Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura Wolfe on August 4, 2009 at 10:44am

We never really had a problem when I was in high school, but that might be because another student was telling them to be quiet (that was me)... but I did find a decent list here: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/collaborative-articles/7124-head...
and here: http://www.ou.edu/finearts/studenthandbook/drama/appendices/appendi...
Hope these help!

Permalink Reply by Rich Abrans on August 4, 2009 at 10:49am

Robert- We have both wireless and wired headsets, along with base stations in the dressing rooms and theater lobby as well as the booth. My advice-don't say anything that you wouldn't wish the public to overhear. I have a horror story from a few years ago where a follow spot operator dissed a singer, and the entire cast heard the discussion in the dressing rooms! Take care- Rich Abrams

Permalink Reply by Shawn Senavinin on August 4, 2009 at 10:58am

Hi Robert,

I don't have any online resources to point to, but as a Production Stage Manager/show caller here's my take:

The less experienced the crew, the more important headset etiquette and general professionalism become. In my opinion, crews shouldn't become chatty on headset at all. Crew members should be focused on their tracks, not conversing. Having said that, the SM or whoever is calling the show should be the final word on the matter. I do allow some chatter, but I also work with highly paid stagehands who pretty much know their tracks inside out and backwards. I give them latitude to decide how much chatter is too much, unless I'm calling a busy sequence. Since they know what sequences are busy, it's usually not an issue anyway.

For young crews, the excitement of doing show with their friends can be more than they can keep to themselves. It's important to stress to them how important it is for the SM to hear what is happening onstage without the distraction of outside conversations. Turning off department-specific channels is not a solution. The SM needs to have the attention of every single crew member at a moment's notice in case of trouble. Chatter is not generally accepted in the "professional" world. That may carry some weight with those hoping to continue in this business.

If you do decide to let them converse think about the following:
- KEEP YOUR MIC TURNED OFF WHEN NOT TALKING. PERIOD. Nobody wants to hear you chew gum or breathe.
- The exception to this rule is the calling SM. I generally am the only one allowed to keep my mic open the whole show, especially if I'm calling a busy show with lots of cues.
- I never let me crew editorialize what's happening onstage. If an actor were to stand behind a crew member and criticize them during a cue, it would be terrible for morale. People should keep their opinions to themselves. You never know who can hear what's being said.
- Headset chatter is a swell way to flirt, but it's really unprofessional. Save it for the party.
- Obviously lewd/sexist/objectionable subject matter has no place on headset.
- Save technical notes for after the show. Talking about what went wrong only distracts from what is coming up next.
- Keep comments positive. Anything beyond that can be written down and discussed later.

In terms of actual headset protocol, it really depends on the individual crew member/calling SM relationship. For young crews, I would encourage standardizing standbys/sets/clears. This is what I generally expect:

- Single word or short responses as much as possible from the crew. Here's what I typically hear:

"Standby lights 23/Sound C"
"Lightboard Op: lights, Sound Op: thank you"
"Lights 23/Sound C - GO" or "Lights and sound - GO"

I DO NOT want to hear the op talking to me when I am calling a sequence except in the event of an emergency/technical fault, etc. I meet the occasional op who wants to tell me they are "going" when I say GO. Not necessary.

I want to know that my op has heard my call. Wordy responses are not necessary. When the SM is "stacking" a bunch of cues for different departments, I generally want to hear a response from each op phrased such that I know what department is standing by. Five people all saying "thank you" doesn't mean much unless I know everyone's voice.

Also, if the SM is giving multiple standbys for a cue sequence, it is only necessary to have the crew respond once. I encourage stacking cues for transitions, as it keeps the crew on their toes and makes them listen to the SM throughout the sequence.

Calling is such a psychological exercise. Not only is the SM trying to have cues land in very definite ways/times, they are trying to calculate human response time into the mix. An experienced show caller will learn the reaction time of each individual crew member and adjust the call to make sure things happen in a more predictable way. This is why headset etiquette and protocol is important, and should definitely be a point of discussion with younger crews.

I hope this helps. PM me if you have more questions.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Paulsen on August 5, 2009 at 3:40pm

As a Junior Stage Manager in college, I found your response very knowledgeable and full of good reasons to pass on to the "less-than-understanding" few. I also found that cross talk can get to a point where it may sound like a direction, when it was merely a conversational topic. Having someone on the fly rail begin to move something because they heard "...flying into City X and was delayed..." was my worst headset mix up to date.

Permalink Reply by Kristi R-C AKA MissWisc on August 6, 2009 at 3:00pm

On professional shows, the crew members being cued rarely, if ever, give a verbal confirmation of the stand-by. If there is a complicated sequence, that can be skipped.

Words that sound similar to "GO" should also be avoided. I recently worked with a newer SM calling a show and something went wrong. She kept repeating "Oh no! Oh no!" Very confusing for those of waiting for GO.

Permalink Reply by Bo Metzler on August 4, 2009 at 1:37pm

"What We Do - Working in the Theatre"
The ONLY book about everything in Theatre -- written by someone who has actually DONE everything in Theatre.
ForeWord Magazine's 2008 Book of the Year - Gold Medal in Performing Arts/Drama
Available on Amazon.com
Infinity Publishing 877-BUY-BOOK
http://www.whatwedo-book.com

Permalink Reply by Michael Taylor on August 4, 2009 at 2:50pm

Our SOP is only the SM keeps an open mic. I don't want guys answering that they hear my standbys. If they are where they are supposed to be then they will hear it, if something is wrong and they are off headsets or out of earshot of the offstage monitoring station then it won't make a difference. If you have a board op or spot op that has to leave headsets for a problem they are to tell you but other than that kill the crosstalk.
I don't care about talking before the show or at intermission but when the SM says kill the mics, that's it unless there is a problem or question.
If you are doing a long run with the same crew, this can be relaxed but I do a lot of short runs and traveling with different ops so you have to fairly strict.

Permalink Reply by Thomas Gassner on August 29, 2009 at 10:27am

All of the points made so far hold true in the Meetings & Events circuit as well. In addition, there can be HUGE consequences when there is a client on headset or within earshot of a com speaker that has some operating crew member moaning about the CEO or guest speaker that looks or sounds like an idiot. Usually an announcement is made early on in a rehearsal or event, something to the effect of "We are in C.O.H. mode."
Translated as Client On Headset. There are war stories of production companies losing millions of dollars worth of work because some brilliant tech op blasted the client.

Some other points...
1) All crew members need to make sure that they do not leave their mics open when they leave their stations.
2) Watch where you set your headset down. Don't set them on the dimmer rack, or any other electrical component that could possibly cause noise interference on the com line.
3) Don't slam or drop your headset when removing it. If you by accident forget to turn your mic off, the bang on the headset caused by you may cause other crew members to bang on you!
4) If you need to ask the SM something while standing next to them, make sure that he/she turns off their mic. That way neither of you can be heard by the rest of the crew.

Permalink Reply by Rob Pelance on September 11, 2009 at 11:09pm

I think Shawn has a very good point when he states that technical notes and discussions thereon should be saved for after the show. As someone who primarily works in lighting and sound, I often prefer to run my own cues if I designed the show since I know exactly where the cues were intended to fall. When mixing a live performance, I often do not even wear the headset unless called upon. I rely on a cue light that signals me when someone is calling me. It is because of this that I have seen many problems arise over discussion on headsets. I recently mixed a show where the stage manager would routinely call me over headset to discuss something that had just happened rather than saving the note for post-show. While the times in which she did this were ideal for her due to periods of few cues, they often fell during times requiring rather intricate adjustments on my part. Though I hate to admit it, these inopportune calls did, at times, cause me to miss things that would otherwise have been second nature to me. For this and many other reasons it is important, when preparing to make a comment on headset, to remember that while you may not currently be doing anything, someone else may be and might falter because you became a distraction.

Permalink Reply by Robert Parker on September 12, 2009 at 3:33pm

Since I'm dealing with high-schoolers, sometimes they need reassurance. I try to keep my mid-show "headset commentary" to only one of two very brief things:

One of the following, when they hit something perfectly: "Perfect!" or "That's the way to do it!" or "Nicely done." And nothing more.

When they miss something: "Don't worry about it, just keep going. We'll deal with it later." And nothing more. (The younger/less experienced ones can seriously freak out if they bobble something, so that's a fire I have to put out immediately.)

Other than that, on MY channel, pretty much all you hear is "Go."

Robert

Permalink Reply by cody konschak on September 17, 2009 at 2:55pm

Hello, Robert I am a student at Indiana Wesleyan University and currently am enrolled in a stage management class as well as being a stage manager for our first production for this season. I have not had previous experience as a stage manager (usually I am an actor) but the textbook that we are using for the class has helped out immensely when it comes to questions like these. Our textbook is called Stage Management by Lawrence Stern and I strongly recommend for you to find a book like this that could answer a lot of questions that you might have.

Permalink Reply by Christine on September 24, 2009 at 8:02pm

Lawrence Stern's book is my "stage management bible." Not everything in the book is applicable to every situation, but it certainly set the standard. I advise all my ASM's to read it. In fact, I just received the latest edition, the ninth, as a birthday gift. Its the third version I have owned as others have disappeared with ASM's over the years, and I refuse to be without a copy. And no matter how many shows I have done, I look through it again at the start of each new one.