Directors & Cast

[nickb12345]

There is b*gger all you can do about it, if your teacher falls into the second category. Even worse, their authority as 'teacher' means they get to play director/company manager/producer, all rolled into one job.

As for you being in charge - forget it, you won't be.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Got it on one... thats exactly how it is!

 

Thanks for everyones advice and help and it has all sunk in.

 

So far nothing much has happened other than I walked out on a small production being directed by the said member of staff about 2 weeks back... it wasnt even a proper production and as well as being insulted just about every time I spoke to her the show was very poor too!

 

The production of Grease has only just started rehersals so thats running slow. Afaik this specific person is not directing Grease any more so thats a sigh of relief!

 

The person/people directing Grease should be easier to get around so to speak. If I stay involved from the beginning I hope it will be a lot better than before.

 

What I am thinking of doing is running Grease as well as possible and putting on a fantastic show. Then after this I hope she will see that with the proper organisation a big difference can be made.

 

I do accept that no matter how hard I or anyone tries we wont be able to change her :P

 

After this I will not be working on any more productions with the said person, unless something happens!

 

 

Nick

 

(only 6 months left in the place )

[Guest lightnix]

they pull rank and say do it now or your in detention or similar

...something along the lines of "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job, if so you can consider yourself off the crew"

Hmmm... two things which these days would have me turning on my heels and heading straight for the door.

 

Never mind, you know what they say: "Those who can't do, teach". In a couple of short years you'll be out there blazing a trail across the planet, carving yourself a career in the wonderful world of showbusiness, rubbing shoulders with the stars, travelling 1st Class and staying in 5 star hotels on the clients' money :o

 

And where will this teacher be? Still stuck in the same old job, in the same old school (or one just like it), trotting out the same old lessons to the same old kids who aren't remotely interested in a word she says, with no prospect of her situation changing or improving for a long time to come.

 

Might even be worth a risking detention reminding her of that little fact :o

[paulears]

in the same old job, same old school, same old £35,000...............

 

 

I did it for 10 years, till I could stand it no more. I'm now much poorer, but much, much happier.

 

One thing I have learned over the years, is that despite what your job title is and your contract actually says, you rarely have the same responsibilities each job. The books always tell you how it is done, but really more like how it ought to be done. My contract and title for panto season says Stage Manager, but although I've got a DSM and a couple of ASM's, my exact role will have to wait for rehearsals to become clear. I suspect I'll be acting as technical stage manager, as the amount of clever kit being tried out on this one will stretch things - so I might end up on the book if the quantity of technical cues becomes top heavy with complex issues that a more conventional DSM may not be able to deal with.

 

The job really entails making things happen in a way that makes the director and cast happy.

 

The problem in a school situation is very difficult. Making the 'teacher' happy normally consists of making certain costume, lines and makeup are spot on - lighting and 'proper' stage management is given a very low priority, because it's not understood.

 

The best compliment I ever had was lighting a tour of A Midsummer Nights Dream, with full RSC costume, visiting historic sites such as castles, towers, ruins etc. My lighting was (quote) excellent, sympathetic and subtle.

 

What nobody at all worked out was it was also totally ineffective as each show started at 4pm and ended at 6 and the sun didn't go down until 7.30.

 

The Director thought I did a great job. Bite lip, take money.

[ojc123]

It doesn't help you but when I direct a show in School then the SM is No1 for the show from the first rehearsal. I'm lucky in that the other teachers respect that or stay out of the way. I had to have a few rows before we got the situation sorted. As far as I'm concerned it's the only way to do it. The SM makes decisions. I take the responsibility for H&S and all the other stuff. I trust both of my SM's totally. They run a tight ship and run it as professionally as possible within a school environment. The whole drama thing is voluntary so the roles of teacher and student are no longer relevant as far as I am concerned.

[nickb12345]

Well thanks for the advice all...

 

And where will this teacher be? Still stuck in the same old job, in the same old school (or one just like it), trotting out the same old lessons to the same old kids who aren't remotely interested in a word she says, with no prospect of her situation changing or improving for a long time to come.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Maybe not soo... it would appear the person in question's job is being advertised on the school website :(

 

Thats what I call a result :P

 

 

Nick

[chris999998]

As for the Tower thing mentioned earlier after warning them, maybe a quarter of an hour afterwards, an accidently dropped cable tie might be a little reminder. You could also print off the info which can be found on these forums about how much force it takes to kill a person, you could stick it onto the bottom of the tower. Just a thought, be sure you don't hurt anyone too much though, that's just not sensible.

Chris.

[Freddie]

Sorry, I beg to differ. From where I see it, just being up the tower when people are in the safety zone is dangerous, working more so, but deliberately dropping things?!?!!?!? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!! What if they don't heed your little reminder, drop a 2k profile on them?!?! (OK, Too far. Rant over)

 

But seriously, think carefully. If you gain a reputation for dropping stuff off, it's quite possible you'll be flagged up for "unsafe working practices", then it's very likely you'll be high up the b :D ll :o king list if something falls accidentally and injures someone. If you drop a cable tie, and someone directly below happens to look up at that exact moment. What happens? Cable tie goes in eye, much b :o ll :o cking ensues.

 

OK, so nether of those examples are very likely to happen in real life, but the point is, they are both possible. I'm not old (In fact AFAIK, I'm the youngest member on here), I'm not experienced, but that does seem a little daft to me.

 

EDIT: SPEELED AND GRAMMAH CHUNKED

[sam.henderson]

Cable tie goes in eye, much b ohmy.gif ll ohmy.gif cking ensues.

and the more obvious and crucial effect possible injury to eye for luck recipient!!

 

I don't think dropping things is the answer either- No ones going to notice if you drop a cable ties unless it catches them in the eye or some thing, a more sensible way around the problem would be to as allready recommended is to show a thread from this forum with information on the dangers or a quote from a book or other publication explaining the dangers!

 

Sam

[V.A.]

I SM and am incharge of tech at my school, my job is basically to organise everything for the show, and on the night others run things while I troubleshoot and generally keep everything under control.

 

I'm quite lucky in that as I've gradually assumed this responsibility from starting off about 5 years ago as an SM (they gave me the top job on my first show, which was quite weird thinking back!), most of the teachers have just accepted it; infact both of the drama teachers actively back me up in everything I do.

 

I have had some problems with teachers (mostly new ones on their first show) though, and it's been difficult - most of them respond to just being politely told, however there are some who just will not be told, by me or other teachers, and it's a real pain (Especially when they take it upon themselves to call actors from the dressing rooms - I once had 100 people suddenly flood into the wings for the curtain call.... 10 minutes into the final act which was 90 minutes long!!!! :) )

 

Edit:- To add to someone else's point, I've found that when I'm really backed into a corner, the "Either you do it my way or I go and there's no show" works every time, however I suppose I am quite lucky because my whole team are really close and would walk out with me (and infact have done on one occasion)