I directed a summer theater production a few years ago and the theater asked all the stage managers working that season to use VSM. My recollection is that the stage manager on my show found it to be a bit redundant and cumbersome. It took them a good deal of time to set it all up, using existing forms and paperwork, and once it was set up, it basically just replicated what the existing forms and paperwork had already accomplished. I also remember that they frequently had to remind cast members (to the point of nagging) to enter their info. (Granted there were a lot of middle aged and older folk in the cast and VSM may be more appealing and less confusing to younger actors who are more tech savvy.) I think the theater found it useful for an overview of scheduling of the three shows in their season, and the scheduling of actors who overlapped and were in more than one production. As a guest director, working on one show only, I didn't interact with the system much myself but found it to be a bit overwhelming the few times I did login. And, I decided against using it at my school this past year, even though I had a student who was serious about becoming a professional stage manager and I had won a one-show trial of the system at an EdTA conference. To my way of thinking, a good stage manager is already doing what VSM does - through existing software and distribution lists. And, while there may be useful functions and good reasons for using the system, I also question using it with student stage managers. Learning to connect the dots of information themselves on a large production, rather than having software do it, is an invaluable experience. Hope this is helpful.
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Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-07-2017 16:05
From: Jodi Disario
Subject: Virtual Stage Management
Has anyone used the Virtual Stage Management offered by MTI? The description makes it sound like the best thing since sliced bread, which always makes me wary. I'm very excited to use it and want to get the yearlong option, as I am doing 2 MTI shows this year. I am getting pushback from my Parent Boosters, who control the purse strings. They want to know why it's different/better than paper scheduling and text messaging, if I know of any schools who have used it before and their experience, etc.
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Jodi Disario
Director of Drama
Willow Glen High School
San Jose, CA
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