# Where do you call your shows from? (High school especially)



## bendersen (Jan 22, 2008)

A quick thought. 

I've always called my shows from our theater's balcony, but I know a lot of stage managers who call their shows from backstage. 

Which do you use, and what are the relative merits of each?

Thanks!


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## icewolf08 (Jan 22, 2008)

bendersen said:


> A quick thought.
> I've always called my shows from our theater's balcony, but I know a lot of stage managers who call their shows from backstage.
> Which do you use, and what are the relative merits of each?
> Thanks!


It often depends on the show, the SM, and the venue. Some theatres don't have room in the booth FOH for the SM. Many Broadway shows have the SM in a wing somewhere with a wall of video monitors. I have been in a theatre where the SM was tucked in a corner between the seating risers and the wall. The audience couldn't see her there, and she had a full view of the stage.

For our theatre, the SM usually sits in the booth. We have plenty of room, and it really is the best view of the stage. If you can be out front with a real view of the stage, that is usually best. Calling a show from the wings can be a lot harder, especially if you have a box set. Calling from the wings usually requires having a good CCTV setup, with at least two stage views, one with an IR camera. Often, even when an SM is out front they will have an IR monitor so they can see transitions.

In the professional world there are AEA rules that can affect where the SM calls a show from. Certain types of shows require certain numbers of AEA SM's/ASM's to be on the deck, and sometimes to meet this requirement the SM will call from the wings. 

Frankly, I don't think the SM should ever call the show from the house. You mention that you call shows from the balcony. That seems like a not so great idea. Mostly because an SM usually never stops talking during a show, and it can be distracting to the audience if the SM is sitting in the house.

In short, there is no right answer, it all depends. There are often many things that factor into the decision.


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## midgetgreen11 (Jan 22, 2008)

Stage manager's at my high school always call from the SR wing, almost right behind the proscenium wall, they have a little podium set up.

we don't ever have cameras set up either, its just what they can see from eye's view.


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## bcfcst4 (Jan 22, 2008)

The SM at my school calls from the balcony also. We don't have a booth really... the balcony acts as our booth. There wouldn't be any room backstage for the SM in our current set up. We haven't had trouble with the audience hearing the SM and getting distracted, so I think it's a good set up, especially since it offers a complete view of the stage. When they build the new high school however... who knows what that setup will be. I certaintly won't be here to enjoy it.


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## bendersen (Jan 22, 2008)

I don't open the balcony usually (only had to for one production, _West Side Story_ last spring). So I don't worry about the noise. Frankly, I don't think the audience was really too bothered by my talking -- I'm quiet and the music and actors were loud.

We do have a booth though, which I've always wanted to use for the stage manager. Right now we're just using it for storage. The biggest issue with the booth is that there is no monitor, so I cannot hear what is going on onstage. Plus, it means I need an extra headset for the spotlight op that I normally sit next to and cue manually. 

Thanks for the thoughts.

--

Also, to reply to Charlie: How does your SM call the show AND remain an active participant in set changes? That strikes me as absurdly confusing, and I'd love to hear how the SM makes that work.


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## soundlight (Jan 22, 2008)

bendersen said:


> We do have a booth though, which I've always wanted to use for the stage manager. Right now we're just using it for storage. The biggest issue with the booth is that there is no monitor, so I cannot hear what is going on onstage. Plus, it means I need an extra headset for the spotlight op that I normally sit next to and cue manually.



_A Booth used as STORAGE?_ Wow. You should fix that one. If the booth window is big enough for the followspot to shoot through as well as let you cue the show, then you're set.

Things were kinda whack at my HS. I was the Student Technical Director, which meant that I cued sound and lights and followspots off of my script, and communicated with the stage manager and ASMs via cheap two-way radio for curtain, set change, and prop cueing. The stage manager was responsible for everything that happened upstage of the edge of the stage - the curtains, the actors, the props, the set changes, and all that fun stuff. We did have an ASM in charge of each side of the stage, and the SM delegated many responsibilities to them, but the SM was ultimately responsible to the director for everything that was on the deck and the goods in the air during the show. I often choreographed set changes, but the SM was the one who cued them. The SM was also the one who kept the actors in order with a huge super-soaker. No one ever went on wet, but some came pretty close...


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## Chris15 (Jan 23, 2008)

You know we did discuss this some time back, with a poll and everything...
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=845

And my gut reaction is still how you manage the stage without being on the stage...


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## midgetgreen11 (Jan 23, 2008)

yeah the title "stage manager" has always been a self-explanatory one in my school... a manager of the stage... because they have complete control of the shows in my high school... they ARE the TD.


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## bobgaggle (Jan 23, 2008)

in response to Ben Anderson's question of how the SM calls and helps with set changes...IT DOESN'T WORK. My drama department has had a brand new SM each time we do a show (like, still doesn't know what a traveler is, that kind of new) My director is...interesting. 
Anyway, a guy in my department found a night vision security camera for free on craig's list. He rigged it up in the catwalk so that the SM can watch the scene changes during the blackouts and call lights at precisely the right time.
Unfortunately, our tech crews suck and the SM has to run out there and be like "see the neon green spike tape that says 'chair' in glow in the dark paint? the chair goes there"
So by the time she gets back to her chair and calls lights, the audience has been sitting in the dark and hearing enraged whispers from the stage for 2 minutes (well, maybe not that slow...I think that their record slow time for our production of Dracula was 1:13)
I picked up a spare headset one time pre-show, 5 minutes after the 2 minute warning and heard this, "umm...lights and music, you can start the show now." 




'nuff said


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## themuzicman (Jan 23, 2008)

> Anyway, a guy in my department found a night vision security camera for free on craig's list. He rigged it up in the catwalk so that the SM can watch the scene changes during the blackouts and call lights at precisely the right time.



a "guy" haha..

their the best thing I've ever found

anyway, as Bobgaggle was saying, our crew is full of idiots, and our SM is too new to get any sort of routine down and nail some sort of consistency between shows.


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## bendersen (Jan 24, 2008)

"Eesh" to the above horror stories. 

I have zero patience for that sort of thing. 

I call everything, and design the initial set changes -- although my ASM is smart and she tends to be the one who takes responsibility for the final product (after the director has changed where the bed goes for the hundredth time in a given rehearsal). 

As for stage crew not knowing where things go during a show, I just can't fathom that. I just make them do it over again in rehearsal. But mostly they're just... you know, competent, and they get it right after doing it once or twice. I mean, my stage crew members aren't exactly all veterans of the stage; half of my crew for _City of Angels_ was brand new. But they practiced and got better at it. Simple, no?

So I guess here's a better question. I am going to college for stage management in the fall (not quite sure where, but it's happening). How are your tech rehearsals set up that these stage crews just aren't getting it? I feel like I'm bound to run into some of these people in college, and they just seem like a foreign people to me.


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## icewolf08 (Jan 24, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> You know we did discuss this some time back, with a poll and everything...
> http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=845
> And my gut reaction is still how you manage the stage without being on the stage...


I had a really good post going, but my computer at it, so I will try again.

<...how can you manage the stage without being on the stage...>
Well, that is why you have ASMs. You should have two, one for stage left and one for stage right. In the US, AEA rules for musicals require a minimum of 2 AEA SMs for a show.

When it comes down to it, the SM has to be able to call the show, and sitting on the deck can come with lots of distractions. It shouldn't be the SMs's job to deal with deck crew not being able to hit their spike while a show is running. Sure, in tech the SM needs to be involved in making sure that the crew knows what is going on, but during a performance there are many other things that need to be dealt with. It is your ASMs job to deal with all issues on deck, and decide what needs to be relayed to the SM immediately or what can be taken as a note to give at the end of the show. In the case of some schools and probably some community theatres, you may not have ASMs, but generally you have some crew people who are in charge of each side of the stage, so they may take on the job of ASM.

Take for instance a large musical with 300+ LX cues plus sound FX, and scenery cues. All of this has to be coordinated so that people don't get hurt and things don't get broken. Oh, and you have to give the audience the experience that the director and designers want. I have done shows where the SM just gives a standby for act 1, and then never stopped talking (calling cues) until intermission.

The thing is, it is human nature to go to the person in charge when something goes wrong, so if the SM is on the deck inevitably everyone will go them with any problem. Why is this an issue? Well, generally the deck crew and actors don't know when the SM is in the middle of a complex series of cues, and the last thing the SM needs is an actor walking up to say a prop is broken when the actor should be going to the props people. Sure, if something goes seriously wrong the SM needs to know and is the final say in how to proceed, but we are talking mission critical problems. If a chair gets placed off spike a show can go on, if a wagon jams half way on stage, it might be something that has to be fixed to continue the show, so there is a big difference.

Keep in mind that I speak from a professional mind set, but at least for me, through high school and college the SMs always called shows from the booth. Sure, there are shows and venues that make this impossible, but generally calling from a FOH position gives the best view of the stage. You will find that most, if not all professional SMs that call shows from the wings won't actually look at the stage, but will rely on multiple CCTV views.


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## icewolf08 (Jan 24, 2008)

bendersen said:


> So I guess here's a better question. I am going to college for stage management in the fall (not quite sure where, but it's happening). How are your tech rehearsals set up that these stage crews just aren't getting it? I feel like I'm bound to run into some of these people in college, and they just seem like a foreign people to me.


First of all, you are going to school to learn how to deal with situations like that. Also know that if you are going to a school with a big theatre department you will be working up the chain from the bottom, and you will have plenty of time to see how crews are run and how SMs handle all sorts of situations.

I think though that it is not such a great attitude to say that people who can't get it right in the first couple tries are "like foreign people." In the professional world it is not uncommon to spend many hours teching aspects of a show. When you have lots of moving scenery, flying scenery, props and actors that have to get on and off stage it can take a lot of time to get it right. Then try throwing in a costume quick change.

I suppose the point of all of my rambling is that as a SM you need to be able to get things to run smooth, but you have to be patient and be able to work with people. OYu can walk into a venue and have a completely veteran crew who can get everything done without you even telling people what you need, or you can walk in to a completely green crew who have to be taught everything, and you have to be able to deal with that in a civil, calm, and efficient manner.


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## Hughesie (Jan 24, 2008)

i think the sm needs to be among the on stage actions otherwise you have to others on the stage.

one of our sm's called her position "the bull pit"


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## soundlight (Jan 24, 2008)

I generally believe that calling a show from the booth is better as long as you have a reliable and capable ASM on each side of the stage.


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## Hughesie (Jan 24, 2008)

soundlight said:


> reliable and capable ASM




i have never heard those words put together in a high school show


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## soundlight (Jan 24, 2008)

Hughesie89 said:


> i have never heard those words put together in a high school show



The ASMs at my HS were good at what they had to do - scene changes, actor warnings, prop cues, and keeping things and people in order backstage. You just have to find a few control freaks and give them walkie-talkies.


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## Chris15 (Jan 24, 2008)

icewolf08 said:


> I had a really good post going, but my computer at it, so I will try again.
> 
> <...how can you manage the stage without being on the stage...>
> Well, that is why you have ASMs. You should have two, one for stage left and one for stage right. In the US, AEA rules for musicals require a minimum of 2 AEA SMs for a show.
> ...



OK... First off I'm presuming you had meant to say 2 AEA ASMs for a musical. I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but if something goes wrong that does need the SM's attention, is it not more likely to be on stage than on the booth? I agree that the SM wants some degree of separation from the chaos of the deck, but close proximity can be useful also. With the wonders of modern CCTV, you can virtually call a show from anywhere these days. I'd have thought it could be distracting for both crew and punters to have an SM continually talking in a booth that might only be a metre or two away from the seating and dependant on what else is going on at the time and the acoustics of one's space, it could carry.

I guess part of my opinion comes from what I've seen. I figure if it wasn't the best idea then somewhere like the Sydney Opera House wouldn't place the SM's console in the wings. See a pic on page 11: http://www.juliusmedia.com/cxweb/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=73 The story is rather interesting as well...

But I guess in the end, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. The best place for an SM to call the show from is wherever he or she feels most comfortable, be it in the wings, in the booth or in the basement for all I care, so long as cable can get there, everything else can be worked around...


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## icewolf08 (Jan 24, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> But I guess in the end, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. The best place for an SM to call the show from is wherever he or she feels most comfortable, be it in the wings, in the booth or in the basement for all I care, so long as cable can get there, everything else can be worked around...


This is exactly true. Ultimately the SM should call the show from a place that is logistically feasible and that works for the SM. Weather that is the booth, a wing, or the bottom of a box boom it doesn't matter as long as they have the views of the stage they need and the ability to hear the show and communicate with crew.


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## cvanp (Jan 24, 2008)

It's changed for us over the past few years, depending on where we have our light board. We don't have a booth, so usually the light board is SR with a monitor. In those cases, the stage manager is SL (although our LD thinks he's a stage manager too, and tends to be pretty bossy on SR).

Last year we made an attempt to put the lightboard in the rear of our auditorium, put the stage manager on SR, and the ASM on SL. That worked well but because of technical restrictions we have to go back to our old way.


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## bendersen (Jan 26, 2008)

icewolf08 said:


> First of all, you are going to school to learn how to deal with situations like that. Also know that if you are going to a school with a big theatre department you will be working up the chain from the bottom, and you will have plenty of time to see how crews are run and how SMs handle all sorts of situations.
> I think though that it is not such a great attitude to say that people who can't get it right in the first couple tries are "like foreign people." In the professional world it is not uncommon to spend many hours teching aspects of a show. When you have lots of moving scenery, flying scenery, props and actors that have to get on and off stage it can take a lot of time to get it right. Then try throwing in a costume quick change.
> I suppose the point of all of my rambling is that as a SM you need to be able to get things to run smooth, but you have to be patient and be able to work with people. OYu can walk into a venue and have a completely veteran crew who can get everything done without you even telling people what you need, or you can walk in to a completely green crew who have to be taught everything, and you have to be able to deal with that in a civil, calm, and efficient manner.



I'm not so much worried about people messing up in the first couple tries -- but the scenario described, where the stage crew was unaware of where the scenic pieces went by the day of the show, that really does just strike me as foreign. I'm perfectly used to dealing with a "green" crew, but one way or another they're going to learn the changes before the curtain goes up. Whether that takes two rehearsals or twenty is dependent on the experience of the crew, but if it takes twenty rehearsals, that's what needs to happen.


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## avkid (Jan 26, 2008)

charcoaldabs said:


> twenty tech rehearsals


What the heck?
I have 6 if i'm lucky.
Thursday before, Sunday and show week.


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## icewolf08 (Jan 26, 2008)

Yeah really, our tech schedule is like this:

1 x Dry tech - (up to 6 hours, no actors)
2 x 10 of 12's
3 x 8 of 10's [including dress rehearsals] (or straight 6's depending on the show)
1 x invited audience dress rehearsal
1 x preview

So that is around a total of 60 hours.


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## cutlunch (Jan 26, 2008)

You guys think that's bad. For the last two High Schools shows I LD'd I had to do the lighting plot during rehearsals. If you took to long on any cue they hurry you up. They hadn't thought about giving any time for plotting.


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## soundlight (Jan 27, 2008)

cutlunch said:


> You guys think that's bad. For the last two High Schools shows I LD'd I had to do the lighting plot during rehearsals. If you took to long on any cue they hurry you up. They hadn't thought about giving any time for plotting.



Yeah, I was in the same boat too. What's even more fun is cueing dance pieces as they're happening. And having no real time for revision because the school gets locked up and you have to go home.


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## Raktor (Jan 27, 2008)

For my high school's production, I remember getting about two hours before their dress rehearsal (no tech, obviously) to plot what I thought would fit from reading through the script and attending what they seemed to think were rehearsals. Even then, I was supposedly "holding them up" and "pushing them for time" by using two hours, but this sounds like the case in most high school events.


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## derekleffew (Jan 27, 2008)

Time to invest in a pre-viz system, such as ESP Vision, WYSIWYG™, or Martin Show Designer. Won't solve all problems, but might help some.


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## TechiesDoItInTheDark (Jan 29, 2008)

our director doesn't have the slightest idea what it takes to tech...so he spends all of his time making sure we do everything else (because no one is intelligent enough to know how to use a screw gun) so then when he's ready to actually rehearse, we're scrambling. generally it just ends up being a team effort, the student director sits behind stage with a walkie talkie to tell us what's coming up as we plot and hang.


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## museav (Mar 18, 2008)

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I missed this earlier and since I design facilities, I'm definitely interested in this topic, but here's my take:

At least for audio, the mix position is ideally out in the audience so they can hear what the audience hears rather than being isolated in a booth. Many times, both the lighting and audio are out in the house. This isn't always feasible, but when it is it makes little sense to have the SM by themselves in the booth (although the SMs may like that idea). Having the SM out in the audience is usually not a good idea as calling cues and call lights are very distracting to the audience, some of whom may have paid to see the performance on stage rather than the SM's performance. If you have monitors for cameras, clocks, etc., the potential distractions for the audience get even greater.

The SM usually needs space to lay out scripts, notes, cue sheets, etc. It's nice for them to have some dedicated space and finding sufficient room in an often already crowded booth or FOH can be difficult. And you try to talk an Owner or Architect into pulling out seats so you can provide space for the SM at FOH instead of their being on stage. 

This may not be applicable with qualified stage crew and ASMs, but those can't be assumed to exist in all cases. In many school or community theatres the SM takes great responsibility for the crew safety. During a performance the lighting and sound board operators probably aren't going to do anything that's safety related beyond maybe falling off their chair. Not so on the stage. So it seems to makes sense to have the SM where they can most directly prevent or react to any situations.

So I often incorporate a dedicated tech position or additional comms and 'god mic' connectivity at FOH so that tech rehearsals can have the SM, LD, etc. out in the house, but this is not used during dress rehearsals or performances. SM position is usually on stage, typically downstage right, sometimes with a dedicated movable desk, with the comms main station at that location. A remote comms station or secondary connections for a comms station are in the booth for an ASM or alternative SM location. This seems to be a fairly standard configuration


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## Tank (Mar 23, 2008)

At my HS it was a bit whacked out, there was the director, LX op, SND op, and often some other random teachers who decided to join in. and there was no communication with those on the floor. the LX and SND was run seperately... no prompt copy or anything of the like. I was "SM" on the floor, but was basically an ASM, running the scene changes etc. with some crew for help etc. to communicate with the bio box (booth) during the show, we had to go outside the hall, in the foyer, then up a ladder, through the green room, then in the back door to the bio box... :\

At Tafe i guess its a more standard setup; LX op, SND op, SM in the bio box, then one or two ASM's on the floor. For our current production we have a "set co-ordinator" instead of an ASM, but they're essentially the same. The AV and Dome op's are on the balcony, but they shouldnt be talking on cans, only listening, so that should be good


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## achstechdirector (Apr 1, 2008)

bendersen said:


> I don't open the balcony usually (only had to for one production, _West Side Story_ last spring). So I don't worry about the noise. Frankly, I don't think the audience was really too bothered by my talking -- I'm quiet and the music and actors were loud.
> 
> We do have a booth though, which I've always wanted to use for the stage manager. Right now we're just using it for storage. The biggest issue with the booth is that there is no monitor, so I cannot hear what is going on onstage. Plus, it means I need an extra headset for the spotlight op that I normally sit next to and cue manually.
> 
> ...


We use our entire booth as storage until I got there, they ran sound and lighting from backstage, I found that out and had a fit.

We now use our giant booth for lighting, sound, stage manager, and followspot


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## forbiddenpluto (Apr 2, 2008)

When things run as planned we have lighting and sound in our tiny booth and the SM directly out front. There's also an ASM on SL and SL as well as a runner on backstage in the dressing room in case of missing performers and/or crew.


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## ReiRei (Apr 10, 2008)

Our SMs usually call a show from the booth... we have monitors which screw up from time to time and juuussttt enough headsets for everyone who needs one.


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## Clifford (Apr 23, 2008)

In our theatre, we don't have a balcony, or much of anything else, except a catwalk and a booth. Our SM calls from the booth, because we have planty of space. The light board is far to the right, the sound board far to the left, and spots are on the catwalk, leaving the center open for the director and SM. We also have two ASMs who are actually in the wings, one for stage right, and one for stage left.


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## ReiRei (Apr 24, 2008)

Clifford said:


> In our theatre, we don't have a balcony, or much of anything else, except a catwalk and a booth. Our SM calls from the booth, because we have planty of space. The light board is far to the right, the sound board far to the left, and spots are on the catwalk, leaving the center open for the director and SM. We also have two ASMs who are actually in the wings, one for stage right, and one for stage left.



Do you have quiet spotlights? Our spots are in the corners of our booth but they're really loud... one can barely hear monitors when they're on...


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## Clifford (Apr 24, 2008)

We use the Comets that a lot of other theatres seem to use. The fans are a little loud, but there aren't loud enough to be heard in the audience, which is the most important thing. But I guess if you moved them into a confined space like the booth, they would seem a lot louder.


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## maggyx13 (May 18, 2008)

we have a stage manager and a assitant stage manager. the SM calls the show from the lighting booth. and the the ASM is backstage in charge of both sides but is mainly in charge of one. and then does anything that needs to be done during the show.


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## Clifford (May 24, 2008)

That's similar to how we do it. The only differnce is that we have two ASMs, one for each side of the stage. We also have a TD (student) who's on headset and makes sure everything on the technical side runs as it's supposed to. They're where ever they need to be.


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## rosabelle334 (May 25, 2008)

What we usually have at our HS is that everyone is basically independent. The Assistant Director gives cues to the actors and contols that aspect, Costumes contol the quick changes, Props have their own crew on both sides of the stage, with a co-property master on each side, then the stage manager sits right next to the curtain stage right, controlling set changes and the curtains. The lights and sound also do their own thing. It works out ok.


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## Clifford (May 25, 2008)

That sounds really confusing. We have the SM, TD, and ASMs on headsets. With our SM in the booth, they can just give the cues to the board ops. Sets, props and curtains are all run by the ASMs, who are in charge of the run crew, with actors doing their own costume changes.


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## rosabelle334 (May 25, 2008)

Clifford said:


> That sounds really confusing. We have the SM, TD, and ASMs on headsets. With our SM in the booth, they can just give the cues to the board ops. Sets, props and curtains are all run by the ASMs, who are in charge of the run crew, with actors doing their own costume changes.




It actually doesn't get very confusing. Everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing when, so if one thing goes wrong, everything else won't go down with it. We did have headsets, however, before they broke. Now we have walkie-talkies. I hope we replace them though. We usually give one to the props, one to the SM, one to lights and one to sound. we cna communicate that way. The Assistant Director is in the wing farther back from the SM, so its usually easy to communicate with her.


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## Clifford (May 25, 2008)

Whatever works, I suppose. We just like to have immediate control over any aspect of the technical production.


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## tech2000 (Jul 3, 2008)

We don't even have an asm at my school.
There is the SM, me, and then Sound, Lights, Fly, and everyone else.
But the SM calls our show from back stage right.


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## tngillette (Jul 8, 2008)

bendersen said:


> A quick thought.
> 
> I've always called my shows from our theater's balcony, but I know a lot of stage managers who call their shows from backstage.
> 
> ...



I'm the light designer but we've always had our stage manager a very hands on person and ran the performances from backstage. we just did Music Man this spring and while we had a stage manager to call all the shots what we did was we had a a guy in charge of the set and had someone on the other side of the stage to coordinate from that side, a co-stage manager if you will.


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## HighWattageKid92 (Jul 29, 2008)

As the board operator (Lights) via Telex I call the show to my spotties and stage manager, the only my Stage Manager calls is whether or not the actors are in position to go during a black out. Otherwise im basically the Main dude.


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## Clifford (Jul 29, 2008)

Doesn't that make your stage manager, well, not a stage manager?


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## Dally (Jul 30, 2008)

HighWattageKid92 said:


> As the board operator (Lights) via Telex I call the show to my spotties and stage manager, the only my Stage Manager calls is whether or not the actors are in position to go during a black out. Otherwise im basically the Main dude.



When I was in highschool out light op would call light cues, sound, fly and spots. The "Stage Manager" would sit backstage and make sure the actors went on on time and had props, sometimes even check that shift changes were done...more of an ASM position really. 
However when I went back to work at the same highschool after experienceing in college what real Stage Managers do, we switched it up, and I called a few shows to demonstrate and then taught my students and the drama students that were assigned the SM position how to make a promt book, call standbys and cues for lights, sound, spots and fly. We then assigned an ASM for backstage. 
I think the main problem before wasn't the SM not wanting to do their job correctly, it was a lack of knowledge of what a SM is supposed to do. The students who were assigned that position had throughout the rehearsal process acted as more of an Assistant Director or ASM and really had no clue as to tech things.  And the drama teacher refused to have a tech student as SM because she didnt "know them well enough to trust them not to mess up the show"


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## Eboy87 (Jul 30, 2008)

Back in high school, we varied where the SM was. For the school musicals and plays, the SM sat in the light booth with the board op and called the show from there. For a particular show that always comes through during summer, their SM sits stage left with the wireless wrangler(s). Then again, the director sits in the house the entire time with a headset and constantly calls lighting changes . Sometimes we had an ASM stage right, but often times the SM or ASM stage left just kept an eye on SR across the stage. We always are scrambling for people to work crew.

For the summer one, I guess I'd be considered the TD, but I also mix the show. So I get one rehearsal (of 3 or 4) on the board (usually right before opening night), and spend the rest running around like a chicken with my head cut off. The SM calls mic cues over headset, as well as spot cues. Lights are cued by the Director (again: ), and I hand out Motorola radios to the de-facto department heads. We had problems with sight lines for the SM this past year, so I was thinking of using the theater's video system to set up a monitor backstage for the SM so she can call the show better. Things are changing there as I learn.


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## Serendipity (Jul 30, 2008)

My school has two spaces. For the first, we have a balcony where the light board, followspots, occasional projection, and photographer are. The SM normally calls from there, with a primitive com system to the FOH position below.

For the black box, the house is very small, which leads to a lot of problems. For example, the booth is inconveniently upstage, which means that scenery is always obstructing our view, and we call off of a wired feed to a small webcam mounted at the back of the house. This leads to a lot issues, as the webcam does not record sound and the lighting is definitely less than spectacular in quality, so it's difficult to see if a light has gone out or if something has gone wrong. The only upside to this is being able to get backstage easily, but I'd give that up for an in-house position.

Anyone have suggestions on improving the system in the black box?


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## HighWattageKid92 (Jul 31, 2008)

In lamest terms I have a very LAZY stage manager, who leaves basically everything in my hands.


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## ishboo (Jul 31, 2008)

For our upcoming musical in the fall we're trying to figure out positions. We have two theatre's and this musical is in our old small one that only has a lighting catwalk rather than a booth. We've run lights sound and SM from there before. Since it is a musical our sound guy wants to mix from the floor. Our catwalk is very noisy when walking on it (to take places) so I'm considering running lights FOH with the Sound op and putting the SM backstage. Does this sound feasible?


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## Clifford (Aug 1, 2008)

If you have tables and can sacrifice the rear rows, it's perfectly feasible. Many, many high school theatres are run in such a way, either because they have no booth or becasue their booth is too small. Also, for the same reason, the SM will be backstage running the show, giving them direct control of the deck.


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## chaosLeader (Sep 26, 2008)

the HS I graduated from does have an opperational booth where the SM is right there with the light board operator and sound board operator. but I know my HS is above typical HS level in the technical dept. but, thats where the Sm calls the shows from.


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## rwhealey (Oct 1, 2008)

We have a full booth for lighting (it's quite large and we don't store anything in there) behind the back wall (with quite a large window, of course) on the 2nd story. Sound is in a FOH position in the middle of the house (the best place, IMO). Spots are in dedicated spotlight positions on the catwalk farthest from the stage.

Stage manager sits in the light booth, and we usually have 2 ASMs, stage left and stage right. All on Telex. We also have video to backstage, the pit, the fly rail, and the green room.


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## rwhealey (Oct 3, 2008)

Yeah, I'm a student, but in the St. Louis area 

Now that I'm the senior technician, I've realized I'm really lucky that my high school (a public school!) has such a great theater and arts program. Most of the techs and the student body in general take it for granted and don't realize the value of what the school has to offer.

I feel kind-of guilty reading everybody else's posts- we got a Congo Jr. last year and a Soundcraft MH3 the year before. Our facility was built in 1995 and now brings in enough from rentals to be self-sufficient.


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## philhaney (Oct 16, 2008)

Our venue has a stage building, but the audience sits outdoors in an amphitheatre. Our Director calls the show from the sound/narration booth in the back of the audience (we're not setup like a "standard theatre).


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## ogivol (Nov 2, 2008)

We usually go with the sit on the side and see "everything" approach to stage managing. Although now with the expansive set we've concocted for Beauty and the Beast this year, we had to rig up an upper level on the side. Ironically is it right above where the stage manager sat for previous shows.


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## WestlakeTech (Nov 11, 2008)

Our larger theater... we used to call cues from the stage-right wing. The only way we could see the entire stage was thanks to an old TV and a security camera at BOH and the color was horrible on the TV's screen. After our rennovations are done, the Light Booth at BOH will be larger with bigger windows, so shows will be called from there.

Black Box Theater (AKA "Home"), always from the BOH booth. Where exactly in the booth is SM's choice.


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## icewolf08 (Nov 17, 2008)

WestlakeTech said:


> Our larger theater... we used to call cues from the stage-right wing. The only way we could see the entire stage was thanks to an old TV and a security camera at BOH and the color was horrible on the TV's screen. After our rennovations are done, the Light Booth at BOH will be larger with bigger windows, so shows will be called from there.
> 
> Black Box Theater (AKA "Home"), always from the BOH booth. Where exactly in the booth is SM's choice.



While I think that most people would put together that your BOH=Back of House, it would be a pretty non-standard and possibly confusing term on account of many might think back of house=backstage. Generally anything on the house side of a proscenium is considered Front of House (FOH). Thus you have things like FOH mix positions for sound, FOH Booth, and FOH Cameras. Also, sometimes people like ushers, concessionaires, box office staff and house manager are referred to as FOH staff.

That's all, just some clarification on terminology.


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## WestlakeTech (Nov 17, 2008)

it's appreciated. Thank you.


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## jakeshurey22 (Nov 18, 2008)

We call ours from backstage. It makes life so much easier that way, because the sm is always in contact with the crew verbally instead of though coms.


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## WestlakeTech (Nov 18, 2008)

Personally, I prefer to be able to see the entire stage from the booth. The TV monitors we have backstage just don't cut it and our crew is spread all over the place so most of them will communicate to the SM through Com anyway.

But that's when I just say "To each his own." I find myself using that phrase a lot in the past year or so.


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## Shillyer (Jan 12, 2009)

When we have our pit open our SM usually sits on a platform we built into the stairs in the from of the pit. This way they can look up at the stage and to the conductor.

When our pit is open they usually just take a spot in one of the wings.


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## Mutton (Jan 18, 2009)

For what its worth, the new RENT farewell tour calls from backstage right.

Shout-out to Greg, Tim and the rest of the crew for the deck tour post-show.


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## LightingPenguin (Jan 19, 2009)

Short and simple, the booth.

We have ASM's backstage if needed


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## rochem (Jan 20, 2009)

I coulda sworn I had posted here before now.... Maybe it was lost in the Great Server Dump of '08. Ah well, here goes.

I'm in high school, and whenever I SM (whether for school, community theatre, etc.) I always like to call from off SL. I have tried calling from out front (like in tech rehearsals and such) and it just doesn't work for me. If something were to happen backstage (and many somethings have happened backstage), I would need to be right there immediately. Lighting is generally pretty consistent, and as long as I call the cues right, things will generally go like they're supposed to. Same with sound, except that they are left to their own devices when dealing with wireless mics and such. But, at least in my experiences, there's always something that can go wrong backstage. Maybe a caster broke off a wagon, and now there's no way to wheel it out like planned. If I'm backstage, I can quickly be informed of the situation, then advise lighting on what we're going to do to cover the problematic scene change. If I was up in the booth, I would have to go through a complex series of communications over the headset before finally having an idea what's wrong and what needs to be changed. I find that my view of the stage is generally good enough even when I don't have the luxury of a camera.


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## Landon2006 (Feb 9, 2009)

It depends... 2 of our Theaters have booths, and one doesn't. When I have the option, the booth.


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## smtalia (Feb 12, 2009)

At my school we have a director's panel on SL and that is usually where our SM calls a show from. From the balcony, I dont understand how you *could* call a show. The entire crew knows all the cues even if they do not need to know certain ones, but even with everyone knowing what is going on you can still miss something and th one cllling maybe the only one who can take care of it.


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## kiwitechgirl (Feb 12, 2009)

I always call from backstage. I have a monitor (and conductor-cam on a musical) and have long adjusted to using that. Our shows usually just have the SM and the operator (plus an ASM and sound operator on musicals, which is what we're doing at the moment), so it's handy for the SM to be at deck level so that if stuff goes wrong, they can get there to sort it out quickly; this was proved the other night when a floor track broke, meaning that furniture had to be pushed on manually rather than hooked onto the track and moved on from the wing (I have cast members helping with scene changes). We were able to easily sort out three of the four scene changes before the end of the show, but the fourth one was tricky as there was no-one available to shift a bench offstage - so I had to leave my operator to it and do the scene change myself. If I'd been in the booth, there is no way I would have been able to re-jig the scene changes or do one myself.


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## icewolf08 (Feb 12, 2009)

smtalia said:


> At my school we have a director's panel on SL and that is usually where our SM calls a show from. From the balcony, I dont understand how you *could* call a show. The entire crew knows all the cues even if they do not need to know certain ones, but even with everyone knowing what is going on you can still miss something and th one cllling maybe the only one who can take care of it.




kiwitechgirl said:


> If I'd been in the booth, there is no way I would have been able to re-jig the scene changes or do one myself.



Now, I am not saying that calling a show from backstage is wrong, however, it is not the SMs job to be pushing scenery around. This is why you have ASMs and crewtons. Sure, the SM may be the only one with the answer to some problems, but there is a chain of command for a reason. If you have a good staff then 80% if not more of the issues that come up backstage during a performance should be able to be handled by the ASM(s). Yes, the SM needs to know that the track broke, but s/he should not have to be bothered with how to fix it or get the scenery on stage. There are many elements that still need coordinating, like lighting, sound, etc, and if the SM is distracted by issues backstage then everything falls apart. If you can't communicate to your crew how to get things done or fix a problem without getting up from calling the show then how do you keep the show running in the first place?

Keep in mind that I come from a background of working with AEA SMs, in school and community theatres it can be very different based on how you are staffed.


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## greenie (Feb 13, 2009)

Personally, I call shows from the booth. We have our sound board in the back of the house, light board operator in the booth, two spots on platforms in the back corners of the house, camera people on spot platforms and in the booth, and ASMs on both stage right and stage left. SM, ASMs, someone from sound, both spot people, and the light board operator are all on headset to communicate cues and problems. Being backstage would just be too hectic (our wings are pretty small) and I like having a full view of the stage.


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## kiwitechgirl (Feb 14, 2009)

icewolf08 said:


> Now, I am not saying that calling a show from backstage is wrong, however, it is not the SMs job to be pushing scenery around. This is why you have ASMs and crewtons. Sure, the SM may be the only one with the answer to some problems, but there is a chain of command for a reason. If you have a good staff then 80% if not more of the issues that come up backstage during a performance should be able to be handled by the ASM(s). Yes, the SM needs to know that the track broke, but s/he should not have to be bothered with how to fix it or get the scenery on stage. There are many elements that still need coordinating, like lighting, sound, etc, and if the SM is distracted by issues backstage then everything falls apart. If you can't communicate to your crew how to get things done or fix a problem without getting up from calling the show then how do you keep the show running in the first place?



I don't have a crew. Ever. And I should note that we are a fully professional producing company. On our annual musicals I've had one ASM for the past two years, but never prior to that (and never on anything except the musical); we're a small house (291 seats) with no flying and the way we work is very different to most other theatres! We did _The Producers_ last summer and I rather suspect it's the first time it's ever been done with a crew of four - SM, ASM, LX op and sound op. 90% of our sets are static, or only have changes at interval, and on the musical when we do have moving sets, the set changes are done by the ASM and actors - it's the way we've always worked, actors know that when they're signing up for the musical that they'll be signing up to do some set changing and mostly it works very well for us. It's choreographed by the director so it's almost a featured part of the show. I do agree that in more usual circumstances that the SM shouldn't be having to push scenery around, or sort out how the furniture is going to get off the stage, but in my situation that is part of my job. And as to how we keep the show running, I have a brilliant operator who is quite capable of taking cues for himself if I have to duck off comms to sort something out - I trust him implicitly. My situation is unusual, but it's the way we work, and I've been working this way long enough to be able to sort out issues and keep everything else together at the same time - there have been many occasions where I have been swapping out someone's radio mic while calling a complex cue sequence. Ideal? No. But it's the way it is, I can't change it, I like the challenges it brings and so I stay in my job.


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## museav (Feb 16, 2009)

icewolf08 said:


> Now, I am not saying that calling a show from backstage is wrong, however, it is not the SMs job to be pushing scenery around. This is why you have ASMs and crewtons. Sure, the SM may be the only one with the answer to some problems, but there is a chain of command for a reason. If you have a good staff then 80% if not more of the issues that come up backstage during a performance should be able to be handled by the ASM(s). Yes, the SM needs to know that the track broke, but s/he should not have to be bothered with how to fix it or get the scenery on stage. There are many elements that still need coordinating, like lighting, sound, etc, and if the SM is distracted by issues backstage then everything falls apart. If you can't communicate to your crew how to get things done or fix a problem without getting up from calling the show then how do you keep the show running in the first place?


I do agree that it is very much situation dependent. However, given that many here are in high school or college theatre programs which is more important as the SM, keeping the show running or safety with a crew that is just learning their craft? Who is more likely to assist in their learning properly, the SM or the ASM? Where are serious problems or injuries most likely to occur during a show? Probably not with the light and sound ops. I think that these kinds of questions regarding the responsibilities of the SM beyond calling the show have to be considered. I also believe that a SM should learn to deal with all the distractions, otherwise what happens when they have no ASM and have to deal with them?

I also find the whole booth issue interesting. As an acoustician and audio system designer I am always pushing to have the mix position located out in the audience or at least where they can hear what the audience hears and are not isolated from the them. I think that lighting ops also benefit from having an audience perspective. This is often an uphill battle as Architects and administration are usually just looking for excuses to stick the ops somewhere out of the way. However, calling a show from out in the audience is a terrible situation for a SM and the problem is that as soon as someone mentions wanting a booth that is somewhat acoustically isolated for the SM then you can just about bet that the sound and lighting positions just ended up there as well. If you have a booth, then that's one thing, but when looking at new facilities or renovations, please consider how this could potentially affect the sound and lighting positions.


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## icewolf08 (Feb 16, 2009)

museav said:


> I also find the whole booth issue interesting. As an acoustician and audio system designer I am always pushing to have the mix position located out in the audience or at least where they can hear what the audience hears and are not isolated from the them. I think that lighting ops also benefit from having an audience perspective. This is often an uphill battle as Architects and administration are usually just looking for excuses to stick the ops somewhere out of the way. However, calling a show from out in the audience is a terrible situation for a SM and the problem is that as soon as someone mentions wanting a booth that is somewhat acoustically isolated for the SM then you can just about bet that the sound and lighting positions just ended up there as well. If you have a booth, then that's one thing, but when looking at new facilities or renovations, please consider how this could potentially affect the sound and lighting positions.



I totally agree that the FOH mix position needs to be somewhere that gives a good average of what the audience hears (as not every seat in the house will hear everything the same). Putting a mix position in an acoustically isolated booth or even a booth with a window that opens can be problematic.

However, as a lighting programmer/operator, I would rather be in the booth or at least in a place where I am looking at a downward angle at the stage. This is especially true if I programming moving lights. If I can't see the deck it makes it harder to program, and often if you were to be on the orchestra level of a theatre you can't really see the deck. (also why I try to get 1st balcony or Loge level tix when I go to shows).


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## ishboo (Feb 22, 2009)

museav said:


> I also find the whole booth issue interesting. As an acoustician and audio system designer I am always pushing to have the mix position located out in the audience or at least where they can hear what the audience hears and are not isolated from the them. I think that lighting ops also benefit from having an audience perspective. This is often an uphill battle as Architects and administration are usually just looking for excuses to stick the ops somewhere out of the way. However, calling a show from out in the audience is a terrible situation for a SM and the problem is that as soon as someone mentions wanting a booth that is somewhat acoustically isolated for the SM then you can just about bet that the sound and lighting positions just ended up there as well. If you have a booth, then that's one thing, but when looking at new facilities or renovations, please consider how this could potentially affect the sound and lighting positions.



We got lucky with our new theatre sound position-wise. We have our main booth at the top of our balcony which houses all the sound and video gear and usually the light board. Then in the middle of the orchestra level there are 6 seats that you can take out and pull up a metal panel and be able to completely run sound and/or lights from this position. This is nice because for musicals or sound heavy events you can mix from one of the best places possible, or for less sound heavy events you don't have the distraction of sound on the floor. I've seen a handful of theatre's that have this setup and it really helps out a lot.

Having the SM call from the middle of the house just sounds like a recipe for disaster.


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## express (Feb 26, 2009)

We call our shows in the booth between the light and sound boards.


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## raythespy (Mar 4, 2009)

Well we have a tech booth where we run the sound and lights from. The SM usually sits in the middle and calls the cues from there. We move the booth around depending on where are set is located (we move it around the theater a lot) and is almost always directly facing the stage, so it's an awesome vantage point for the SM. The booth itself is not very intricate either. We put it together in about an hour an a half or so (not including painting). Works really well.


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## SoundTom (Aug 9, 2010)

icewolf08 said:


> I totally agree that the FOH mix position needs to be somewhere that gives a good average of what the audience hears (as not every seat in the house will hear everything the same). Putting a mix position in an acoustically isolated booth or even a booth with a window that opens can be problematic.



I agree. I've had to run sound for three years of my High School's musicals through a large, open booth window, and each year I asked to transfer to the FOH position in the middle of the house. I've gotten used to in now, all I have to do is lean over my board and stick my head out the open window into the house for a good mix.

On SMs: My High School alway left the decision of position up to the SM (who was different for each musical, mind you). The SM would make sure that each person knew what happens when, where, and how, as well as calls the cues, but the crew was to fix the problems. One thing I loved about the way our school ran the show was that; after the first few rehearsals, the TD would not be on headset. The TD and the Director would take notes, but that was it. The show was ours, run by the students. I mean, for the performances, the TD would not even watch the show, and the director would be in the audience, both on hand in case of emergencies. As sound, I would normally run the sound cues on my own. I was not allowed on headset for anything other then emergencies (ie: the lead's mic just died. "Sound on headset" = "Everyone be quiet and be ready to chase actors down!") Is that normal for High School/College shows, for the students to run it and the adults/teachers to be hands-off towards the performances?
Sorry for the tangent.
I think that the booth is the best place for our SMs, because they are normally not tech trained and only call the cues. I think that it is entirely up to the existing situation. The SM should be where they are most comfortable and effective. Then again, we usually have large backstage crews, as well as a Crew Chief and an ASM, for our musicals, so the SM is not really needed backstage to fix something. Our SMs are usually in the booth, next to the sound and light boards. I think they just like it better.

That's my two cents. The SM position always depends on the situation and the venue.


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## zmb (Aug 10, 2010)

Of two schools I've worked in, one has always had the stage manager in the booth with lighting and sometimes sound depending where we're at. The other school had the SM in the booth until this year when they transferred to DSL with a video feed from the followspot platform.


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## Macbeth (Aug 16, 2010)

when I was in high school We had 3 coms in the booth they were for the Light, Sound and SM. We gave manual ques to the 2 folowspots in the booth as well. 2 ASM's one on SL the other on SR (SR was also the head of our Fly) both on coms. 1 com set up in both of our dressing rooms. And a com set up in our little theatre (greenroom) which was right next to the dressing rooms. If our Pit was open we had a 3rd ASM on a com in the pit. For any show we had anywhere from 9 to 12 Headsets set up never seemed to have too many problems.


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## LXQuito (Aug 16, 2010)

Generally, I try to call from the booth (I've only very rarely worked in houses that don't have one), but on several memorable occasions with collaborative improvisational theatre pieces, I've called from the wings. Then again, I was the only tech/sm/anything on those shows, and my duties included things like making sure there was a tray of frozen mackerel ready, in addition to cuing the starting points.


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