So, here's a picture of my kit.
Uhhhh, guys? That's it. It all fits in that cute little makeup bag I got in the Target dollar section.
It contains my stopwatch, a tiny notepad, a clicky-sharpie, Frixion erasable hiliters, an AMAZING set of post-its in all different shapes/sizes in one convenient little book, my template for drawing accurate blocking, a pair of scissors, and Frixion erasable pens (1 blue for random notes, 1 red for line notes, 3 black for blocking and props).
That's really it.
Let me explain.
Currently, I'm freelancing as an ASM, and that means two things:
1- I DON'T HAVE TO PERSONALLY PROVIDE EVERYTHING THAT ANYONE COULD EVER POSSIBLY NEED.
Now your mileage will vary on this, but with my current gig- the theater provides a first aid kit, tape, & hospitality (coffee, hot water, cold water, sugar, mugs, stirrers, plastic forks, etc) and the SM provides everything else in his kit, and by "everything else" I mean basic office supplies. At my previous internship, the theater provided EVERYTHING- Centerstage literally has a road box filled with nothing but tape and first aid supplies. A full-size, 8'tall, rolling black case full of tape. We had more office supplies than we knew what to do with. If you needed it, they had it, and if they didn't have it, they'd get it. It was beautiful. The internship before that provided first aid, tape, and basic office supplies.
Like I said, mileage may vary, but you notice a common thread here of "the theater provides these things." I realize that there are theaters that do not provide anything (at my current gig, the SM provides about 200% more than the theater does), but so far, I haven't worked for one. Maybe that's hubris talking, or naivete, or maybe I've just been really lucky with the theaters I've worked for. Take it with a grain of salt, it's my personal experience.
2- PORTABILITY PORTABILITY PORTABILITY
I have approximately an hour-long commute- 10min walk to metro, wait for metro anywhere from 2 to 20 min, 15 min train ride, 20 min walk to the theater. The theater where I currently work is part of a community center, which means our rehearsal space does not belong to us, and our storage space is at a premium- what I bring to rehearsal has to go home from rehearsal with me. In addition to my tiny kit, I'm also bringing with me my laptop (which unfortunately weighs as much as a small child) & it's charger, my planner, my lunchbox, and my dirty little secret- I also have 2 other little makeup bags that transfer from backpack to oversized purse to whatever. One contains a mini hairbrush, travel-size lotion & deodorant, hand sanitizer, hair clip, gum, chapstick, ibuprofen, & allergy meds; the other has my iPhone wall charger, Kindle charging cord that conveniently plugs into the iPhone wall cube, headphones, thumb drive, and screen cleaning cloth.
Bag o' personal hygiene
Bag o' technology
While I would not deny those items to a colleague in need of a phone charger, ibuprofen, or a hair tie, they are my personal necessities that I bring with me no matter where I'm going (with the exception of fancy parties that require dainty purses that match my shoes). I keep them in bags because I hate digging through piles of things and tangled cords & whatever to the bottom of my backpack. Things get crusty down there. Anyway, long story short, my backpack already needs its own zipcode. I've been known to bowl over elderly women on crowded trains (not really). Can you imagine what would happen if I added a full-size kit?! Holy cow. My back would not survive the commute.
I still have my full-size kit, full of tape measures and screw drivers and crescent wrenches and hole punches and labelmakers and 584933485 pencils and and and. When my show goes into tech & performances, what I bring with me will change- I won't need my template and my tiny notepad any more. I'll add my flashlight, multitool, & clipboard to my backpack.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I am responsible only for what I need to do my best work. I know that some SM's view their kits as a redundancy, a "last resort" in dire straits (oh god the lead is allergic to latex and nobody told sound! quick, grab the non-latex condom from my kit!), and I'm sure that when I transition back to the role of SM, I will probably do the same thing, but right now? I am LOVING the fact that everything I need fits in a tiny little bag.
Also, something that Auburn did which I absolutely LOVE: they provide kits for their student SMs. I am SO GLAD we convinced the department that it was unfair for the SM students to pay out of their (tax-deductible) pockets for the actors to have hair ties and pencils in rehearsal. The department purchased and paid for 6 tackle boxes & supplies, which are checked out by the SM & ASMs at the beginning of each rehearsal process (we're a small department, we never have more than 2 shows running at once). The SM is responsible for it during the process, and tells the student production stage manager if the supplies need replenishing. The PSM inventories the supplies at the end of each semester, and restocks the kits as necessary. It was WONDERFUL, and in my experience so far, closer to the way things actually work in the real world.
Just my two cents as a freelance ASM.
