Preparations

I am just over half-way through my preparation week for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and, I must say I`m feeling pretty good. Now, I`ve been around this block quite a few times and realize that this feeling has a good chance of turning around and biting me in the ass... but it`s a tough old ass with plenty of scar tissue.

Prep week is a funny thing. I find that, although the basics of what I need to accomplish prior to each show that is heading into the rehearsal hall are basically the same, each prep week has a character of it`s own. It definitely changes with each theatre company as each company has its own set of standards as far as protocol...ie: who gets what type of communication and how. I find that some stage managers attempt to apply a universal To Do checklist to every company that they are employed by. Now, I am a big fan of To Do lists....my 41 year old brain isn`t what it once was and I am never too far from my notebook at all times. But I have found over the years that sitting down and talking with the departments about their needs and modifying my list is essential. I am a big fan of talking....face to face, live communication....there is nothing like it. The To Do list should be modified for each show. This is my 8th production at the Segal and I guess I know the system here well. There has been some fairly major changes to the company in the last year with new players in key positions and new positions as well. Still...I feel like I am on the right track...so far. (knocking wood!)

So I have been busily assembling things like a contact list (I think this production is totalling around 50 or so names of folks that I need to communicate with on some level daily), a rehearsal and performance calendar, templates for things like production notes, daily schedules, show reports with distribution lists for each...nothing that feels terribly artistic on the surface. Yet I do see the art in these duties. First of all, the use of discretion and sensitivity to each individual on the production needs to be reflected in any document that I send off. Is the name spelled correctly? Are the names ordered in a way that is respectful to everyone`s role in the process? Am I invading someone`s privacy with the information that I am distributing?...things like that. Anticipating and understanding the sensitivities of each player, from the director to the dresser should inform how the stage manager creates their paperwork. I believe that there is a real art to this in terms of all communication, written and verbal.

So, as I go into my 4th day of prep, I feel like my paperwork is in good shape. And I am prepared for changing and editing each document, as changes are guaranteed. (A word of advice: Always add SUBJECT TO CHANGE on your calendar and have a date of REVISAL on your documents!!) The next batch of work to accomplish has to do with the script and the rehearsal hall. The fun part of this is shopping. I have received my petty cash and am off to every stage manager`s favourite playground....the office supply store. I swear, its like a form of soft pornography getting to walk up and down the aisles and checking out all the various fun gadgets and supplies that will hopefully make all the paper-shuffling fun and more efficient. As well, the purchasing of basic rehearsal hall supplies is pretty fun too....things like kleenex, hand sanitizer....coffee supplies.... It may sound a bit boring, but really, come on! It`s shopping!!! One of my favourite pass-times.

Once I`ve recovered from the over-stimulation of the office supply store I can begin assembling the prompt script. For those that are new to the business, the prompt script is also known as the bible. Once the show opens, this script will contain a record of all things that make up the production as a whole....all of the accurate and correct lines the actors say, the blocking (movements the actors make on stage), all of the cues including lights, sound, special effects, actor entrances etc. This becomes the most important batch of papers for the whole production. It also is retained by the theatre company as a permanent archive of the event. This script needs lots of tender loving care and should always be kept safe and secure. I have heard nightmares of colleagues losing the prompt script on the subway and stories of having to re-do much of the script due to disasterous coffee spills....don`t let this happen to you. My advice is to keep the script at the theatre in a safe place....don`t lug it around with you if at all possible.

Once I have the script pulled together and ready for the inputting of information, I need to concentrate on the rehearsal hall. I have an assistant stage manager on this show (the lovely Lori) and I only have her for one day of preparation. On this show, we have a fairly complicated and intricate set. Most of Lori`s prep day will be spent working on the rehearsal hall with me. We need to take the floorplan of the set and re-create it with spike tape on the floor of the rehearsal hall....this should take several hours and I am sure that I will be bleeding from the eyes before we get it right...but it`ll be alright. At the very least, we don`t have any circular portions of the set or revolving sections to re-create. As well, Lori has to get her own script set up and ready for all of the backstage specific information that needs to be recorded.

During the last few days of this week, I also need to have conversations with all of the actors....or the actor`s parents considering that I have 15 individuals on my cast list that are between the ages of 6 and 12!!! A good chunk of yesterday was spent trying to track down busy Moms and Dads so that I can get them up to speed with what`s happening. The biggest part of these conversations is centered around the fact that we need to go from 15 kids (there are 5 kids required per show) down to 10 kids, giving us two teams of 5, rather than 3. This is a bit tricky and a great deal of sensitivity had to be employed while having these conversations. Most of the kids have been very excited to be a part of the show and I know that we will have 5 of them relegated to an understudy role with no guarantee of getting to perform in front of the audience. Logistically, rehearsing 3 teams into the show once we hit tech week would mean a huge loss of time when time is of the essence. This script contains several scenes in which the kids appear, and not all of the kids appear at the same time. We just cannot afford to do each of these scenes 3 times over. What will happen is that we will rehearse with all 15 for a week and during that week, the director will choose who will be in the two performing teams. Informing the families of this change in plans normally would fall outside the definitions of my job. As there are several factors that are playing on this issue such as deadlines for the program booklet, the designing, building and fitting of costumes etc. these conversations needed to happen sooner rather than later. We need to know if anyone is going to back out if this plan isn`t acceptable to them. Plus, gaining the trust of the parents and ensuring that accurate information is being relayed to them all play into making my life easier. So far, after speaking with the guardians of 11 of the kids, everyone is up for the challenge and the experience, no matter what the outcome. And it has been a good stretching exercise for my diplomatic legs.

After all of this, with any luck, we should be ready for the arrival of the actors and the director. I am always at the ready to fix what I discover I have missed or screwed up and offer apologies if needed. I am definitely not the perfect stage manager. I definitely make mistakes. Paperwork and logistical thinking aren`t my strongest qualities. And I am fine with that...I strive to get it right on the first go, but over the years have worked to tenderize my ego and accept my mistakes.... I feel that taking ownership for all that you do, whether it is right or wrong, is the biggest key to success. Success....hmmm...now there is an interesting topic. I think a good subject for a future blog. Suffice to say for now, that I consider that my success is simply that I keep being offered opportunities to come play in the theatre...I may do some things wrong or be bad at certain things, but in someway I think I am doing something right because here I am...working with some of my favourite folks on one of my all time favourite shows. And that is a pretty great thing for me.