TAD 493 Portfolio Spring 2014

Basically, when I am looking for a Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager or Production Assistant all I want is a cover letter and resume with references.

#1-It doesn't really illustrate anything about how good an SM you are. Anybody can make a fancy looking form or prompt book, especially given time to redo it for inclusion in a portfolio. We all know this is not what SMing is about. What's the point of photos of a production? They illustrate the designer's work- not yours. Whether to hire someone as part of an SM team can only be gleaned thru careful interviewing, and checking of resumes and references.

Each one ends up being about 10 pages. A cover letter at the front, detailing EXACTLY what each one is:

NOW my desire to work for them changes. Because I have more information which leads me to believe they don't know too much about my job after all, and thereby maybe not as much about theatre, and maybe I actually don't want to work there. And so I do not Jump.

Often, when receiving materials from Interns, I actually find that their submitted materials are often a mark against them - they sound great over the phone, the present themselves well in the interview, they have the experience that would make them ideal, but the paperwork they submit is either substandard or "too cute". Make sure when you are submitting materials it is professional.

ALSO . . . be very careful that any work you submit as part of your portfolio does not include personal or confidential information - such as phone numbers, medical information, etc.

I think in general, and this is my thought, that all the good qualities of the SM can not be summed up on paper - the way you handle pressure, the way you deal with people, the way you look at a show, your sense of humor. When you work for a new theatre or work under a new SM, most of the time you are going to have to adapt your paperwork to the new place you are going to work for. Yes, I can see you can do a prop list, can type a call, etc, etc . . . these are things I usually get from a reference

I usually carry with me a portfolio and a prompt book. What I have found is that if I ask would they like to see my portfolio first, they usually don't ask to see a prompt book, or they flip through it just to check for thouroughness.

I feel a portfolio has its own benefits in some situations. First, you can show that you do have a creative artistic eye, without going to far out there. As a stage manager I am not a designer, but I need to make sure that Cues are executed with the eye of one.

Another benefit of a portfolio, is that instead of a line on your resume that says you have certain computer skills, you can SHOW that you are computer literate or savy.

e, but I do like to include production shots to show the level of theatre for the production, to give them a feel for the paticulars of the show.

I would suggest still hauling a book with you. Some people will still want to flip through and read a randomly chosen daily report, ect. As I said earlier though, most people I have interviewed with seem to only take a token look though my prompt book, if that, after I present my portfolio.

In todays increasing technical world, it is easy to put together a digital portfolio, burn it to a disk, coordinate a label, and case cover with your business card and resume to give as a leave behind package. At first it sounded very corporate to me- (having done data entyr/marketing for so long) but it has grown on me. If you have strenghts in these areas, why not use them (just don't flaunt them).

I used to make two copies of the calling script, one that I cleaned up and included all Qs plus the final blocking for them. Gotta admit I don't do that any longer - I do always make a clean copy but it's the prompt book/calling script I create after we tech, the one I use/adjust as needed for the run.

I've never been asked to have a portfolio at an interview. I also do not bring a prompt book since they become property of the theatre when the show closes.Anyone can have pretty paperwork, but what do you do when your actress calls out sick three hours before a performance and you have no understudy? Experience helps there, not pretty paperwork.