DSM

[mike5]

I have been given an assignment from college to research 2 DSMs. The problem being I don't know 2 DSMs! If anyone can give me some names of DSMs I can find out about that would be great.

 

thanks.

 

mike

[w/robe]

Mike

 

You do not say in your profile where in the world you are so it is hard to recommend people or theatres to contact.

 

I think you will find it easier to get people to agree to talk to you if you have some link with them whether this is a mutual friend or that they are the DSM for a show you have seen, anything that gets you 'in'.

 

This is also probably not the best week in the year to try to contact people, if you can leave this for another 7 - 10 days you may find people more responsive.

 

 

2ND THOUGHTS

 

It occurs to me having re-read your original post that you may not want to meet them but actually to research them, in which case go for Diana Boddington OBE as one of them.

[mike5]

Thanks for that idea, just a few things wrong with it (sos, missed them earlier!)

 

They have to be a DSM and they have to be alive now.

 

Sorry if missed.

mike

[Just Some Bloke]

Mike

 

You do not say in your profile where in the world you are so it is hard to recommend people or theatres to contact.

 

You see, this is exactly the reason why, in our Terms and Conditions, we ask all members to give a location in their profile. :D

 

Mike, perhaps you could go back to your profile and add a location so you can be fully approved by a moderator. Thanks.

 

Back on topic, it would seem that the easiest way is simply for you to contact your nearest theatre(s) and ask them if they can help. Just the other week I had a student with a similar request who came in and interviewed our Stage Manager (she wanted an SM not a DSM). Many theatres will help wherever they can, and most people have 2 theatres within commuting distance.

 

BTW, you still haven't said if you want to meet these people or not. As w/robe says, researching them may just mean reading up about them. I suspect you do want to meet them, but it would help if you could confirm this.

[mike5]

RIGHT lets makle it clear. I don't need to nearest DSM in a local thatre.

 

I need to research any DSM. therefore I need names of famus ones so I can search for them!

 

hope I have made it clear, if not let me know.

[mumbles]

RIGHT lets makle it clear. I don't need to nearest DSM in a local thatre.

 

I need to research any DSM. therefore I need names of famus ones so I can search for them!

 

hope I have made it clear, if not let me know.

No, it isn't particularly clear. This below is I hope more so.

 

RIGHT lets make it clear. I don't need the(?) nearest DSM in a local theatre.

 

I need to research any DSM. Therefore I need names of famous ones so I can search for them!

 

Hope I have made it clear, if not let me know.

 

 

Or as a complete rewrite.

 

Hello, sorry that I didn't make it clear earlier on, but I am looking to research into famous DSMs, and as such am not looking for someone who is working in a theatre local to me.

 

I hope this has cleared things up, but if not, please feel free to ask for any other information.

 

Thank you for any help you're able to provide

 

Mike.

 

As I'm sure you'll have noticed since August, this is a completely public forum, so your potential future employer may well be reading this, so a quick spell check and a little attention to the sense and grammar will go a long way to improving the impression you give.

 

Also, no one on here is obliged to give you an answer, so it does help to be polite and courteous.

[gareth]

How does one define a 'famous' DSM? What particular attribute bestows 'fame' upon someone who calls a show?! :D

[w/robe]

How does one define a 'famous' DSM? What particular attribute bestows 'fame' upon someone who calls a show?! :D

 

Which was why I picked the only person I have ever met who was publicly recognised for her contribution to theatre. But, as it appears Mike has found, there are no references to even her as a DSM on Google only as a Stage Manager.

 

I know DSM's who have won the SMA (Stage Management Association) awards over the years all of whom were very good but non that I would call famous.

[Just Some Bloke]

RIGHT lets makle it clear. I don't need to nearest DSM in a local thatre.

 

I need to research any DSM. therefore I need names of famus ones so I can search for them!

 

hope I have made it clear, if not let me know.

Sorry to be blunt, Mike, but you're going about this the wrong way.

 

As w/robe says, you are still not being clear. A good way of being clear is to use sentences with proper spelling and grammar, which contain sufficient words to make sense.

 

You say

I need to research any DSM.

... then when we suggest the easiest way to find a DSM you say you don't want that, you want

names of famus ones

Quite apart from Gareth's obvious point of "what makes a DSM famous?" (I assume you meant "famous"), I don't understand how "any DSM" becomes "famous DSMs" (or even "famus DSMs").

 

If you presented your research to me in the way you've written your posts on the Blue Room you'd be looking at a low grade whatever names you found.

 

Trying to be more helpful now, I'd suggest you decide what it is you actually want to find out, decide how best to find that information, then brush up on your skills of asking for help.

 

A post made like mumbles's suggested re-write, but substituting "well-known" for "famous" would have probably got you several names by now.

[w/robe]

A post made like mumbles's suggested re-write, but substituting "well-known" for "famous" would have probably got you several names by now.

 

One slight problem with 'well-known' over 'famous'.

 

I've worked with some well known-ish, brilliant DSMs.

 

DSMs who have worked on everything from huge musicals to small puppet show.

Who write rehearsal notes that you don't need to ignore.

Who call in to Wardrobe to let you know of problems on the horizon.

Who run their casts with a heart of gold and a will of iron.

Who can reduce a technical rehearsal to silence with one look.

Who's voice on the Tannoy reassures you that all is well (what ever their accent).

Who do not only their own job but everyone else's as well.

Who's setting lists and dressing plots are so frighteningly accurate you would swear they are the result of witchcraft.

Who, when you ask them for some obscure information, reach in to their file and produce a typed sheet.

Who, if they #### up, hold their hand up to it while everyone else covers for them as they have bought so much good will in the past no one will see them hung out to dry.

Who have won SMA awards for their work.

 

I could go on. The only problem is that I would not name any of them on the BR as Mike, or anyone else, could contact them and say 'Mark says I should talk to you about...'

 

If my friends did that to me I would not be happy. I, therefore, would not do it to them.

 

Interestingly this is the second post in this thread in which I have mentioned the SMA and their awards, I wonder, Dr. Watson, if this could be a clue as to where it may be worth looking to find good DSMs? - Mods could we have a Smiley in a deerstalker hat please.

 

 

Edited for clarity - I would just like to make it clear that I wrote #### up, and not #### up.

[paulears]

Mikes assignment to research two DSMs seems to have been designed without any thought about how hard it is. ASM and DSM work tend to be just a chapter in a book. Most backstage people I know don't want in any way to be famous - and to be honest, why should they be famous?

 

 

If it was me - why not go to the library and get a couple of books written by stage managerment people, and using their anecdotal comments in the books, along with pics and other 'real' evidence, a biog and show list can be drawn up. I can't think of any other way to do this - the net is not going to work on this one. I can come up with a book list if really needed, but suspect this is a last minute project given a while ago, that has only just been started and panic is setting in.

 

It's quite clear the OP doesn't know what a DSM does, or he'd have realised the problem a bit earlier.

[mike5]

Thanks, if you can get a list that would be great.

 

No, they gave it the day we broke up from col and due 2nd week in, but have not got a clue where to start. Like most people have said there is no such thing as a famous DSM. I am just looking for a DSM that I can find out about!

 

Thanks very much to everyone who has given advise but I think books are the best way to go at the moment!

[paulears]

You might find some of these useful:

Bond, D. Stage Management: The Gentle Art. (A & C Black, 1991)

 

Pallin, G and Ayckbourn, A. Stage Management. The Essential Handbook. (Nick Hern Books, 1999)

 

Palmer, S. Essential Guide to Stage Management, Lighting and Sound. (Hodder & Stoughton, 2000)

 

Stage Management Association SMA

[w/robe]

Thanks very much to everyone who has given advise but I think books are the best way to go at the moment!

 

I can not think of any books by DSM specialists, they tend to be written by Stage or Production Managers.

 

I still think, as per my original post, you would be better off meeting some one and talking to them then you could get information about their training, career and opinions all for the price of a pint.

[paulears]

Most active DSMs are too busy to even consider writing a book, but when they move on to Stage, Production and Company Management they are well placed to comment - Daniel Bond's book, in particular has plenty of useful info in it.

 

There are plenty of people on here with DSM experience, so maybe the OP could ask a few questions and we'll answer them. I can't quite see that anything in print or electronic media would hit the requirement - If the teacher has instructed people to find famous DSMs, that pretty well shows they don't understand the job either! For my money, the most thankless task for anyone to do by choice. How many other jobs can you not even have time for a pee, and have to spend your breaks calling people on theirs!