Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe ua-cam.com/users/HalfHourCall and check out the rest of the guide! ua-cam.com/play/PLsgtE1TvFCw1f82ZLaE-U9b2RaQuIqron.html
So about 5 hours ago I volunteered for the vacant stage manager position for my kid’s upcoming high school drama club production. Zero practical theatre experience beyond being an audience member at a few rehearsals, but plenty of enthusiasm (I hope). I came home with a photocopied script; some rushed instructions to put it in a binder, record all stage directions and line changes; and a three-sentence job description. On a whim I searched UA-cam for how to be a stage manager… OMG! Loving this series so far! (Not to mention that I’m a bonafide Word/Excel geek…). Thank you for this!!!
Thank you so much for your expertise in this video series. I love how you explain things in a way that is easy to understand without dumbing it down and infantilizing the content for ultra-beginners. I see less experienced instructors and creators who make that mistake and it is off-putting enough to make me abandon their instructions. The pacing, content, and "tips & tricks" (which is personally my favorite part) in your series of video tutorials are comprehensive and, moreover, practical for a real-world application that has proven to be successful within the industry. Even seasoned managers could learn something new in your tutorials; whether it be a new formatting technique or a streamlined process for paperwork creation, there's something for every level of Stage Management proficiency. Thank you, thank you for sharing your knowledge with those of us that are new to the game and still learning the ropes! Brava!
Have you discovered the joy of working with multiple screens? Your laptop sure has a HDMI or DVI port. Try creating your spreadsheet with the screenplay on the other screen... or the meeting with the production team, or whatever else. You'll feel handicapped if you ever return to a single screen.
In the video you mentioned meeting with the lighting designer- what is the purpose of that meeting with the LX designer and who else should you meet with during preproduction (besides director) and why?
Hi Michael! Thanks for watching! I think the section you’re referring to is when I’m talking about filtering (please correct me if I’m wrong! Haven’t watched this video in a long time). That was just an example of how to use the filters, not necessarily something I do every show. But if there were a major lighting effect that we were working on in rehearsals (in my brain I’m picturing the swinging lights in Hadestown) I may touch base with them separately to address that. During prep I usually meet with the director, production manager, and tech director. And if I’m new to the company I would want to touch base with the artistic director and company manager just to familiarize myself. The video on preproduction (ua-cam.com/video/sDxrAa4ydrg/v-deo.html) touches on it!
My question *may* be a more general version of Michael's question, so I'm gonna put it here... (and my background is someone not involved in the field, but I started watching plays and musicals a few years ago, and I'm interested in the mechanics of the whole process) and it's probably a much more basic question than your video intended to answer, but... what do you DO with all this? So you made this spreadsheet, and, as an example for the laptop entry... you're at the meeting with the lights and props people regarding the laptop, why is there this meeting and what happens as a result? Is this basically done at the stage where the play is written but the props/effects don't exist yet, and this process is what brings them into existence? And at this meeting, is where you tell the lights and props people to build this laptop? Or maybe the playwright or director is supposed to tell them to build it, and this meeting is a safety catch if that slipped through the cracks, and/or just making sure it's on track to be done by the time the show starts?
I have a question: I see how you are creating a box for each tech element and using an x and then putting the content in the elements section, this seems very convenient if there is only one department but what if there are several x's in the same line. A section where lights, sound, scenic and effects are all happening at the same time? Are you just creating several rows for the same line in the script? great channel btw. well done.
Thank you for your question! The way I do it is I have one row per element/moment/effect, but each element/moment/effect could certainly include multiple departments (i.e. a light switch turning on a light, lightning strikes, etc being pretty common). I would describe the element and then put an X in each relevant department. That way, when I sort them later, that same element will show up in each department's sorted list. Does that make sense? There may be multiple rows for a single line on the script, but that would be for different action items. Ex. "LISA drops the vase as lighting strikes" would have two rows - one for the lighting strike and one for the vase. The lightning strike would be marked for both lights and sound, but the vase only props. Hope this helps!
![АЛАУДИНОВ у Скабеевой: эти их ВСУ нас НЕ ДОГОНЯТ 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/an0anqU4WGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe ua-cam.com/users/HalfHourCall and check out the rest of the guide! ua-cam.com/play/PLsgtE1TvFCw1f82ZLaE-U9b2RaQuIqron.html
So about 5 hours ago I volunteered for the vacant stage manager position for my kid’s upcoming high school drama club production. Zero practical theatre experience beyond being an audience member at a few rehearsals, but plenty of enthusiasm (I hope). I came home with a photocopied script; some rushed instructions to put it in a binder, record all stage directions and line changes; and a three-sentence job description. On a whim I searched UA-cam for how to be a stage manager… OMG! Loving this series so far! (Not to mention that I’m a bonafide Word/Excel geek…). Thank you for this!!!
Break a leg! You're gonna rock it!
Thank you so much for your expertise in this video series. I love how you explain things in a way that is easy to understand without dumbing it down and infantilizing the content for ultra-beginners. I see less experienced instructors and creators who make that mistake and it is off-putting enough to make me abandon their instructions. The pacing, content, and "tips & tricks" (which is personally my favorite part) in your series of video tutorials are comprehensive and, moreover, practical for a real-world application that has proven to be successful within the industry. Even seasoned managers could learn something new in your tutorials; whether it be a new formatting technique or a streamlined process for paperwork creation, there's something for every level of Stage Management proficiency. Thank you, thank you for sharing your knowledge with those of us that are new to the game and still learning the ropes! Brava!
Thank you so much for your kind words!! So glad they’re helpful
Have you discovered the joy of working with multiple screens? Your laptop sure has a HDMI or DVI port. Try creating your spreadsheet with the screenplay on the other screen... or the meeting with the production team, or whatever else. You'll feel handicapped if you ever return to a single screen.
These videos are so, so helpful Kent & also really entertaining at the same time. Thank you immensely :)
So glad they're helpful, thank you for watching!
In the video you mentioned meeting with the lighting designer- what is the purpose of that meeting with the LX designer and who else should you meet with during preproduction (besides director) and why?
Hi Michael! Thanks for watching! I think the section you’re referring to is when I’m talking about filtering (please correct me if I’m wrong! Haven’t watched this video in a long time). That was just an example of how to use the filters, not necessarily something I do every show. But if there were a major lighting effect that we were working on in rehearsals (in my brain I’m picturing the swinging lights in Hadestown) I may touch base with them separately to address that.
During prep I usually meet with the director, production manager, and tech director. And if I’m new to the company I would want to touch base with the artistic director and company manager just to familiarize myself. The video on preproduction (ua-cam.com/video/sDxrAa4ydrg/v-deo.html) touches on it!
My question *may* be a more general version of Michael's question, so I'm gonna put it here... (and my background is someone not involved in the field, but I started watching plays and musicals a few years ago, and I'm interested in the mechanics of the whole process) and it's probably a much more basic question than your video intended to answer, but... what do you DO with all this? So you made this spreadsheet, and, as an example for the laptop entry... you're at the meeting with the lights and props people regarding the laptop, why is there this meeting and what happens as a result? Is this basically done at the stage where the play is written but the props/effects don't exist yet, and this process is what brings them into existence? And at this meeting, is where you tell the lights and props people to build this laptop? Or maybe the playwright or director is supposed to tell them to build it, and this meeting is a safety catch if that slipped through the cracks, and/or just making sure it's on track to be done by the time the show starts?
This was soooo informative! Thank you so much and thank you for taking them time out to provide the template! #lifesaver
Do you ever include a line for choreography specified in the piece, or do you leave it out like the songs?
I have a question: I see how you are creating a box for each tech element and using an x and then putting the content in the elements section, this seems very convenient if there is only one department but what if there are several x's in the same line. A section where lights, sound, scenic and effects are all happening at the same time? Are you just creating several rows for the same line in the script?
great channel btw. well done.
Thank you for your question! The way I do it is I have one row per element/moment/effect, but each element/moment/effect could certainly include multiple departments (i.e. a light switch turning on a light, lightning strikes, etc being pretty common). I would describe the element and then put an X in each relevant department. That way, when I sort them later, that same element will show up in each department's sorted list. Does that make sense?
There may be multiple rows for a single line on the script, but that would be for different action items. Ex. "LISA drops the vase as lighting strikes" would have two rows - one for the lighting strike and one for the vase. The lightning strike would be marked for both lights and sound, but the vase only props.
Hope this helps!
@@HalfHourCall Ah Yes this makes sense, very good. I really like the sections for fight choreography and intimacy as well, great idea!
Pirates of penzance