Lois Backstage Header Image

5 Quick Tips for Actor Resumes

Jul 28th, 2010
by Lois.
2 comments
I debated whether this post belonged on this site, or over at www.glasscitytheatre.com because it is through getting ready for those auditions that I have had these revelations. I decided to post it here because it is my personal opinion, and not that of the company.Stack O' Resumes

In the past two weeks I’ve had about 50 actors from around the lower mainland submit themselves to audition for Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train & I am very excited about those auditions. I can’t wait to see all of their talent in person.  However, there have been a number of things that could be fixed simply to make an even better impression.

1. Send your resume as an accessible document

So don’t use .docx files. I don’t actually use MSWord. I have open office, which is great. But it means that when people send a .docx file I can’t open it. I can open a .doc or a .pdf, but not .docx.  PDF’s are a great way to send resumes because they keep your formatting & don’t have any sort of spell check still going once I open it on this end. Not sure how to save files as PDFs? Check out this e-how article.

2. Correctly spell the names of productions you’ve been a part of

For example, if you played a principal role on Battlestar Galactica, please don’t spell it Gallatica. I’m aware of the show, and your poor spelling makes it look like you aren’t. And you were on it. The same is true for plays, director’s names, & theatre company names.

3. Put your name in your file name

I have downloaded 50 resumes from the e-mail account in the past couple of weeks and only a handful of them are identifiable. Most of them are simply called “Resume” or “theatre resume” or “acting resume.”  I don’t know who they belong to until I open them. Put your name in the file name so I can find yours quickly! When I send out my resume I send out “Lois Dawson Theatre Resume”.  It’s a slightly longer title, but it makes it easier to find once its on their computer.

4. Write a cover letter

It doesn’t have to be long – even a couple of sentences. But make it professional, even if we know each other.

5. Attach your resume

The number of e-mails that have come through missing attachments amazes me. And these are ones where they don’t follow up to attach it. I don’t have the time to chase after people to get my hands on their resumes.  Similarly, don’t put the resume in the body of the email. I need to download it to share it with the other producers & the director, and you are making that much more difficult.

None of these tips are rocket science, I know, but the small things really do make a difference.

Posted in: Glass City, Theatre.
Tagged: · · · ·

One Year of LoisBackstage.com!

Jul 27th, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

Today is the first anniversary of me setting up LoisBackstage.com as it’s own website and not a google hosted blog.  I couldn’t be prouder of what I’ve accomplished in that time.  

Since July 27, 2009, I have:

Stage Managed/ASMed 9 shows.
Worked on the 2010 Olympics.
Seen  94 plays.
Written  78 blog posts.
Started my own theatre company.

I have written on every subject from the severe thunderstorms that cancelled performances last summer to a Live Tweet of Frozen to the question of what is happening theatrically in Portland, OR to  the list that started as a joke to reflecting on why I love theatre to the SMArts conference.

I still love what I do. Who could ask for more?

Posted in: Personal, Theatre.
Tagged: · · ·

The SM Prompt Book: Show Bible Pt. 1

Jul 26th, 2010
by Lois.
2 comments

A view of the tabs on the Prompt Script for "Holy Mo" at Pacific Theatre (March 2009).

Ever since I wrote the post about the SMArts Conference calling a show/prompt book session, my blog has taken a number of hits from people searching “how to call a show” “writing sound & light cues” “prompt book” “calling lighting cues” “how to make a prompt book” and other similar searches.  To me that suggests two things: first of all that this is information people are looking for and second that there is not a lot of information available about it online.  A quick google search shows me that the first things that pop up are the wikipedia articles on stage management & prompt scripts.  Both are informative but short & contain very little information on how to do the job or create the book. In an effort to supplement the information that does exist online I am writing a couple of posts on the subject. This post will be the first of two that take a look at the SM Prompt Book (affectionately referred to as the “show bible”).

Right off the top let me say that this post is NOT an exhaustive reference on the subject of prompt scripts.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time stage managing it is that every stage manager has their own style & that the prompt script tends to reflect that.  Every prompt script I’ve ever looked at while being similar to each other are still different.  Even my own prompt scripts have changed over time as my style changes & I find things that better serve the way I’m working.

What is a prompt book?

A prompt book documents everything about the production and could be used as a blueprint to remount the production if a company desires.  Created by the stage manager over the entire course of the production (from prep to closing), it is the property of the production company. There is no “official” way to create or maintain a prompt script. It is one of the elements of stage managements that shows the most personality, as every stage manager has a slightly different style.  Usually a prompt book is contained in a 3 ring binder and uses tabbed dividers to separate out the different sections.  I am a big fan of the Avery Heavy Duty 3″ D-ring binder with presentation view (I usually buy the black one, but that’s just personal preference. I know other SM’s who choose to buy bright coloured binders just to keep something bright in their lives).  Using a presentation view binder allows you to put a  cut-down copy of the poster in the front to allow for easy show identification later on.  On the spine of the binder I put the show title, director, dates, company, & stage manager.  Others I know list the entire production team.  Once more, it’s just a matter of personal preference.

What is contained in a prompt book?

  1. Contact List
  2. Schedules
  3. Breakdowns (Scene breakdown, actor breakdown, etc)
  4. THE SCRIPT
  5. Blocking
  6. Cues
  7. Copies of all rehearsal reports
  8. Copies of all Light, Sound, Costume & Props paperwork
  9. Minutes from production meetings

    A Sample contact list for Guys & Dolls. All phone numbers & e-mails have been changed to protect privacy.

  10. Anything else that might come in handy

1. Contact List

The contact list for your show should have the name, job/role, phone number(s), & e-mail address of everyone involved. It should be near the front of the book so that when someone is missing and you need to get ahold of them you can quickly get the contact info you need.  It is important to make sure that all the information on the contact sheet is accurate, so be prepared to  make changes to your initial file once you’ve had the first rehearsal.

2. Schedules

You are going to end up with a lot of different schedules for the show. Likely you will have one in a calendar format which will have the rehearsal & show hours on it for the duration of the project, but you will also have daily schedules which you will want to keep on file.  In addition to rehearsal schedules there will be tech schedules, fitting schedules, building schedules, and so on.  The best advice I can give is to keep them all organized so that you can find what you need, when you need it.

3. Breakdowns

For any of you who aren’t sure what a breakdown is, it is a way to capture the script in a page or two and know who is onstage when, who sings & dances in which numbers, how long each scene is, etc. I usually do a scene/actor breakdown for every show that I do, and then additional breakdowns depend on the production. This piece of paperwork means that as you are making a schedule and need to know who to call in to work scene three, rather than having to go through the script, all you need to do is flip to your breakdown and see who is in scene three. Some plays don’t actually have scene breaks written into them, so this scene breakdown will also help you, the director & the cast & crew to all be on the same page – when one person says scene three, you all know which scene is being referred to.

The first page of the SM script for "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" before any blocking or cues were recorded.

4. The Script

What you are looking at here is not just a photocopy of the script, but a copy of the script that is formatted with wide margins for writing notes in. I usually hole punch mine on the right hand side (opposite of what a “normal” hole punch would be) so that I have a blank page next to the script for blocking. If I’m working on a new script, I just play with the formatting in MS Word before I print it, but it is important to make sure that by playing with the formatting you don’t end up with different page numbers than whatever the cast, crew & director have. If I’m working with an established script for which we have bought acting editions from Samuel French or Dramatists, I photocopy the script page so that it is in the middle with white margins all around. It can take some trial & error to get right, but it’s worth it when it comes time to write in cues and take down the blocking.


Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · · · · · · ·

Auditions: Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train

Jul 15th, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

Remember how I founded that new theatre company, Glass City Theatre?

Well, we’re gearing up for the first read of our fringe show AND we’re preparing for auditions for our big first full production happening in March.  You should check out the audition posting on the brand new Glass City website!

Posted in: Glass City, Theatre.
Tagged: · · ·

Job Hunting: Networking

Jul 12th, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

Inspired by Sabrina Evertt’s post “Do You Really Want a Job?“, this post is the second in a series on job hunting in theatre.  The first post talked about resumes, cover letters & references.

Networking tends to be a bit of a bad word in my circle of friends.  I frequently hear friends who can confidently strut their stuff on stage say things like, “I can’t go to that, it will just be a giant schmooze fest and I’m terrible at networking.”  While this is true of my actor friends, I find it to be an even more common refrain of my tech & design friends, for whom putting yourself out there seems to be an even more frightening thing.

In their eyes, networking involves going up to people you don’t know, or don’t know well and introducing yourself.  As Trisha Mead wrote over at 2amtheatre.com:

“I’m terrified of strangers with name badges.

I go to conferences and “networking events” scanning eyeballs and job titles desperate for something, anything, to latch onto that might be an excuse to start a conversation. But, what’s the right tone? The right opening line? How do I know I’ve found a useful connection? How do I know the nametag-attached-to-a-bundle-of-flesh I am currently talking to is not just standing there waiting for the next, more relevant person to talk to them?”

Sometimes these terrible events includes giving out a business card. Most of the time they are painful, even for the people who you think have it all together. Recently I have had friends comment on how “good” I am at networking and I wanted to laugh. I’m still as terrified as they are, I just have a little bit more practice and a new outlook on it all.

According to dictionary.com, networking is “a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest.”

Let me highlight two words for you from that sentence: common interest.

I am never going to go into a room of investment bankers where I don’t know people and and try to network. First of all, I’d have no reason to, but secondly, finding common interests would take substantially more time. In my experience, theatre people LIKE to share their knowledge and information, especially with people who are just starting their careers.

That said, I have still been known (you can ask Brittney about this) to get too scared of a party of people I don’t know and insist on leaving before we go inside. I’m still shy. Still scared.

So for those of you who are as shy & scared of networking as I am, here are three ways to begin building your network without the scary name-tags:

#1 – Volunteer with local theatre groups.

The easiest way to do this is to volunteer as an usher. All of the smaller theatre companies are using volunteer ushers, and some of the larger companies do too. It’s just about knowing who to contact. Do you have a friend in the cast? Ask them who is running front of house. In Vancouver you can check www.vancouverplays.com and they often list companies that are looking for volunteers and provide contact info. Other companies advertise their search for ushers through their facebook pages, blogs or mailing lists.

The great thing about volunteering as an usher is that you have a purpose. So you are meeting the people who work at the theatre, but you don’t have to come up with any sort of introduction or questions. If you have them, then that’s great, but you have a job to do. And people talk about people who do good jobs….not as much as they talk about people who do bad jobs, but trust me, if you do a good job you will be remembered.

#2 – Use Social Media

Once more I’m going to point you to the writing of Trisha Mead over at www.2amtheatre.com. She wrote recently about building relationships through social media, and you need to go RTWT because she says it a lot better than I was going to. She gives some really great advice on how to manage your online presence and although her focus is on relationship building for playwrights it applies across the board.

Through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn I have gotten to know another whole group of theatre professionals both local to Vancouver and internationally. Sure, the first “off line” meeting still has that hint of “Are we really going to hit it off as well as we did online?!” but in my experience it tends to work out well. And heck, I’ve flown across the country to meet up with people I met online. I’ve also gotten job offers because someone I met online gave my name to someone.

The most important thing about each of these online media is that you use them to engage. Ask questions. Answer questions. Dialogue. Sure, there is room for self promotion, but if all you do is self-promote it is likely that you will be blocked out as noise. (If you are considering using Twitter, I highly recommend Dave Charest‘s FREE e-book called “The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter”. He has all the details you could possibly need to know about using Twitter effectively and he’s a hilarious, great, artistic type.)

But when you have the chance, take those online relationships offline.  I’ve been privileged to get to know such folks as Rebecca Coleman, Simon Ogden, Kenji Maeda & Amanda Ballard.  Do these relationships equal jobs? Not directly. However, I know that some of them have recommended me for positions that have come up and that their friendship has pushed me to step out of my comfort zones and try new things.  What more can you ask of friends?

#3 – Go See Theatre

When I defined networking above, I highlighted the phrase “common interest” from it. One of the best ways to ensure common interests with the theatre folks you are about to meet at various events is to actually attend theatre. It always amazes me the number of theatre artists who don’t go and see anything that anyone else is doing.  Last calendar year I saw about 70 shows. In the first six months of 2010 I have seen about 40.  These excursions to the theatre do not always include an opportunity to make a connection there, but they provide the groundwork for future connections.  They give you a chance to say, “Oh yeah, I saw you in XYZ and thought you were great” or “I thought your work in XYZ really took a new direction from ABC”.  It also gives you a chance to meet the others in the audience. I don’t know how many times I have run into an acquaintance at a show and had a fantastic conversation about our shared experience there.

These networking opportunities do not lead directly to jobs. That is not the point. They lead to relationships, and in an industry as small as the theatre industry is, relationships matter.

Posted in: Personal, Theatre.
Tagged: · · · · ·

SMArts: Safety

Jul 7th, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

I know that it has now been a while since the SMArts conference wrapped up in Vancouver, but I thought it was important to still relay this information on Health & Safety for Stage Management. If you have questions about safety practices in theatre, check out www.actsafe.ca for a number of online publications, courses & other resources.

When known safe procedures are ignored and nothing bad happens, the unsafe behaviour is reinforced and becomes the norm.

According to WCB, a supervisor is any person who instructs, directs or controls workers in the performance of their duties. By law, supervisors are responsible for health and safety. What this means is that every time a stage manager or director gives a direction, that person is responsible to ensure that the item can be completed safely. What does that look like? It means there must be reasonable caution and you must demonstrate due diligence. There needs to be a reporting system for health & safety and the supervisor must personally deal with health and safety & then document what has happened.

Supervisor Responsibilities include:

  • Being aware of the hazards of the job
  • Being responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all workers under their direct supervision
  • Being knowledgeable about those regulations applicable to the work being supervised
  • Ensuring proper evaluation and control of hazards

Everyone has the right to refuse unsafe work.

Steps to take:

  • Ensure that the SM is covered by extraordinary risk rider.
  • Make sure the company has policies for working alone
  • Ask all new companies engaging you whether or not you are covered by their worksafe BC insurance
  • If you report a health & safety concern and no one listens, Worksafe BC takes 24 hour calls with no name attached if you need to go to another level.

Here are a handful of stage management best practices for Health & Safety:

  • make sure company is well rested and well looked after
  • preparation
  • organization
  • cleanliness
  • do a safety walk with the PM & Cast

Remember: The show DOES NOT always have to go on.

Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · · ·

The Jessie Awards Recognize Outstanding Stage Management

Jun 9th, 2010
by Lois.
1 comment

A year ago, the lovely Nick Keenan wrote a blog post about the lack of awards for stage management.  He asked:

How in the WORLD can we structure an award for best stage management?

Sure, it’s a tricky award to evaluate – there are enough pitfalls in evaluating design (which still can be flashy, brash and loud enough to draw attention to itself), let alone a role that is quieter if not more central to the functioning of theatrical performance. The very definition of good stage management is when it just works, seamlessly, brilliantly, and without leaving any trace of emotional, procedural or intellectual tint on the designs, direction or performances. That is a no-mistake tough job.

And as he searched for places that do award stage management, I commented that there wasn’t really a place within the current structure of Vancouver’s Jessie Richardson Awards for the recognition of stage management.  Once more, I have been proved wrong.

This year in the large theatre category, the Jury saw fit to use one of their five Significant Artistic Achievement nominations to recognize the “Outstanding Stage Management Team” behind the Arts Club Theatre‘s production of Les Miserables.  Who knows whether the stage managers will be able to beat out the projection design from Beyond Eden, the musical direction of Les Miserables, the visual art of Beyond Eden or the ensemble cast of the Alter Boyz, but I’d say that this is one situation where the nomination itself is a very big deal.  This sets the bar for the possibility of future years’ juries doing the same thing and using the “Significant Artistic Achievement” category to recognize the work of outstanding stage managers & stage management teams.

Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · · ·

Is there an ethical way to teach & make theatre?

Jun 6th, 2010
by Lois.
14 comments

The university where I earned my BA, Trinity Western, has just been approved to start offering a BFA in acting this fall and I’m very excited about this. I think it will do two things for the school: first of all, it will allow them the opportunity to expand their training and secondly it will, in my opinion, expand their credibility as a theatre education option in the Vancouver region. In preparation for this new program, Trinity hosted a two day session with the staff, faculty & a handful of former students to discuss what an ethical BFA program looks like and what sort of best practices will come into play there. I was honoured to be included in the sessions and was so pleased with the conversations that were happening.

In the six weeks since attending the two day session, I’ve had a lot of conversations with others about the direction TWU’s BFA is heading, and the people I’ve talked to are fascinated and encouraged that the conversations about these subjects are happening. Many theatre practicioners with whom I have discussed the goals of the program made comments like, “I wish someone had done something like that when I was a student” or “I am so glad someone is finally taking steps in that direction.”

While we talked about a lot of things those two days, one of the sessions that I found most interesting came out of the idea of power in theatre & teaching. The basic premise was that the system of theatre and of education often causes harm because of the power relationship between director/cast & teacher/student. Of course, this is true in all systems where there is an imbalance of power. The goal is to be professional about it, by which I mean to recognize the harm that you do despite your best efforts because of the system. It requires you to ask, “How can we avoid harm to foster healthy, creative growth?”

In a response to this, we spent time in small groups discussing times when we had observed or experienced harm being done and created from those conversations a list of things that would have prevented those situations from occurring.

Here is the start of the list that we came up with that afternoon:

Do not indulge in self-flagellation

Do not condone bullying because it furthers “art”

Do not push an actor too far to serve your ego or because of our idea of “art”

Do not be offended by an offer of help or if your offer of help is refused

Do not fight dirty or avoid disagreements or let disagreements fester

Do not avoid the responsibility to speak for fear of rocking the boat

Do not sabotage

Do not treat women differently from men

Do not confuse the role & the person

Do not disrespect any person’s role in the process

Do not fail to take responsibility for your choices & actions

Do not quash creativity

Do not triangulate

Do not use emotional manipulation

Do not disempower a colleague

Do not shame another

Do not disrespect your part of the contract

Do not evaluate by unclear criteria

Do not use theatre as an excuse for your inappropriate behaviour or being inconsiderate of others (ie “Well I’m just a theatre person, so…”)

Do not dodge scrutiny

Do not adhere to double standards

Do not disrespect process/judge too soon

Do not teach by humiliation

Do not think you have all the answers/the only answers

Do not ever speak in absolutes

Do not put your own personal artistic fulfillment ahead of the learning opportunities of the students

Do not use teaching as compensation for a failed theatre career

Do not create scapegoats

Do not justify undisciplined artistic behaviour due to wounded pride

Do not demand trust, it must be earned

Do not create a culture of mistrust

Do not contribute to a culture of defensiveness

Do not put anything before the student’s needs

Do not privilege one role above another

Do not contribute to a culture that divides “artists” & “technicians”

Do not step outside your scope of practice

The school is in the process of converting all of these into positive statements which will become a set of guidelines that they will hand out to all students, staff & faculty. I have a draft of this new document sitting in my e-mail inbox and look forward to spending some time reflecting on it and offering some further thoughts.

Can you think of a time where you saw or experienced harm being done in a theatre education or rehearsal situation? Is there a guideline that would have prevented it? Please share your thoughts in the comments. I will happily pass on additions to the university.

Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · · · · · ·

SMArts: The Apprentice Stage Manager

May 30th, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

This is the fourth post in a series of five about my experience at the SMArts conference in Vancouver. I’ve essentially taken my notes and turned them into these posts.  You can find my previous posts on Calling a show, the CTA agreement & the conference in general by clicking on those links.

One of the sessions that I attended was on being an equity apprentice and eventually joining. I have far fewer notes from that session because my focus at the time was asking questions and discussing specific situations. Here are the few notes that I did take that might be valuable to others contemplating whether joining Equity is going to be the right choice for them.

The benefits of joining equity:

  • Health Benefits
    • chiropractor, massage, acupuncture, etc
    • Disability up to one year
    • Death & dismemberment insurance
    • benefits are in effect starting one week before the contract starts until the contract end date.
  • RRSP
    • automatically deducts a percentage from each week’s pay towards retirement.
  • Other benefits include access to all areas of the equity website, magazines, political advocacy, & other equity publications
  • Equity maintains an availability list of stage managers which is provided to theatre’s looking for someone.

Costs of joining Equity

  • Cost of apprentice credits ($62.50 each for stage management, $112.50 each for actors)
  • Dues
  • a percentage from each paycheque
  • You cannot work on any non-Equity contracts

Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · ·

Define Stage Manager

May 23rd, 2010
by Lois.
No comments yet

Photo by Flickr user mars_discovery_district. Used under creative commons license.

Defining what exactly a stage manager is & does can be a difficult thing. I’ve blogged before about exactly what a single “day in the life” can look like, yet every time I attend a family event and someone asks what I do, I usually mumble something about “sitting in a little black room pushing buttons & making lists.”

One of the great things about the SMArts conference was hearing how some of the other stage managers describe their jobs. Here are a few of my favourite definitions that came from the weekend:

  1. The one who bridges the gap between the technical jargon and the artistic jargon and makes the whole thing pretty.
  2. A stage manager is like a conductor: The conductor doesn’t make the music, but no one else does either unless the conductor says it happens.
  3. A stage manager is like an air traffic controller: All those planes are flown by their own pilots, but none of them land or take off without the instruction of the tower.

Posted in: Theatre.
Tagged: · ·

← Earlier Posts