High school stage managers? a quick question....

[Mercedes]

Danglers are one thing, but studs or sleeper rings really don't need taping. I just don't wear dangly earrings to work - simplest solution!

Same Here. I wear studs all the time to shows, and some sleepers. I've never had an issue. I don't even really have an issue with plugs, as long as said plugs are small, and are the black ones. I've had to tell a tech to tape over his once because they were over 1.5" in diameter, so that was a possible hazard.

 

[CSCTech]

Our stage crew is usually only a max of 4 people, plus 2 board operators and a followspot operator. It is not that strict, but we like to make sure the crew is either wearing a plain black shirt or the t-shirt of the show. (The crew shirts are usually black that say Crew and have the logo for the show). As for shoes, I have never thought of that. But we have little to no set changes that require them to be onstage in the light. Most of our set changes take place in the dark. Assisted by flashlights if needed.

 

[FHSTechDir]

For our shows in our proscenium theatre I require my HS stage crew to wear short sleeved all black shirts (or long depending on the situation), black pants, socks, shoes. Any logos are covered by gaff if small enough. If they don't have a black shirt we provide it.

Front of house crew (light, sound ops, SM) are seen by the audience all the way through the show and are required to wear dress shirt, pants, and shoes with tie. Color of their choice.

For concerts and other shows performed in gyms or spaces where black outs are not easily possible and the crew is often visible to the audience, I require the crew to wear a polo or dress shirt with dress pants and shoes. Color choice is the crews choice as a group but they must all look the same.

Of course each show requires different needs but typically I do things this way.

 

[gafftaper]

Taping ear rings is ridiculous unless they are danglers potentially creating a safety problem. How far away is the audience. Unless you are in a crazily intimate space with the audience only a few feet away, it's highly unlikely that the audience would be able to even see ear rings during a properly lit set change.

 

[chausman]

Not to mention with ear rings, You can take them out!!

 

[Clairabelle]

I am a high school stage manager and many times I have gaffed my crew's shoes, but never gone farther than that. I have found that if you push them to start wearing blacks long before the show, they are more likely to remember when it's most important. We are also fortunate enough to have what we refer to as a "techie dressing room" in which we throw all of our stuff and keep spare shirts, supplies, and such. It is sooo handy seeing as we have no other space dedicated for our techies' personal items.

 

[DuckJordan]

I am a high school stage manager and many times I have gaffed my crew's shoes, but never gone farther than that. I have found that if you push them to start wearing blacks long before the show, they are more likely to remember when it's most important. We are also fortunate enough to have what we refer to as a "techie dressing room" in which we throw all of our stuff and keep spare shirts, supplies, and such. It is sooo handy seeing as we have no other space dedicated for our techies' personal items.

Hi clair, I'd be really interested in hearing what else you have for supplies in they "tech Dressing room" you should also swing by the new member board and say a little intro about yourself.

As far as gaffing clothing, I have seen tech's sent home for not wearing them. We also have a gigantic box (may or may not have been in the pit during flood season) that has old black wear that was donated some time ago. We encourage tech's to bring their own otherwise they get to smell like musk for the rest of the night.

 

[techno89]

I persoanly wear usually black jeans with a black dress shirt, sometimes a black tie, or a white dress shirt, black tie, same pants. Mostly to diferentiate from the audience.

 

[dude2144]

The crew at my high school is really laid back, running crew wears all black for shows but lighting and sound can wear whatever. We've never had an issue with brightly colored shoes or socks. Most of our crew are girls but I've never heard of an issue with jewelry. Honestly i think crew should b able to wear whatever as long as it doesnt stick out too badly and isnt a safety issue

 

[museav]

Honestly i think crew should b able to wear whatever as long as it doesnt stick out too badly and isnt a safety issue

One potential challenge with that approach is that without any predefined guidelines then what is acceptable or not becomes a purely subjective determination made at a time when you least want to deal with such issues or the implications of them. SO it seems much better for everyone to have some definition of what is expected and accepted when people first accept the role. This laso seems an area where there is no reason to not employ practices that not only reflect the theatre program but that could also apply if you were to move on in theatre.

 

[dude2144]

One potential challenge with that approach is that without any predefined guidelines then what is acceptable or not becomes a purely subjective determination made at a time when you least want to deal with such issues or the implications of them.

I agree that if someone on the running crew showed up the night of a show wearing a bright pink shirt or something similar it would be a problem but teaching newer members of the crew simply by example seems much more simple than doing something like writing out a set of guidelines. And isn't most of what we need to wear common sense

 

[MarshallPope]

I agree that if someone on the running crew showed up the night of a show wearing a bright pink shirt or something similar it would be a problem but teaching newer members of the crew simply by example seems much more simple than doing something like writing out a set of guidelines. And isn't most of what we need to wear common sense

What is so complicated about saying, "Hey guys, please wear all black for the show. And don't wear anything sparkly." or, for FOH, "Dress nicely. Wear something fairly muted, maybe a button-down and tie or cardigan or similar." It seems to me like people try to over-complicate this.

 

[museav]

I agree that if someone on the running crew showed up the night of a show wearing a bright pink shirt or something similar it would be a problem but teaching newer members of the crew simply by example seems much more simple than doing something like writing out a set of guidelines. And isn't most of what we need to wear common sense

The reality is that "common sense" is not guaranteed to be applied. And how many lawsuits are there for which common sense seems to be irrelevant? As Marshall said, it doesn't have to be formal written rules as much as establishing general guidelines for what is or is not considered appropriate or acceptable.

I've shown up dressed inappropriately for a performance as a direct result of no one identifying any guidelines. It was my first performance with a group and I guess they assumed that everyone already knew what was expected, thus nobody thought to say anything about it. It wasn't that what I wore was unsafe or a technical issue, it simply didn't fit their practice.

 

[dude2144]

What is so complicated about saying, "Hey guys, please wear all black for the show. And don't wear anything sparkly." or, for FOH, "Dress nicely. Wear something fairly muted, maybe a button-down and tie or cardigan or similar." It seems to me like people try to over-complicate this.

Sorry, I reread my post and realized that I did not say what I ment. I tried to say that it does not need to be over complicated and that besides saying to wear all black, other things would just be decided from common sense.

Museav, if a particular group has more specific guidelines than just all black then yes they need to tell everyone about that.

 

[LXPlot]

Sorry, I reread my post and realized that I did not say what I ment. I tried to say that it does not need to be over complicated and that besides saying to wear all black, other things would just be decided from common sense.

Funny thing about common sense, it doesn't really work. Dangler earings can do a lot of damage, I've seen studs do damage at my other job. "Common Sense" and what is "reasonable" actually got me a rather nasty injury earlier this year.

Guidelines, even if they are stringent, are needed, and even if they aren't important, less enforcement of some rules makes others less followed.

 

[BHSlighttechie]

My director tells our crew to wear all black, even if we are the light and sound board ops. We don't really have a booth cause we are in a cafetorium of a very small school. It's okay to wear jeans, but the director prefers all black. And for our competition plays we are required to wear jeans (doesn't matter if they are a light wash or not) and our show shirts. We aren't to strict just have to make sure that crew has at least a black shirt and it's okay.

 

[ccm1495]

My school has crew shirts that every one gets at the beginning of the year. All they have on them is small dark red writing on them that says WHS crew. Every one is expected to where there shirts if not there are extras. They are also expected to have black pants and dark shoes if they are on run crew or anywhere in the audience. It is not as strict for the techs in the booth. But we still encourage Crew shirts of black polo shirts. Ushers also usually where black polo shirts.

 

[JonasA]

We're pretty slack at my school; I've never asked a tech to take out earrings, or anything else. How they turn up to shows is how they stay for the evening, unless they (stupidly) are wearing a bright red t-shirt or similar, at which point someone will lend them a school jumper (which are dark navy blue).

My rule with my crew has always been "Wear something black, long-sleeved, preferably cotton, without anything objectionable on it. Shoes should preferably be boots, but school shoes also acceptable" past that I'm not too fussed - they wear the school uniform for concerts anyway. One year we tried to make sure everyone was dressed the same, but it became more trouble than it was worth. (I do want crew shirts though!)

As for taping over socks....

 

[museav]

There seem to potentially be two general aspects involved here, one being the aesthetic and the visual presentation considerations and the other being safety. Shirt and slack colors seem to purely be a factor of the visual side where as earrings, footwear, etc. may also be safety related. If somebody shows up wearing red flip flops and your primary concern is that they are red then it may be time to reassess your priorities. That may also extend to determining where relying on common sense may be reasonable and that safety aspects may best not be left to rely on subjective interpretation and someone applying common sense.

 

[EustaceM]

I forbid all of my crew from wearing piercings as it can be a safety hazard, even the studs. As for the sock issue, at the beginning of the production I buy cheep pairs of black socks, and black t-shirts that the crew can have when they forget to wear black. Their outfit must be all blacks, no logos or anything and good shoes. My lighting and Sound ops I usually prefer them to wear blacks as it is more professional. When I'm not working as a SM for a show I wear dressy blacks, collared shirt, black vest, dress pants and black boots for crew/dress shoes for anything else. I love it for my crew to look professional and presentable if capable without ruining their clothing.


"Seeing the crew ruins the illusion of theatre"