# No Standbys!



## Anonymous067 (Feb 5, 2010)

So...we've got this *ahem* stupid *ahem* talent show coming up. We've got myself on sound (and TDing...and SMing...and...basically running the show...)...and a light guy, a fly girl and a curtain dude.

I'm considering not calling standbys for the show, just because everybody should be paying attention the whole time...and it's just too repetitive. The cues go one after another for the whole "show".

Suggestions?


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## cprted (Feb 5, 2010)

Cues typically follow one another in a numeric fashoin. Standbys are important to confirm your techs are in fact paying attention and they have the right cue standing by in the stack (even more important for the fly op so they know what end of the rail they need to be on ... I've been on the receiving end of that one in particular ... not pretty).


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## Anonymous067 (Feb 5, 2010)

The only thing we're flying is the mid traveler. That's it...


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## kiwitechgirl (Feb 6, 2010)

I'd still call standbys. Presumably if it's a talent show then it'll mostly involve cues between acts, rather than in the middle of a song (with perhaps the exception of the lighting cues). If this is the case then people will mentally drift off during the numbers, and a standby is the best way of getting them back to the task at hand. It might be repetitive but it'll work out best for you in the long run.


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## Pixie (Feb 6, 2010)

It's never good to "assume" they will all be paying attention just b/c they should. That's like saying props will be there, b/c actors "should preset and check them" Which we all know isn't the case.
I'd definitly be calling standbys- everyone will appreciate it and will be kept on their toes


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## mstaylor (Feb 6, 2010)

I always call standbys, even for simple stuff. Last week I did the opening for a monster truck show. The followspots and houselights op were used for about 15 minutes of the show. There were ten or less cues in the whole thing and we did it for three shows, two on the same day. I still gave a standby for each cue.


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## NickVon (Feb 6, 2010)

personaly as person who pushes a go button or cues audio. I want a standby if I:

a) do not have a script
b) have not had a cue in the last 2 minutes
c) have cues clustered together in less then 2 minutes (make sure all scene change light cues, or stacked audio effects) go off and that I end where i should be after the series of cues
d) have a cue that relies on others to be doing other thing at the same time (I want to know they are all paying attention too )

If i have a script, I usually just like a 10 page warning to get me out of what ever book i'm reading or webpage i'm checking out ;-)

on the rare occaisions when i'm just running board

That said i'm mostly used to taking all my cues myself (me being the LD/Sound/TD all the time, and am usually following a script for myself since we don't have a SM calling the show


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## venuetech (Feb 6, 2010)

I have a SM who does not give standbys... swears standby is a "Hollywood" term She gives "Ready" instead.. somehow a "ready" just does not wake me up.


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## Pixie (Feb 6, 2010)

Ugh i hate that. But as long as she is consistant about it.. doesn't switch frm ready to standby, it would serve the same purpose.
My crew love "standby" always repond with "Position(Spot, ASM, Crew, ect) Standing By"


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## MarshallPope (Feb 7, 2010)

My two cents, I always like to have a standby if I haven't done anything in a few minutes, especially if on flyrail so I have time to get wherever I need to be, or if there is a particularly complex sound board cue where I need time to figure out which fingers and toes and elbows need to be on which mute buttons or faders.  Basically, I am fine with no standby if it is a series of things that need to be done and I know that that series is coming up or if I have a script and we have done the same thing in rehearsal fifty gajillion times, or with a group standby. I rarely wait for a standby to get ready, but it is always nice to have a confirmation that, yes, I am ready to do what I am supposed to do and am not on the wrong lineset or about to turn the wrong people's mics on or whatever.


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## Celeste (Feb 7, 2010)

I call an elementary school talent show every year. I know what you mean, but I still call standbys. Really, what's the harm? You have something else to be doing with those seconds? 

Plus, in my experience, it's the dull repetitive show that things tend to go wrong, since nobody cares that much and "it's not hard."


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## Gene (Feb 8, 2010)

I like stand-by's in general and especially for easier shows. As has been already mentioned, I'm more likely to get distracted during a simple show than a complex one. When I'm calling shows I've learned that it's always worth while to make sure that everyone is expecting the same thing and no problems have popped up. A stand-by is a great opportunity to do both.

I like the term 'stand by' rather than 'ready.' 'Stand by' is less likely to come up in other contexts than 'ready' so there would be fewer false alarms.


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## Morpheus (Feb 11, 2010)

i once did a show "Stand-by lights 1 to.... the end of the act"

Still had a standby every night, 6 nights a week.


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## hsaunier (Feb 11, 2010)

So... sounds like if you want this "ahmmmm...errrr...blahhhh" talent show to look and feel like an "ahmmmm...errrr...blahhhh" talent show, then don't call stand-by's.


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## themuzicman (Feb 11, 2010)

Call your Standbys. Most shows I have run as a board op or deck crew have been highly repetitive (seriously, all you do is press GO). That being said, call your standbys, who knows if your crew has decided to fall asleep on you, or stopped paying attention.


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## Anonymous067 (Feb 13, 2010)

Well, we ended up doing a combination of both...

I called all fly standbys and special fx cues.

The regular lights which went in order and the backstage stuff I didn't call standbys for simply because I was literally in constant communication over headset with them. Standbys for open/close GD would have been wasting time, when I could have been taking care of better things...for example..."why isn't my piano mic plugged in?".

I think we kept everybody happen, and since lights and curtains kinda took their own cues, I think it worked out for the most part.

But the bottom line was, standbys are nice, but when stuff is constantly going on, it just got so busy! And after all, it was a talent show.


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## Burgeonite (Apr 10, 2010)

I think that standbys are necessary for those who need them. I know people that are a nervous wreck on a board or on the rail, so I would call standbys for them. I call standbys for difficult bits of the show. Just to make sure everyone is ready. However I personally find standbys for lights annoying and just increases headset chatter for the poor sound girl. I hate even being on headset for sound if I can help it just because I have a hard time hearing right. If you have a "green" set of techies I say call cues.


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## flr666 (Apr 10, 2010)

Blah067 said:


> I'm considering not calling standbys for the show, just because everybody should be paying attention the whole time...and it's just too repetitive. The cues go one after another for the whole "show".
> 
> Suggestions?



A good rule of thumb when calling a show is... if you want it to happen, give a 'standby'.


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## flr666 (Apr 10, 2010)

Burgeonite said:


> If you have a "green" set of techies I say call cues.



This is a pretty silly statement. Try running an Opera without calling cues. Calling Standbys is standard practice in the industry and every budding SM needs to know this and get in the habit of doing it all the time and every time. It is part of their job to call the show.

Warnings on the other hand can often be dispensed with.


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## flr666 (Apr 10, 2010)

themuzicman said:


> Call your Standbys. Most shows I have run as a board op or deck crew have been highly repetitive (seriously, all you do is press GO). That being said, call your standbys, who knows if your crew has decided to fall asleep on you, or stopped paying attention.



Or... you end up becoming a professional SM and go on tour and are not in the habit of calling standbys.... THAT is a recipe for disaster aka "amateur hour".


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## NickVon (Apr 10, 2010)

NickVon said:


> personaly as person who pushes a go button or cues audio. I want a standby if I:
> 
> a) do not have a script
> b) have not had a cue in the last 2 minutes
> ...



This for me as well 

I must really agree with myself since i quoted myself.. just realized that.  whoops


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## shiben (Apr 19, 2010)

Always give standbys, if you want the cue to run when its supposed to. If Im running the board, I could even be paying attention, but let me tell you that my hand is NOT going to hovering over the Go button the entire few hours of the show... forget the standby and im half a second off, which when cuing to music looks like crap. And seriously, the show I just designed has 100 odd cues in 70 minutes of run time, which averages out to a cue every 42 seconds. Its actually more than that, because there are 2 scenes that are about 5 min long without any cues in them... so there is pretty much no "down" time on the show except for those two scenes. Standbys still get called for every cue tho... Also, it helps ensure that if you have say 4 cues that only change intensities of one area, then down it, bring up another, then even out the stage, the cue is right. Has happened to me before, just always do it. 


> But the bottom line was, standbys are nice, but when stuff is constantly going on, it just got so busy! And after all, it was a talent show.



2 issues with this statement:

1: stuff is constantly going on for any show, standbys help cut through that clutter. Thats exactly what they are for, if you have 30 min of orchestra, then give a minute warning as well as a standby.

2: It was a talent show. Apparently this means that you dont need to worry about profesionalism? Sorry dude, but you gotta take a talent show as seriously as you do your lighting design for the big musical or rock show, and those should be the same level of seriousness as an Orchestra in the space lights up lights down. Otherwise, you get a reputation as inconsistant. Happened to a good friend, and he no longer works for us because of it. Dont want it to happen to you.


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## NHStech (Apr 19, 2010)

...And actors SHOULD stand in the lights, and singers SHOULD know how to hold mics, etc. Bottom line: As stage manager, this is your show from a technical standpoint. Do you want to risk needless screwups because of "woulda,shoulda,couldas," or do you want to take every opportunity to make it the best show it can be, for yourself AND for the performers who are putting in their time and effort?


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## nick2401 (Jun 12, 2010)

Call the stand bys. No the tech shouldn't fall asleep but if they freelance and if they worked till four this morning then their minds might drift. It isn't that their bad techs they are human. Also in a long chunk with no cues your voice might just stop working in mid sentence for one word. Better the standby not be perfect then the Go not comming out. Think of a stand by as a mini vocal warm up.


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## Sparkinium (Jun 13, 2010)

I do tend to agree. Standbys are great, and important. As a technician, I make sure I'm always ready for my next cue even if I'm not told to stand by, but as the SM, you can't know if everyone holds themselves to the same standard. (A particular show a friend of mine worked at college had a slightly narceleptic board op... Calling his cues was an adventure.)

My worst experience with a stage manager, however, was the stage manager who couldn't decide the order in which to put her words. Frequently we'd get a "go lights" instead of "lights go," making a bunch of random things go before she specified what needed to happen.


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## chris325 (Jun 14, 2010)

I must add that getting into the habit of using the word "ready" instead of "standby" is really annoying. Whether you're running cues every 20 seconds or 20 minutes, it's a pain to prepare to press the go button whenever someone mentions that they're really ready to go home, or wondering if the Hot Pocket that went into the microwave a minute ago is ready. Particularly important if the board op is a nervous wreck while running (this was me during my first show, and there were multiple instances where I heard the word "GO" and there would be a blackout in the middle of the scene.)


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## MrsFooter (Jun 15, 2010)

I work for a roadhouse that does a large variety of shows, from plays to rock shows. Sometimes there's an SM from the company calling the show, sometimes the house PSM calls the show, and sometimes no one calls the show and it's all on me. My general rule is if you don't want to give me G-Os, that's fine, but timing is entirely at my discretion. If you want a say in when cues go, that's also fine, but I need properly called cues: a standby, and an "LX (or Lights) Go". I've had a lot of bad SMs call cues, (things like no standby, no warning, and no G-O, just an "Oh, lights!") and my rule is if you can't call cues correctly, I can't be responsible for the timing of the cue.

What I'm trying to say is if you have an opinion about when the cues should be executed, (and as a good SM, you should,) it is your responsibility to set the crew up to succeed by giving them a standby and a G-O.


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