Open Forum

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Hello!

I can relate to your situation - and our system has evolved a bit over the years - but here's what I do. (I should note that our HS has not allowed our Theatre Arts class to run for many years, because I am a Spanish teacher also, and there are "more" Spanish students... but that's a whole other story.)

Anyone who is interested in working behind the scenes must submit an application - to get their contact info, experience, and parent permission to use power tools and climb ladders.  We ask them to rank the different areas of technical theatre by their level of interest - costumes & makeup, sound, lighting, construction & painting, marketing, props, etc.

Everyone is welcome to attend any crew session anytime - especially at the beginning of a production when we go over the basic info/tasks that are common to that crew. We want them to become well-rounded and have an appreciation for what goes into each area of focus. Cast members are welcome to attend as well. And since we don't have any classroom time, we must teach them the skills at the same time that we're working to put together a show.  (I compare this to expecting a marching unit to put together  field show, but you have to teach the kids how to play their instruments at the same time!) 

Students sign in and out so we have a record of their time.  Crew members must have logged at least 10 hours of work to have their name printed in the program booklet, earn 1 Thespian point (using the 10:1 ratio recommended by EDTA), and attend the cast party after the last performance.

The staff member in charge of each crew teaches them, and then observes what they can do successfully (or not.) That is how we decide who actually gets to run the board, help with quick changes, do makeup for the actual performance.  All others are expected to help in the lobby and serve as ushers.

Our current show is Twelve Angry Jurors -so we only need basic makeup for most characters, and one costume per person. Minimal props (most are pre-set), and it's a unit set that never changes.  So we won't have many kids backstage during the run - but we have a ton of kids helping to build and paint the walls, learning how to hook up body mics (and learning how to use the board) with 2-3 characters at rehearsal, learning how to highlight/shadow/contour for makeup, etc.  But only those who can actually apply the makeup to make it look right will be the ones to work.

We're doing Little Mermaid for our spring musical (and kids have known since August) - so all of this training will help to build up our numbers and have some kids who have some experience/training for a show when more manpower will be needed.

Seniority rarely comes into play in our program - by making it more about ability to get the job done - kids recognize that we want to put our best foot forward, and that they can give it another try next time.   We select the crew chiefs from the students who have served on that crew previously and have stepped up.  Student stage managers call the cues and run backstage business during the run -the directors sit in the back and watch.  We only step in if there is a crisis - but we have tried to train our kids to manage and troubleshoot along the way as much as possible.  And it's become an understanding that kids will earn their spots by being reliable, trustworthy, and responsible for getting the job done.

Figuring out what works best for your group will take time - but I wish you well!

------------------------------
Melissa Mintzer
Willow Street PA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Amber,

I'm assuming when you say "Stage Crew" and "Costume Crew", you mean those students who work backstage during the production. If not, then stop reading this....

For stage crew, I, as the tech director, determine how many people I need to make the show run. ie. 1 light board op, 2 follow spot op's, 2 on the fly rail, 8 techs to move sets. That's a fairly easy thing to determine. The way we do it is that the students who help build and paint the sets sign in every time they work.  We take the, in the example above, top 13 students who have worked the most.  If someone can't make the commitment, then we go down the list.  The only "seniority" exception I make is for the fly rail. They must be an upper classman/woman with training and experience.  All other positions can be trained quickly. In my experience, having too many students backstage is a recipe for disaster. I did not include a sound bd.op as our ASM's who have been with the show from the beginning run sound as they are very familiar with it.

For Costumes: She does it in a similar fashion except she has two crews because they are normally small.  So one 4 student crew might do the Thursday and Saturday shows and another 4 student crew would do Friday and Sunday matinee.

I agree with you that doing it by Seniority and application isn't fair.  If a freshman comes after school for 2 hours each day for 4 weeks to build a set and a Senior comes 2 times and is on crew, what message does that send to the freshman? 

There is never a limit on number of crew members who help build or costume a show.  Some days I have 30-40 students show up to help with building. But to be on the running crew for a show, that is a position that is earned through hard work and dedication,

HTH,

------------------------------
Mike Cordonnier
Theatre Instructor/Scenic Designer
Centerville High School
Centerville Ohio

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Hi Amber

Yes--it's a nice problem to have.  We also do an application and seniority--those who have demonstrated dedication, commitment and a good work ethic have priority over the new kids.  We try and find a way for all kids interested in crew--however, they might not get their first choice.

One thing we started doing with our costume and makeup crews is rotating them out to front of house to also be ushers.  For example, the makeup crew would come in, put on the actor's makeup and then head to the front of the house to usher the show.  We always have a couple of makeup crew back stage for touch ups, but we don't need 6-8 backstage during a show.  I was going to try and do that with my costume crew this time, but we have too many quick changes for them to leave.

------------------------------
Cindy Skelton
Drama Teacher
San Mateo Union High School District
Burlingame CA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-14-2016 08:49
From: Mike Cordonnier
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Amber,

I'm assuming when you say "Stage Crew" and "Costume Crew", you mean those students who work backstage during the production. If not, then stop reading this....

For stage crew, I, as the tech director, determine how many people I need to make the show run. ie. 1 light board op, 2 follow spot op's, 2 on the fly rail, 8 techs to move sets. That's a fairly easy thing to determine. The way we do it is that the students who help build and paint the sets sign in every time they work.  We take the, in the example above, top 13 students who have worked the most.  If someone can't make the commitment, then we go down the list.  The only "seniority" exception I make is for the fly rail. They must be an upper classman/woman with training and experience.  All other positions can be trained quickly. In my experience, having too many students backstage is a recipe for disaster. I did not include a sound bd.op as our ASM's who have been with the show from the beginning run sound as they are very familiar with it.

For Costumes: She does it in a similar fashion except she has two crews because they are normally small.  So one 4 student crew might do the Thursday and Saturday shows and another 4 student crew would do Friday and Sunday matinee.

I agree with you that doing it by Seniority and application isn't fair.  If a freshman comes after school for 2 hours each day for 4 weeks to build a set and a Senior comes 2 times and is on crew, what message does that send to the freshman? 

There is never a limit on number of crew members who help build or costume a show.  Some days I have 30-40 students show up to help with building. But to be on the running crew for a show, that is a position that is earned through hard work and dedication,

HTH,

------------------------------
Mike Cordonnier
Theatre Instructor/Scenic Designer
Centerville High School
Centerville Ohio

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

There have been some good responses, but thought I would weigh in. There are only two adults running the productions here, myself (the director) and the tech director who supervises set building on two or three days a week. We do have an Assistant Sponsor that comes around once a week and another adult volunteer to oversee costumes, who comes more often. Other than that, everything is run by the students. The crews are lead by student crew heads, who have to write letters to be selected. They have to have experience in the crew they want to run, so it is always a Junior or Senior. They are also the designers for the play as well. It is easier for upperclassmen to be viewed as leaders, and it takes experience and desire to design. Often two people co-crew head to spread the work load.  Everyone fills out a tryout form on audition night, even techies. They list the crews they would like to work on. The crew heads get to select the students, and usually it is based on who has worked on the crew in the past, or who is a good worker. Freshman are evenly distributed, as they need to start learning. I have learned to set a limit for the number of students in makeup, props, lights and sound, as these do not need as many crew, and the space they work in is small. I set the number based on the requirements for the show. For our current show the limit was 8 with sound having 3, however the spring musical will have 12, with sound having 5.  The rest of the students are often placed in crews like programs, house, costumes and publicity. We are in a cafetorium, so there is no fly to work in. We allow many students to work on building and painting the set, as that is the largest space in which to work. Our tech director only supervises and advises the work being done, so it takes many hands to get the work done. 

Much like the previous director, I have to teach and train while "marching," so we have purchased every technical theatre video that Bob and Marti Fowler have produced (I got them in the EdTA store).  Everyone coming into the program watches the basic Technical Theatre video which discusses how a theatre operates. Students then have to take the test and pass. Then depending on the crew, they watch the video for that crew and take the test. There are videos for tech safety, as well as House and Publicity! Once they pass the tests, they work on the crew, signing in and out every time they show up.

Production nights, only students who have shown up to work every call time (from the sign up sheets) are selected by the crew heads to be on running crews. House crew head selects more students from these crews to help with concessions, tickets, passing out programs, fan-o-grams, etc. The rest are invited to sit in the back of the cafetorium and watch the show as part of the audience. Being a good audience member is a vital part of any production, and these students fill an important role for that.  

Having students totally running every aspect of the production helps to spread the work among many, and gives everyone a chance to make an important contribution to the show.

------------------------------
Valerie Farschman, Drama Director
MLS Theatre Company, Troupe 1422
Marion L Steele High School
Amherst, Ohio

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

I am a middle-school teacher who runs the program completely by myself, so my answer may not be what you need. When it comes to construction of the set and costumes, I like to choose 1-2 of my best behaved classes (I teach 7 throughout the day.) and teach them specifically set and costume construction and they do those things as part of their grade. As it happens, I don't always have a class that is completely comprised of well-behaved kids (it is beautiful, but rare), so I work on the set for about an hour and a half after rehearsal and anyone in the cast who wants to stay after and help, can. Sometimes I end up with their siblings helping as well. I just do costumes on my own.

Choosing who works backstage during the show has become a HUGE deal at my school over the years. Everyone wants to be in the play, but because I have no help, I'm limited on how many kids I can have, so I have a criteria to be considered for crew and it's really helped.

1) He/She must be in my class that semester. This costs me some good crew kids with full schedules, but it also forces kids to make sacrifices if this is really where they want to be. Also, I won't have random kids I've never met and know nothing about in the crew, because every kid will have been in my class for the past 2-3 months.

2) Must have an A in my class and be passing all other classes. This ensures eligibility that even athletes must meet as well as means I have a student who has paid attention and learned well in my class this semester.

3) Must have impeccable behavior. I do not allow students who have been suspended during the current school year to be in the play in any capacity (you wouldn't believe the motivation that gives the hyperactive, talented kid). Crew goes a step further to say that if a student has given me excessive problems in class, they're ineligible. I can't afford to have a kid running lights who doesn't do as he's told the first time.

4) Experience. If I've already trained that kid to do a job and he/she did it well, they can totally do it again.

5) Reverse seniority. Now, this one sounds a bit crazy, but hear me out. I'd rather train a 6th-grader who can do the job for all six plays throughout middle school, than an 8th-grader headed to the high school after this.

6) Best suited. Any student who meets eligibility takes an application home to be signed by parents and then I choose based on the above criteria, what jobs he/she marked they are willing to do, and then who has the best personality and ability to do each individual job. Like the super-organized, quiet kid goes on props, while my extremely smiley, but easily confused Autistic student is an usher. This has worked quite well for me for the past several years.

Good luck to you and your program! Break a leg on your next production!

------------------------------
Chelsea Petty
Columbus MS

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

We have the same problem. Last year we had 45 kids in the musical cast and40 crew members. Currently we have an application to join Tech crew (lights and sound) and costume crew. Our stage crew is limited to my two student stage managers and 6 kids. These are chosen based on effort during the building and painting process. If you want, I can email you our applications. Just send me a reminder. Clittle@trschools.com

---------------------------------
Carolyn Little
High School English Teacher
Toms River Board of Education
Beachwood NJ
---------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 10/13/2016 1:14:44 PM
From: hugusal@svsd.net
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Hi all,

We have five sections of Technical Theatre, and many students who sign up to work on a crew who are not enrolled in any classes so it's not unusual to have between 100-200 kids sign up to work on a crew.

I'm attaching our application and the cover page we use with the pertinent information. The cover pages change for each show. 

I go through the apps and choose the crews taking into consideration experience, availability, previous experience, and other information specific to each production.

------------------------------
Krista Carson Elhai
Theatre Director
Claremont HS
An International Baccalaureate World School
Claremont CA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-21-2016 17:41
From: Carolyn Little
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

We have the same problem. Last year we had 45 kids in the musical cast and40 crew members. Currently we have an application to join Tech crew (lights and sound) and costume crew. Our stage crew is limited to my two student stage managers and 6 kids. These are chosen based on effort during the building and painting process. If you want, I can email you our applications. Just send me a reminder. Clittle@trschools.com

---------------------------------
Carolyn Little
High School English Teacher
Toms River Board of Education
Beachwood NJ
---------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 10/13/2016 1:14:44 PM
From: hugusal@svsd.net
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hi all,

We have five sections of Technical Theatre, and many students who sign up to work on a crew who are not enrolled in any classes so it's not unusual to have between 100-200 kids sign up to work on a crew.

I'm attaching our application and the cover page we use with the pertinent information. The cover pages change for each show. 

I go through the apps and choose the crews taking into consideration experience, availability, previous experience, and other information specific to each production.

------------------------------
Krista Carson Elhai
Theatre Director
Claremont HS
An International Baccalaureate World School
Claremont CA
------------------------------

I require the students to put in 20 hours of build or tech call time. They have to sign in or out with my student Tech Director and they have to be working! I had 40 kids apply for crew, but only 18 completed their hours. This helps make sure the students are also on track for their Thespian points. 

I tell the kids the 20 hours is their rehearsal time. They need to know the show as well as the actors so they have to put in the hours. 

------------------------------
Alex Moore
Theatre Arts Director
St. Louis MO

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

I'm just going to weigh in that I really LOVE some of these ideas. This is my first year as a director (and only sponsor/adult in charge) and I find it really hard to oversee everything at once. My "heads" that I selected for our most recent production did little to none of their job, and I was left building, lighting and doing costumes when I should have been home. Then time comes for our in-school performance and I have so many bodies that I don't know what to do with them all.

I really love you guys sharing this. I'm excited to try these for our spring performance! Small cast (6 people) but big set that doesn't really change. I hope I get the turn out that you all do!

------------------------------
Heather Cribbs
Theatre Director
New Smyrna Beach High School
New Smyrna Beach, FL

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

While I agree that all actors should have some experience in tech, I would encourage you to consider which of your students are vocational techies. Tech Theatre is a STEM and CTE subject. Tech Theatre is not a ‘performing art’. Most tech theatre students who are vocationally inclined that I’ve worked with over the decades have no desire to perform (and probably shouldn’t be forced to). However, a lot of acting students who don’t get cast want to do tech for a show just so they can still be involved in some way. That said, it’s sometimes because of that (not getting cast and doing tech) that a student discovers they are actually a techie after all – that’s how I myself moved to the dark side. But, I would encourage you to give your vocational techies first priority to crew your show, because to replace them with “an actor who just wants to be involved” could squelch your techies’ ambitions (and it could be that they’re excelling in tech, but may not be doing so well with the rest of school, and tech may be one of the reasons they’re staying in school). Also, your vocational tech students can act as great mentors for the up and coming tech students and the actors doing tech. So, know your students - it’s been my experience that students who aren’t suited to tech know it and don’t stay in tech long, and that “seniority” most likely equates to a vocational interest.

------------------------------
Beth Rand
High School Theatre Manager and Operations Coach
PRESETT, a service of RCDTheatreOps
www.PRESETT.org
Woodinville, WA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-13-2016 13:14
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Choosing Crew Members

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to get some advice to a very good problem to have.  Our musical has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years, and all of a sudden, I have too many students who want to be on both Costume Crew and also Stage Crew.  We have a very large high school, and our productions, while all lead by adults, are student produced.  As stage manager, I am having a hard time deciding both how many students to allow on stage crew and also how to decide who gets to be on crew and who doesn't.  In the past, I have gone by seniority, or by having an application and choosing, but I don't feel that either process is fair.  Our costume designer just has too many girls and not enough for them to do the nights of the shows.  What do you all do to limit the number of crew members and how do you choose?
Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you!
Amber

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------