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In the American theater, the stepping stone to a directing career is stage management. At one time, every director once worked as a stage manager. It was good training. The stage manager gets to see the interactions of director and players, and participate in an important capacity that hones one's concentration and sense of responsibility. The production assistant is the audio equivalent of the theatrical stage manager. However, the P.A. works for the producer, even though much of the job consists of assisting the director. The breadth of the P.A.s job makes the position ideal training for the aspiring audio dramatist.
The P.A. makes sure everything gets done. In my sessions at any rate, the P.A. is indispensable. In my whole career, I've only worked with one good one, Nina Callaghan at CBC, Toronto. You can't just get a gopher. You need someone with judgment and discretion. This is because the P.A.'s job is to make sure nothing interferes with the smooth progress of sessions and the concentration of the director and engineer(s). If anybody needs to have their head screwed on straight, it is the P.A.
The P.A. must appreciate the necessity for forbearance, equanimity and supportiveness in the face of flaring tempers and tense sessions. The P.A. never talks back or loses control in the studio, no matter what the provocation. Quite the opposite. If only by example, the P.A. sets the tone for coolness under pressure, cooperation, and friendliness. Male or female, the P.A. is den mother of a audio drama.
Duties vary depending on the producer's requirements. The BBC and CBC, for instance, have quite different job descriptions for their P.A.s. In Toronto, I was surprised that the P.A. even types the scripts; in London, that the P.A. refused to take notes for me. At home, being infuriatingly absent-minded, I delegate everything that requires having one's act together, namely:
Pre-production
Casting
If there is no Casting Director, you, the P.A.
send casting notices to appropriate media;
schedule audition appointments with talent or their agents;
copy "sides" (script excerpts used for casting purposes) and sign-in sheets, and make sure they're in the appropriate place at the casting location;
sign talent in and usher at the casting calls;
read against the actors who are auditioning, taking whatever lines the auditionee does not speak;
schedule "call-backs" with talent the director wants to read again, and
notify talent of the casting results.
Session Prep
Prepare, duplicate, and have executed talent contracts;
Procure IRS withholding forms, have talent fill them out and deliver to producer or payroll person;
Gather contact information for cast, studio, and crew, and prepare contact sheet for yourself, producer and director;
Schedule rehearsals and sessions with all concerned parties;
Prepare, duplicate, and send call sheets to all concerned parties;
Duplicate scripts and/or sides and send to talent, foley walker(s), engineer(s), producer, director. You will need one yourself at the session;
A few days prior to rehearsal or session, contact everyone who needs to be present to make sure they know when to arrive;
Secure refreshments or catering services for sessions, as producer requests and budget allow;
Prepare and duplicate any forms needed at the session.
If needed and approved by producer, recruit a second P.A. to assist you, and supervise that person;
Prepare and duplicate studio time forms, and
Troubleshoot.
During Sessions
Set up an area to use as a "green room," or actors' lounge This is where coffee and refreshments go, or where the caterer lays out goodies. Keep talent gathered in the green room until needed at the mike.
Sign talent in and out on sign-in forms (see "Forms" below).
Fill out studio time logs and make sure that the principal session engineer signs it. And sign it yourself.
If an actor doesn't arrive at least 10 minutes before called, try to phone him/her for an ETA. Notify producer immediately of no-shows.
If the project is under union auspices, make sure breaks are observed that are required by AFTRA.
Usher talent in and out of performance area quickly and efficiently as they are needed or dismissed.
Help director with back-timing.
Hold book. This means following along in the script as the actors perform, noting any important changes or mistakes. After the take, inform the director of anything he may have to retake. Also note any changes to be retained.
Post-production
File all forms that need to be retained.
If studio is paid by the hour, superintend "conformance" edit and maintain studio time logs as you did during voice sessions.
Sign-in forms and studio time logs go to the producer or whomever he has delegated to write checks.
Prepare and file production logs.
Duplicate cassettes or CDs of the finished production for your producer's permanent file, cast members, author, and, if requested, techies.
Your producer should have dummies, blanks, or boilerplates available as masters for the various forms you need. All can be processed quickly on computer or filled in by hand.
Breakdown/Casting Notice
This is a list of the as-yet-uncast roles with thumbnail descriptions. It may include the times, dates, and location of the casting call, or instructions on making submissions, plus the number to call for audition appointments. When you get the breakdown from the producer, get it to the casting director, if there is one. Otherwise, send it with the casting notice to the casting mailing list.
Casting Calendar
This is something to keep near the phone to schedule and log audition appointments. Set up the form for the days of the call and the start times of casting appointments. When talent calls, determine which appointment availability the talent wants and log it in.
When making appointments, instruct talent what they need to prepare and bring. For instance, the director may want hopefuls to prepare two contrasting speeches of a specified length, and to bring mug shots and resumes.
Casting Sheets
Talent should be seen in the order of the appointed time — except that a late arrival is shoved to the back of the line. This is a courtesy for those who arrived on time or early. In the reception area of the casting facility, keep a sign-in sheet on a clipboard in a prominent place, to which you have strung a pencil. Have extra pencils handy but out-of-sight. The original pencil will go missing sooner or later before the day ends.
If talent brings a pic and resume, gather them up for the director, to whom you give them when you escort the talent into the casting studio. When you do this ushering, make sure talent leaves sides in the reception area. Otherwise, the sides will soon go the way of your phantom pencils.
Contracts
There are several types of contracts, but all can be handled on stock forms. Use your word-processor's merge function to knock them off.
Sides
Typically these are scripts specially made up for casting that include only the pages needed for the audition. There may be sides for each character. Duplicate a sufficient number of sides to have sitting in the reception area of the casting facility, so that waiting hopefuls can review them. Have another bunch with you so that you can read against the auditionees. Mark sides with the name of the character(s), and black-out the lines not being used.
In long scripts with a significant number of characters, or when the play is being performed before a studio audience, the producer or director may chooses to have actors perform from sides rather than full scripts. In such a case it is your job to copy and send sides to each person.
Call Sheets
Get information from the producer and make call sheets for the talent. Include studio phone and address, director's and producer's phone numbers, and your numbers — plus cell phones for everyone who has them. As you can see from the below example, the roles being played and the page and line numbers being recorded appear on my call sheets so that talent can be fully prepared for the sessions. Your name and number are the most important, because you are the central contact person for the production.
My call sheet for a recent project.Contact Sheet
The contact sheet lists names and contact information of everyone involved in the sessions. Note that cell phone numbers are particularly important. You will need them to contact tardy performers during sessions. Besides yourself, give copies to the director and producer. No one else needs them.
Sign-in Sheets
A pain in the butt, but necessary if talent is paid by the hour or by the call. You must log in when the time of arrival of each actor on separate forms. You log them out when they finish — not when they leave, mind you, but when they finish. Talent must sign the forms to acknowledge accurate reporting of their time.
Name _______________________
Role ____________
Production ______________
Signature ________Date ______ Time in ____ Time out ____
Date ______ Time in ____ Time out ____
Date ______ Time in ____ Time out ____
Date ______ Time in ____ Time out ____
Studio Time Sheet
Production ____________
Studio ______________
Date ___Start Time _______ End Time _______
Start Time _______ End Time _______
Start Time _______ End Time _______
Start Time _______ End Time _______
Talent sign-in Studio time form Studio Time Forms
If the studio is paid by the hour, you have to keep track of studio time expended. This means that you may have to superintend editing, at least the initial "conformance" edit, during which out-takes are removed and the good takes put in the correct order. This is to make sure that the studio doesn't pad its bill. You log in every coffee and meal break. Each studio time sheet — one time-sheet per day of work — should have spaces for the engineer's and your signatures for verification of the accuracy of the time accounting. The studio should get a copy of each signed form, as well as your producer.
Track Sheets
Even though the engineer may fill out his own track sheet, the producer may require you to note what lines are being recorded, in what order, on which tape or DAT or CD, and on what tracks. You will use the producer's track sheets rather than the studio's. The director may even ask you to show which takes are keepers and which are not, and make other helpful notes. It is essential that you make scrupulously accurate notes.
Production Logs
Logs preserving all important production information belong in your producer's permanent file. Fill one out and after the production is in final form. Some of the information you need will only be available after the post. Other data, such as the broadcast or publication dates, may only become known many months after you have gone on to bigger and better things.
Cue Sheets
For network or stations broadcasting the production.
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