[SML] Aggregate hours for majors?

Mon Nov 9 09:44:09 UTC 2015

A way for an Acting or Directing student to learn the basics of making a
good 'picture frame' for themselves on stage, is to require that whomever
is 'pushing' the project (often the Playwright, Actor or Director)
negotiate with their student-colleagues to get the work done. Then your
department is not the 'Slave-master' any more; the students learn what they
have to learn to make the themselves a successful Actor, Director, or
Playwright. In 'real life', if an Actor or Director thinks that they 'need'
a particular role or position for career advancement, then they should be
able to 'sell' the project to a donor or investor. Part of this is being
able to estimate the cost of the project, so it is not just designers and
technicians that should learn budgeting. This happens regularly in filmed
or electronically recorded entertainment. Over the years, many actors have
complained that producers are holding them back by not providing 'strong'
roles for them. I have often stated "Make your OWN dream come true" to
those who blame Producers.for their own lack of advancement in the
entertainment industry. Networking is also important. The product of the
school is the students, not the production. The faculty already have their
jobs; let the students design or direct more 'Main Stage' projects and take
the responsibility to get it them successfully on the stage, even though
this could frustrate faculty.
/s/ Richard
_________

On Sun, Nov 8, 2015 at 10:03 PM, John McAfee via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> Semester at a time is good advice.
>
> Currently Intro to Theater owes 25 hours/semester and in my 4 and a half
> years (after upping the number from 10 and making it part of their grade),
> I’ve had about 75% completion on that, but with a fair number finishing by
> doing the drudge cleaning and sorting in December/May.
>
> The classes I teach, Stagecraft and Stagecraft II (often a lighting
> course) owe 33/semester, with 4 required as load-in and 4 as strike.  I
> have good numbers on those, but the more assiduous ones are non-majors.
>
> We have practicum classes that owe 30/semester that I use to pull running
> crew because otherwise I had no crew who would be there tech through strike.
>
> I would love to have work study students, though there is no way to pay
> them real money (I’ve been trying) and so the notional scholarship money
> they earn-but-never-see keeps retention hard from week to week.
>
> I currently offer morning hours on Monday, Friday, and Saturday (10a-2p)
> and evenings on Tuesday (4p-8p) and Thursday (6p-10p) and I usually have
> between 2 and 6 students, mostly from Intro.  I tried offering standard
> hours each day, but so many students would come talk to me about how their
> work schedule or class schedule wouldn’t allow them any hours, so I just
> keep the weekly schedule consistent.  The shop is pretty sound-proofed, and
> I have had good luck negotiating stage time with directors when I need it.
>
> Students teach each other.  I make sure of that.  That is the best way for
> everyone to get the most out of it.
>
> Most of our students are Acting/Directing and won’t be bidding jobs, but I
> do have a bidding project in my Stagecraft II class because it *is*
> important, and a sense of the budget necessary for performance is important
> even if you won’t be running a shop or freelancing.
>
> The biggest problem that I see (with this facet) is that we don’t have
> buy-in from the majors that they need to be helping on the tech.  I had
> required load-in put in the “contracts” of those cast in the current show
> and about a third showed up (most of whom are in my Stagecraft class and
> they knew they would have grade issues if they didn't).
>
> I know that I’m doing both them and myself a disservice by putting up the
> set myself because then they learn that if they don’t show up, the
> shoemaker’s elves will do it, so I’m thinking about making a policy that if
> I don’t have at least two students at a work call, the work call is
> cancelled, and they get the set (and lights) that they earn.  But, as our
> department is struggling to gain recognition on campus, I think that would
> hurt the greater cause and the students who actually show up.
>
> So, near as I can tell, the next option is majors are required x hours per
> semester.  There is a portfolio project that they are supposed to complete
> as a graduation requirement, and the backstage hours would be a portion of
> that portfolio, so it wouldn’t be credit per se.  I agree there should be
> more than a “do this or you don’t graduate” piece, but the mentality should
> be about helping your department and your classmates look good.
>
> Ideally the student theater guild should be pushing this, but we’ve had to
> cancel both of the events that they had planned this semester due to lack
> of organization.
>
>
> (All of that said, this is so much better than it was when I first got
> here)
>
>
> On Nov 9, 2015, at 12:21 AM, Paul Schreiner via Stagecraft <
> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
> Measure it a semester at a time, so if something goes pear-shaped in a
> student's life, she has a hope of getting back on track.
>
>
> Agreed.
>
> I've seen requirements ranging from 30 to 50 hours per credit depending on
> school and tasks included. Students either get credit or paid; no one works
> for free. If the experience is educational (and it should be) then credit
> should be offered and the time should be considered a lab component of a
> technical theatre class or a practicum experience.
>
>
> Hmmm.  I don't see a fundamental issue with requiring a small number
> of service hours as a criterion of remaining in good standing with the
> department.  It's like being required to do a few community service
> hours as part of a club that has other functions.  However, this
> should not be the primary labor pool, but an adjunct to give the
> students a chance to give back to the department and to broaden their
> horizons.  And it should definitely not be burdensome to achieve.
>
> We're having good luck with a Monday evening session of hours as there are
> fewer class conflicts and the solid multi-hour block means a lot of work
> gets done without interruption.
>
>
> Not always an option, depending on rehearsal schedules and whether
> there is (a) a large enough (and separate, acoustically-isolated)
> scene shop to handle it and (b) how this affects rehearsals when
> you're at the installation part of the build.
>
> Ask students what skills they want to learn and strive to give them tasks
> to
> match. Have more experienced students help supervise less experienced ones.
>
>
> Part of a healthy department culture, IMNSHO.
>
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-- 
/s/ Richard
_________
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