DSM duties and responsibilities
During the rehearsal period;
- Making sure the actors are present at the start of the day.
- Checking where any missed actors are, and finding someone to cover them (i.e. their understudy if they have one or another actor) if there is a run through.
- At the beginning of the day before the directors are in you would get one or two of the actors to do a physical and vocal warm up and end with a focus.
- check if and when the directors are in and discuss with them what scenes, workshops will be worked that day if a schedule is not in place.
- DSM’s are also responsible for helping establish a show's rehearsal schedule and ensuring that rehearsals run on time.
- During the rehearsal you would be on book to promp the actors, make any notes of script changes, know where all the actors are at any time, call break times, make rehearsal notes for the technical team, i.e any rehearsal props, sound or lighting equiptment, and be the middle man between the tech crew and the directors.
- At the later sate of reheasal, rearing into tech week, the DSM’s rerponsibilies are the same as the rehearsal period but now you would copy down the blocking of the scenes and you would also mark all cues for what you needs to be cued in the show which can be lighting, sound, band, set change, other media and anything like pyrotechnics, gun shots, and props coming from the wings/ side of stage and writing them down the the promp book.
- Also you would work with the directors on which props they would like and discuss with the stage manager which how we would achieve them (i.e asm’s making them, buying them, or sourceing them elsewear).
- Making sure the actors are present at the start of the day.
- Checking where any missed actors are, and inform the diectors to find them an understudy
- a DSM wuld call the actors for theire, physical, voal and focus warm up and then any sound checks and rigg checks would take place.
- Before the half the DSM would check all props are organised and preset and that theyre are no problems with lighting, sound, band or the asms.
- The DSM would then call the half hour (35 minutes before the show), which is usually when the house would be opened by the house manager.
- They would then proceed to call the quarter (20 minutes before show), the 5 minutes (10 minutes before show), and beginners (5 minutes before show)
- All these calls are subject to change depending on whether the actors are around whilst the audience come in.
- During that time all actors would have had to get changed into costume, done theyre stage makeup and all operaters are in position to go.
- Once the DSM has clearance from the stage manager or the house manager they would then call the show from theyre prompt corner or control room. From there they would call any cues from theyre prompt copy giving operaters or backstage technicians a ‘standby’ and a ‘go’
- They would then call the interval, and the beginners for act two.
- All of the timing and problems during the show would be written down on a show report for the rest of the tech team and the directors.