Speaker 1: You only get one shot at a first impression, and today I'm going to show you exactly how to make it as good as possible. My name is Kent, and this is your half-hour call.

Speaker 2: Attention cast and crew, this is your half-hour call. Half hour to the top of the show. Half hour, please.

Speaker 1: Alrighty friends, welcome back to yet another episode of the Almost Complete Guide to Stage Management. If this is your first time here, welcome. My name is Kent, and you are watching Half Hour Call. Half Hour Call is dedicated to shining the spotlight on technical theater, so do me a huge favor and hit that subscribe button and notification bell if you never want to miss another how-to video, interview with industry leaders, or general theater update. Good news, friends. We are almost done with prep week, and it has only taken four months. One of the last tasks you will have in prep week is assembling the actor packets for the first day of rehearsal. The reason this is one of the last things that you do is because the actor packets contain all of the other pieces of paperwork that you will have created until this point. Essentially, an actor packet is a collection of documents that are all of the information an individual actor is going to need on the first day of rehearsal, and hopefully moving forward as well. And more importantly, other than the initial emails that you may have sent them, this will be the first time that they're seeing your work in person. Actor packets are a really great way to instill trust with your cast, and to demonstrate that you have the ability to be proactive and anticipate needs. If you are working in anything other than a professional theater, odds are pretty good that you are going to be using published scripts. So in this case, I would assemble my actor packets to either be literally pieces of paper, paper clipped together, or in a simple folder like you would use for school. If you're at a professional theater company, or working on a new work, and you're using printed scripts, I would see if you're able to use some small binders so that you can include printed copies of the script along with your actor packet, and combine it all into one nifty little package. So since we're pretending we're working on a professional production, I am going to go ahead and go that route with the script in a binder. Now this is a lot thicker of a binder than I would normally want to use, but it is what I had lying around. So, the first thing you are going to want to create for each actor packet is going to be a title page, and then once we open this bad boy up, if you are going this route, or going the route of a school folder, I like to organize my actor packets in this way. The left hand pocket is going to be things that we are going over explicitly today, or things that they need to fill out. Then we have the script, and on this side we have things that are more for reference that don't necessarily need an explanation. The first document on the reference side is one that we actually haven't gone over yet. It is the contact sheet. This is literally just a table with people's names, their pronouns, their role, their phone number, and their email address. And I don't think I really need to go over much more than that, because it's a really simple document, it's just a table, it's not that hard to create. But the only thing I will point out is that I have different sections for the different types of team members that we have. So we have creative team, production staff, stage managers, cast, administrative staff, and then equity information on the bottom. The next document on the reference side of the packet would be a production calendar, which if you missed it, you can learn how to make here in the schedules and calendars video. You'll also want to give them a scene breakdown. I like to give them the list copy because I find that it's more helpful for actors and directors. And again, if you missed the video where we talk about this in a lot more detail, go ahead and click up here to watch that first. There are a couple other documents that I don't have examples of at the moment that I think it would be really helpful to include. The first of which, especially if your show involves any kind of heavier content, would be a list of mental health resources in the area. Some of the things that would be good to consider, including in this document, would be content specific resources, mental health services with counselors who are black, indigenous, and people of color, as well as any sliding scale pricing that they have available. Some stage managers like to provide renderings of costumes or sets in the actual actor packet. So the actors always have access to it. But personally, I just post it somewhere prominently in the rehearsal studio itself so that anyone who wants to look at it can go look at it. And the final thing that I would suggest making sure that you have in this actor packet on the reference side, if you're doing the two side split, is any information that is theater specific or location specific. It can be really helpful if you or preferably company management provide a location map with information about what's available in the area, especially if you have any out-of-town actors. Some additional information that would be helpful to provide on the theater document that hopefully company management would have for you, information about parking or transportation, internet passwords, complimentary ticket policies, procedures for travel cost reimbursement, and any specific rehearsal policies that the theater or the director will be implementing. And then on the side that is relevant to the agenda of the day, the first thing that I have in there is a wallet card. These wallet cards were started during the age of the payphone. So no matter where an actor was, they always had the stage manager's number and did not have an excuse to not notify them that they were going to be late to half hour. But nowadays everyone has everyone's information in the palm of their hand. So a lot of stage managers have stopped doing wallet cards. I still do them because number one, it just helps with that added level of professionalism and really helps to build that first impression. And number two, despite the fact that the actor has a cell phone, your number is on the contact sheet, and literally in the bottom of every single email that you ever send because you put it in your email signature, there will still be an actor that at some point is late to half hour. You ask why they didn't call you and they will say, I didn't have your number. So if you want to safeguard a little bit extra against that massive headache and pet peeve of mine, go ahead and spend the extra 20 minutes to make a wallet card. The next item in the agenda specific side, at least for equity shows, is going to be an equity ballot. Depending on the specific agreement that you are on during your equity business meeting and the first rehearsal, you may be voting on certain changes to the rehearsal schedule or to the rules. For example, on most contracts, you can vote to reduce the meal break from one and a half hours to one hour. Sometimes the equity company has to approve the use of the straight six schedule, which is where you work for six hours with a 20 minute lunch break, but then your day is done and it counts as eight hours of work. And on certain contracts, the equity company has to approve the ability to have two hours of rehearsal on a two show day. You'll also be electing an equity deputy, which we will get into later when we talk about the first rehearsal, but all of that is incredibly dependent on which agreement you are working on and you will want to create a ballot that is specifically for your agreement. The next item in the packet is the emergency medical information form. Now the important thing to note here is that you cannot force your cast members to provide you with their medical information. So a lot of stage managers really emphasize that this form is optional, which is how I was taught. But recently I've taken to the practice of having everyone fill out the top three or four questions, having a big bold line, and then clearly demarking that everything below that line is optional. Not that it should ever be an issue with mature working professionals like you will hopefully be working with, but I never want there to be any shame or stigma attached with turning in this document and making the entire thing optional kind of leaves that door open to the possibility. So I find that splitting the document into two different sections, mandatory and not mandatory, makes it really easy for everyone to turn in the document and never have any stigma attached to it. In the mandatory section, I have name, pronouns for use in this space, phone number, and email address. And then below the line where things are optional, I have things like date of birth, shall we celebrate your birthday, circle yes or no, emergency contact name, relationship, and phone number, and a few questions about their medical history or dietary restrictions. Specifically those questions are, are there any dietary restrictions you would like for us to know about? Are there any medical conditions or medications that you would like for us to know about? And is there anything else you would like for us to know about? And I find that that specific phrasing, what would you like for us to know about, really puts the emphasis on the fact that, A, this is potentially a benefit for them and for us, and B, that this is entirely optional and they're not required to put anything on there. Okay, and continuing on in the packet, I like to include a copy of the daily call for the first rehearsal because it can be used almost like an agenda for the meetings that you're going to be having. And then two very important documents that you cannot create and you need to get from the theater are their anti-racism policy and their anti-harassment policy. In some cases, they might need to be signed and returned, but in all cases, they should be being reviewed by a artistic director or any other member of upper management so that it is coming from a firm place within the company. And then the final element to include in your actor packet is anything else the theater wants distributed in person in a physical copy to the performers. And with the completion of these actor packets, you have also completed pre-production and can move on to the next phase of the production, which is rehearsals. First rehearsals are really barely a rehearsal. They're mostly meetings with a bunch of different groups of people to make sure that everyone is on the same page and we are set up for success for the process that we're going to get into in the coming weeks. There will be a lot of people involved in these meetings that will not typically be involved in your day-to-day rehearsal. So it's really important when thinking about your first rehearsal schedule that you want to structure these meetings in a way that respects all of these people's schedules and all of these people's time. So they're not needed for something at the beginning of the day, then in the middle of the day, and then at the end of the day with large gaps in between. But regardless of the order that you decide to put them in, here are some of the things that you can expect to happen on your first day of rehearsal. At some point in the day, there will likely be a meet-and-greet with the cast, director, creative team, producers, administrative staff, everyone that is involved in putting the show up. If you're working at a non-profit regional theater, there's a good chance there will be some high-level donors at the event that the cast and directors are expected to kind of schmooze with. If your designers are in town or available via Zoom, they may want to do some design presentations to show the actors exactly what the show is going to look like when you get into the theater. There will likely be a company business meeting where the contracts are being signed because somehow we still live in a world where contracts get signed at the first rehearsal. Anti-racism policies are read, anti-harassment policies are read, and a land acknowledgement is given. I'll admit to you that at least as of the time of filming this video, those last three, anti-racism policy, anti-harassment policy, and land acknowledgement, are not standard practice to be delivered at the first rehearsal. However, hopefully more and more theaters will take the We See You White American Theater demands to heart and really start incorporating some of these really important changes to the way we operate. So in a show of good faith to our friends who are producers and artistic directors that are making these decisions, I am including these in this video as if they are already standard practice. At some point during the first day of rehearsal, if you are working on an Equity show, you will have an Equity business meeting. At this meeting, the only people that are allowed to be there are the members of Equity who are on a contract working on this show. If you are in or near an office city or in a liaison area, there's a chance that a representative from Equity will schedule a time to host this meeting for the company. But if not, often the responsibility falls to you as the stage manager. The good news is Equity provides a handy-dandy packet that includes things that need to be filled out by the company on first day of rehearsal. So as I mentioned before, this will be the time where you use your ballots to vote on the approved adjustments to the schedule and to elect your Equity deputy or deputies. An Equity deputy is a member of the company that is elected to be a representative and a liaison between the company and the union itself. While any member of Equity can contact the union at any time, the deputy is someone who is just given that extra level of responsibility, kind of like a stage manager, to make sure that the rules are being followed and to kind of call attention to it if something is falling through the cracks. The next two items that may be on the agenda are hopefully going to become more and more common. The first being the anti-racism training so that people actually get some hands-on experience from an expert in how to be an anti-racist in the theater industry. And a theatrical intimacy foundations workshop if your show will be working with an intimacy director. Both of these agenda items could include people that are not in the acting company itself. So check with the people who would be leading these workshops to see who needs to be included. And finally, with any time that is left over from these very important meetings, we will finally sit down as a cast and have a table read of the script and possibly do some table work if there is extra time. This will be the company's first chance to hear each other in these roles, your chance to get some more accurate timings than the estimation of script pages will allow you to get, and you should probably be prepared to read the stage directions. And just like that, you have started your rehearsal process off on the right foot. As with anything in stage management, the unexpected is inevitably going to come up. But with proper pre-planning, excellent communication, and confidence in yourself and your team, you can make a good first impression and show the cast, director, and the entire company you're working for that they are in excellent hands. Thank you so much for watching. My name is Kent, and this has been your half-hour call. Hey there, friends. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, I do not have a Patreon, and I do not plan on making a Patreon. If this fact bums you out, please do me a huge favor and support the channel by liking this video and commenting, and then take the money you would have given me and give it to one of the following organizations instead. The Actors Fund, Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, or my personal favorite option, go buy a ticket and see some local equity regional theater because it is the absolute best way to learn. Thank you so much for watching, liking, commenting, and subscribing. My name is Kent, and this has been your half-hour call.