A little respect (just a little bit)

[Mongrel]

I'm working backstage on a school play right now, and we were supposed to have two Assistant Stage Managers in addition to the Stage Manager. Unfortunately, the other girl who was supposed to ASM with me couldn't do it, and the Stage Manager had so many personal crises that she had to drop out. So I've been moved up to Stage Manager, and it's freaked me out a bit--I'm really not the most responsible person, and I wasn't prepared for it. The director has a friend who has done a lot of stage managing in the past, and she's going to come in and show me the ropes in a few days; I'll also have a few ASMs come in (hopefully) from the film program to help me out, so I'm starting to feel better about the whole thing.
However, I may have to manage a few rehearsals alone, and I really don't feel good about that. I'm one of the youngest people working on this play; most of the cast is significantly older, and one of them even has a daughter that's half my age. They're all nice, but they're a little on the outrageous side--a cast of characters, I called it once(okay, hit me for the pun)--and I don't know how to get them to listen to me. I remember the last show we had, how rehearsals without the director were a fiasco, how people wouldn't show up if they knew the director wasn't coming and how we had to run one scene about four times because we kept having giggle fits in the middle of it. So...how do I get these crazy people to listen to me?

[Helena]

Tricky. I'd say, be relaxed, laugh when it's appropriate but not disruptive, and ask them to calm down when they're wild. Even if you're significantly younger, it dosen't mean that you can't do a good job. They might resent or not take you seriously for a while, but if you prove to them that you can do it, it shouldn't be a problem. As for handling the job, don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fine. You're going to have help, so it'll not all be on you, even if yo are Stage Manager.

Finally, *hits you for the pun*

[Asthaloth]

Get a whippy stick.
EVERYONE respects the person with the whippy stick.

[Mongrel]

Get a whippy stick.
EVERYONE respects the person with the whippy stick.

I've been debating the merits of flexible versus unbending. Which is better?

[Asthaloth]

The Ones that came with the game "Battle-Fleet Gothic" were perfect - The right mix between flexibility and unbending.
Just stoic enough to REALLY hurt, but just flexible enough to not snap if you looked at it funny.

Ahhh the Whippy stick, how many rules debates did you solve.


Edit: I'd go with bendier ones, as I can't exactly give you a perfect composition.

[ahoteinrun]

Get a whippy stick.
EVERYONE respects the person with the whippy stick.

I've been debating the merits of flexible versus unbending. Which is better?

Just get a riding crop. Flexible, lightweight, with a nice wrist loop so you don't have to actually hold it while you walk around.

[wandersong]

I'm not sure what your group is like specifically, or how big it is, but when i was doing backstage work, the SM mostly seems to work with the heads of the crew, they in turn are responsible for making sure the rest of the crew behave.

Of course, they do run around and make sure everyone's there and so on before show starts and all that, but making sure the cast behave during rehearsals is usually the sole responsbility of the director(s) . Doesn't seem fair to offload that to a new SM. That said, all the best SMs I know are very organised and quite firm people. Not inflexible, but firm .

Good luck with finding your whippy stick!

[Mongrel]

I'm not sure what your group is like specifically, or how big it is, but when i was doing backstage work, the SM mostly seems to work with the heads of the crew, they in turn are responsible for making sure the rest of the crew behave.

Of course, they do run around and make sure everyone's there and so on before show starts and all that, but making sure the cast behave during rehearsals is usually the sole responsbility of the director(s) . Doesn't seem fair to offload that to a new SM. That said, all the best SMs I know are very organised and quite firm people. Not inflexible, but firm .

Good luck with finding your whippy stick!

We always have a tiny, tiny crew. Apart from the SM we have a costumer, a props person, and ASMs if we can find them, plus a few tech people in the booth. Our lighting, sound, and set stuff is mostly not my responsibility--it's essentially outsourced to a few friends of the director(who do the design part) and students in the film program(who build the set and run the boards). I'll have to call cues from the booth during tech week and at the actual performances, but otherwise I don't have to worry about it. Until tech week, we rehearse outside the space and mostly without props or costumes, so it's just the director and me and the cast at rehearsals. Various limitations and conflicts have kept the rehearsal period short, which is why we can't cancel rehearsals just because the director won't be able to make it, and why I'd have to run them in his place. It's a fledgling theater program, so we do the best we can with what we have and just keep hoping the whole program doesn't get axed due to budget cuts...but that's a gripe for another day.

[3lla]

Get a whippy stick.
EVERYONE respects the person with the whippy stick.

I've been debating the merits of flexible versus unbending. Which is better?

Just get a riding crop. Flexible, lightweight, with a nice wrist loop so you don't have to actually hold it while you walk around.

What she said ^

plus if you go ahead and get a dressage whip with that riding crop ou can still have another whippy stick which you can use from a distance!
plus a dressage whip usually has a really nice long rope thinger on the end of it so it makes the range even bigger

[Shoyru_Lover]

That's a tough one. You just got to step up to the plate and be a leader. Take the reins and tell them how you want things to be done.

[Starchaser]

I haven't done theater for quite a while, but I was editor-in-chief of my school's paper last year. In retrospect, I think the biggest mistake I made was probably goofing off too much. It was a fun class, and I fooled around a lot, but I also knew how to be serious; the other people didn't - and so, when I was actually trying to get something done, a lot of them were still stuck in idle. It's good to have a sense of humor, but you need everyone to know that you care what happens.

I don't really know what exactly the stage manager job entails, but if you can, try to make schedules or lists of what needs to get accomplished ahead of time. It'll keep you from getting frazzled.

Finally, delegate. I can't stress this enough. Get a cast mate with whom you share mutual respect, perhaps one who's older, and ask them to give you a hand with the management. Enlist people to help you when you need it.

Best of luck! I'm sure you'll do a great job.

[ahoteinrun]

If you want to go full out you could get a bullwhip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS6Ulh7YYEU

Not only does it make a loud noise; but it's terrifyingly evil.

[Shoyru_Lover]

You can also open a can of whoop smurf every now and then.

[ahoteinrun]

You can also open a can of whoop smurf every now and then.

I'm about to open one up on Kym! If you need a good example let me know... *cracks my whip*

[May]

Coming from the point of view of a teacher, who has worked in similar situations, here's my advice:

Start off really strict, unbending, and then loosen up over time. It's much easier to start strict and loosen up, than to start loose, have complete chaos, and try to reign it in.