“Life Behind the Curtain” is a short documentary film about Broadway child performers and their relationship with Stage Managers and experiences backstage. The film was created for a Stage Management class at Susquehanna University, by freshman Laura Luc. Cinematography is by NYU film student, Louis DeCaprio. Featured Kids: Marissa O’Donnell, Matthew Gumley, Dylan Riley Snyder, Marlon Sherman, Devynn Pedell and Alex Scheitinger
I’ve finished reading The Miracle Worker, the show I’ll be stage managing for Fauquier Community Theatre (auditions in October 2009, show opens in mid-January 2010). Annie Sullivan spends a lot of time teaching Helen, and Helen’s mother, words using the letters of American Sign Language. So now I’m starting to teach myself ASL fingerspelling. My five year old niece gave me my first lesson, she spells very quickly! I found a useful page at the Wikipedia page for the ASL alphabet. Hopefully by auditions, I’ll be capable, if not proficient.
To fill out the rest of my summer, I’ll be running the light board and helping with miscellaneous duties on the crew for load-in for American Century Theater’s Seascape, running July 29th through August 22nd. I’m really looking forward to working with a new group, and doing new things.
The amazing thing is the way the schedule worked out. The load-in is the day after my current show (Shakespeare in Hollywood) closes, and then the strike for Seascape is the day before auditions for my Fall show Arcadia.
I was planning to stage manage a show in Manassas this summer. But the weekend before the first rehearsal, the show was cancelled due to financial concerns from the Board. So I scrambled, networked, and searched, and applied for a few positions. I am now the Tech Director for NoVa Woodbridge Theatre Group’s July production of Ken Ludwig’s comedy Shakespeare in Hollywood. TD is a new position for me, but so far I’m enjoying it. I met with the directors tonight to discuss the set. It looks like we’re going to use a mixture of mounted flats, scrims, and periactoids. I’ll post more details over the next week.
I will be stage managing The Miracle Worker for the Fauquier Community Theatre. Auditions will be in the fall, with the show running in January 2010. The director is Nancy Daughterty, who I worked with on Pippin for Prince William Little Theatre back in February 2009.
I will be stage managing Arcadia for the Prince William Little Theatre. Auditions will be in August, with the show running in late October. The director is Carl Brandt Long.
A very important part of being a stage manager is being trained to be able to react in emergencies. If you are a stage manager, you should be trained in CPR and First Aid. I did my training last November in a one day course taught by the Prince William County Red Cross. So far, I haven’t had to use CPR, but the first aid training has been used several times, for cuts and sprains.
In December 2007 Congress declared the first week of June as National CPR/AED Awareness Week and in commemoration, the Prince William American Red Cross will offer CPR/AED train-ing at a special discount June 2 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the ACTS building in Dumfries. Participants in the course will learn how to respond to emergencies that can happen. The special CPR/AED Awareness Week price for the course is $25. (The regular price is $55.) To learn more about the Prince William chapter’s activities during CPR/AED Awareness Week and other classes, call Jan or Emily at 703-368-4511 or visit http://www.pwarc.org.
I have just joined The Stage Managers’ Association. This will allow me to continue picking the brains of other stage managers, and hopefully I will be able to share my knowledge and experience as well.
Here are some of the materials that were used for PWLT’s Pippin I stage managed back in November 2008 to February 2009.
I. Actor Contract of Commitment
I, ______________________, hereby agree to participate in Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Pippin to be held during the months of Nov/Dec 2008 and Jan/Feb 2009. I understand the time commitment involved and agree to attend all scheduled rehearsals and performances as laid out to me with the exception of my already noted conflicts. I will arrive early and be prepared to begin at the designated start time. Should I find myself running late or unable to attend, I will contact the Stage Manager or Director as soon as possible to notify them of the change.
In addition, I understand that my physical presence and attitude affects others and are critical to the success of this production. I will maintain a positive, encouraging attitude at all times when in the presence of other members of the cast, crew, and production team as well as guests and audiences.
direct a volley of gunfire along the length of (a target). ORIGIN early 18th cent. (denoting the position of a military post commanding the length of a line)
defilade
protect (a position, vehicle, or troops) against enemy observation or gunfire.
Visigoth
a member of the branch of the Goths who invaded the Roman Empire between the 3rd and 5th centuries ad and ruled much of Spain until overthrown by the Moors in 711.
Aleric
Al-er-ic
Charlemagne
(742-814), king of the Franks 768-814 and Holy Roman Emperor (as Charles I) 800-814; Latin name Carolus Magnus; known as Charles the Great. As the first Holy Roman emperor, Charlemagne promoted the arts and education, and his court became the cultural center of the Carolingian Renaissance.
catarrh
excessive discharge or buildup of mucus in the nose or throat, associated with inflammation of the mucous membrane.
roue
a debauched man, esp. an elderly one.
Arles
a city in southeastern France; pop. 52,590. It was the capital of the medieval kingdom of Arles, formed in the 10th century by the union of the kingdoms of Provence and Burgundy.
Vistula
a river in Poland that rises in the Carpathian Mountains and flows north for 592 miles (940 km) through Cracow and Warsaw, to the Baltic Sea near Gdansk.
rapprochement
(esp. in international relations) an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations.
flambé
(of food) covered with liquor and set alight briefly.
updates | Michael Clark | November 28, 2009 | 
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