven. They're completely clear except for the little gauze patch, which is approximately the right flesh-tone of a Cullen vampire, but that's easy to cover. No, the great thing about these is that once you adhere the thin water-block membrane to skin, it will stay on forever if you want it to, which is great when you need to get through a performance. The only down side is that if there is a gap anywhere they will start to peel off, so they're not so great for bendy places like fingers. But that's okay, because we also have...

Flexible Fabric Knuckle & Fingertip Band-Aids:

Those silly butterfly fingertip ones will be the most-used bandages in your box. Not only do they help with "I-stabbed-myself-on-a-wood-staple" ouchies, but they also solve the "I-have-a-hangnail" problem BEFORE blood is shed and, in larger venues, are a great solution to "I-need-neutral-nails-in-scene-one-but-they-have-to-be-painted-in-scene-two." (Or in my case, I was a dude most of Act One and then had one scene to become a chick right before intermission.) Another great problem solver comes in the form of...

Extra-Large Tough Strips:

No one actually uses these to staunch bleeding. If you're bleeding enough to need one of these, you're probably already onto the next item in this list. No, these are used for covering up tattoos under clothing that is light-colored or sheer enough for your ill-advised Tri-Force symbol to show through. Obviously if the tattoo is somewhere not covered by clothes, you'll need concealer (or to stop auditioning for period pieces). But if it's under clothing, the Band-Aid is a nice solution to not wearing a bunch of makeup under your clothes and incurring the costumer's wrath. However, if you are bleeding enough that you need something large...

Gaffer's Tape.

Look, if you're bleeding enough to need a larger Band-Aid than the first one on this list, you're probably going to to have to go to the hospital because there will be some OSHA/Equity/other policy that requires forms to be filled out and such. At that point, we're gonna put a clean dishrag or softgoods scrap over the wound, wrap gaff around it, and dump you in the back of somebody's car to go get stitches.

Drugs

This is not nearly as exciting as it sounds.

But I can sure make it seem like it is.

I keep all my entirely legal drugs in their original bubble-packs, or I repack them into dime-bags, which has made more than one actor comment ask what I actually do on my weekdays. I just find that Sammy the Sketch-Head who hangs out across the street from the theater has much more effective ways to consolidate pills into small, easy to transport containers, okay?

Anyway, my stash generally includes the following:

- Tylenol/ some acetaminophen-based painkiller

- Advil/some ibuprofin-based painkiller

I carry both kinds because I've had different actors who could only take one of the other. One of them couldn't take ibuprofin because of another medication they were on, another just reacted badly to acetaminophen. Also, I try to carry them in both regular and liquid-gel form, because I know many people who can't swallow large pills easily. (One gal resolved this by biting off the end of the gel-cap and swallowing the liquid. I cannot speak to the safety of that method, but that's what she did.) Children's chewables are also a great option, but make sure you know the difference in the doses.

Yes I'm sure they're children's pills, see the bright colors?
Just take them already so we can get back to blocking.

The rest of my pill selection is also pretty straightforward.

- Mucinex/generic equivalent

- DayQuill/generic eqivalent

- EmergenC/vitamin C tablets

- dark chocolate (the more women you have in your cast, the more of this you'll need)

Now, there's plenty more that I keep in my First Aid box (not to mention the rest of my SM Kit) but as this post has already gotten insanely longer than I originally intended, I'm going to end this post for now and save everything else for another time. For now, I'm gonna go slather my hands in lotion and watch a movie...maybe Lawrence of Arabia. Seems appropriate.

New Year, New Post, New Plan

So, first things first. I've given the blog a rename, because I want to be able to talk about more than just Stage Management, and as I frequently joke "The Internet is ten blocks away from everything!" So you'll (hopefully) be getting thoughts and updates on pretty much anything theater, be it mine or others'. I may add in reviews of shows I see, because why the hell not, and of course I reserve the right to plug my own projects and/or talk about things completely unrelated if I damn well feel like it.

And now, a quick recap of 2011 and the current 2012 lineup:

2011

* Directed 3 One-Acts, 2 at LPC and 1 at SFSU

* Stage Managed Jump: A Love Story (June-Oct) and Bad Hamlet (Nov-Dec)

* Asst. Directed Jump (and threw in my 2-cents on Bad Hamlet when asked)

* PA'ed a short film, something I hope I get to do again

* and a One-Act that I wrote (woo-hoo!) got a staged reading

For 2012

* SFSU One-Act Fringe - I'm helping produce, directing a set of short pieces in one round, and the One-Act that got a reading last year is getting staged in another round

* Livermore Shakespeare Festival - I'm stage managing one of their summer shows. I won't know which one until we get the second SM, so right now I'm helping with both.

* ...who knows? Hopefully I'll get some writing and such to a point that I can get some theater/film projects rolling. We'll see.