Show Callers

[Rob]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know any London based show callers who do corporate events / conferences?

 

Ta,

 

Rob

[Chris W]

Go to http://www.showcallers.co.uk and you'll find details for most of the best ones I've worked with.

 

Moderation: Link made clickable.

[paulears]

Can anyone tell me how 'showcaller' has suddenly become a popular description of the dsm on the book - up until a few months ago, I'd never come accross the term here in the uk, and thought it just an american term - now I find uk based web sites with showcaller registered. Have I been asleep and a new title arrived and dug in while I was dozing?

[MikeR]

In the corporate world I have never come accross a dsm , I have however over the course of the last decade and a bit come accross many show callers, at least thats what they claimed to be some of them couldnt have managed a call to the local cab firm - but that's a different set of stories.

[gareth]

Can anyone tell me how 'showcaller' has suddenly become a popular description of the dsm on the book - up until a few months ago, I'd never come accross the term here in the uk, and thought it just an american term - now I find uk based web sites with showcaller registered. Have I been asleep and a new title arrived and dug in while I was dozing?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A DSM in the theatre world is more or less equivalent to a showcaller in the corporate world.

[Rob]

Spot on Chris.

 

Anyone got any idea what the going rate is for a show caller?

[mackerr]

Can anyone tell me how 'showcaller' has suddenly become a popular description of the dsm on the book - up until a few months ago, I'd never come accross the term here in the uk, and thought it just an american term - now I find uk based web sites with showcaller registered. Have I been asleep and a new title arrived and dug in while I was dozing?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm an American who, when I am working in Europe, generally works with UK crews. I have always thought it was a UK term because that was the only place I heard it until recently. In the US the term is usually just "stage manager" for corporate events, and in the theater the "production stage manager" is the showcaller. Who knows?

 

Mac

[lucy_ironside]

DSMs call the show in theatre (UK) and Showcallers are indeed their equivalent in the world of events. Ths term has been around for a longish time. You should be able to find showcallers through the Stage Management Association's monthly freelist. They actually run courses in showcalling events for theatre stage management and can probably recommend people. As for rates of pay, event work usually pays considerably more per day than theatre stage management.

[Showcaller]

I am a "SHOWCALLER", and have been doing it for 12 years in the corporate industry. Before that, I spent 11 years working in theatre, where I was mainly a "DSM ON THE BOOK" ................ I think the fact that as a showcaller, you are a one-man-band and not part of a department (and therefore cannot be a deputy anything!), has a lot to do with the alternative term 'showcaller'.

 

As the work entailed in stage management is a far broader kettle of fish to that of a showcaller, who generally exists purely to call the show -more often than not, making it up as you go along! (That 'white-glove' thing took some getting used to, by the way, as after my first corporate gig I changed out of evening wear and into de-rig clobber and took out my rigging gloves and asked "what now" to be answered - " you go home"!), I guess the job title is more suitable.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!

 

I also recommend http://www.showcallers.co.uk if you are looking for a showcaller, but then I would - it's my website! B-)

 

PS:

Having worked in the US on corporate events, I can throw some more spanners into the works!........... showcallers are often known as stage managers although they don't manage the stage, they also have deck managers who are stage managers - so on goes the confusion!

[Tess Townsend]

This is a very old trail but I have just joined the Blue Room so thought I'd add my 10 penny worth.

 

I was a full scale Producer for over 30 years but have now honed in on the bit I love best, showcalling.

 

My Showcalling skills involve taking over the show from the Technical Team and Account Manager who have usually brought the show to site. Sometimes I am asked to do a bit of pre-production to build the show book in advance, particularly on bigger shows.

 

My role on site is to rehearse and then once I have received clearance to begin, I call the show i.e. every single lighting, sound, screen content, script and live to stage cue come from me as standby cues to the rest of the crew, who then activate on my "go."

This keeps the show tight and to time, ensures everyone is ready for the next bit, and everyone is on point. I am the eyes and ears of people who are managing lx boards, sound boards, computers, camera mixing desks etc. I react live to whatever comes at me and also make the decisions in emergencies about what happens next.

It sometimes happens that there is someone in the Stage Manager role. This role is up at the side of the stage, managing the movement of people, furniture, flies and other on stage business - but again to in tight collaboration with the calls of the showcaller.

Its highly intense for the duration of the show. After the show I hand back to the Technical Team and Account Manager and leave site.

I love my job.

[Stutwo]

My word - I've not seen thread necromancy on this scale before. 12 years between posts must be some kind of record??