Marxism
by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 9 January 2008, 02:45 PM
Here's my idea. Well, actually it comes from other people. Basically, who owns stuff controls it. We can look at the way power operates. This is a recurring theme not only in marxism but also strands of postmodernism. It informs a lot of theatre practice.
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Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 11:52 AM
One of the stems of Marxism , whose ideas were first proposed by Karl Marx was that of Communism. A dictionary definition defines communism as a theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labour for the common advantage of all members. In conjunction to theatre practise , if based on these ideals would mean that everyone involved in the creative process of theatre making would own the same amount of money, have equal power and therefore authority to inform the rehearsal and performance process. However what is more typically seen is a power hierachry where more authority and responsibilty comes from being " higher" then someone else as oppossed to marxist ideals. For example , a stage manager would have more authority to cancel a performance if for instance a fire escape wasn't up to standard then a member of stage crew that had just been brought in for that performance to deal with the movement of set during the show. This could be due to the difference in job descriptions between a member of stage crew and a stage manager but the difference in the authority and power is clear from the technical hierarchy presented and the amount of money that each would recieve.
Power and authority does inform a lot of theatre practise but this i feel cannot be helped with the difference of what each job entails from a production manager controlling budgets and schedules to a casual who has been brought in to help execute the get in or get out of that particular venue.
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Re: Marxism
by Julian Bryant - Friday, 18 January 2008, 10:35 AM
Fair point. I think there are two aspects to this; one of which is about how theatre is created (which you've commented on); the other is about how theatre creates meaning. I suppose you could call these structure/process, and content.
In terms of hierarchies, either PM -> SM team, or Director -> SM team, do these get altered by diferent styles of production - TiE for example, or music theatre to take two extremes?
Since you've started on a structural view of theatre, you might want to have a look at structuralism!
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Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Friday, 18 January 2008, 05:11 PM
In conjunction to theatre process and the technical hierachry that arises i think its fair to link this to the finances of that particular production. Where these can get altered when you are presented with for instance a stage manager taking the aspects of the assistant stage managers role to do with propping and the deputy stage managers role of calling the show under the one title of the " stage manager". This can be seen for example in The Edinburgh Fringe Festival where the number of production crew taken to the festival is limited due to the company's finances . Where in order to rectify not having the required number of crew doing the jobs needed the roles are doubled up or presented in a title under the broad category such as " lighting designer". Who might end up doing all the focusing, rigging and board operation of that particular run and not just designing the show.
The structure of the technical heirachry can be linked as mentioned to how a particular venue is run. From more traditional settings of the West End to a more amateur theatre for instance The Corn Exchange in Newbury. A stage manager needs to be able to be flexible enough in order to go into any presented working environment , realising how things are run and making it a productive process and not losing out on the creative process's potential from thinking on only one viewpoint of how the management structure should be run and holding prejudices over this presented process.
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Re: Marxism
by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 07:34 PM
Fair point - you're being very pragmatic, which should make you very employable! However, I still think there's a sense in which it's great as an SM to have 'ownership' of your work. Not sure quite what I mean by that - it could be financial, but more intellectual/cultural I think. Maybe it's just being given the respect for one's expertise, and being encouraged to perform well.
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Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Thursday, 7 February 2008, 12:52 PM
A stage manager's job is often viewed with a lack of knowledge for the role and what it entails. It is often met with the line" your the one who makes the tea arent u?". But what stage management is primarily there for is to make what the director envisions come to life and put into practise with the necessary health and safety and negoiation between all departments. Ensuring everything runs smoothly without anyone noticing what goes on behind closed doors. Therefore i think that a stage managers job isnt to have ownership over their work, they have pride and a knowledge of what they did in order for something to happen within that production or event but it is the directors and actors work. You are there as someone to make that work look and sound great without anything going wrong and then by their own admission of doing such a great job that no one says anything about what goes on backstage knowing they did simply that. What goes unsaid is a stage manager's way of knowing if they have done a good job , if something was picked up by the audience then something has gone wrong or a mistake has been made.
As a stage manager you do gain respect from the place you work and within the backstage team , and you take that respect when going for another job title somewhere else. That respect for what you do is what makes you employable for someone else. But a stage managers' role will always go un noticed in the eyes of an audience member and that is exactly what you looking for in order to gain that respect for the work you have just done.
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Re: Marxism
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:37 PM
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&pageno=1&idno=463
Might be useful next time you get asked to make the tea!
As a stage manager i take alot of pride in what i do, and i agree that our job is to create the show that the director and designer envisage. I have met with many people who have no understanding of what our role in the production actually is and therefore don't know if we have done a good job or not. As a memeber of the audience before i knew they existed i praised the show as a whole or maybe an actors talent but never really thought about the set, props, and technical aspects in the way i do now. However i have also worked with people who have a lot of respect for what we do and who have praised and even over praised me on what i see as just doing my job. I feel are job is alot more than just gaining respect, it is about creating partnerships, friendships and an arena in which everyone can bring their own talents to the table and feel appreciated for them.
Bringing this back to the orginal posting i think that the rehearsal process shows the relationship of ownership and power quite clearly. Within rehearsals the director owns the show and has power over all decisions, and although as a stage manager we try to keep everyone from killing themselves and we can say no, that wouldn't be true to our role. However come tech rehearsal the director (should) hand the show over to the stage manager who will now run it until it closes, with this they hand over the power and it is at this point that i feel the show becomes mine.
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by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 9 January 2008, 02:45 PM
Here's my idea. Well, actually it comes from other people. Basically, who owns stuff controls it. We can look at the way power operates. This is a recurring theme not only in marxism but also strands of postmodernism. It informs a lot of theatre practice.
Edit | Delete | Reply
Picture of jessica davey
Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 11:52 AM
One of the stems of Marxism , whose ideas were first proposed by Karl Marx was that of Communism. A dictionary definition defines communism as a theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labour for the common advantage of all members. In conjunction to theatre practise , if based on these ideals would mean that everyone involved in the creative process of theatre making would own the same amount of money, have equal power and therefore authority to inform the rehearsal and performance process. However what is more typically seen is a power hierachry where more authority and responsibilty comes from being " higher" then someone else as oppossed to marxist ideals. For example , a stage manager would have more authority to cancel a performance if for instance a fire escape wasn't up to standard then a member of stage crew that had just been brought in for that performance to deal with the movement of set during the show. This could be due to the difference in job descriptions between a member of stage crew and a stage manager but the difference in the authority and power is clear from the technical hierarchy presented and the amount of money that each would recieve.
Power and authority does inform a lot of theatre practise but this i feel cannot be helped with the difference of what each job entails from a production manager controlling budgets and schedules to a casual who has been brought in to help execute the get in or get out of that particular venue.
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: Marxism
by Julian Bryant - Friday, 18 January 2008, 10:35 AM
Fair point. I think there are two aspects to this; one of which is about how theatre is created (which you've commented on); the other is about how theatre creates meaning. I suppose you could call these structure/process, and content.
In terms of hierarchies, either PM -> SM team, or Director -> SM team, do these get altered by diferent styles of production - TiE for example, or music theatre to take two extremes?
Since you've started on a structural view of theatre, you might want to have a look at structuralism!
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of jessica davey
Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Friday, 18 January 2008, 05:11 PM
In conjunction to theatre process and the technical hierachry that arises i think its fair to link this to the finances of that particular production. Where these can get altered when you are presented with for instance a stage manager taking the aspects of the assistant stage managers role to do with propping and the deputy stage managers role of calling the show under the one title of the " stage manager". This can be seen for example in The Edinburgh Fringe Festival where the number of production crew taken to the festival is limited due to the company's finances . Where in order to rectify not having the required number of crew doing the jobs needed the roles are doubled up or presented in a title under the broad category such as " lighting designer". Who might end up doing all the focusing, rigging and board operation of that particular run and not just designing the show.
The structure of the technical heirachry can be linked as mentioned to how a particular venue is run. From more traditional settings of the West End to a more amateur theatre for instance The Corn Exchange in Newbury. A stage manager needs to be able to be flexible enough in order to go into any presented working environment , realising how things are run and making it a productive process and not losing out on the creative process's potential from thinking on only one viewpoint of how the management structure should be run and holding prejudices over this presented process.
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: Marxism
by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 07:34 PM
Fair point - you're being very pragmatic, which should make you very employable! However, I still think there's a sense in which it's great as an SM to have 'ownership' of your work. Not sure quite what I mean by that - it could be financial, but more intellectual/cultural I think. Maybe it's just being given the respect for one's expertise, and being encouraged to perform well.
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of jessica davey
Re: Marxism
by jessica davey - Thursday, 7 February 2008, 12:52 PM
A stage manager's job is often viewed with a lack of knowledge for the role and what it entails. It is often met with the line" your the one who makes the tea arent u?". But what stage management is primarily there for is to make what the director envisions come to life and put into practise with the necessary health and safety and negoiation between all departments. Ensuring everything runs smoothly without anyone noticing what goes on behind closed doors. Therefore i think that a stage managers job isnt to have ownership over their work, they have pride and a knowledge of what they did in order for something to happen within that production or event but it is the directors and actors work. You are there as someone to make that work look and sound great without anything going wrong and then by their own admission of doing such a great job that no one says anything about what goes on backstage knowing they did simply that. What goes unsaid is a stage manager's way of knowing if they have done a good job , if something was picked up by the audience then something has gone wrong or a mistake has been made.
As a stage manager you do gain respect from the place you work and within the backstage team , and you take that respect when going for another job title somewhere else. That respect for what you do is what makes you employable for someone else. But a stage managers' role will always go un noticed in the eyes of an audience member and that is exactly what you looking for in order to gain that respect for the work you have just done.
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Kt Milne
Re: Marxism
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:37 PM
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&pageno=1&idno=463
Might be useful next time you get asked to make the tea!
As a stage manager i take alot of pride in what i do, and i agree that our job is to create the show that the director and designer envisage. I have met with many people who have no understanding of what our role in the production actually is and therefore don't know if we have done a good job or not. As a memeber of the audience before i knew they existed i praised the show as a whole or maybe an actors talent but never really thought about the set, props, and technical aspects in the way i do now. However i have also worked with people who have a lot of respect for what we do and who have praised and even over praised me on what i see as just doing my job. I feel are job is alot more than just gaining respect, it is about creating partnerships, friendships and an arena in which everyone can bring their own talents to the table and feel appreciated for them.
Bringing this back to the orginal posting i think that the rehearsal process shows the relationship of ownership and power quite clearly. Within rehearsals the director owns the show and has power over all decisions, and although as a stage manager we try to keep everyone from killing themselves and we can say no, that wouldn't be true to our role. However come tech rehearsal the director (should) hand the show over to the stage manager who will now run it until it closes, with this they hand over the power and it is at this point that i feel the show becomes mine.
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