Stressed Out

From Holly, Stage Management Intern

For the last four weeks I have been working on The Seafarer with Wilson Milam. I have been the most excited about this project from the start of my internship. I am working not only with Wilson, but also with Elisabeth our Production Stage Manager and I got to me Eugene Lee! (scenic desinger for Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and SNL only theatre people can truely appreciate this name dropping). It has been fabulous to see Elisabeth, normally my supervisor as a Stage Manager. Her style is calm and cool on the outside with the experience and knowledge to vent to the right people at the right time. She also has been really great with keeping me in the loop, even if I don't need to know. She will also explain to me why and how she came to a decision in a tough situation. This is the coolest thing ever!!! Handling difficult, tricky situations is a large part of Stage Management's job, but its hard to learn. I have been really lucky to have an SM that can explain her thought process.

She also gave me the responsibilty of the prop preset sheet as well as prop tracking. After coming off of You Can't Take It With You and watching Claire do a heavy prop show I felt very ready to take on the task and I felt more like a part of the team, rather then a bystander. BUT little did I know that unlike Warner Shook who knows what he wants and sets it, this director likes to keep things fresh and new...every day! From an artistic point of view I TOTALLY get this, but it makes it very hard for the actors to find themselves in the story and character and makes it almost impossible to create a Props Preset list so that when you go into tech things are set properly.

I can honestly say that I have woken up nights freaking out about props! I know...ridiculous. I have had dreams about calling a show, most Stage Managers do, but props! This is whole new territory. So sleep has been rare these last few weeks and knots in my back have doubled. The positive thing is that I have been able to work with Stina the ASM for this show and my SM for the last two shows, on the deck. She has taught me a lot on the deck that she couldn't while calling a show. I love learning new tricks on how to be more prepared. This process has been really difficult. It has made me question whether or not Stage Management is what I want to do, but I am very glad that I have had it. Both my SM and ASM are amazing and have been very supportive and forward with praise and helpful criticism, which is great!

We are now in our first preview and I feel like the show, the crew, and myself are all getting a handle on it. I think that show is going to be great! But these previews are going to be rough.

Stay tuned....