craigslist and freelancing

Freelancing can be a bitch. I've done it quite a bit myself, and have been screwed over by a number of production companies. For the newbies- if you have a bad feeling about a company, demand 1/2 payment up front, and always send an invoice. Keep track of whom you've worked for, and how long it has taken to receive a paycheck. Harass any company that takes longer than a month, and never give up when somebody owes you. I've pestered some places for as long as five months for payment. Persistence is key.

On that note, there's a bunch of posts this week on New York City craigslist this week about places not to work for. They are mostly film production companies. Please note that I have no experience with any of the following, and don't shoot the messenger. This list includes names of places and people, and the poster's complaint against them.

Exile Ramirez (never paid poster)
Kreative Film Empire (never paid, bad working environment)
Peppermill Films (didn't pay total invoice)
Jackson Stone Media (didn't pay)
Wall Street Webcasting (unspecified)
Joey Vegas/Jeff Goldstein (low pay, bad treatment)
Team Omni (didn't pay, bad working environment)
Guardian Entertainment (vague complaint about manager)
Vid Arroyo (didn't pay)
Taxi Cab Productions (unspecified)
Real Savvy Media (low pay, inexperienced supervisors)
Animal Fair Magazine/dearlucky.com (unspecified)
Wendy's Diamonds (didn't pay)
Paris Multimedia (didn't pay)
Sonia Manzano (didn't pay)
Drop Squad Productions (didn't pay)
Nexpert News (didn't pay)
Tony Burton - (didn't pay after 6 months)
Jeff Jones - (pays too low and then tries to go back on his word_
Sasha Chesterton - (actually beat up an AD who tried to get blocking rehearsals)
Ian Moore and Matt Farneworth. (Didn't pay an entire Grip and Electric Crew.)
Creative Entertainment Group, who also go by the name Producers Advantage (don't pay)
Nick Knonopka, Mori Design. (didn't pay)
Morgan Dees of the Bronx (abuses his crew)
Splendor Video (Total deadbeats)
Crue Call staffing (bounced checks)
Ironbound Films (didn't pay)


In the interest of fairness, if you are on this list and feel you should not be, you're welcome to post explanations or defenses in the comments section.

Also, if you know of more shitty places to work, leave a comment!

Seriously!

How many times does this have to happen before someone realizes that using a real gun onstage is fucking stupid?

The above picture shows a prop gun. With blanks. Pretty damn real-looking, no? So why use the real deal?

Also, how does someone agree to have a real gun pointed at them on stage?
Here's how that conversation would go with me:

Director: So here's your prop gun. It's real, so be careful. Oh, also, there are fucking bullets in it. Yes, that's right- I'm a fucktard. By the way, here's Tom, the pimply teenager who'll be aiming this at your fucking face.

Me: "......." (silently turning, walking to door, leaving, never coming back)

Obama and the Arts

Click here to sign a probably-not-very-effective petition for Obama to create a "Secretary of the Arts" position in his Cabinet.

Simple Mathematics...

...for the tragically un-educated.

Summer Stock

EDIT --JANUARY 2010---
Text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts. It will show up on your next phone bill. They desperately need help- hundreds of thousands may be dead. Their capital city is in ruins.

UPDATE: Nobody has anything to say about working at these places? Help your fellow techies out and leave some comments! I know where you live (thanks sitemeter).

Hey folks- I'm going to try to make this list as comprehensive as possible, so if you know of a cool place currently hiring that I've left out, send it on over!

It's the time to start sending out resumes for summer work. Many of the following theatres will pay your airfare, room and board for the summer. Many also offer theatre production internships for those of you just starting out. Most are looking for everyone from props master to paint crew to lighting designer.
No guarantees as to the quality of their respective websites, but these links should all take you directly to the employment pages of the following theatres.

Arkansas:
Opera in the Ozarks, Eureka Springs, Arkansas
California:
PCPA Theatre Fest, Santa Maria California
Santa Rosa Summer Rep, Santa Rosa California (Mostly internships)
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, San Fran, CA
California Shakespeare, Orinda California
California Musical Theater, Sacramento California
Music@Menlo, Atherton California
Colorado:
Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder Colorado
Rocky Mountain Repertory, Grand Lake Colorado
Creede Repertory Theatre, Creede Colorado
Central City Opera, Central City Colorado
Connecticut:
Goodspeed Musicals, East Haddam Connecticut
Buck's Rock Camp, New Milford Connecticut
Florida:
Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota Florida
Idaho:
Idaho Repertory Theatre, Moscow Idaho
Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Boise Idaho
Illinois:
Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Normal, Illinois
Northlight Theatre (Summer Camp), Skokie Illinois
Steppenwolf, Chicago Illinois (unpaid internship only)
Northbrook Theatre, Northbrook Illinois
Iowa:
Des Moines Metro Opera, Des Moines, Iowa
Kansas:
Music Theatre of Wichita, Wichita Kansas
Kentucky:
Jenny Wiley Theatre, Prestonsburg Kentucky
Kentucky Shakespeare, Louisville Kentucky
Maine:
Tripp Lake Camp (Summer Camp), Poland Maine
Acadia Repertory Theatre, Mt. Desert Maine
Camp Laurel (Summer Camp), Readfield Maine
Massachusetts:
New Rep, Watertown Massachusetts
Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown Massachusetts
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Becket Massachusetts
Barrington Stage Company, Barrington Massachusetts
Mass MoCA, North Adams Massachusetts (Internship Only)
Michigan:
Interlochen Center for the Arts (Summer Camp)
The Barn Theatre, Augusta Michigan
Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Minnesota:
Great River Shakespeare Festival, Winona Minnesota
Missouri:
The Muny, St. Louis Missouri
The Starlight, Kansas City Missouri
Opera Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
Montana:
Missoula Children's Theatre (Touring), Missoula Montana
Nevada:
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Incline Village, Nevada
New Hampshire:
Papermill Theatre, Lincoln New Hampshire
New Jersey:
Surflight Theatre, Beach Haven New Jersey
New York:
Gateway Playhouse, Bellport New York
Depot Theatre, Westport New York
The Hangar Theatre, Ithaca, New York
Merry Go Round Playhouse, Auburn New York
Long Lake Camp, Adirondack Park New York
SPF NYC, New York New York
Lake George Opera, Saratoga New York
Adirondack Theatre Festival, Glens Falls NY
New York Stage and Film, Poughkeepsie New York
French Woods Camp, Hancock New York
Stage Door Manor (Summer Camp), Loch Sheldrake New York
Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Cold Spring NY
Cortland Repertory Theatre, Cortland New York
Forestburgh Playhouse, Forestburgh New York
The Theatre Barn, New Lebanon New York
Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, New York
The Mac-Haydn Theatre, Chatham New York
Bristol Valley Theatre, Naples New York
North Carolina:
Lees-McRae College Summer Theatre, Banner Elk North Carolina
Pennsylvania:
Camp Lindenmere (Summer Camp), Henryville Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Center Valley Pennsylvania
Philly Shakespeare, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Mountain Playhouse, Jennerstown Pennsylvania
Rhode Island:
Theatre By the Sea, Wakefield Rhode Island
South Carolina:
Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston South Carolina
Texas:
Texas Shakespeare, Kilgore Texas
Utah:
Utah Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, Utah
Utah Festival Opera, Logan Utah
Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Ivins Utah
Vermont:
Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Weston Vermont
Virginia:
Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Williamsburg Virginia
Wolf Trap Theatre, Vienna Virginia (Internship only)
Busch Gardens, Williamsburg Virginia
Washington:
Columbia Gorge School of Theatre (Summer Camp), White Salmon Washington
West Virginia
Theatre West Virginia, Beckley West Virginia
Wisconsin:
American Players Theatre, Spring Green Wisconsin
Peninsula Players, Fish Creek Wisconsin (Internship Only)

More to come....

If you've worked at any of these theatres, please comment on this post about your experience there.

The Intrepid Museum

Today, I went to the Intrepid Museum, which is a museum aboard an aircraft carrier on the west side of Manhattan. It had some pretty cool stuff (nothing pre-1950, though) and some really awesome lighting and projection equipment as well. However, I doubt anyone has tweaked the lighting since the place opened, as there were multiple spots on walls illuminated for no apparent reason, and gobos haphazardly thrown about on jets and on the floor. A lot of lights must have blown their lamps out a while back, as well. In some spots track lighting (my arch-nemesis) was used to light signs and such...which is okay, I guess, except that there were tons of source fours not in use at all.
I'm a nerd, and everywhere I go, I notice the lighting and critique it, even when I myself could do no better. Have you ever been to the Palisades Mall in Jersey? There are instruments all up in that shit doing absolutely nothing! Also, and this reaaaaally bugs me- every time I go to a movie theatre lately, there's always one errant beam of light on the screen, usually from a badly focused houselight. I don't notice it once the movie is going, but sweet jesus, it irks me.

There was a projector shooting down on a map of the Intrepid. This projector was maybe three feet above the surface, and had at least a 4 foot by 5 foot throw. That's an insane lens. Also, there were touch-screen monitors which were hooked into whatever the projector was running off of, and they did some really cool stuff with that.

Dear Intrepid Museum....please let me come in and play with all your cool toys and fix your lighting.

Thanks.

Happy 2009!

This blogger has had a really busy holiday season. Apologies for the disappearance, to those who care.

The thing that comes to mind most today, having talked with family and friends about the economy, is the impact of the current crisis on our industry. A lot of my friends, arts-involved and non, are worried about job security right now. Theatres in New York are starting to downsize, and I wonder how far it will go. A friend argued that now is a good time to be a freelancer, as he believes that theatres will first cut their fulltime staff and rely on overhires. I disagree with this slightly- though full-timers are expensive due to benefit payments and such, overhires make more money per hour (the going rate in NYC for non-union techies is currently $20/hour). I think it is more likely that the overhire rate will decrease (it hasn't increased even for cost of living in the past five years as far as I know), and the current full-time staff members at most places will be worked harder in order to avoid using overhires.

Another friend of mine is in grad school at the moment, and I think that financially, that's the way to go. She's learning skills that will hopefully get her a job in two years, when the economy (hopefully) will have recovered slightly. And in the meantime, the job situation isn't so important for her.

Your thoughts?