Sus Does Theatre

The name says it all. Stage manager and general theatre technician based in the DMV. Graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory. 

[susbug]

The stack of scenery stored in the rehearsal room: 1st Tech v. 2nd to last show…

This is my big beautiful pile. (at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre)

[susdoestheatre]

You’re looking at all of the Newsies scenery we’ve struck by the end of the show and West Side Story being stored until rehearsal tomorrow morning/load in tomorrow night.

[susbug]

stage managing with your best friend back at your alma mater is pretty silly.

(having fun at summerstock, as you can see)

[susdoestheatre]

It’s opening night! It’s opening night!

Had so much fun on this show. I wasn’t sure if I’d survive a cast of 25, including kids and a sweet lil dog, but it was incredibly fun actually.

Wish I had a pic to share, but I’ve been too busy to even snap one haha!

And guess what..... I actually have TWO days off work next week. I can’t remember when that last happened!

[hilarioushumorfromouterspace]

[cottagecori]

oh man this tea is delicious

[backstageleft-deactivated202009]

Local regional & community theatre is actually pretty accessible, it’s just Broadway fandom that push the narrative that the only way to see theatre is Broadway or Broadway tours. That theatre is only worth seeing if they have Broadway actors in it. 

There’s lots of non-profit theatres all over the country just waiting for you to come see their shows. Theatres like Barter Theatre which started in Appalachia in the 1930s, on the concept of trading excess food farmers couldn’t sell for some entertainment. They still have canned food exchange nights there, not to mention they’re extremely active in their local communities and even send people into local schools to help kids that don’t learn the same way, which has improved test scores in several schools in Virginia and West Virginia. Most non-profit theatre companies have opportunities for student rush tickets, discounts for the elderly, and discount for low income folks. Not to mention theatre companies actively working to make their shows increasingly accessible through special performances for autistic children and deaf patrons. 

What makes these things cost more is: For-profit theatres (y’know, like Broadway), cost of rights for shows, cost of sets, props, costumes, etc, a decent payroll for their employees (admin, actors, and technicians), and a lack of donors/ support for the arts in certain areas. 

The overall goal of most theatres is to be accessible. 

[susdoestheatre]

oooooohhhh boy. next time i move to a new apartment, please remind me not to do that during tech week! haha, so much cleaning to do at the old place. so little time. so much cleaning to do in my book. so little time.

[stagefoot]

Oh dear god!!! 😱 Hope you got through it ok and got some rest (in your ✨new✨ apartment) after!

[susdoestheatre]

I survived! The show is beautiful and we finished cleaning the old house yesterday. I have a lot of unpacking to do, but thankfully I have Tuesday and Wednesday off work! Everything works out.

[perpetuallight]

Casterland is a magical place.

[sweeneyandhamiltontrash]

I sure as heck HOPE they are considering I’m the stage manager

[heck-yeck-deck-tech]

A big part of stage management is just nEVER PEEING!

frustrated ASM at the end of intermission (via heck-yeck-deck-tech)

omg hahaha my casts/teams always ask me if i want starbucks before a show and I always say “no it’s past my liquid consumption period. if i drink a coffee now, i’ll be doing the potty dance by the middle of Act 1 lol”

[respectyourtech]

If the stage manager whispers into the headset is it called aSMr?

[unexpectedtexture]

Help! Boss asked me what I need for scenic painting and I can be expensive I need ideas!

Are you starting from nothing? How complex is the set design? Do you like color mixing or prefer to just apply paint straight outta the bucket? Lots of things to take into consideration! 

I’ll make a list here of purchasable things that make my painting life easier. And I suppose it doubles as a wishlist. 

-Quality 5 gallon of white basing paint: You really get what you pay for here. Don’t be me and be tempted by $30-40 Speedwall, Glidden or Lucite 5gals. You don’t need Behr Premium or whatever, but a good mid-grade mixing white will really make your paints stretch further.

-Rosco Off-Broadway Scenic paints: Mmmmm. The GOOD STUFF. Mix every color you want under the sun and trust that it’ll play nice. Start with the Siennas and Umbers and an Ultramarine. 

-Rosco Clear Acrylic Flat: Mix into paint for glazes or use straight as a sealer. 

-Decent Brushes: You don’t have to go shell out for handmade Italian unicorn-tail hair scenic fitches or anything, but getting a set of nice Purdy brand brushes  from Ye Olde Home Depot will brighten up the place. Get a couple 1″ sash brushes for doing thin lines, they’re a real treat. Hide them from everyone. 

-6″ to 8″ Block Brush: They’re usually labeled for Staining, but scenic artists rarely use anything for their intended purpose. These big boys are great for scumbling, starch application, washes and anything else that needs a lot of one thing fast. Many can be screwed onto a roller extension.

-Sturdy round Stencil brush: Will make your stenciling faster, cleaner and all around happier.

-Good Roller Covers: Just Treat Yo Self. Buy the super fuzzy white ones. Pet them like bunnies. 

-Roller Tornado: When you’ve broken in your fuzzy bunny rollers, don’t chuck ‘em. Clean them with the roller spinner!

-Heat Gun: For making samples dry faster (and for cold days)

Aaaaaaaaand I could go on forever, but that’s a good, potentially hundreds of spending dollars start.

[crowhuff]

I haven’t gotten five gallons in a loooong time I forgot that was an option 😂. Oh Rosco paint ♥️. Fuzzy bunny rollers PERFECT for sure added to list. We have a few block brushes but not that large😀. All I could think of was like more Hudson’s and sprayers, sponges, and more bamboo sticks when we already have enough😅 THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[unexpectedtexture]

OH! OH!

I FORGOT SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT!

Get a GLORIA sprayer, if you don’t have one already. TRUST ME!!!! Rose Brand’s got ‘em and they’re only a little more pricy than your standard yellow P-50.

[scoutfinches]

YOOOOOO I FUCKING LOOOOOVE GLORIA SPRAYERS. throw those yellow P-50’s in the FUCKING GARBAGE and buy some Glorias

[scoutfinches]

here are my completely unsolicited additions: 

- http://spinoutusa.com/ this is a roller cleaner. it’s fuckin great. it uses a lot of water but so does cleaning rollers by hand, and this works better.

- sponge roller covers. soooo much faster than dabbing around with a sponge in your hand.

- foam roller covers, the kind you can cut through with a blade and make patterns with. SUPER useful for foliage, brick, tile, or pretty much any pattern smaller than 9″ that you need to repeat over and over. 

- if you know you’re going to be doing a lot of fussy patterns with straight lines, one of my friends just introduced me to this FUCKING AMAZING idea: a pre-cut foam roller cover.

just think of the possibilities. pluck out every other section and you get straight, even stripes in a snap. cut a few perpendicular lines and pluck out squares to get an easy checkerboard. it’s GENIUS. friend said she found it at Home Depot or Lowe’s. 

- with all these roller covers you should also get a fiberglass extension pole, like the ones that come with mops. when you weigh down your roller with a heavy wooden pole, you’re more likely to make clumsy marks, or press down too hard and squoosh your paint out of your roller. a lightweight pole makes a huge difference. just don’t try to use the fiberglass pole when rolling a primer coat or something - they don’t hold up to pressure well. save them for those lighthanded applications.

-cafeteria trays, because trying to evenly load a patterned roller in a well-style roller tray is a fucking nightmare. better to spread a thin amount of paint out evenly on a cafeteria tray. 

- tape tape tape all the tape so much tape there’s never enough tape. blue tape, masking tape, clear packing tape, a roll of gaff tape if you can swing it. get 1″ and 2″ in blue and masking. if you think you’re going to be doing any pounce patterns, get 1/4″ lime green masking tape to cover up fuckups. 

- in that vein: brown craft paper and pounce wheels, if you don’t already have them but think you could use them. drawing on paper and turning it into a pounce pattern is a lot cleaner than repeatedly drawing & erasing on your painting surface.

- if you’re doing a lot of drawing: charcoal in multiple sizes, charcoal pencils, rubber erasers, simple drafting tools (triangles, compasses, etc), pencils, red & black pens, many colors of sharpie, scissors, snap lines, bendy sticks (lengths of flexible rubber/plastic molding works great for making big, smooth curves), french curves

I could go on f o r e v e r but I’ll stop bc this is really long and I’m getting preachy I’m SORRY I hope this helped

[susdoestheatre]

alright smblr,

What’s your fav (unconventional or uncommon?) office supplies/accessories for stage management?

mine are the plastic post-tabs (LOVE for dividing up scenes or sections in my book. they’re so durable and look clean) and multicolored FriXion erasable pens (love to color code cues/notes and it leaves NO STREAKS). If I had an industrial hole punch, that’d def be my fav lol.

What are yours? Looking for new wants to be clean and organized! And... GO!

[susdoestheatre]

@kyle-dill and I are always on a quest to create the perfect rehearsal report. Here’s what we created for our upcoming summerstock gig at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre. 

Kyle will be the PSM and will stage manage “Newsies” and “Mamma Mia.” I’m the SM for “West Side Story” and ASM 1 for the other two shows. We, of course, are going to keep our paperwork universal for the entire summer season. 

So excited for this season! But, first, I’ll have to finish tech for and open “Fly By Night” and then it’s off to western MD to do “Gypsy” for five weeks!

[susdoestheatre]

oooooohhhh boy. next time i move to a new apartment, please remind me not to do that during tech week! haha, so much cleaning to do at the old place. so little time. so much cleaning to do in my book. so little time.

[susdoestheatre]

Question for SMblr hivemind....

So during tech, I’ve never included the half hour in my “break countdown.” So we always take a break at 80 or 55 min after GO for tech work....

Example:

Half hour call: 6

Begin tech: 6:30

Break at: 7:50

Is that wrong? Should half hour be included?

[susdoestheatre]

Do y’all ever just finish rehearsal but then like totally zone out for like 30 min to let your brain catch up before you finish the rehearsal report? Because I do. This empty theatre is my purgatory. P.S. the snow can’t hold us down. This show is so fun.

[susbug]

It’s opening night! It’s opening night! Hello from backstage! Come see “The Farnsworth Invention” at 1st Stage in Tysons! (at 1st Stage)