Story time! Followed by Notes
The most terrified I have ever been on a job was when I was LD and board op for a community production of The Wizard of Oz, and an incident involving extremely icy road conditions prevented our SM from getting to the theatre for our final performance. Nerve-wracking doesn't begin to describe the feeling when you have a director who panics in an instant and is already crying as though the SM has actually died (Thankfully she is alive an well. It was just a scary moment.). What she came to tell me was that I would now be the substitute stage manager. Not any of the ASMs backstage, but me. I would be the SM.
When the director walked away and I was soaking in the news that I will be playing double duty tonight as board op AND stage manager, my FOH audio and video guys asked me what they can do to help me out and for the show run as smoothly as possible. I answered, "Just... Be phenomenal."
Mercifully, the show went fairly smoothly. I missed calling a few spot cues and projection cues, but my crew was on top of their game and picked up what I missed. After it was all done, I was drained. Never again, I said.
I'd like to note, though, that SM-ing was always something I had wanted to try my hand at. I have mad respect for SMs because they're always so organized. They have all the knowledge & answers, they always know what time it is and they manage their time (and everybody's time) so well, people depend on them so much, and you can always count on them! I have this deep-down desire to embody all of that.
But not while I'm also LD-ing!!!
6 months later, the production returned to the theatre for another one-day stint to make it up to the audience members who were also affected by the ice storm and couldn't make it that fateful day. Our original SM, for numerous reasons, refused to come back, and bestowed her blessed job upon me for this final day.
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| Please no... I am not here... Don't come find me... |
I met up for coffee with the original SM, who is a member of Actor's Equity, and she gave me some excellent advice to handle myself better this time.
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"Just... Be phenomenal."
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PRE-SHOW DAY
CHECK THE REHEARSAL/SHOW SCHEDULE WITH THE DIRECTOR. After her, I am the next person in line who has to know everything about it in relation to who needs to be present and where and what time. Once I have confirmation from her on all that, I have the baseline information I need to move forward.
OBTAIN THE SM'S SCRIPT. It's got everybody's cues and standbys written in already. Give it a look through to make sure I am familiar with the way things are written and how to say them. Even PRACTICE calling the cues out loud.
MAKE AN ATTENDANCE SHEET & ENFORCE SIGN-IN. This is how you can be confident the show can go on. Be that constant nagging voice that reminds everyone to sign in and have the cast remind each other. Frequently check the list. That lead actor who believes their personality is so big everyone will know when they've arrived? Yeah, they need to sign in too.
FIND OUT WHO SUBS ARE. In the event of anything unexpected, you need to know the backup plan. SM's ALWAYS know the backup plan. Obtain their contact info so you can be able to call them in last minute.
DOUBLE CHECK PROPS LIST. Everything. Must. Be. Accounted. For.
PRESHOW
MAKE SURE THE BACKSTAGE MONITORS ARE WORKING. Test them with the stagehands to make sure they can hear you.
CHECK IN WITH MAKE-UP. Make sure they are on track and have what they need and who they need to have everyone done in time.
MAKE SURE HALLWAYS & CROSSOVERS ARE LIT BACKSTAGE. Just enough to see and not affect the lighting design.
CHECK IN WITH DIRECTOR. Find out if they need anything, AND if they plan on saying a few words before or after the show, if there is a planned talkback/Q&A after the show, etc. Anything that will cause cast or crew to need to stay late after curtain call.
CALL HALF HOUR WARNING.
CALL 15 MINUTE WARNING. At this point you can assess the house and lobby for a possible delayed start time if there are too many people still waiting to come in. If you need to delay it's fine. No need to worry the actors about it. Just call 5 when it's actually their 5.
CALL 5 MINUTES TO PLACES. Let House Management know when it is time to flick the lobby lights and close doors for the show to start. Now it's time to also get the directors out of the actors' space.
CALL PLACES. Wait for SL and SR places confirmation from stagehands. Make sure the pit band is in place.
DURING SHOW
FIND OUT POLICY ON LATE SEATING FROM THE DIRECTOR. Some directors have different policies, like allowing actors to adlib & make fun of latecomers, if they don't mind late seating at all, or if there are certain moments when ushers are or are not allowed to open house doors. In this show's case, there was to be NO late seating during "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".
KNOW THE PROTOCOL FOR MID-SHOW STOPPING. Obviously this could vary by case. But overall, if the show has to stop, have actors clear the stage. Bring house lights up. Announce in a calm and well-articulated voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have to hold the show." Keep the audience in their seats unless there is a need to evacuate.
TIME IT. Directors like knowing how long the show took. Write down the actual starting time of the show, how long Act I took, start time of intermission, how long intermission took, start time of Act II, and how long Act II took.
OVERALL
KEEP YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU. Always have your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary happening. If something falls off an actor's costume, if a prop or set piece was left onstage during a scene change, if an actor misses an entrance, address these things appropriately. Don't assume anyone else saw them. Make sure those things get taken care of.
STAY CALM. You're the level-headed one in the room who knows everything and has all these answers, remember? No pressure. But it's on you to make sure things go smoothly. You'll do your best work and everybody else will do their best work with that calm, authoritative voice leading the way. You've got this.
You've got this.
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