Yes, it is just a hypothetical question from the "prof". .
Cool, No prob at all, it's just nice to know ones motivation, if I can borrow a
line from my actor freinds. I'm a huge believer in the Socratic method.
What about, if X (the costume designer) refuses to change the costumes, and the budget doesn't allow for different paint on the the scene. What to do then? This is just my hypothetical question now.
Is the Director ok with this ? Truly all those mentioned Costumer,
Scenic Designer,
Lighting designer, and SM are all working for the same person, the Artistic Director of the show. < Which may not, necessarilly. be the AD of the Theater.>
As such, if the Director is ok with this stuation then case closed. Again this is not an area where an SM has any "authority" per se. While it may come down to the SM mediating a contentious meeting of minds between the concerned parties, it is the SM's job to maintain the Directors artistic
vision once the show is up not dictate that during the rehearsal process.
For instance, Let's say I'm building
escape stairs and I decide to frame them out of plywood instead of 2x12 < or whatever.> if they are within Equity Guidelines for
escape stairs as far as width and
pitch goes but the SM says" I wouldn't do it that way." my answer would be, " that's why you don't work for me." If, however, the SM were to say " I think those are too narrow they need to be at least 3'6" wide..." Then I would say, "You know what? I think you're right I'm going to go look it up then talk to the designer." 'Course that is something I would have caught in the design process but it could happen.
While I agree - I would opine that, as a SM it is your job to maintain the artistic
vision that has been set by others. IE if three weeks into the run an actor makes a decision to change his
blocking - take an entirely different slant on the character you need to ( depending on circumstances ) bring the actor back in
line - or involve the director.
The key point is that once the show opens, one of your jobs is to maintain the artistic vision of the production.
I also believe that a good SM would see the original hypothetical conflict coming and try to find a way to get the issue resolved if it was languishing. This does not mean the SM resolves it - it means that she ( all of the best SM's I have known are women) makes sure that the proper folks are aware of the issue and are addressing it.
....
Good On'Ya John! I agree wholeheartedly