over all maestro casting

[Jessica]

Hey Maestro groupies,
I'm really happy that you are all so excited about playing Maestro that you want to sign up weeks in advanced. That is awesome. Unfortunately, posting weeks in advance is confusing to some people and has already caused some minor difficulty.

I hear that you want to schedule ahead and I think that is an awesome idea. I am working to figure out a system that will make that easy for people.

Just so you know the main difficulty I've had with doing stuff really early is that I have a hard time getting and keeping directors more that a week out. Right now that doesn't seem to be the problem, but this has been the exception rather than the rule.

The other problem is that we want to keep Maestro an open forum where new/out of town people can play. And have a solid core of people who play on a regular basis. So if we cast two weeks out, then someone fantastic comes into town we either have to have too many people in the show or don't get to play with the someone new or kick someone else out.

Anyway, until we get everything figured out I'd like you to wait until the call is posted by either me or the director for the week. If you feel that I'm taking too long (usually because I'm having difficulty finding a director) then please pm or email me and ask me to post it.

Thanks guys!

By the way - what do you all think about google docs as a sign-up for Maestro?

[kristin]

My personal two cents...

I think consistency is the most important thing. Signing up early can be a factor in director's casting decisions. So it feels like the most fair option would be one where everyone could know what to expect and when, whatever that choice happens to be.

Casting threads appearing on the forums at any random time are hard for me, personally. I used to read the forums regularly, but with my current job I can't really do much personal browsing during the day and in the evenings I don't spend a ton of time at my computer.

I did discover that since Maestro casting is now in its own forum section, there is an RSS feed for just those items, so I set it up to email me every time there's any post. That'll be a bunch of extra emails, but worth it to not miss new casting posts.

Google docs might be a little messier than your average show casting because of the number of people to manage and stuff? I'm totally okay with joining in on the experiment if it happens.

And at the end of the day, whatever happens happens, and all of us who want to play will adapt.

[Jon Bolden]

Has anyone considered mandating a "Casting Call" official day, like Tuesdays starting at noon. I like the idea of using a form off of the forum. I think even having an automated email when the casting begins that people can subscribe to like a mailing list. So basically if you want to know when casting is open, you receive an email and if you get annoyed by them, you just unsubscribe so it's totally up to your own efforts to register.

The only other thought I have is that I often will play a show based on whom else is playing, especially if it's a group of people I've always wanted to play with but haven't. I dunno, just spitting out ideas.

[Justin D.]

Hey Maestro groupies,
I'm really happy that you are all so excited about playing Maestro that you want to sign up weeks in advanced. That is awesome. Unfortunately, posting weeks in advance is confusing to some people and has already caused some minor difficulty.

I hear that you want to schedule ahead and I think that is an awesome idea. I am working to figure out a system that will make that easy for people.

Just so you know the main difficulty I've had with doing stuff really early is that I have a hard time getting and keeping directors more that a week out. Right now that doesn't seem to be the problem, but this has been the exception rather than the rule.

Well, not to be rude, but wasn't there something set up for this already in Google Docs? A lot of people, including myself, stopped using that though because it just didn't seem to be referenced or used. Last night, we had a director have to drop out because of another commitment, but there were multiple people in the cast who could have stepped out to co-direct.

The other problem is that we want to keep Maestro an open forum where new/out of town people can play. And have a solid core of people who play on a regular basis. So if we cast two weeks out, then someone fantastic comes into town we either have to have too many people in the show or don't get to play with the someone new or kick someone else out.

I don't really see why that's a problem either. If there's already 13 people in the show and some guest from out of town wants to play, somebody in the cast drops out of the show. I've done it before. Maybe guarantee the dropped out person a spot in the next week's show. Oh, and I'd think it wouldn't be one of the newbies who gets asked to drop out if no one volunteers to do it on their own.

"Hey, guys, Such Andsuch just came into town and wants to play. Because we already have 13 people in the cast, would someone volunteer to step out of tonight's show so it's not overly crowded? You'll definitely be in next week's. Thanks."

Seems simple enough to me. If no one else drops out, either do a show with more people or ask someone to drop out.

By the way - what do you all think about google docs as a sign-up for Maestro?

That's fine except for two things. It'd only make sense to me to go that route if Maestros were cast weeks (months?) in advance, and it may kill the argument that Maestro should be open to newbies and out-of-town guests if they have to open a separate link in a thread to see Maestro sign-ups. Maestro is cast differently than literally every other show in town, and there may be something to that.

[sara farr]

I would recommend that the show would be stronger with a core ensemble that could be cast a month in advance... Like 6 people. The the other 6 could be added the week of the show... Students, imps from other theaters, cities, etc. That way the show has half the cast well versed in games and shape of show, yet is never the same show, is open to the wider community, and possibly fostering new directors from those in the ensemble