Performance Crewing
Performance crewing is the art of set movement on stage during a performance. Some productions have set pieces that are on tracks (automated), which are programmed and can move on their own, but when the budget is small or when tracks aren’t available, the set movement must be done by hand. When performance crewing is done correctly, it makes for an excellent show and great visuals. Performance crewing is done by the stage crew members, these crew members, if seen by the audience, need to be in costumes related to the show or simply just need to be in all black clothes, if they aren’t going to be seen, both options are so that its not obvious to the audience that its not actors moving set and that it’s not mechanically powered.
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A team that works well together will have the ability to listen to each other, appreciate each other and consider every member’s opinion. Communication is key during the rehearsal process of a show involving performance crewing, if crew members can’t get their point across or can’t be heard, they could run into some serious health and safety issues. Another thing is that all actors must be aware of their space and not walk into the path of a crew member pushing possibly a 16-foot set piece. As well as having good communication skills its helpful to be able to manage your time well enough and have a good understanding of special awareness so that all pieces off set get moved corrected and that unnecessary items aren’t being moved. Also, an incredible amount of knowledge on your production is needed while being part of the performance crew. Crew members need to know exactly when to move the set piece, where to move …show more content…
In May of 2016 I was on a stage management role for Northern Lights Theatre Company’s production of ‘Our House’ the musical. The set consisted of eight 16-foot periaktos. A periakti is an ancient Greek device, (set piece), with three sides, which when it was developed, while one side would be showing the other two could be changed, meaning the scene can change without taking any large flats off stage by flying, tracks or crewing, the periaktos can just being spun around or moved across stage. All 8 of our periaktos had three sides and each side was seen at least twice during the show. All movement for these periaktos had to be choreographed in time with the underscoring and they’re neutral position had to be marked/spiked. Most of the movement and changing of scenes and set pieces was done by the cast on stage and in costume but a few changes were done by us, the crew, in costume so that we were not noticeable to the audience. It’s a task that must be rehearsed and perfected before show goes up. It had to be slick and run smoothly, we didn’t want pieces to almost get to their marks and need a bit of slight adjusting during the beginning of the scene. There were rehearsals simply dedicated to just set movement, with timing and running with music, there was certain ways to turn the pieces to make it easier, more efficient and faster, a few changes would have had two crew members on one piece and there was
Lights, camera, action! The light switches on, and shines brightly in the center of the stage. Two people walk towards it, these are actors that were told to come out at this exact moment by the director. After days of intense rehearsals. The two young actors burst. “We are tired of working for you” the two participants yell towards the director. The director in a surprising manner walks up to the stage, stares down at the performers and laughs. “You are going nowhere; I have your contract and your pay, now back to your positions!” The performers stand and continue their roles with no opinion in the matter. The camera turns off, the shadows of the actors disappear. The common person stands up and is face to face with the director. The director
The audience is an important factor to determine the success of a spectacle. It is known that there is no spectacle without audience. The musical theater presentations are known for their number of people, which according to the Broadway League (n.d.), the 2013 season reached attendance of 11.57 million. However, the number of spectators has been decreased in comparison with the peak of popularity for musicals in the last century. The first reason for that is that the spectators of musical theater presentations were a more specific group such as wealthy and intellectual people that used to go to this type of presentation, and this pattern has been consistent until now, as it can be seen in the price of a Broadway spectacle that is very expensive. Second, the spectators have to go where the spectacles are set up, which makes the live presenta...
Performing- The performing stage is where everyone is clearly aware on what they’re doing and the purpose of what they’re doing. Everyone is able to share their ideas with others. Confidence is showed among the team members as their able to communicate to other team members without help or assistance from the leader. They can take charge of their own ideas. The team focus on achieving their goals .Although the team can disagreement with...
...ress; working together is success." Being able to stick together and help one another, many will go far in life.
Production teams are teams that run things and will be long-term groups that are tasked with a constant goal. Members of this team must have a long-term relationship, a solid foundation of operations, and external support to maintain a high-level of performance over a long period (Schermerhorn et al., 2005, Chapter 10). This type of team is affected by a daily requirement for high output and efficiency.
Cohesion is the “glue” that binds a group of people together. It represents the unity of a group and shows the strength of the bond between group members. This is a direct reflection of the efforts that are coordinated to achieve a goal. Many factors can affect the success of group cohesion such as group size, stability, and success; however a level of group cohesion can still be achieved if the members have a willingness to work together towards the same goal. There is very little commonality between the cohesion that exists and looking at each factor, the individual might identify keys to group cohesion success. On a successful team the capabilities of the members to work together on future projects is sustainable and stronger.
Similar to understanding the context of the team, to effectively manage and understand the composition of the team it is important for the team and its members to answer the following questions: “(1) to what extent do individual team members have the technical skills required to complete the task?; (2) to what extent do they have the interpersonal and communication skills required to coordinate their work with others?; (3) to what extent are individual team members committed to the team and motivated to complete the task?; and (4) is the team the right size to successfully complete the task?” (Dyer & Dyer,
give them the full respect they deserve. Another important part of being an actor is to feel
On September 14, 2016, I went to observe the Mermaid Song. The Mermaid Song is the WonderQuest directed by Gay H. Hammond and the rehearsals was in Pearce auditorium on Breanu campus. The Mermaid Song is adapted from The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. The rehearsal started at 6:30 pm but I was there at 6:15 to observe what the job of the stage managers. The rehearsal was “blocking” and this terms means that the director decides when and where the performers should move and position themselves on the stage ( ). The performers were divided into three groups and since the group three were assigned to perform off stage, they were not in the rehearsal that day. The rehearsal started with a song. After the song, the little mermaid goes
Approaching another is a start, being together after some time is an improvement, and accomplishing things together is the reward. This is Henry Ford’s idea on team work (as cited in Motivating Quotes, n.d.). Working together in a group requires support from each and every member in accomplishing the task. Active participation of every member is highly necessary. Ideas and views are welcomed to improve performance.
The components of a good team should be considered. First, a high-performance team must have strong core values to guide attitudes and behavior consistent with the team's purpose. The members should know why the team is created and why he or she is on the team. Secondly, a team should have specific performance objectives. Members should know exactly what they are trying to accomplish. This also includes having standards for measuring results and ways of obtaining performance feedback. A good team will make members realize the importance of collective efforts. Third, a high-performance team has the right mix of skills. These involve technical, interpersonal, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. No one needs to know how to do it all, but each member should be able to contribute to the group....
''Teamwork is a fundamental lesson in the military. At basic training, you learn about being a member of a unit. You do not focus on the first person to cross the finish line. You do not focus on the last person to cross the finish line. What matters most — what matters entirely — is that every unit member understands that everyone crosses the finish line"(mydd.com)
Realizing that a group can become a high performance team is important. Accomplishing this goal is invaluable, advantageous and profitable. Once able to operate from a group to the high performing team is a great step into preparation into the big business world. Leaders and members must also realize not only how to accomplish this but that some problems will and can arise from different demographic characteristics and cultural diversity. That is if one is in such a group, which the probability would be quite high.
In the Greek theater, the conventions are very different. Unique Greek performances, which were performed hundreds of years ago, were put on to please the god Dionysos. In these performances, artificial light was impossible and there were no footlights to illuminate the faces of the actors. Spectators had to have a great imagination to create a mood themselves. The actors had to project their voices even more, and they used numerous masks, to reveal different characters. Plays were done in an amphitheater, which was a circular type theater, so that projection was very loud, and the actors could be heard all around. The actors were less active and effected less emotionally but still with their costumes, masks and roles, they belonged to the characters rather than to the audience.
Many businesses place an emphasis on the importance of teamwork. A good team consists of people with different skills, abilities and characters. A successful team is able to blend these differences together to enable the organisation to achieve its desired objectives.