I remember when I was back in high school, acting bit parts in school plays. We actors would gather around after rehearsals sometimes complaining what a bitch our stage manager was. It was the same song everywhere I went for stage, especially among students. Stage managers were always seen as overly demanding, outrageous, short-tempered, unfair dragons that were endured for the sake of "The Art" and because they could get us coffee during intermission.

This perspective changed for me when I took a Stage Tech course at Uni, and in the course of events, became a stage manager myself. The cast welcomed me with open arms, telling me that I would be MUCH better than the one some of them had encountered the year before. That one had been a She-dragon of the First Order. I heard all sorts of stories about her legendary temper and the fist of iron with which she ruled backstage. I learned too that my predecessor had been a professional stage manager.

Looking back, I'm sure the whole cast was all, "Woot! Newbie!" when they saw me, a fellow student, with the reins of the technical crew in my hand. I was, in their view, someone who could be taken advantage of and who would let them get away with anything. There were 13 members in the cast of this show, and 12 of them were divas. We're not talking angel-voiced singers either; we're talking Broadway-wannabe "I want a gold-plated saucer full of cream at EVERY performance for my pet Chihuahua" type divas. It was like babysitting a group of children who have never heard of the word discipline. Group this with a stage crew half composed of students who felt that backstage work was the actor's equivalent of "slumming it", and an original script that was being created through improv by the actors (try taking notes with no script to reference, folks), and a director who, while excellent artistically, had no real concept of time (as in the amount it takes to get anything done), and the fact that I was attempting to learn everything as I went and not given much room for screw-ups, and you can say it was a highly stressful experience. Even the producer commented that he wouldn't have wished this play as a first project for any green SM.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the experience (eventually). I did learn that I could, in fact, be very good at this, if I could learn how to handle the stress. Indeed, thanks to this trial-by-fire experience, every other play I've worked on off-stage since has seemed like a breeze in comparison. I did come away with a new appreciation for stage managers that day. I learned why many of them seem like bitches. It's because they have to be. If you don't give the impression right away that you are not a person to be messed with, people will step on you, and that is not something you can afford if you want a smooth production.

So, what exactly IS a stage manager (aka SM)? Well, during the rehearsal period, the SM is the director's right-hand man. They take down blocking for the actors, prompt them with lines, write down all notes for production the director may come up with during rehearsals and ensure that all concerned parties (lighting, sound, set and costume designers, props managers, producers, etc) get those notes, express concerns of the various stage crew to the director and actors, and keep order during rehearsals. Then, when the show goes into theatre, the SM organizes the Booth, supervises set construction (at least in community theatre anyway), and makes sure everything and everyone is accounted for backstage. By this time, the director has moved on to the next project, and the stage manager has taken over. It is the SM's job to ensure that the director's vision is realized each and every night the show is playing. During the show, they call lighting, f/x and sound cues and make note of any problems with the performance, set or costumes there may have been. They also deal with any concerns or needs the actors may have.

Basically, a stage manager is like a project manager, gofer, maid, secretary, babysitter and psychologist combined.

Do you have what it takes to be a stage manager? Below, I've listed nine traits that are highly important to a stage manager. You need all nine to some degree to survive. How many do you have?

 

1. Thick Skin - As a stage manager, you will get a lot of crap hurled at you from all directions. Producers will yell at you when the director goes overbudget; directors will yell at you when something goes wrong on the tech side (or when you bother them "too much" with "stupid questions", or occasionally, when they're in a bad mood and they feel like it); actors will think you're the biggest asshole on the planet because you force them to do something or because you tell them firmly to be on time next rehearsal, or because you prompted them too early or they wanted one sugar with their coffee, not two; backstage tech workers will wish loudly and within earshot that you would get the rod out of your butt; props managers, and set/costume/lighting designers will yell at you for presenting last minute or impossible changes that the director envisioned. It doesn't matter that some of that is not your fault, or that you are just the messenger. It's not personal, you just happen to be there, and you're just doing your job. If you can't handle it, forget it.


2. The Ability to Read Minds - This isn't absolutely essential, but it comes in handy with the director, and on occasion, the actors. If you can give them what they want before they can even voice the concern, everything goes so much smoother. This usually develops as the rehearsal process goes on, and you get to know everyone better. And if you can do this? Everyone loves you so much more and may even be willing to yell at you less!


3. Patience - The rehearsal process can be tedious. The cast and crew can freak over anything. Personalities are involved. Arguments can crop up at any time, particularly if you know there is more than one volatile person in the room. And you, as stage manager, must rule over all of this and keep things calm, or at least bring everything back to a grudging truce.


4. Grace Under Pressure - Probably THE most essential trait. Whenever a crisis occurs (and trust me, it will), the stage manager is the one that must handle it. First Aid training can definitely come in handy as well. But no matter what happens anywhere in the theatre, you must be the eye of the storm. It's the only way to solve the problem. You are the Captain and the Show Must Go On. As an old pro at Stage Management once taught me: "You are allowed to lose it, but only when no one is watching."


5. A Backbone - Probably the second most essential thing. If you don't have this, don't even bother volunteering. As I said above, when the show goes into theatre and the director has moved on to his next project, you are the one running things. Everyone will be making demands of you, some more trivial than others. If you can't stand up and show your cast and crew who is boss, you'll be running out for Perrier five minutes before the curtain goes up so that "Girl on the Right #2" can "properly function" during her downtimes backstage. Yeeeeeeah, Idon'tthinkso...


6. Tact/People Skills - Some actors are spoiled brats. Some directors are temperamental. Some techies are obstinate and set in their ways. The best way to get cooperation from all of them is to be diplomatic. Of course, you're also mediating conflicts between all people involved as well in order to ensure a strong team backstage. People will do whatever you want if you just soften them up a bit. Learn the right balance of steel and pillows. Be the captain, not the tyrant.


7. A Good Attitude - No one will want to work with you again if you spread negativity backstage. Conversely, if you can keep morale up backstage, you get a better performance out of everyone. Also, if you keep good rapport with your assistant stage managers and lighting and sound operators, you'd be amazed at what you learn over headset during the show.


8. Organizational Skills - There are a lot of details involved in putting on a play, and you are the one who keeps track of all of it. Why? Because you are the only one besides the director who shows up at every audition (usually), every rehearsal, and every minute of tech week. The ability to keep those details straight, to make sure that nothing is forgotten, to get all the pertinent people in a timely fashion is essential. Your stage manager's book of the show is referred to as The Bible. Everything that is required for this show goes in there. Everything must be crystal clear and accounted for in that Book, so that if (god forbid) something happens to you, and you can't make a performance, someone else can look at that book and run the show as if you were there.


9. Ability to Handle Stress - In case you haven't already figured it out from my descriptions above, this is a highly stressful job. Even at the community theatre level, it's stressful. If a broken nail makes you want to scream, you're probably not cut out for this.

These are the most essential things I can think of that are essential to the personality make-up of a stage manager. I, personally, probably score a bit lower in some of those qualities than others, but I've been told I can be effective at the community theatre level. Would I be able to do it at a professional level? With a little practice, probably, but I'm not sure I could handle the politics. And that, my friends, is a whoooole other story...

July 20, 2005

 

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