2020

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 2

Editor: Andy Rowley

Cueline 203 Autumn 2020 Published by Stage Management Association 89 Borough High Street, LONDON SE1 1NL 020 7403 7999

admin@stagemanagementassociation.co.uk https://stagemanagement.uk

Views expressed editorially or by correspondents are not necessarily those of the SMA

The editor reserves the right to edit submitted material without consulting the contributor. Copyright © Stage Management Association (SMA) 2020

2 Cover International Stage Management Day #stagemgrs20 3 Editorial: Joining the Dots Andy Rowley 5 Five Top Tips for a safe return to work Phill Brown & Louise Gregory 6 The Bear and the Cub Adam Harrison 8 Covid Opportunities Jessica Tha nki 11 Review : Romantics Anonymous—Midlands Jenny Ell 13 How Fidelio Beat Quarantine Ben Cook 15 Accentuate the Positive Coral Nelson 17 Despatches from the Covid Rehearsal Room Louise Gregory 20 Sadly Missed: Sylvia Carter 21 ‘Uncle’ Bob West 22 #WeMake Events Global Day of Action Sharon Calcutt Cheadle 24 Do We Dare to Imagine a New Future? Prema Mehta 26 Safety Matters: A new safety mark Geoffrey Joyce 27 Central Pages: SMA COVID Guidelines 30 Central Pages: Links to the documents on our website 31 Work, Caring and Covid (PIPA and a Better Future) Matt Harper 33 Welcome to SMA India: Andy Rowley talks to Amita Puri and Keyur Shah 35 Call Q Perfect Timing for a New Stage Management Tool David McGraw 38 Circus Pandemonium! Cat Tyler 41 Not On The West End Backstage Shopping Special Jane Williamson 51 Last Word: Where Is The Drama? Natalie Braid 53 A Warm Welcome to New Members Debbie Bland

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 3

Editorial:

Joining the Dots Andy Rowley

International Stage Management day is a day for reaching out to colleagues around the globe, and SMA staff, board and members will be joining with the International Cohort in the US SMA National Collaborators Conference (online) this week-end. The connections we make inform our work in the UK and give us insight into new and more inclusive ways of working. This benefit was recognised by Stage Sight in a recent re-view, and has been enabled by the Society of Theatre Research who have kindly given fund-ing for our online outreach—thank you to both organisations for their great work. This year #stagemgrs20 is not so much a day of celebration, but more of reflection and support for SMs all over the world whose lives and livelihoods are affected by the effects of the pandemic. In Cueline this autumn we hear from some of them. The Covid-19 period has hit members very hard—many, including younger members and those starting out, have been simply abandoned (there is really no other word for it) by government support programmes. Despite this, and very many members having to find temporary employment, SMA staff would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to the majority of members who have been able to continue to pay subs– many opting for the new lower monthly or quarterly rates: we know it hasn't been easy . It has been tough on staff too, working in isolation, and the Association itself faces challeng-es as these exceptional times continue. SMA has maintained the Freelist and lobbied tirelessly on your behalf, finding new ways to support members and make sure that we are all as ready as we can be to get back to theatre and live events work as soon as possible.

SMA are committed to continuing to do what it takes to support members in the COVID-19 period. Our website, social media and SMAgenda all carry up to date information and

advice, and our office remains open, but staff are working remotely

Since March SMA has promised that no member with whom we are in touch will lose membership; thanks to the hard work of SMA staff we have been as good as our word: over 140 members have been able to retain membership whilst they have been without work and unable to pay subs. In addition staff have been taking care to offer advice and guidance – in person, on our website, through SMAgenda, via our Zoom Brunches and online. Members have been very generous in their thanks for this support (our mailbox at SMA virtual HQ is full of kind words and encouraging messages). We would like to say that it is our pleasure to serve members at this time, and we are glad to be in a position to help. It is not over yet, and we are determined to continue to do the best we possibly can to keep members informed and supported, as well as to work with AAPTLE, and other groups to enable safe return to working in theatre and live events and a better and more inclusive workforce with fair pay and conditions.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 4

Cueline magazine has always been SMA’s main communication channel and journal of record. Those who told us that they have enjoyed looking back through our Cueline archive will have seen (as well as how much our work evolves) how much the magazine reflects the preoccupations and events of it’s time. Of course this edition is no different, and the Covid-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the elephant in the room, but there is plenty more in a larger than usual magazine to keep you informed and entertained. Adam Harrison has researched how theatre started in the USA, and Jenny Ell reviews the innovative ‘tour’ of Romantics Anonymous. Ben Cook reports on the ingenious way that Garsington Opera beat quarantine, and Jessica Thanki tells how Covid has been an oppor-tunity for her. It’s been a tough year for students in training , but accentuating the positive has helped Coral Nelson make the most of her unusual first year at RCS; also in Scotland Louise Gregory reports on first hand experience of running Covid Rehearsals. #WeMakeEvents and #lightitinred have been banging the drum for our industry recently—Sharon Calcutt-Cheadle tells us about the Global Day of Action, and SMA remembers two distinguished and much-loved colleagues who will be sadly missed.

Check your email inbox on Saturday; we need a few minutes of your time for something

which we think you'll agree is vital in 2020 and beyond

We know that many members are very short of funds, perhaps working in non -theatre jobs or their own businesses or side hustles to keep solvent. In this edition we devote 10 pages to businesses run by backstage colleagues who are now (temporarily) producing wonderful gifts and artisan products as well as innovative services. Whether you have cash to spend or not we hope that you will take a look and share the information with friends, family and new colleagues and acquaintances. Recent campaigns, including #lghtItInred, #WeMakeEvents and the Equity / Bectu #PantoParade have all highlighted the real danger to live performance and theatre, and millions across the country support us—this is a great way that they can help practically by buying unusual hand-crafted gift products for loved ones and colleagues (and maybe us!). Jane Williamson is your personal shopper and brings you the pick of the crop. In our Central pages we have COVID-19 guidance and links, and PIPA and Stage Sight tell how we can create a fairer and more inclusive workplace. Geoffrey Joyce has his eye on Brexit this winter, and a new replacement for the CE safety mark, we welcome SMA India– just six weeks old, whilst David McGraw investigates CallQ as a tool for working SMs. Meanwhile Cat Tyler’s adventures in Circus Pandemonium are a poignant and uplifting read, and Natalie Braid’s lockdown down-under is proving a true Covid roller coaster.

Something for everyone we hope: please stay safe and keep in touch with SMA.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 5

Phillip Brown Head of Risk and Safety at SOLT/UKTheatre—working with member theatres to create safe ways of working. Phill runs Managing Covid-19 Safely Courses: https://theatremeansbusiness.info/webinar/managing-covid-19-safely/

Communicate – keep your team involved on what you are doing to manage COVID-19 and how

you are doing it. You should also meet & discuss COVID issues on a regular basis as a team.

Engagement – get everyone involved—its corny but we are all in this together! Get input from

your team on what’s working and what’s causing them problems

Lead by example – demonstrate your commitment to managing all aspects of COVID-19, chal-

lenge unsafe behaviours and reinforce good practice.

Continuous Learning – identify and change unsafe conditions and dangerous behaviours. This

can be accomplished by effective training or regular forums so staff become personally responsi-

ble for managing COVID. Provide recognition and feedback – give recognition to the delivery of good performance, acknowledge your team achievements and share best practice throughout your organization.

Louise Gregory - Stage Manager see Despatches from the COVID rehearsal Room p17 Illumination Theatre Services www.illuminationtheatreservices.co.uk We are all in this together. Share the responsibility, and explain why the rules are there. A toolbox talk on the first day is a really easy way of making sure that everyone understands what they’re going to be doing and why. Mental health is also important. Take more breaks, have a relaxed attitude about getting back to work, and get out of the rehearsal room at lunchtime. Safe Working Plan or Risk Assessment. If you are writing one make sure that you discuss every-thing with the Producer and Director to get their input. That means you won’t be fighting over their interpretation of the rules when you’re in the rehearsal room. Make sure the Producer understands when extra time and money might be useful: does the Designer have enough time to source props and costumes before quarantining them? Can you quarantine everything in the van between the get-out and the get-in? Is there enough budget for extra days to quarantine hire equipment? Read as much as you can, especially from the Government, SMA and the ABTT. Read all the information from the devolved Governments as well, and anything you can from reputable sources. WHO do a really good free Mass Gathering training course ^, and although designed for film and TV production, the Screenskills free training course * is also really good at raising awareness of the issues around Covid. Covid means a different way of working, but that also means an opportunity to experiment .

^ https://openwho.org/courses/WHO-COVID-19-mass-gatherings-risk-assessment-training

* https://www.screenskills.com/online-learning/learning-modules/coronavirus-basic-awareness-on-production-training/

Five Top Tips for a safe return to work in COVID

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 6

The Bear and The Cub

Adam Harrison

With no new scripts, plays, or performances on the horizon my mind has sat in limbo just like everyone else’s.

Dull isn’t it?

Did you ever wonder how it all started “at the very beginning” as Maria sings in “The Sound of Music”? Well I suppose here in England it was the churches’ “Miracle” plays performed on a cart in some market square. In effect, plays were all religious morality tales. Pubs and taverns in London had their courtyards converted to Playhouses in the Tudor times for plays in verse that were either comedies, or tragedies. Eventually theatres were purpose built for Shakespeare and his contemporaries in square, round, or polygonal forms for stories about their lives or recent history. Last June, archaeolo-gists discovered the site of ‘The Red Lion’ 1567 in Whitechapel. What plays were written for that -the first theatre in London?

But the Puritans closed all the theatres in 1642. Some were destroyed and some left to fall apart. ‘The Cockpit’ had been burnt and been rebuilt as ‘The Phoenix’ in 1616 only to be damaged by a riot. However it remained open and reverted to it’s popular old name surviving somehow the Puritans’ Interregnum until the Restoration. By 1663 it was abandoned forever. It had been our first theatre in the West End. However— as I am sure you will know — the first Theatre Royal Drury Lane had been built in 1663. The Cockpit/Phoenix had actually been on Drury Lane and today the site is under the Peabody Estate. Whereas ‘The Lane’ has always faced the other way with only it’s backstage house visible on Drury Lane—something which even today confuses the American tourists trying to find the front of the theatre!

Thinking of those American theatre goers… I wonder how it all started for them? Well I was very surprised to discover that it started so soon after our ‘Lane’. The first play performed on American soil was called “Ye Bare and Ye Cubbe” and the date was 27th August 1665. Fowkes’ Tavern was in Pungoteague, Virginia. They were strict Protestant folk down there in Virginia, and very soon the first play by William Darby was taken to court and prosecuted by an audience member named Edward Martin.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 7

Darby and his fellow actors had to perform the full play with costumes and props in front of the local Accomack judges. The play was found to be just an innocent entertain-ment and the three perform-ers were found not guilty. Busy-body Martin was ordered to pay all the cost incurred by both sides.

2019-20 Eccles British Library Fulbright scholar Jeffery Ken-nedy has researched this story and gave a short written blog

to the Eccles Centre for American Studies.

Sadly we don’t have a script or a clue as to what the play was actually about. We can, however, guess that the Bear and the Cub was a silly comedy about the young cub of the first colonies and it’s relationship with the older and much bigger parent. Maybe not as ground breaking as “Hamilton” the musical, but 1665 was a surprisingly early date for the first performance and first prosecution of a play on American soil.

So, if you ever find yourself in Pungoteague driving down Highway 17 then you might, as a curious person, find this historical sign beside the road. My thanks to Jeffery Kennedy for his work which aroused my curiosity. I am grateful to The Society of Thea-tre Research for alerting me to his blog which can be found at the Eccles Centre and British Library Summer School project.

A typical American tavern like Fowkes’ Tavern in the 16th century was small and crowded unlike English establishments

A roadside marker in Accomack noting the empty field

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 8

When COVID-19 hit this year it wiped out tons of work for all. This was due to be the year where I earned more than I had in previous years and also bought a house. I have been stage managing for 11 years, mainly in the subsidised theatre sec-tor, with companies such as Kali Theatre, Cardboard Citizens, Bamboozle, Theatre Centre and Kenny Wax Family Entertainment. So when the UK went into lock down I was forced to stay at home and think. As a 33-year-old stage manager, married and still living with my parents, I knew I had to do something otherwise the hope of buying a house would melt away. It had been years since I had been out of work and it hit my mental health hard. The first thing I did was write post-it notes with names of directors, companies and venues I would like to work with. Now that the industry was taking a pause I used the time to take my career into my own hands. The post-its gave me a focus. I started to email them to spark a conversation and show my interest (I have yet to finish….). My husband and I had always spoke about creating our own children’s show but never had the time. We both used to work on holiday parks, me as technician and performer and he as an entertainments manager and magician. So when we had time all of a sudden, we decided to resurrect the idea. As a stage manager, I have often taken on assistant director duties whilst on long tours, noting the show, re-rehearsing with the cast, adapting the show to new venues but all without credit. I have always wanted to direct but whenever I applied for an assistant director position, I was unsuccessful. I wanted to go back and study but didn’t have the time or money, so it made sense to use this idea to give myself the opportunity. We started thinking about the kind of show we want-ed to create.

Teatersport in Oslo present inspiring improvised theatre

COVID Opportunities

Jessica Thanki

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 9

We love how live entertainment brings people together. Accessibility is also very im-portant to us. I often feel that relaxed, captioned, BSL interpreted shows are an after-thought and wanted to see what a show with inclusivity at the seed looks like. I have also felt that language has been a barrier to me. For years I couldn’t understand why I didn’t enjoy classics such as Shakespeare, and Bronte. I always came out of the theatre thinking ‘I don’t get it.’ They always felt inaccessible to me even though I successful-ly completed English Literature and Language A-Levels. Language can be a barrier for so many people for so many reasons and so this was something I wanted to explore.

I roped in some actors I had worked with previously on different projects but all great de-visers. Initially we batted around ideas in our spare time to channel our creativity with no goal in mind, the themes I wanted to explore were ‘What is Scary?’ and scaring and being scared as well as non-verbal storytelling. We then started to improvise weekly on Zoom. It was so exciting. Not only were we being creative, but it was helping to keep us going at such an uncertain time.

It was clear that theatre organisations would take a lot longer to recover than first ex-pected and I couldn’t afford to not work, I had already applied to work in Tesco and Lidl and got rejected. Arts Council England’s National Lottery Grants were due to open again so I decided to apply. I started contacting theatre companies I have good relationships with to see if I could secure any income in kind such as rehearsals space or equipment. I got in touch with Sally Cookson, who directed ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, a show I worked on recently and one of the directors on my post-its to ask if she would be interested in men-toring me as I love her way of devising and she agreed!

I also put out a tweet for furloughed producers who would be willing to help me with the application using their furloughed time. I was amazed by the replies I got.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 10

I found two producers, Sarah Stallwood Hall who was furloughed, and Rafia Hussain who was on the freelance taskforce and offered her taskforce time.

I also got in touch with Jeni Draper, an amazing BSL interpreter and also Artistic Director of Fingersmiths, who BSL interpreted Bear Hunt. The way she integrated herself into the performance blew my mind. I asked her advice on working with Deaf actors and non verbal storytelling as this was something I didn’t have experience in.

When the applications opened I bid for a two-week research and development to create a children’s show with a cast of hearing and deaf actors as well as a set and sound designer to give me an opportunity to direct. We were kindly offered rehearsal space by Bamboozle Theatre Company who are keen supporters of freelancers.

The application was all consuming, I spent day and night on it with the help of both Sarah and Rafia as well as Janet Steel, a dear friend who used to be artistic director of a company I have worked with. There is no way I would have had the courage to finish if it wasn’t for these amazing women. Once submitted I was relieved but also felt doubt. Was I capable of pulling this off and did I do enough? But I let it go and concentrated on looking for paid work outside the industry. About 3 weeks later I found out that the bid was successful. I couldn’t believe it!

I am so excited to be able to employ fellow freelancers, treat them in the way that I want to be treated, pay fairly and start creating. But I also get to give myself the opportunity to direct where I wasn’t given the opportunity before and put into practice what I have learnt. Since applying for the grant, I have felt empowered. If 70% of the theatre industry is made up of freelancers, then we DO have the power to change the industry. I have been using this energy to empower other freelancers. This was only made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

My biggest advice to anyone who is struggling with staying in the industry or frustrated by the opportunities available to them, is apply for funding – get a group of freelancers together, think about the work you dream of doing and apply. The industry is on a pause, there are freelancers looking for paid work. There are experienced creatives with spare time. Approach them, ask them to share their knowledge. ACE has a £75 million budget to use until March 21. It’s going to be a long time before we can get back to ‘normal,’ and there are uncertain times ahead. Don’t wait for the opportunities, use this pause to create your own.

Apply for Arts Council Funding

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 11

Review : Belgrade Theatre

Romantics Anonymous

Jenny Ell

If I’m not wrong, Wise Children (spearheaded by the incomparable Emma Rice) have produced the first fully staged LIVE production to be broadcast during the lockdown period with Romantics Anonymous. Not only this, they are performing to regional online audiences each night, in collaboration with a handful of theatres across the country; thus making it feel like a virtual tour of sorts – ingenious.

Wise Children is one of a select few theatre companies in the UK who truly possess a touch of magic. You can recognise a production with Emma Rice’s involvement in a heartbeat, as there is an effortless style that emanates throughout.

The critically ac-claimed production of Romantics Anonymous, based on the French-Belgian film Les Émotifs Anonymes, received its world premiere at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, whilst Rice was Artistic Director at the venue. Here, it is presented live from the Bristol Old Vic in all its former glory for virtual audiences to enjoy.

Romantics Anonymous does for chocolate what Waitress does for cake! It is a sweet treat of a musical that is full of both joy and sadness and sweeps you along for two hours without a second thought. It felt quite similar to Umbrellas of Cherbourg, anoth-er piece directed by Rice, which I had the pleasure of seeing a couple of times in the West End back in 2011; complete with Carly Bawden as its outstanding leading lady and a la Marinière wearing ensemble!

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 12

Lez Brotherston’s design is exceptional in its sim-plicity. His work alongside Malcolm Rippeth’s lighting highlights collaboration at its best. It’s the practical lights that create the various settings and move the story along effectively. The four-piece band, led by Tom Brady, are po-sitioned high above the ‘chocolate factory’ on a platform, with the sound flawlessly designed by Simon Baker and his team. Rice’s direction, with Etta Murfitt’s nuanced choreography, is captured perfectly by Camera Director, Steve Tanner, for the live broadcast. It’s a tricky task for a staged production to translate well on camera but there was no issue here.

Marc Antolin as chocolate factory manager Jean-Rene and the aforementioned Carly Bawden as Angelique are electric, both together and singularly commanding the stage. Bawden’s purity and overwhelming goodness, paired with Antolin’s perfectly pitched awkwardness is a match made in heaven.

The supporting cast are seamless in moving between multiple characters and all embody the slightly caricatured characters in heartfelt fashion. It’s wonderful too that the Stage Management team always receive a bow in Rice’s produc-tions and deservedly so! Wise Children are innovators and it is companies like them that will keep shining the torch for live theatre during these unprecedented times. Bravo to all involved!

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 13

Oppression, Isolation, Love and Hope..

How Fidelio Beat Quarantine

Ben Cook

When Garsington Opera’s 2020 summer festival plans were lost to lockdown, the Buckingham-shire-based company’s focus turned to returning as soon as possible. When outdoor performances were per-mitted, they worked in collaboration with the council to figure out what would be necessary to turn their 600 seat pavilion into what could classify as an outdoor ven-ue - the side panels of the auditorium could open up completely. Later when indoor, socially distanced performances were allowed, a halfway house was agreed on: the doors would be kept open, and one of the panels on each side would be opened to create enough air circulation inside while keeping the majority of other elements firmly out.

Inside, every other row was entirely removed, plastic screens were installed between each party/bubble, ‘covid-secure’ risk assessment done. A piece was chosen - Beethoven’s Fidelio. Perfect for the times with themes of oppression, isolation, love and hope. It’s also the 250th anniversary year of the composer’s birth. A director and cast were booked, a safe staging was conceived , video designs created, socially distanced ground plan drawn up, testing kits booked.

So far, so good. That was, until just two weeks before the (3 day) rehearsal period was due to start, new travel restrictions meant our director/LD/video designer Peter Mumford, who was working in Austria until the day before rehears-als, would have to be in quarantine for the whole of our production period.

Undeterred, a plan was swiftly created to Zoom him into the theatre. A large LED screen was installed into the fifth row of the auditorium where Mumford would appear, larger than life, facing the stage. His audio was hooked up to the sound system as a god mic. A secondary zoom meeting would be our ‘comms’, linking up Mum-ford, me (SM), assistant director, LX and video. This worked a treat.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 14

We linked a HD camera and show relay mic up to the first meeting room to provide Mumford with a clear view of the stage. More on the microphone in a bit. Those of us on the ‘zoom comms’ connected on our phones and listened using a single normal earphone. This worked better than I thought as once video is off, you can lock your phone and it has the same ap-

pearance on your lock screen as a regular call, meaning you can mute/unmute yourself easily without doing so accidentally in your pocket. During lighting and notes sessions, even those of us sitting next to each other at the production desks (at a distance) all joined this call so we could all speak easily to each other and Mumford. This does how-ever depend on everyone wear-ing an earphone to prevent feedback. In terms of ease of access to the meeting rooms, we just set up both meeting rooms at the beginning of every

day, and people could join at will (we did not use a waiting room which would have to have been monitored, just kept the links closely guarded!).

What would have been very useful would have been a third zoom channel. This would have sep-arated the stage/director channel into two channels - one purely sending stage video and sound to the director, and one purely sending director video and sound to the stage, with the other side muted in both directions. This is because of how zoom prioritises sound. When there was music onstage the stage feed was prioritised over the director feed, and therefore he was unable to talk over the music and stop the rehearsal/give notes like with a normal god mic. Having two separate channels would have stopped this prioritisation issue.

Another tweak to make would have been the placement of the stage microphone providing sound to Mumford. We tried various positions (above the stage, to one side, and slap bang downstage centre), but it was always difficult to hear anyone on stage speak-ing. For the first day of rehearsals, anyone onstage wanting to communicate with Mumford had to relay a message through me and the ‘zoom comms’. The downstage centre position worked best as anyone who wanted to speak to Mumford could simply go and talk into the microphone, but it didn’t necessarily pick up sound from everywhere. We tried multiple microphones, but then we had an issue with delay between the two sources and all that malarkey. Further experimentation required here.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 15

But these are minor changes to a system which, through trial and error, otherwise worked surprisingly well. The cast re-sponse to this new style of working was very good. Natural-ly things hinged slightly more on the AD than it would have oth-erwise, but each cast member felt comfortable and was still able to develop a good working relationship with the director.

Having a very supportive team of staff around us all helped hugely. The collective feeling was very much one of us all being in it together and working through all the problems to pull the whole thing off.

The connection between director and anyone onstage felt almost normal from our point of view, as we were able to look Mumford right in the eye. It really felt like a normal god mic. Although what it felt like looking at and directing/lighting us all on a small computer screen in quarantine, I cannot imagine…

Accentuating the Positive

Coral Nelson

I’m relatively new to the stage management world - only joining the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland last September to begin my first year of training. I knew I was going to throw myself in at the deep end and as someone who had just left sixth form, I was very eager to get out of the classroom and onto the stage. Because of this, I was originally very sceptical of moving on to online learning - how much could I really learn over zoom? Why was I paying over £3000 for a term to be taught from home? But over the time of lockdown, I really began to see the benefits and the challenges from this remote style of learning.

The transition happened relatively smoothly, as we fortunately had Easter break as a buffer zone for the switch from in-person to online learning. All I can say is that I consider myself lucky to not be one of my teachers who had to scramble around and replan nearly six months of teaching in two weeks. It was quickly set up that we would continue with our allocations remotely while introducing new classes for our specialism and having extra professional talks from alumni members of the course. This meant that I carried on prop sourcing, risk assessing and cueing the performers for ‘Dialogues Des Carmelites’ -the opera I was scheduled to work on.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 16

We were each provided with a DVD of a previous professional per-formance to work from and our lovely upper-year stage managers set us tasks and feedback to complete. My classes looked at employability, practical stage management tasks and professional habits for the workplace. All done over zoom with a cup of tea in hand and the odd shot of people’s pets!

Of course, there were problems with working remotely: time zones became an obvious block for some people I was working with, de-motivation came into play when it felt like I was missing out on practical opportunities that I should have had and all in all, I was really missing my fellow coursemates.

However, there was a massive gain to be made while working remotely. And one I certainly wasn’t expecting. I’ve always been a bit of a question asker - terrified to make a mistake - but while working remotely I had the space to be independent in figuring out tasks. With prop-ping being a new skill I was learning, I learnt how to tackle it from the really basic arts and crafts

point of view. What could I find around the house and how could I transform it? I spent a day turning a sponge into a realistic-looking brick and another how to make candle/votive holders out of old coloured plastic sheets (we were going to be needing 250 for our production!).

Zoom also eventually became a super tool for communicating with others. One of my biggest goals when entering drama school was to meet other stage managers, both students and profes-sionals and I was really struggling to do that while moving between a busy schedule of shows and classes. However, once we realised this was a more long term situation, our teaching staff would organise each week for us to meet an ex-RCS student who we could grill with our ques-tions and awe at their achievements. On top of this, I began searching for other talks and zoom calls I could attend in order to learn more and broaden my knowledge: prop making, tea breaks, sound systems, Q&As. Whatever it was, I went, listened and made notes. I truly believe that if we hadn’t had this lockdown I wouldn’t have been able to access these resources - which have

proved equally as beneficial to my formal education and training.

So now it’s September and I’m back in Glasgow. As I’m writing this, I spent yesterday in university completing a mark up for the show I’m working on this term. Later this afternoon we have the cast read-through and model box showing. The cast will be socially distanced in the rehearsal room with the director and DSM while the rest of us will be at home, joining through zoom. My job is to take minutes and one of the benefits of zoom is that we can record the meetings, so I’m slightly less nervous about missing something important.

And we can have a cup of tea with us - unlike if we were in the building!

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 17

I joined drama school for two reasons - to learn in a hands-on environment, and to meet other people in the theatre world. So I am disappointed that I didn’t get to do my two final shows. I’m going into the second year without any previous practical ASM experience which is something I hoped the first year would cover. But on the other half of my goal, I have exceeded my expecta-tions of who I have been able to talk to and what I have learned from them. Because of this, lockdown has had a really unique and interesting impact on mine and others' training. We’ve had to learn how to learn away from the theatres, just as I expect my teachers have had to learn how to teach away from us. We’re all eager to get going again and bring our schools back to life and as I sit here waiting for the model box meeting to start (pen and paper ready in hand) I’m feeling really hopeful that we can start to get there again.

Dispatches from the Covid Rehearsal Room Louise Gregory

Like all Stage Managers, I try to have the answer before I get asked the question, so when Covid hit I used the unexpected free time to research, so that I would be ready to write a risk assess-ment when the day came. And at the end of July that call came from a Producer asking me to SM and ‘Covid Monitor’ a small-scale semi-staged filmed performance.

About a month before rehearsals start I have a Zoom call with the Producer and Director to agree a Safe Working Plan. I clarify with the Director that he won’t break the 2m distancing rule in the blocking, and we all agree that the contract will specify consequences of not following the plan. This gives me confidence that I will have the company’s support when I’m enforcing our Covid rules.

I use the SWP to draw up the risk assessment. It reaches 9 pages before I consider anything specifically related to the production! I also check the risk assessments for the rehearsal venue, the filming venue and the film crew. Everyone has a slightly different approach, but we can fit in together without too much difficulty. Because there are so many risk assessments to check, the process takes longer than it normally would, but the company have agreed to pay me for all this extra work.

The risk assessment and SWP are shared with the five cast members, and they are all asked to take the free Screenskills course [1] to give them a basic awareness of coronavirus. Everyone seems happy with the arrangements, so we’re all set to start rehearsals!

I come in early on the first day to set the room up. I have printed lots of notices with reminders about hand-washing techniques and social distancing. We can’t mark anything on the floor, so I stick them to the walls with 2m between each poster as a visual guide for the actors as they move in the space. Each member of the company has an area with chairs and a table where they can keep their bag and take their breaks, so I have notices with their names on to mark these areas.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 18

It feels a little bit like being at school, but everyone finds their spot when they first come in with-out having to ask, you don’t have to do the usual introductions, and you can’t forget anyone’s name!

I start with a toolbox talk to explain how things are going to work and why we’ve chosen to work that way. I point out that we all share the responsibility of making sure that we’re keeping to the Covid rules. There’s a question about whether we’re requiring masks (we’re not, but you can wear one when not performing if it makes you feel more comfortable), and one actor who’s just come from another rehearsal room asks whether we’re doing temperature tests. We’ve decided it’s not reliable enough [2] , so we’re sticking with self-assessment health checks, 2m distancing, ventilation, regular cleaning and handwashing instead.

Everyone seems in a really good mood and happy to be in a rehearsal room no matter what the extra requirements. We’ve built in lots of extra opportunities for breaks if anyone feels over-whelmed, but no one seems stressed at all at this stage. I remind people to wash their hands at every break, but I haven’t had to ask anyone to move further apart. I miss the tea-break biscuits, but one of the cast has worked out a way of sharing his chocolate raisins without han-dling them or breaking social distancing!

Day Two is harder: I find myself struggling to concentrate in the afternoon, and later I find out that one of the actors has been feeling quite anxious. We were expecting some problems; after all, no-one’s been in a rehearsal room for five months! We’ve built in lots of relaxed breaks and made sure that anyone who’s feeling overwhelmed can just go for a stroll round the block to clear their head, and we’re having lunch outside every day, which also helps give that break from the rehearsal room. Everything’s back to normal the next day, but it’s a reminder that we need to keep an eye on our mental health.

Day Three brings news of a lockdown in Glasgow, and we’re all grateful that no one is com-muting across. Everyone is aware of their responsibility to each other and to the production. It is interesting to see how much the company have taken this on board: when the film-maker comes into the rehearsal room the cast point him to his area and show him where the hand-sanitiser is before I even have a chance to! We all have our own bottles of disinfectant and we clean down everything we’ve touched at the end of the day. When the props are brought into the space there are a few more accidents where people touch things that belong to other cast members, but a quick reminder leads them rushing to disinfect it straight away. There’s an alarming moment where one actor blows a raspberry, and I suddenly realise that isn’t in my risk assessment! The Covid changes are also making for some wonderfully surreal elements, which really suit the play. A phone ‘passed’ from one hand to another changes from an iPhone to an Android. A couple caress each other two metres apart, and it’s weirdly powerful.

left to right are Nicholas Alban (Chris), Nicholas Bone (Director), Kirstin Murray (Laura) and John Harris (Pianist) rehearsing for Magnetic North’s

semi-staged filmed production of The Dream Train by Tom McGrath, to be released this Autumn

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 19

Not everything is working so well. We quarantined the keyboard and music stands that we hired in, but the designer hasn’t had time to quarantine the props and costumes that she is sourcing. Props can be disinfected, but it is harder to do that with costumes. The rehearsal room is huge to allow for all the social distancing, but the acoustics are awful, so it’s really quite hard to hear what’s being said, and I have to keep asking for clarification on some moments. And it is cold. This is Edinburgh at the beginning of September, but with doors and windows open for ventilation there’s a distinct chill in the air, and having to eat lunch outside in your coat is not the most pleasant thing. That will only get worse as we head into winter.

At the start of Week 2 we do our get-out to transfer everything to the filming venue, and it takes so much longer than normal! We sanitise as much as possible, but to limit contact we’ve re-stricted who can touch what, and there’s no time to quarantine it for 72 hours before we need it again. Unfortunately that means the Director and I have to carry most of the equipment down to the van and pack it, so what should have taken about 30 minutes takes 2 hours! When every-thing comes out the following day it is all cleaned again before we can use it, which again takes more time.

The new venue is a little harder to enforce. Because we are filming here I can’t put up posters, but everyone seems to be finding their own spaces anyway. Having four new people in the space who aren’t as familiar with the distancing is strange, and everyone feels a little more on edge. I also become very conscious that there are now two separate risk assessments running in the room for the different personnel. The sound man comes in one day with a home-made visor, and looks crestfallen as I explain that isn’t an appropriate piece of PPE and he still needs to stay away from the cast. He’s struggling to explain how to position microphones so that they don’t catch on ‘noisy’ clothing. I sympathise, but instead we work on how he communicates with the cast. We start to fall behind schedule, and the Director and I revise it every evening and lunch break. We begin to understand why scenes are filmed out of order, especially when scene changes are slower because the cast have to move their own chairs and music stands. Now that we are working to a deadline it becomes frustrating that things have to be sanitised before anyone else can touch it.

However, after two very frantic days of filming we have the entire show ‘in the can’ and are ready to do the get-out. Everything is cleaned for the last time, and packed into the van, and we say our goodbyes with virtual hugs. Two weeks later no one has come down with Covid, and two of the cast have emailed me to thank me for the care that I took to make sure that every-thing was done safely. And I still haven’t had to tell anyone to step apart! Louise Gregory is a Production & Stage Manager

www.illuminationtheatreservices.co.uk

[1] https://www.screenskills.com/online-learning/learning-modules/coronavirus-basic-

awareness-on-production-training/

[2] https://www.cebm.net/2020/08/screening-for-covid-19-with-infrared-thermometers-

more-marketing-than-medical-evidence/

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 20

SMA Bid a Sad Farewell to two Important figures in our Industry

Sylvia Carter Stage Manager and Polymath SMA is very sad to note the passing of our friend and colleague Sylvia Carter who died on Sunday 13th September. Sylvia was a CSM and CM from the mid 1980's - when she was almost resident at The National and RSC, and a regular in The Old Vic and many West End venues; she continued to work at the highest level throughout the first decade of this century- including a memorable stint at Chichester Festival Theatre during the 40th Anniversary season in 2002. Colleagues remember a very dapper pin stripe suit and a very smart and expensive pair of brogues for openings and special occasions, and (although she could also be as professionally intimidating as her senior job required) she is universally remembered with great warmth and respect by her teams and colleagues, as well as at the SMA where she served with distinction and great loyalty as a board direc-tor for many long, and sometimes difficult years from 1982 to the 'noughties'. Sylvia also served on the Equity SM Committee during this time. As well as her great charm Sylvia was noted for excellent leadership, communication and managerial skills and was also a qualified researcher. She spoke french and italian, and carried a passion and understanding of classical music, jazz, European history and art lightly and with characteristic modesty. Miriam Margolyes remembers her friend: She was the partner of Margaret Robertson (a fine radio and TV actress) and also an im-portant stage manager at the Old Vic and the RNT. Born in Canada, she became really lonely after Margaret died. I fondly remember that we used to go to Hampstead first nights together. Go well dear Sylvia. Bless your dear memory. Producer Clive Chenery writes Sad to have just learned that Sylvia Carter left us earlier today, a respected Stage and Company Manager with many years at RSC and National Theatre and a long commercial theatre career. Sylvia was also a long-standing supporter and committee member of The SMA. I last saw her at last years SMA Awards and we had a long catch up in the bar after-wards. Farewell Dear Sylvia

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 21

Bob West A widely respected and much-loved Company Manager We were very sad to hear of the passing of 'Uncle' Bob West on 6th September. Robert West was a recipient of an Olivier 'Special Recognition' Award in 2018 and was awarded the SMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. His Olivier Award citation read : Bob wanted to be a singer. Instead, he helped a count-less number of performers realise their dreams. The prolific company manager worked with Cameron Mackintosh for decades. He was part of the original Les Misérables and The Phantom Of The Opera companies, among many other world-renowned produc-tions that would make history. Fondly known as Uncle Bob, he nurtured the then future stars of the world – offering them support when they needed it, and a push when they thought they didn’t. With an eye for talent and determination, Bob helped and encour-aged a whole generation of performers – many of whom owe their success to him.

Bob West receiving his SMA Award from Lesley Manville Special Guest at the ceremony

In 2014 nominating Bob for the SMA Lifetime Achievement Award Clive Chenery said: Bob was for many years the senior company manager and production supervisor for Cameron Mackintosh. Over the years he has helped along the way many now well established stage and company managers, including myself. He is loved amongst the theatre community and is still giving his time to the theatreMAD charity and actively supports our community. Over the years his friendship and advice have been invaluable to many of us in the industry.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 22

#WeMakeEvents Global Day of Action

Sharon Calcutt Cheadle

Last week we have seen an incredible show of solidarity amongst our creative industries. 25 countries around the world have lit the venues up red, beaming shafts of white light into the sky to highlight the massive

job losses, #Insideout - projection on the outside of buildings of what should be happening in-side, a creative demonstration in parliament square and panto dames marching on Whitehall. As an industry we are on our knees – the experience of many during the pandemic has been really tough, and the uncertainty of not knowing when we will be able to get back to normal has taken its toll – which is why it has been vitally important that we stand together – one voice globally calling for support for our industry. Putting all of this together has been no mean feat. From an idea that Phillip (who I run the Backstage Theatre Jobs group with) had when he changed the colour of the bulb by his back door to a ‘standby cuelight red’, to a worldwide campaign to gather and shine our plight. From then BSJ teamed up with ClearSound who were think-ing of doing something similar, and then later with #wemakeevents. We felt it was especially important to be one unified team, rather than splinter groups to make the most impact. So from kitchen tables the idea blossomed, zoom meetings held, organising volunteers and kit, writing press releases and websites, learning as they went – the team rallied the troops to light entertainment venues in red. 2300 venues registered on the site. The images from across the

world shared on social media and press have been simply stunning. The Opera house, Wembley Stadium, Silverston, Iconic venues to Folks’ houses – Every red light starts a conversation. The public are starting to be aware of what is going on for us, also it is important from a soli-darity point of view. Seeing buildings light up red across the world reminds me that we are not alone, and that we have each other, and that we will keep fighting. We had a lovely message from one of our Brighton

team who met a woman that he vaguely knew whilst walking her dogs. She has an eighteen year old son who did a music tech course, landed a junior sound engineer job at a London venue in February, did 3 gigs and then it all stopped. After seeing the images of all of our venues lit up he heard back that he was up all night starting from searching the #wemakeevents information and in her words :

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 23

‘He has gone over-night from feeling

completely isolated to having a sense of

community and a path to getting

involved with stuff’

Even though the reach is global, the community—that we have movement and action together —resonates on a very personal level.

Gary White from we #WeMakeEvents, says:

‘It is just overwhelming to witness the professionalism and dedication of everyone that was involved and those people who registered, lit their buildings and responsibly came out to be seen

and heard peacefully in London and in all regions across the UK, and the world.

Andy Dockerty, Managing Director of Adlib, and one of our team behind #WeMakeEvents, concludes:

“This was an important event as it truly did show a real sense of comradery and proves how we’re all in it together. Speaking to other participants in the various countries, it seems as

though certain governments are actually helping companies and venues find ways in which to put on events, whereas others are simply ignoring all pleas. The purpose of this event was to get all governments to ensure our normally thriving industry survives this current crisis, be ready to

help the global economy recover, and that hundreds of thousands of jobs are saved in the process”.

We will keep the momentum going as we move into Restart, the next phase of creative action.

We Stand as ONE, empowered and proud.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 24

At what phase of the government’s road map, do we dare to imagine a new

future for our sector?

Prema Mehta

I’m reflecting back on the last five months and the moments of feel-ing powerless, confused: feelings of despair and loss. But I am also keenly aware that there have been moments of feeling empowered, hopeful and understood in our universal desire for change. At the beginning of the pandemic, I spoke at a Scene Change talk and shared my feeling of creative grief as we went into lockdown during the final week of rehearsals for our Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Winter’s Tale. As a freelance Lighting Designer, the process from page to stage had been frozen. The production we were creating lives only in our minds, until we are permitted to return to our imagined space together. Alongside this creative grief, The Winter’s Tale was my chosen text whilst studying A-Level Theatre Studies. My tutor believed in a young Prema, who had decided to choose lighting as her individual skill. He somehow found budget to hire out some lighting fixtures and assisted me during the process as I designed the lighting from a scene of The Winter’s Tale. My A-Level tutor would smile proudly if he was able to see where that process took me, and how fitting for it to be at The Royal Shakespeare Company. Perhaps others too would have shared a sense of pride in the progress also that our sector was making in terms of diversity and inclusion, as lighting this production would have made me the first British Asian to light at the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. Through the use of imagination and a process of carefully selecting colours, choice of an-gle and direction of light, the way I have imagined for the scene to begin with strong diag-onal backlight creating a dramatic silhouette as Leontes walks to centre stage in utter rage. The deliberate choice of shadows around his eye sockets to make the audience feel dis-tanced from this character whose anger has tragically stemmed from an innocent action. Then gradually the light would slowly build to reveal all of the emotions, as Leontes delivers the lines “Nor night nor day no rest”. The intent to slowly transition the audience viewing an angry man to somehow being able to relate to this vulnerability within humans. This is my description of the imagined lighting for Act II, Scene III of The Winter’s Tale: a clear example of the way in which we use our imaginations as part of our pro-cess to create something new.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 25

In a similar way, if we understand and recognise that creation is indeed a process, at what phase of the government’s convoluted road map, do we dare to imagine a new fu-ture for our sector? Our industry is enduring a tough journey, and it often feels like we are caught in a sand-storm. Although when I dare to imagine the future, there are exciting possibilities around creating a new chapter, and developing new ways, as the need for change is greater than ever. My involvement within Freelancers Make Theatre Work and Stage Sight provides me with growth and the opportunity to disrupt the status quo. AAPTLE and organisations such as Freelancers Make Theatre Work, Stage Sight and Scene Change are guiding a process of change to a new imagined future. The only possible out-come of success through all of this, is that when our sector does return to strength, it does so in a renewed form, because we dared to envisage an improved sector. How and when does this happen? Timing will be key. At Stage Sight, we knew many of our organisation members went into survival mode at the top of lockdown and that many still sit in uncertain times. Our usual approach in encouraging and supporting organisations to make practical change towards an inclusive offstage workforce (in terms of ethnicity, class and disability) needed to be considered with sensitivity. Whilst we feared the risk of losing any progress that was being made, we had to recognise that creative problem solving towards any issue requires mental and physical capacity that is limited in a time of crisis. Over the last five months, we have focussed on how we can support our freelance mem-bers. We listened as they shared with us the inequalities that they faced pre-COVID-19, and their concerns around the invisible barriers becoming larger than ever. Your contribution to The Big Freelancer survey helped provide key data and evidence towards the COVID-19: Routes to recovery report and listed those most likely to leave the sector. We encourage you to read the findings in the report. We must find space and time to explore, contribute and commit to a stronger future: working together as organisations and freelancers. If we wait too long to begin this conver-sation, we risk returning to the way things were. So here’s the ultimate question - Whose responsibility is it? Where and how does change begin? Who is involved? Few of us wish to return to ‘normal’. We must strive for change through a process of imagi-nation, empathy, collaboration, risk-taking and a shared sense of responsibility as we work together as organisations and freelancers to create the new. Initial ideas will no doubt take us back to a form that we are familiar with. But though our shared desire for change, we may just be bold enough to challenge one another, and have the courage of our convictions as we dare to envisage a changed landscape for our sector. It’s just as my A-Level tutor said ‘You’ve got to move forwards, otherwise you’ll sink.’ So, now is the time for us all to reflect on the past, bravely imagine a new future and use this moment to commit to transfor-mation. Join us.

-Prema Mehta is a member of FMTW and also Founder of Stage Sight This article appeared originally in the Freelancers Make Theatre Work newsletter and is reprinted by kind permission. FMTW Stage Sight and SMA are members of AAPTLE

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 26

What is the difference between a Kite Mark a CE Mark and UKCA?

Geoffrey Joyce

Britain exits the European Union for good on December 31st2020, when a new mark comes into effect.

The Kitemark is a UK product and service quality trade mark which is owned and operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The Kitemark is often used to identify products where safety is para-mount, such as crash helmets, smoke alarms…. and the symbol can be found on electrical, electronic and a number of theatre related products. Theatre technicians sit on British Standards Committees advising specifically on theatre flying, fire safety and electrical harmonics.

Spot the BS within the Kite Mark.

Meanwhile the letters ‘CE’ appear on many products traded on the extended Single Market in the European Economic Area (EEA). CE marking is a part of the EU’s harmoni-

sation legislation. They signify that products sold in Europe have been assessed to meet ‘high safety, health, and environmental protection’ requirements. When you buy a new TV, phone, or teddy bear, a manufacturer declares that the product meets all the legal CE marking requirements and can be sold throughout the EEA. There are two main benefits that CE marking brings to businesses and consumers. The knowledge that these products can be traded without restrictions and consum-ers can enjoy the same level of health, safety, and environmental protection.

The CE mark is carefully designed to deter forgery. However, the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is a new UK product that will be used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain. From January 1, 2021, the UKCA logo will be applied across the board. But in order to allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, the CE marking will remain until January 1, 2022. Most prod-ucts currently subject to the CE mark will need to have the UKCA mark if they are to be imported into Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Will this mean a new testing regime? Or in order to sell into the UK, European manufacturers will simply swap a CE labels to a UKCA?

Not as easy as that: In order to keep us all safe, the British government has introduced a new set of rules, such as:- -UKCA requires third-party conformity assessment, carried out by a UK conformity assessment body. -The UK Declaration of Conformity must be drawn up lawfully bearing a UKCA marking. This recognises new use and size requirements -UK designated standards, rather than standards cited in the Official Journal of the European Union!

Think of how many rules the UK Government has proposed for Covid-19?

I’m in the market for ‘UKCA’ ear plugs

Oh, and don’t forget to wear your mask!

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 27

CENTRAL PAGES

CHECKLIST for company members. Productions that follow Best Practice will have arranged matters so that you can answer yes to all these questions. Responsibility for protecting the health of company members is shared by every-one, employee and employer alike. Before you join the company: Have you seen risk assessments for rehearsal and production and all the places you will work? Do you know who to notify if you anticipate doing anything not covered by the document? Have you received a Welcome Pack describing what protocols are in place to protect your health and how they will be managed? Do you know who is responsible for monitoring and advising on protocols? Do you know the routine for reporting concerns over covid safety? Have you been told of arrangements for working in cohorts or bubbles if appropri-ate? Have you notified your employer of your residential address and how you plan to travel to rehearsal or performance venues? Have you notified your employer of existing covid symptoms, recent exposure to sources of infection or health conditions that might put you at increased risk?

COVID-19 GUIDANCE

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 28

CENTRAL PAGES

When you join: Have you travelled independently? If you have used public transport have you taken precautions by using FFP2 mask (unvented), visors and distancing? If there is a testing regime in place do you know the details? Have you been told about entry procedures? On arrival were you shown where you could wash your hands or use anti viral gels? On arrival were you reminded to wear a face covering? Does it fit properly.? Are you aware that vented face coverings are less effective for community protection than unvented? Have you been shown safe routes to and around the workplace? Have you been told about distancing protocols? Have you been briefed on what other protocols exist and how to follow them? Have you been told what welfare facilities exist and where they are located? Have you been allocated a dedicated toilet in venues that have such a facility? Have you sanitised your personal effects? Do you know the ‘rule’ that bans phones, tablets and similar from the workplace. Have you arranged to provide your own crockery and cutlery and keep those items clean? Are you aware that access to green rooms, locker rooms, storage areas will be severely limited? Do you know where you can wash your hands and where to find hand sanitising gels? Are those items readily available?

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 29

CENTRAL PAGES

Are you aware that you may be required to remain in the rehearsal building or the ven-ue until the end of your working day? Are you ready to bring sufficient food and drinks to last until your working day is over?

Have you been allocated the following: face coverings (unvented), visors, dedicated place to sit in rehearsal room, dedicated place for personal effects, your own prop ta-ble or a partitioned part of a shared one? Do you know how to dispose of single-use items, e.g. face coverings, gloves, paper towels, bottles?

Have you been shown how to clean your props and told when to do so? Do you know who to speak to on health protection matters? If you have done so, have you received prompt and understandable responses? Is there a Covid Monitor? Do you understand that person’s role? Have you been told not to come to work if you develop symptoms of Covid19? Do you know who to tell if you develop symptoms of Covid19, at work or elsewhere? Have you confirmed to your employer that you understand the protocols in place and that you will comply with them at all times? When you move onto stage Does the theatre have a Charter Mark or other certification that Covid Safety is in place backstage? Have you been briefed on safe working protocols in the new workplace locations? Have you located notice board(s) where information about covid safety is posted? Have you had time to practice moving around the stage and backstage areas safely? Is your dressing room, office or workroom supplied with hot water, soap, paper towels, waste bins, clean surfaces, sanitising materials, gels. In shared rooms is distancing pos-sible, are there divisions between workspaces and separated costume storage?

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 30

CENTRAL PAGES

If you wear a wig, use a radio microphone or have an item that is difficult to handle have you discussed how those items will be fitted or put on and where, given that ac-cess to rooms by staff will be severely limited.? Do you know where your quick changes will take place? Have you been shown your dedicated seat(s) in the wings; do you know you may not use other seats? Have you found your allocated prop table and the related cleaning material? Are you aware that ‘personal’ props will not be left in your dressing room? Do you know which areas backstage you may and may not enter? Are you aware you may not come to stage until called or with express permission of your stage or company manager? Are you aware you may not enter the auditorium or other front of house locations?

Is there an obvious local policy in place that excludes visitors from the workplace?

Moving on:

Have you been told of arrangements for travel to and residence at further venues?

Have you been advised to limit social activities with people outside the company?

Have you been told of arrangements for handling your personal baggage?

Remember that protection of your health and the health of others is a responsibility shared by employer and employee.

The full ‘Living Document’ Guidelines—Standard Operating

Protocols — are available on our website and will be regularly updated

Link to the Guidelines:

https://stagemanagementassociation.co.uk/news/tuesday-9th-june/

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 31

A Better Future:

Work, Caring and Covid

Matt Harper

PiPA research in Summer 2020 has underscored how vulnerable families in the performing arts are as a result of Covid-19. From the manageable uncertainty that is accept-ed in the way we work, to the terrible realisation that there is too much risk to their family: two-thirds of parents and carers who responded to the PiPA DCMS survey were already considering leaving the sector. There is a risk in particular that freelancers and women with caring responsi-bilities will leave the industry. Single parents are disproportionally affected by the crisis and are most vulnerable, as are parents and carers facing other kinds of social exclusions and/or without social capital. Parents and carers are currently experiencing a care crisis. Nurseries and schools open and shut

from one day to the next and those with more complex needs are further impacted in a myriad

of ways and finding new ways of working. Flexibility and accessibility are key. Flexible approach-

es to scheduling and core hours are essential. Homeworking, where possible, needs to be

properly embedded and supported. We need to acknowledge the need to work differently and

guide people through this change, taking into account the increased challenges parents and

carers now face, in trying to combine work demands with ongoing care for their children and

other loved ones.

Backstage Challenges

Whilst this is a new kind of tough, working conditions back-stage have always been challenging. On March 13th 2020, just before lockdown, PiPA launched the findings of our Backstage Workforce Report. The main themes in the report demonstrate tough working conditions for all backstage workers, indicating a potential impact on wellbeing: Poor work-life balance - 95% respondents said they had concerns about their work-life balance. Not feeling listened to - Nearly half reported they had raised their concerns with their employer but fewer than 1 in 10 saw any positive change. Disenfranchised - The other half didn't raise any worries because they feared the impact on their career or believed that nothing would change.

The PiPA Backstage Workforce Report presents a picture of workers having little or no support from employers when it comes to managing their work-life balance, with little flexibility and unexpected schedule changes. Participants reported little or no flexibility regarding the demands of their work but highlighted being expected to change their plans at short notice for their employer. Eight out of ten partici-pants reported less than 12 hours' notice for schedule changes, and nearly half experienced a change of call times with less than six hours' notice. Backstage workers are increasingly doing more unpaid work.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 32

Two out of three participants reported experiencing involuntary and excessive overtime. So how can we move forwards and work together to ensure that when we build back, we build back better?

Communication Conversations around parent and caring related needs are critical, now more than ever, and crucially need to include freelancers and those on short term contracts. Channels of communication need to be clearly signposted, a proactive approach taken through regular touch in points. These conversations are as beneficial to the organisation as to the individual.

A Flexible Approach We need to encourage organisations to consider new and more flexible ways to support Stage Management with caring responsibilities. Last minute school and nursery closures will put significant pressure on all parents, and especially single parents and those with no immediate support network may struggle. Scheduling rotas as far in advance as possi-ble is helpful as there’s a real shortage of childcare, with many settings having been forced to closed or operate in a restricted capacity. Self-isolation regulations may also mean that usual support networks are not

available, so as much notice as possible is required to secure care provision. This is however with the caveat that things may still change at short notice, which is why a flexible approach is crucial in enabling parents and carers to continue working.

There is an urgent need for each organisation to review what adjustments can be made to support Stage Managers to meet their work and family commitments. Is there an ASM(cover) or someone else in the company who can cover the SM role at short notice? Could there be an opportunity for junior company members to shadow a stage manager, learning on the job and enabling them to step in at the last minute? Can job-shares be embedded from the start? In a sector with so many immovables (like showtimes) we have to work twice as hard to find the flex if we are to attract and retain our incredible talent.

Opportunity This crisis is presenting the sector with an opportunity to restructure the way we work for the better, not just for parents and carers but for everyone seeking a better work-life balance Including all freelancers and Stage Managers.

We are always happy to help organisations make the step to more family friendly ways of working, and support parents and carers to bring about the change they need. If you have a question or would like to put us in touch with an organisation you work with, please email Matt@pipacampaign.com

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 33

Welcome to SMA India Andy Rowley in conversation with

Amrita Puri and Keyur Shah

On Independence Day 2020 SMA India was announced (although it actually started just after then) and the organisation is now almost 6 weeks old. Event professionals Amrita Puri and Keyur Shah launched Stage Managers Association India (SMA India), a platform for stage managers in the country to network and have organised knowledge-sharing sessions. (Shah is the Founding Director and Puri Creative Director at a show management and stage and events management company : Usually Unusual Entertainment Company).

Puri commented “It has been an interesting journey” -relying only word of mouth and so-cial media with some limited press support, the Association already has 100 members but the founders are both ambitious and realistic about the future. Amrita comments that it is likely to be six months to a year before the industry in India normalises, so to achieve so much in the midst of the pandemic is clearly a terrific start. The industry in India is still in lockdown, with almost no work available, and Puri tells a familiar story: “ it is a shame that a lot of people starting out and moving to the big cities have had to return home because there is no work”.

The Association’s aim is to become a networking base and central point for stage managers across India. It will work towards finding solutions to issues of all kinds affecting stage managers and stage management. SMA India are already an established part of the internation-al community of stage managers - they are part of US SMA’s International Cohort, and are even running full seminar sessions at the NCC (Collaborators Virtual Conference) this year.

In India stage management is slightly different: there are no stage management courses and stage management is not always an exclusive role, with people operating as event manag-ers, PMs, in logistics and even wedding management (Indian weddings are huge events) and sometimes festivals. There are also quite a number of people from overseas working in the industry in india. There are really two major centres for the industry in India: Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi, with Bangalore and Kolkata (Calcutta) also significant.

Puri said, “Stage management is at a fairly early stage in India. Most of our people don’t work on contracts, employment is by word of mouth, or maybe sometimes a WhatsApp communication or message to confirm availability.” People very much learn on the job here, you watch and learn from experienced people- and many of our shows are quite short 2-3 day events; you need someone who is able to pick it up and learn quickly”. Shah explains that as well as the National Centre for the Performing Arts, India has thea-

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 34

tres (mostly commercial) in the bigger cities, “but these are quite small skits and the shows are not complex—one full time (employed) stage manager is more than enough to cover the entire schedule” The 5-6 large musicals that have come to India in the past five years. (Beauty and the Beast was one example) are big shows but had limited runs of 15-20 days. Puri adds “95% of jobs come from events, or maybe TV reality shows”. Some members are involved in scripting on events as well. A team on a show could be quite large, though. There is a showcaller, a senior SM -who acts as Head of Stage– runs rehearsals with a wing management, artists management and scene management teams. Apart from a SAG style actors’ guild there are no unions in India, “stage staff pay is per day -which can be up to 24hours on some events”, so the pay has to hopefully reflect the conditions and for more senior people some individual negotiation.

The SMA in India does not expect to get involved in contracts and fees. This would be up to a management company (like ‘Usually Unusual’) who will often assemble the team and arrange the pay.

A video* from Actors Producers, comedians and International friends accompanied the launch

Puri tells us “We aim to bring together the community that has been working effortlessly on all kinds of events, TV shows, musicals etc. This is our way to give back to the commu-nity.” Shah adds, “Out of passion for the craft and love for the community, we have start-ed the Stage Managers Association India. We have the patronage of producers, actors, stand-up comedians, anchors and sports personalities including Sonu Sood, Jimmy Shergill, Annup Sonii, Ravi Dubey, Nakuul Mehta, Kiku Sharda, Karan Tacker, JD Majethia, Gitikka Ganju Dhar, Sapan Verma, Tanmay Bhatt, Sahil Shah and Rupinder Pal Singh. We do like the art and the artistes behind it to get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. We feel there is no better time than now to make this favourable beginning.” * https://youtu.be/VMN187BxIeII

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 35

CallQ: Perfect Timing for a New Stage

Management Tool David Mc Graw

I yearn to return to the headset. The pandemic hit my region the day before the start of technical rehearsals. My script is sitting on a shelf with the opening cues that I never called even once. I am not alone in feeling this absence: there are many wonderful videos of stage managers calling cues for everyday events in their homes and writing show reports about their pets. But this response is not just a fondness for our jobs; we are also deter-mined to be prepared once it is safe for audiences to return. Artists in other disciplines can work on monologues, practice their instruments, and create designs in private, but stage managers need a team in order to practice their skills.

Every stage manager values good timing, and British stage manager and educator Gail Pal-lin has demonstrated the best possible timing in producing CallQ. CallQ uses simulations of real shows to help improve the “quality, confidence, and consistency” in calling cues. Stage managers do much more than call cues, but cue calling is the most visible part of our profession. CallQ providing high quality training that is ideal during this crisis and will re-main a valuable tool even once live productions resume.

CallQ actually offers two packages: CallQ Trainer, discussed in the Summer edition of Cuel-ine, and CallQ Studio, newly released this month, for production companies to import their own shows to train new staff and covers and refresh show callers who have been away from a show. Even when there is a planned substitution of stage managers on a pro-duction, there rarely exists the time or resources to allow the stage manager to call the full show prior to a performance with audience.

Your Laptop is the Calling Station The Trainer module, which is ideal for students as well as professionals learning the software, provides extracts and full-length productions to practice cueing tech-niques. What makes CallQ really exciting, however, is the new Studio module that allows you to import your own show to practice on an actual production. Simply import the film of your show and the cue placements.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 36

The cue placement process may seem time-consuming at first, but many show callers, my-self included, rewrite entire prompt copies when learning a new show as the writing pro-cess allows one to focus on each individual cue and its trigger. Like the Trainer module, the Studio module measures the accuracy of your call based on the timecode and, if you make a mistake, will revert you to the previous cue to try again.

Here is another potential use of CallQ Studio: show caller warm-ups. I like to warm up, both vocally and mentally, when I arrive at the theatre by practicing the tightest cueing sequence. CallQ allows you to import just that sequence so that you can warm-up with full audio and video. It is much easier than staring a black stage and imagining the action! In full disclosure, I also spent several years (2010-2015) developing training software called the Stage Manager Simulator (if you were in the United States at this time, you may have even tested the demo at USITT). I ultimately shelved the project when I could not bring the cost down to be affordable for companies given the software licensing agreements. Pallin conceived the idea for CallQ well before me (she first wrote about the potential for this software in 2000) and the cue light trigger system she has developed keeps the price tag reasonable. CallQ has actually further reduced its prices during the pandemic: even more reason to test this new training tool. It also offers a generous 2-week free trial of the train-ing module to make sure the software will work for you.

I was impressed by the ease of the installation process and the user interface; the design has all the structure and organization you would expect from an accomplished stage man-ager. The software is very intuitive and includes a thorough manual with screenshots. I was running the first simulation within ten minutes of installation.

Simplicity is the Key CallQ delivers exactly what it prom-ises: you can work at your own pace learning the script, watching a run, hearing the original show caller, analyzing the blocking and cue placements, and trying your hand at cueing sequences. One of the chal-lenges of teaching cueing to a re-placement is reducing the complexi-ties of a production so that new show callers can focus on learning to call cues. CallQ eliminates the variables of a live production to make a very straightforward path for the learner. But the simplicity that makes it an excellent training tool also limits its use. The learner only uses keys to set standby and go cues, so there is no way to get feedback on verbal cueing. The simulation stops at each error to allow the user to make a correction, so it is not possi-ble to develop the stamina of calling a full show unless you can call the cues perfectly.

Screen Shot: Computer running Call Q

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 37

When I train new show callers, an often tough lesson to learn is recovering from one mistake before calling another sequence of cues. And, is the case with all but the most complicated of simulations, the actors on the video will always say the lines the same way and cross at the same moments.

CallQ is excellent training tool to introduce new stage managers to a show before they go into the stressful “live” training. It is ideal for early career stage managers and students, especially for the large class where it is impossible to run a live simulation in the classroom for more than a couple of minutes per student. CallQ will give students an appreciation for the difficulty of calling cues. An added bonus is that the provided scripts include blocking notations that can be included in other lessons. Experienced stage managers may become frustrated by the lack of verbal cueing, but it is important to remember that CallQ is the first step in learning a show. If you are like me, you will still call cues audibly even if your headset is unplugged. It is also important to remember that this software is designed to remain affordable. The cost challenge for any SM-related software is that there are so few stage managers, it is very difficult to keep the price low because we cannot rely on economy of scale. We can buy a terrific game for our phones for next to nothing because there are hundreds of thousands of users. For training stage managers, there might be only a few hundred users each year, which also removes the option of ad-supported pricing.

I applaud Pallin for bringing a solid stage management training tool to market. I look forward to watching the evolution of CallQ and I encourage other stage managers to create new tools and to share our work with others.

Now go announce “Act One Beginners to the Stage, Please,” to your cat. We need to stay in shape!

Contact CallQ or to order: https://www.callq.uk.com

David J. McGraw is the creator of the Stage Manager Survey, a 14-year study of American stage managers that recorded 1,746 participants in its 7th edition (www.smsurvey.info). He is working with an international cohort of stage managers to create a global study of the profession. David is an Assistant Professor and the Program Coordinator for the Arts Admin-istration program at Elon University, he has stage managed for the Chester Theatre Company, Iowa Summer Rep, Arizona Repertory Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Oldcastle Theatre, Perishable Theatre, StageWorks on the Hudson, Vilar Performing Arts Center, White River Theatre Festival, and the Yale Repertory Theatre. He also is serving as a Director-at-Large for the (US) Stage Managers Association (having served as a Second Vice Chair in 2007).

Gail Pallin and Iain McConnell demonstrating CallQ on the SMA stand at PLASA Glasgow

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 38

My cousin Nikkiita Luna is a circus aerialist and ground performer and, after months of sorting out the work visa, started a new two-year job with a touring circus in Australia at the end of January. By the end of March the circus had to close due to the pandemic and she had to go and live with one of her new colleagues at his

mother’s house, what with the circus accommodation trucks being packed up into storage for the foreseeable. The circus had hoped the closure would only be tempo-rary, and that in a few months’ time they would be able to reopen and employ every-one again. In early May, immigration told Nikkiita that because she was not fulfilling her visa requirements (which basically were to perform, despite the enforced closure of all performance venues) that she would need to return to the UK until such a time as her workplace could open again. Two weeks later, after using all of her savings to book a flight home and ship her costumes and equipment (extra bags on the flight costing over £600 each!), I drove to Heathrow to collect her. On the transfer bus back to the car park, it began to hail and she promptly burst into tears. Everything she had worked for over the past 10 years had been ripped away from her, she had finally man-aged to get to Australia for work (something she had wanted for a long time), and now she was back in the UK with no work prospects, no money, no hope-and it was hailing!

The 3-hour drive home to Lincolnshire was a mixed bag of emotions. I was in a similar situation having finally hit a happy place with my career and life in general, to see it all ripped away from me in mid-March and to be stuck back in my childhood home with no end in sight.

Circus Pandemonium!

Cat Tyler

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 39

A few weeks later the final nail in the coffin came for Nikkiita, when she heard from the circus owners that due to the ongoing closure they could no longer afford to mothball the business and that it was closing permanently. Many tears and much frustration followed, but a fierce drive for injecting some creativity into our small corner of the country emerged, and plans to stage a mini circus in the local pub’s beer garden started to take shape.

Fast forward to the end of August – Welcome to Circus Pandemonium! A mini, pop-up circus (which was somewhat cobbled together!) was brought to life in a few short hours. Performers from the local area came together for the first time on the day of the perfor-mances, friends of Nikkiita volunteered to run FOH selling sweets, popcorn and candyfloss (the latter two made fresh on the day in mini machines!), and a group of local technicians and stage/production man-agers put it all together–Nikkiita’s dad is a Lighting Designer, her stepmum is a Production Stage Manager, I’m a (Deputy) Stage Man-ager, and in the small village where Nikkiita is living at the moment there seemed to be a mass of creative folk who came out of the woodwork almost begging to be involved! To name just two: a Sound Engineer who should have been working on the Olympics, and a Production Manager who should have been touring with Matthew Bourne. We put the mini aerial rig in position, worked out how to rig all of the aerial equip-ment so as not to tangle with each other, laughed as the tree stump that was causing issues near the front of the ring was quickly dispatched by Chainsaw Bob (he was providing some haybale seating but happened to have his chainsaw in his van!), ran a top & tail of each act and then, as we were magically ahead of schedule, ran a tech/dress so that we could put the fine tuning on the movement of props and setting of aerial equipment by yours truly and my trusty sidekicks (who had never crewed a show before!) At 4.30pm we opened FOH to our audience and set up the live stream camera – all tickets had been pre-sold online so that numbers could be controlled, and for anyone who was too far away to attend or wasn’t sure about coming out of the house just yet, there was also the live stream option.

The original plan had been to just give one performance, but tickets sold out.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 40

At 6.30pm, we did it all again. It was just as magical, and watching from “the wings” as my cousin Nikkiita performed, totally in her element, I actually felt quite emotional. Speaking later with my uncle and step-aunt, they said they had felt the same. It had taken some careful planning, various site visits to measure the space, working out how to get enough power outside the pub, and the logistics of bringing a company together on the actual day of performances, but it had worked. We did a show. It wasn’t normal, but it was better.

We had planned to contin-ue developing the show, taking it to an old church in a nearby town for a Hal-loween circus and cabaret extravaganza, and on to Christmas where the plan was to undertake a mini tour of local venues with a festive show. However, with the latest restrictions coming into force, both Nikkiita and the venues she has been in contact with are less sure about mounting performances in

such uncertain times, so for now, sadly, we have had to put Circus Pandemonium to bed. That said, we are looking into Arts Council funding to enable us to take a show to some of the smaller festivals next summer, so the small flame of wonderful creativity is still a-glow.

Cat Tyler is a freelance stage manager,

specialising in DSM work, and in her

spare time volunteers as a Cub Leader.

Passionate about theatre from her

teenage years, she has been working in

the industry since graduating from the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama in

2011. The current situation sees her

working for the local Co-op, but she is

available for theatrical work from the

New Year.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 41

Midway through this year, I was beset by a desire to do something. I needed to feel productive and creative again and fill the acres of spare time and a little extra money wouldn’t hurt either. So, like many theatre personnel across the country I started a small business (or side hustle). Taking my knitting, which I had as a hobby since I was a child, I set up an online profile on social media and started a knitting-to-order busi-ness. It felt like a big step, I wasn’t quite sure what I needed to do and was beset by the fear that no one would take any notice and I’d struggle to reach customers.

Then I found Brainchild of Anna Saunders,.

It’s an online curated directory of small businesses both existing and new set up by theatre folk across the country to try and survive through this strange time. With a website and active Facebook and Instagram profile, it has created a new community for those business-es to promote their products. A new business is given a feature everyday. You can find them at www.notonthewestend.co.uk.

I knew that I wasn’t the only SM who had taken this step to utilise skills and creativity and so reached out to Anna and some SMs who are part of the Not On The West End (NOTWE) network. Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer an email questionnaire or speak to me on the phone, I found everyone’s answers full of inter-est, inspiration but also much food for thought. Whilst many busi-nesses have sprung up in response to the immediate crisis, many haven’t and the questions provoked by their very existence, why the need for them has grown and the fact that people may continue

them through a return to work turn out to be extremely important.

Below are interviews with each of the business owners who I spoke to along with details as to how you can find them online. Please take a look at their pages and NOTWE and spread the word to friends and family– Xmas is not far away! Knitted by JW on Facebook and Instagram : hand-knitted accessories and homeware.

Anna Saunders: Founder of NotOnTheWestEnd & previously Wardrobe Deputy at 9 to 5: The Musical.

How long has NOTWE been going and how has it grown? We are only about six weeks in from the idea-stage to now. We launched on August 14th, and 3 days later we’d filled every feature day until the end of September. Fast forward to today and we have more than 200 businesses in the project.

N.O.T.W.E. (Not On The West End) Gift Shopping Special

Compiled by Jane Williamson

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 42

I usually get between 3-10 submissions a day. Which departments tend to be represented by the businesses? To begin with we had a lot of mask makers, but as time has gone on it has really diversified, and so have the departments that we cover. My initial base was people I knew who were costume and wardrobe personnel with businesses but now we cover almost any depart-ment. Stage Managers are probably our second biggest group, then performers. But we have designers, directors, writers, musicians, prop makers, scenic artists, set builders, mar-keters, Front of House, box office, wiggies, automation techs, sound ops, follow spots, chaperones and production office staff. Are all the businesses new, or were some already in existence? There’s a mixture between brand new and existing side hustles that have had to become full-time hustles. In some you can see the obvious link back to their theatre role – lighting technicians making lamps – but some are obviously a totally separate passion: a Head of Sound who is a personal trainer, or actors making candles. Christmas this year is going to be different for everyone, especially for theatre folk who are usually working nonstop. How are you finding the change in focus this year? This is my first year as an adult not spending my December in panto-land. I would normally be using Excel to make costume plots and wardrobe budgets, but this year the spreadsheet is full of amazing business details. I want to put my panto-energy into helping people spend their money with these businesses – contact me and ask away for different products, so far I have only been stumped once! When running around after Panto Dames and Ensemble Members in their first professional job, I always ended up not shopping small but instead shopping convenient. By reminding people to start their present shopping now we can make shopping small and shopping con-venient the same thing. With money being a bit tighter for most of us this year, if we start our Christmas shopping now we can spread the cost out over the next three months, rather than splurging on Amazon on December 19th. Giving your friends and family a personal gift and saying ‘this supported someone from my industry who has found a way to create something beautiful when their livelihood disappeared’ is special. Are you finding that more people from across the country are joining? Have you had many groups of people from the same show/theatre? We have people from all over the country – 'Not On The West End' in every sense. I’ve been trying to share the businesses from each region as a story highlight on Instagram, so you can shop local as well as shop small. Do you think that NOTWE might continue once we (finally) get back to work? This will sound terrible, but I hope not. I hope that anyone who has started a new business and discovered they love it has every success, but this project is about survival.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 43

Maybe I’ll hop back on every year to remind people to shop small at Christmas, but, crazy as it sounds, I want to be able to put my energy into pairing socks and quick changing sweaty dancers and climbing a billion stairs with a full laundry basket. Hobbies don’t have to be hustles. When we are back at work I want us to have hobbies again, without the pressure of needing them to pay our rent. Let these things be the stuff we do to relax and enjoy ourselves. Theatre is my love. I want to get back in there and stand in the darkness of the wings and know that we survived and we are back.

How can people help support NOTWE - and you? We have a ko-fi account at ko-fi.com/notonthewestend – you can support the project from £3. I’m using donations to buy marketing stuff, like postcards and stickers, and pay for sponsored posts on social media. You can support me by buying an embroidery from me at instragram.com/annabroids or when you buy from any NOTWE businesses, post about it on social media and tag @notonthewestend – it helps me feel like I’m not shouting into the void to know that it’s working and people are buying from our businesses! www.notonthewestend.co.uk

Matt Byham: Eonía Santorini Weddings and Company Manager on Only Fools and Horses. I asked Matt to explain about his business and how he found NOTWE Eonia Santorini is a wedding planning service to help couples plan a bespoke wedding on the Greek island of Santorini. I got married there in 2016 and fell in love with the island. We used a planner on the island to help out with local logistics but I did a lot of the work my-self, discovering that it was the same skill set I use daily as a CM/SM but with more creativi-ty. Despite Brexit and the pandemic, people will always want to get married. This has been shown through lockdown, with a rise in symbolic weddings as statements of commitment. I hope to launch Eonia Santorini officially by mid November (with my feature day on NOT-WE being February 14th!). The business is a slow burn; the word needs to get out for people to book with us, to allow more planning time, with the ability to think much further ahead. How did establishing the business happen? When lockdown hit, I initially enjoyed the break, being able to sit and have a drink in the afternoon without worrying about show call, or 3 show days looming. But then I needed something to do. I’d booked onto a wedding planning course a couple of years ago after enjoying the process of planning my own wedding.

I figured I might as well use the lockdown time so ploughed through the course and at the same time learned how to set up a business. With NOTWE, it’s good to see what others are doing in response to the pandemic, and par-ticularly the shift in starting to realise the value of hard-earned money. NOTWE can funnel that money and attention towards the theatre community and help emphasise that the pandemic can result in a lot of positive change. It’s unfortunate that this is how we’ve reached this point but if it helps people find a new career, new job or even a side hustle that can support them long term alongside theatre then those things should be celebrated.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 44

Thoughts on the industry’s return to work:

I was one of the company members from Only Fools and Horses who took part in a (socially distanced) silent stand outside the Theatre Royal Haymarket to raise awareness about the plight of theatre and lack of support for the job losses. I made the point in a BBC interview that without some form of long term properly focused support for the workforce to cover the gaps in the Government’s schemes, the biggest concern is that people won’t come back. Seeing the number of submissions to NOTWE is actually a major red flag, with many people are realising that the skills they have aren’t dependent on theatre. Some businesses are short term prospects but others could be run from home on a fairly decent basis and make enough money to get by without having to get back to theatre. How many will go back to theatre? How many now feel totally lost and unsupported? The-atre never could guarantee stability, and the pandemic will be the final push for many who were having doubts but felt they lacked the time to re-train and explore other options. SMs especially may find themselves in this position as, pre-pandemic, the skill set was not al-ways valued as highly as it should have been. With our industry now at such a weird point, people are already starting to question the value they had within it. The pandemic and lockdown may be a re-set button for many. All of this doesn’t mean that I love theatre any less and will give my whole heart to any job I’m on. But my return to work will be for as long as it takes my new business to become established, with the aim that it will eventually become a full time career. Eonia Santorini Weddings:Wedding planners, making your day perfect.

www. eoniasantoriniweddings.com

Meg Charlton: Megs Plant Life and freelancer Tell us about your business! My business is Megs Plant Life. I make an assortment of macrame products including plant hangers and other decorative items, as well as painted concrete pots. I also provide plants, most of which I have grown myself from cuttings of my own house plants.

I've been completely obsessed with house plants since my first visit to the Royal Horticul-tural Society Flower Show in 2016. In time off between jobs in 2019, I started learning how to make macrame hangers and concrete pots. My business, Megs Plant Life, was only offi-cially begun in May this year.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 45

With all the free time lockdown provided, I threw myself into making more items and ex-perimenting with what else I could make. Originally, I put my plant pots outside my house with an honesty box but after a few weeks I had more people messaging me on Instagram so decided to move my business online.

I’ve found it really helpful to have a creative outlet in these uncertain times. I've set up my own workspace inside my potting shed – my own little creative sanctuary where the only thing to worry about is my plants! This business so far hasn't been a huge money maker, but it's certainly kept me sane and grounded, which is worth its weight in gold. What would you have been doing if Covid hadn’t happened? I was supposed to be starting my first professional DSM job on a mini tour starting in New-castle in April. I've been working as an ASM book cover in London for 3 years now and have been waiting for the opportunity to DSM and so was absolutely gutted when the show got cancelled. The theatre is hoping to go ahead with the show in Spring 2021 so fingers crossed I'll still get the opportunity.

Christmas this year is going to be different for every-one, but especially so for theatre folk. Now that you run a business, what has changed for you? I’m certainly thinking about Christmas a lot earlier. I'm already working on a range of festive products and optimistically building up a stock of my other products in preparation. A positive is that I'll have time to spend with my family over the festive period, but I am really missing the community and support group you gain when you work on a show. There's always some-thing lovely about that over the holidays.

One of the strengths of SM work is the team aspect, in contrast to a small business where you are working on your own. How have you found it? I really love working with a team, knowing there are people to help you when things get stressful or overwhelming. Most people in theatre live by the mantra, “every day is a learn-ing day”, as we're often surrounded by people who have experience in multiple areas. I have wished more than once there was someone to help me troubleshoot some of the issues I've faced with my products. However, the NOTWE network has returned some of that sense of connection. Joining this network of wonderfully helpful people has helped make me feel more a part of the theatre community again.

Once we can return to work, would you like to continue with your business? One of the biggest issues I will face is continuing the business in London. I was at my family home in Pembrokeshire when we went into lockdown so this is where I set my business up with my little workshop and lots of space to experiment. This will become more difficult in my small London flat and certain aspects of my business that I find most enjoyable, like the making and painting of concrete pots, may well not be possible.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 46

While everything is still so uncertain, I'm trying not to worry about it too much, but I'll try to continue because I enjoy it so much.

Meg's Plant Life: specialises in custom made plant related gifts and home decor. www.instagram.com/megs.plant.life

Joanna Randall: LilliputWight and freelancer Tell us about your business LilliputWight was set up about 3 years ago to sell hand crafted gifts and homewares inspired by the coast. I sell both online and while at home on the Isle of Wight do as many markets as I can in person. The business was set up as a sideline to Stage Management. It covers all its costs and makes a little bit of money but was never intended to ever be a full time replacement for theatre work. Theatre income meant I could afford to invest in training courses and to set up my website to help LilliputWight grow. There was no pressure for the business to be eve-rything immediately. Often with a side business it can be a hard balance to find time to work on different things and judge where your focus needs to be. LilliputWight became just another ball to add into the juggle of being an SM and working away from home.

How has lockdown affected your business? When lockdown happened, I shut my online shop and took 3 or 4 weeks off from every-thing. It was just a bit overwhelming but I enjoyed the break, finished up projects, made some clothes, had a potter, did some baking. It was like my usual February break, using the time to build up stock for summer markets and to make the ideas that I’d constructed men-tally whilst working now materialise into reality. This year, I’ve explored using a vintage knitting machine, have been creating patterns and produced some lovely cushions to add to my products. When local businesses and organisations on the Isle of Wight began to organize events that could take place within Covid restrictions, I started to promote my work again, and to take advantage of opportunities to trade in real life on the Isle.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 47

How much has your SM/freelance background helped with the business? Doing the markets, my SM background has really come to the fore: people know that I al-ways have useful things and that my organised preparation skills mean that I can deal with things on the fly as needed. Another transferable skill was the ability to put together a beautiful and well thought through stall display. SMs are used to taking a designer’s vision, making it happen and telling a story through arranged objects.

Looking ahead to how the business may develop: My original aim for LilliputWight was to try and get it, over the course of a year, to replace the income from one SM job so that I could be at home more. Being at home due to lock-down has really reinforced that goal for the business.

LilliputWight: Offering gifts and homewares inspired by the coast. www.lilliputwight.co.uk

Katie Bingham: Macrame by Bingbong & freelancer Tell us about your business! Macrame by Bingbong was launched in July of this year after a new found love of macramé.

After the country went into lockdown, I needed to find things to do to stop myself going

crazy! I have always been interested in crafts usually with some sort of knitting or crochet

project on the go. So, I thought trying something new and nurturing that skill would really

engage me during lockdown. Macrame by Bingbong is garnering steady interest on social

media and so I’m just working on those sales now.

What would you have been doing if Covid hadn’t happened?In

March, my tour of The Marriage of Figaro with Mid Wales Opera

was cut short due to Covid. Then I should have spent my summer

down in Lewes working as ASM at Glyndebourne Opera Festival

followed by their tour.

Christmas this year is going to be different for everyone, but espe-

cially so for theatre folk. Now that you run a business, what has

changed for you? I’m usually throwing myself into panto-land! This year, I’m feeling very lucky to have something else to focus my attention on, and no doubt making lots of festive macramé creations alongside virtual Christmas markets will help with the Christmas spirit! Once we can return to work, would you like to continue with your

business? Absolutely! I always like to have a side project going on, so why not share it with others via Macrame by Bingbong’s Etsy shop? It’s also a reminder of something positive to come of this strange time. Macrame by Bing Bong: Offering beautiful macrame creations.

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MacrameByBingbong

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 48

Tal Sharville: Tal Sharville Art/ PosterBoyLDN

Tell us about your business: I grew up in a pretty artistic family and have been drawing and making stuff for as long as I can remember. About a year and a half ago I realised that I had been saying to myself for AGES that I had to get back into painting properly and it was time to try and make it hap-pen. I've always loved portraiture and the challenge that comes with capturing a personality or mood in a still image. I made an Etsy page and the portraits have been selling reasona-bly well. I’ve got quite a few personal portrait commissions. I also work on projects for al-bum art, packaging and promo art - recently creating a show poster for some of the Drag Queens from Ru Paul's Drag Race! I also began Posterboy LDN, an Art Pop up developed by myself and Laura Barton (also an SM) during lockdown. We knew there were a lot of people relying now more than ever on their artistic side hus-tles. But there was nowhere to sell your work in real life as markets and shops were then closed. Small businesses and the Arts need to be bolstered and not allowed to go to ruin, because entrepreneurs and crea-tives diversify our society and contribute to the local economy. Our first event, a two-day Pop-Up shop, provided a new oppor-tunity for local artists to sell their work. It ran as a not-for-profit, housing the work of 35 artists and was designed with Covid safety in mind.

Christmas this year is going to be different for everyone, but especially so for theatre folk. Now that you run a business, what has changed for you? The first Posterboy event was an opportunity to regroup and consider how buying may have changed in light of everything that's happening. We've got a couple of potential event ideas in the pipeline but we're going to take a bit of time to reflect on the feedback from the first event and see how people are approaching Christmas spending as we definitely all have to be more economic than usual.

One of the strengths of SM work is the team aspect, in contrast to a small business where you are working on your own – how have you found it? Well, my business partner is another SM so we've sort of made our own team! I massively miss working with big production teams though and, like all of us, I just miss theatre in general.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 49

Most of what we're doing is so similar to the process-es we use in Stage Management - not to mention the element of practical problem solving under pressure. I've absolutely loved seeing all the brilliant business-es/ hobbies that Theatre people have been develop-ing during all of this. It’s all evidence of how versatile theatre makers can be. Once we can return to work, would you like to con-tinue with your business?

I'm always going to want to find ways to be artistic. Although we'll have to find ways to do Posterboy LDN in the gaps between theatre work, it's potentially the beginning of an exciting future project.

Tal Sharville: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalSharvilleArt PosterBoyLDN: www.instagram.com/posterboylondon Sara-Lee Bull: SBDesignsJewellery and freelancer

Tell us about your business It was set up around 2013 as a side hustle, and started with making small cord bracelets, initially for myself and family and then grew into an online Etsy shop. The business was always intended to run easily alongside theatre work, be packed up into a bag and put into the car to be taken to jobs. In 2019, I made £800 from my online shop – not a lot but a nice extra, and I’m proud of how far the business has grown since the start.

How did lockdown affect your business? When lockdown started, I was very stressed by feeling that I had to turn this small side hus-tle into something that could be full time and bring in more money. It was originally de-signed just to be something that could be done on an evening after rehearsals, whilst watching TV or during the day with show call in the evening – all for a little extra money, not a full time and only income. It was much easier once I realized that it did-n’t have to be a full time replacement for theatre work and in-come. My normal order rate is a couple a week, as jewellery tends not to get the same demand as products like masks, plants of macramé. What would you have been doing this year if Covid hadn’t happened? I was supposed to begin a job in Salisbury in March/April and had agreed a verbal contract with Theatre Clywd in the autumn. Both jobs were cancelled but thankfully both venues came through with some financial recompense.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 50

However, pre-lockdown I had already been considering leaving the industry. I’ve been a career ASM in regional thea-tres for 10 years. It’s a lovely, challenging job, very satisfying in the way amassed experience improves my standard of work. But I’m still on the same wage (allowing for adjustment over the years) and will always be on the minimum rate, which isn’t sustainable in the long term for building a life, buying a home, etc. However, each time I consider leaving, I remember how much I love this job and the theatre industry and it’s very hard to contemplate an alternative career. There are concerns about how many peo-ple may find that their business is some-thing that can become full time and long term. Discovering that their creativity can be used productively and integrated into a more sustainable and less stressful life-

style may mean that fewer people return to theatre once the industry can restart. We’ve all been given the time to properly consider questions that were being asked before the pan-demic. SBDesignsJewellery: creates accessories inspired by all your favourites books, TV and films. www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SBDesignsjewellery

Canine Comfort: Knitting by JW

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 51

Last Word:

Where is the DRAMA?

Natalie Braid

It feels somewhat bizarre writing for the Cueline Autumn edition, while I sit in a sunny corporate office, looking out the window at the early signs of spring. The abrupt change to my seasonality this year has meant I experienced two winters in a row - but the glimpses of Antipodean summer are tipping the scales slightly back to centre. It’ll be my first summer and Christmas with family in over four years, and I’m getting cautiously excited - I’ve learned not to plan too far ahead in 2020 but I don’t see myself leaving this hemisphere for a while yet. A lot has changed since I last wrote (is how I start most messages in 2020…) Auckland entered into its second lockdown while the rest of the nation moved to alert level 2. We have community transmission in the country again - albeit completely tracked and contact-traced, contained within the con-fines of the Auckland region. We have clusters within clusters within clusters, and it’s as though the entire country is holding its breath, hoping the clusters end, hoping for no more lockdowns. While we avoided a second national lockdown, the case of Auckland city highlights how nearly impossible it is to produce live events while there is community transmission of COVID. At least, in a city that has strict COVID rules in place… It’s been very hard to fly the flag for the theatre fight recently. I’ve had to find some form of paid work in New Zealand (not in theatre). I need to figure out what to do with my London flat, with four years worth of belongings stuck in there and rent payments becoming an excessively expensive form of storage, and what’s next if COVID means I don’t get UK residency at the end of my visa next year? Like many of us, I’ve lost the vision of my future and I need to figure out what life looks like now. And how to make that new, weird life feel somewhat fulfilling and not just like surviving - because, and I promise this isn’t the cynicism talking, this is going to last for a while. I feel anxious all the time. I went on anti-anxiety medication before the first New Zealand lockdown and tried my best to keep up with my UK therapy over Zoom. But there is still a huge stressful weight on me all the time. I’m working in an office as a workplace assistant (think organising stationery cupboards and resetting meeting rooms) and while it’s not how I envisioned my life at this point, god I’m grateful.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 52

I don’t think I have the resilience to go through the heartache of another contract cancella-tion or show being pulled. I have so much respect for every one of our industry members who are fighting on the front line, working out socially distanced shows and getting daily COVID tests to make those shows happen. And to those forecasting ahead, tentatively putting show dates in their diaries and preparing paperwork - this is so brave and I am so proud of you. I recognise that I am not in a place where I can cope with the disappoint-ment. I hope this admission is received with kindness and empathy by my peers - although it feels like a weakness. I know that authentically reflecting on my current capacity takes a lot of strength - and I know I’m not alone in this. I read with hunger about fellow stage managers working on shows, even on TV or Film sets, making things work despite every-thing being stacked against them. Oh how I miss it! But it is also a terrifying thought. The idea of potentially making someone ill, getting ill myself or losing further income is very hard to stomach. Office work, if that’s what one would call what I am doing, is a different world. I was so lost during the first few days - what is the POINT? I am supposed to go to work and help produce an actual, experiential THING. That’s all I’ve known for the last ten years! And now… I go to work and I… maintain? I send emails sometimes? Receive parcels? Deadlines exist, sure, but the stakes seem so tediously low. That’s unfair, I know, to my office-dwelling colleagues but I can’t help it. Where is the DRAMA?

Weekends are fine, I guess, but there’s not much to do when you’re halfway around the world from your friends and belongings (and when there’s a social-gathering-limiting-world-threatening pandemic). I can go for long lunch breaks and no one seems to notice or mind. Well-ness, or the appearance of wellness, is taken very seriously in this corporate world. Parents’ schedules can be as fluid as their child’s, sick days are welcomed, making time for your life out-side of work is Very Important. All very well, but after a decade in theatre… what is a life outside of work?? There is a lot of space. A lot of time. It feels important to hold that space and sit in that time - to be mindful of each moment. This is the first time in a decade where I have had multiple, consec-utive free evenings. It’s the first time in four years I’ve been present for my father’s birthday. And it’s turned my long-distance relationship into a very close-distance one, with us marking eight months of living together by the time this piece is published. I fear this dispatch from the South Hemisphere may be less hopeful than the last. But I hope you find it refreshing in its honesty, and reassuring in it’s message - socially distanced, oceans away, sat in a ‘normie’ office, I still stand with my theatrical community. Whatever you’re doing now to make ends meet or pass the time, you’re still a theatre practitioner and we’re in this together.

WeMakeEvents Aukland

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 53

MEMBERSHIP NEWS Debbie Bland

Professional

Liam O'Leary; Roni Neale

Professional Rejoin Ben Delfont; Natasha Harper-Smith; Helen Stone

Graduate

Charlotte Acres; Eli Banfield; Cecilie Fray; Thomas Bray; Emilie Mules; Cynthia

WS Cheung

Student

Caitlin Ravenscroft; Ellie Carney; Misha Mah; Rebecca Elsey; Isabella Taylor; Laura Alexander-Smith; Lucy Napier

Associate Rhian Kennedy; Michael Dengler; Helen Reynolds

Thank you to all members who continue to support SMA -whether you are able to pay subs at present or not.

Please continue to make use all of your membership benefits: Communications, Zoom meetings and Buddy Scheme as well as

advice, online training and Freelist

We’re here for you!

SMA are committed to doing what it takes to support members in the COVID-19 period. Our website, social media and

SMAgenda all carry up to date information and advice, and our office remains open, but staff are working remotely – please

contact us by email if you need support at any time.

Autumn 2020 CUELINE Page 54