I'm many months behind but as I told myself nearly two years ago, I want to remember what grad school when it is but a distant memory so here are updates.
Hedda Gabler, January 2014
Hedda was the first big show that I SMed at YSD. At the time it felt like it would never come as I saw my classmates successfully stage manage each of theirs but by December, my turn had arrived. To the unaware eye, Hedda seemed pretty simple. And it was. Unit set, any changes on the set done by actors, relatively few quick changes. But Hedda is complex in its characters and its power and that can affect the dynamic of any production. We had a really lovely cast, some making their YSD debuts, a brilliant director, and a wonderfully dedicated team of designers. I very much enjoyed working with them.
My biggest challenges came in the form of leadership. I was working with my first ASM since Danielle and I was a little apprehensive. I knew how much of my training had been shaped by my SMs my first year (and Hannah and Carolynn remain as my guide posts) and I wanted to give my ASM the same support and critique that I had received. I think we both had some learning to do--I needed to learn when to let go and when to speak her, she was still learning the YSD way of doing things. It's always a learning curve and although I doubted my ability as a leader and stage manager multiple times, I think we both came out better SMs at the end of it. She did a fantastic job on her shows following Hedda so at least I know I didn't do any lasting damage.
Leadership also extended to the rest of the team. We experienced some fight work challenges as coordinating with our fight directors is always a bit difficult because they are in demand both at school and in the rest of the theatrical world. I learned too late that despite my best efforts, the fight work wasn't where we wished it to be. I wanted to handle scheduling challenges myself, acting as if I was in a non-educational theatre, and I probably should have asked for help earlier. In the end, it turned out okay but I learned from that one.
During tech, my director and I both learned how to work with each other, how to ask for what we needed, and how to keep the tech moving forward. The show was deceptive because there weren't an abundance of cues but many moments needed subtle crafting from lighting and sound in addition to the movement onstage so we took the necessary time to do that. We did meet our initial run through goal which was wonderful and allowed us to go back and fix moments before we opened. As I mentioned before, our fight/blood work was a challenge and was probably our biggest challenge in tech. By the end we had crafted a great final moment but I do wish we could have found it earlier to give the director and actors more time to work with it.
Overall, Hedda was a good introductory YSD show for me and prepared me for what was coming next.
Thunderbodies, May 2014
As simple as Hedda seemed on paper, that's exactly how complex Thunderbodies seemed. Thunderbodies by Kate Tarker was one of three plays in the Carlotta Festival of New Plays, our end of year festival showcasing the thesis works of our 3rd year playwrights. I'll say right off the bat that we were blessed with the best, most dynamic team for this project and I don't know how we would have pulled it off without them. Thunderbodies was the kind of show where you had to be willing to go on an adventure with the director and playwright and hope you all ended up in the same place. We did, and it was the most wonderful adventure I've ever been on as the lead stage manager.
We went into this show knowing that it just needed more than the other shows due to the nature of the show. All 3 shows share a budget so our budget meetings were a challenge at times but I think we were all lucky that the collaborators on all three shows were willing to work with each other rather than against each other. I had the challenge of thinking through our biggest moments (primarily in terms of crew needs) and make sure that, as currently designed, we could execute everything. I look back at my breakdown now and laugh because of how much more this show actually required but it was a good start at least. This director has more creative ideas flowing it him every second than I do every year so he had thought of solutions to problems before I even brought them up and found ways to compromise in the design without compromising the show. This continued as we began the rehearsal process.
Rehearsals were fun, never dull, and challenging on so many levels. With only two crew members and multiple elements dropping from the sky or shifting on the set, I relied heavily on my ASM who was in charge of tracking those deck moves. I couldn't have done it without her as I was focused on the big picture of getting this show to tech and she was absolutely invaluable in tracking the minute but extremely important details. I knew that when we had a new idea/problem to solve, I could turn to her and she knew exactly if a crew member was free to execute that idea or if we needed to come up with a new solution.
One of the challenges of Carlotta is our limited tech time. We had about 15 hours total to get this whole thing teched and then to run the show before performing. We also tech/perform in repertory so we really are limited to the time we have scheduled in the space--when we aren't onstage, another show is. It took some commitment and time to figure out exactly how to structure our tech time so make sure we got through everything but it ultimately payed off. Every day we exceeded our tech goal and I was blown away by this. We had an abundance of precise light and sound cues, more deck moves than I can count, and a nonlinear story to communicate and I must say, we manage to do all of those rather successfully.
Calling this show was absolutely one of the most thrilling I've ever had. Certainly my most thrilling at YSD as both Romeo and Juliet and Hedda Gabler had primarily subtle cues. Not Thunderbodies--Thunderbodies wanted to throw every possible effect at the audience and then some. Calling a show is a stage manager's art and for the first time time coming to YSD, I felt like everyone got to see what I was capable of. It was an exhilarating feeling and not one I'm likely to forget.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
An Update Many Months in the Making
It's taken me quite awhile to find the words to capture what the first semester of my second year was like. Part of me felt disheartened that I didn't feel the need to write down every thought and feeling I was experiencing like I had last year. But that also shows that I have grown since my first days when everything felt so new and so different that I didn't know how to tackle it without capturing it in words.
The newness of graduate school has worn away as has much of the anxiety which allows for the utter joy of what I do to come through. My first assignment of the year began the week after classes began which was assistant stage managing a show called Owners at Yale Rep. Working at the Rep is a big deal in any department and in particular for the artistic teams. As ASMs, we are supporting a stage manager who will be using this production as their thesis--both a presentation of the skills that they have accumulated over 3 years and also a time capsule for years to come of a show where many will earn their Equity cards and have intense, unique memories. Our work is not just for us and the production but it's for them too.
Our show wasn't without its challenges. I fondly refer to it as an underestimated show in terms of its size because it was actually much more intricate and laborious than many of us realized at the beginning. Utilizing two turn tables which resulted in 10 different locations, 6 actors, 3-5 costume changes per actor, and more than a handful of props, Owners became the show I never predicted would be my biggest accomplishment to date.
Rehearsals were exhilarating because of their complexity. Replicating turn tables in a rehearsal room that must be restored at the end of each night was impractical so our fantastic technical direction team built us walls that we could move freely to represent each location. Set up took half an hour, breaks were spent quickly changing out furniture, walls, and props, and tear down each night took an hour because of how tightly packed our storage area was. It took true team work to have the rehearsal run smoothly because it was too time intensive for one person to move everything so my stage manager and I each took responsibility of one turn table. The cast was generous with assisting in resetting props if they knew their placement. The director was incredibly patient when a particular location took longer to set. And visitors quickly learned the transitions and were invaluable during run throughs when locations were changing every 10-15 minutes. I cannot say how helpful it was to feel the support of the whole team and to know that we were all collaborating to replicate what the true show would look like in the theatre as best we could in a rehearsal room. Rehearsals felt like tech because of the amount of action happening every minute but as tech is usually my favorite part of a process, I felt quite at home. I also managed to lose about 8 pounds because I literally got too excited or caught up in rehearsal to eat on a regular basis. There's always one casualty during a show.
Tech was big. And hard. And completely exercised every bit of our artistic and management brains. From the stage carpenter who was always looking out for the safety of the company when it came to rotating the turn tables to my stage manager who was keeping everyone on track and moving us forward while negotiating the logistics of making this world come to life. I was so pleased and proud on opening night knowing of the stressful moments we experienced but also the fun we had backstage and the bonding moments we experienced getting the show to its well deserved opening.
Owners taught me a lot. And I think the biggest lesson I learned is that I can still fall in love with a production without actually being in love with the show itself. By this I mean that I loved the company, the scene changes, the team, the energy put into it, and the incredible work that was done on the show but I never actually loved the play itself. Even on closing night, the script still didn't resonate with me. But that was the most valuable lesson to learn because you're never going to get your ideal job every time you are looking for one and you have to be disciplined enough to love your job to the point that it doesn't matter what the project is. The people and the experiences are really what matter in the end.
Owners took up most of my first semester so by the time I re-entered the world, it almost shocked me that there was only a month left. It's bizarre how much the world goes by when you're so wrapped up in a project that you forget anything else truly exists. I closed out the last month of the semester with dinners with friends, ushering the next show at Yale Rep, and jumping right into my next project. Hedda Gabler is now 2 weeks from tech and I can tell this one is going to be one of my favorites.
Grad school is already halfway done as hard as that is to believe. I don't know how I will feel when it's actually over but for now I'm grateful for the the classmates who are like siblings, for shows that push me, and for the people in my life who aren't physically with me but continue to know and love me anyway. As I prepare cover letters and resumes for summer jobs, I find myself nostalgic for my past and the jobs I've held previously. Tonight I came across some recommendation letters written by people whom I hold very close to my heart. And still every time I read them I am amazed how their letters capture how well they truly know me. It's a gift to have people like that in your life. They are the same people I turn to when I need advice, a reference for a job, or someone to remind me of where I came from. I am in the process of applying for dream jobs for the summer but I never forget how much the people and the jobs that came before mean to me and how they shaped where I am now.
The newness of graduate school has worn away as has much of the anxiety which allows for the utter joy of what I do to come through. My first assignment of the year began the week after classes began which was assistant stage managing a show called Owners at Yale Rep. Working at the Rep is a big deal in any department and in particular for the artistic teams. As ASMs, we are supporting a stage manager who will be using this production as their thesis--both a presentation of the skills that they have accumulated over 3 years and also a time capsule for years to come of a show where many will earn their Equity cards and have intense, unique memories. Our work is not just for us and the production but it's for them too.
Our show wasn't without its challenges. I fondly refer to it as an underestimated show in terms of its size because it was actually much more intricate and laborious than many of us realized at the beginning. Utilizing two turn tables which resulted in 10 different locations, 6 actors, 3-5 costume changes per actor, and more than a handful of props, Owners became the show I never predicted would be my biggest accomplishment to date.
Rehearsals were exhilarating because of their complexity. Replicating turn tables in a rehearsal room that must be restored at the end of each night was impractical so our fantastic technical direction team built us walls that we could move freely to represent each location. Set up took half an hour, breaks were spent quickly changing out furniture, walls, and props, and tear down each night took an hour because of how tightly packed our storage area was. It took true team work to have the rehearsal run smoothly because it was too time intensive for one person to move everything so my stage manager and I each took responsibility of one turn table. The cast was generous with assisting in resetting props if they knew their placement. The director was incredibly patient when a particular location took longer to set. And visitors quickly learned the transitions and were invaluable during run throughs when locations were changing every 10-15 minutes. I cannot say how helpful it was to feel the support of the whole team and to know that we were all collaborating to replicate what the true show would look like in the theatre as best we could in a rehearsal room. Rehearsals felt like tech because of the amount of action happening every minute but as tech is usually my favorite part of a process, I felt quite at home. I also managed to lose about 8 pounds because I literally got too excited or caught up in rehearsal to eat on a regular basis. There's always one casualty during a show.
Tech was big. And hard. And completely exercised every bit of our artistic and management brains. From the stage carpenter who was always looking out for the safety of the company when it came to rotating the turn tables to my stage manager who was keeping everyone on track and moving us forward while negotiating the logistics of making this world come to life. I was so pleased and proud on opening night knowing of the stressful moments we experienced but also the fun we had backstage and the bonding moments we experienced getting the show to its well deserved opening.
Owners taught me a lot. And I think the biggest lesson I learned is that I can still fall in love with a production without actually being in love with the show itself. By this I mean that I loved the company, the scene changes, the team, the energy put into it, and the incredible work that was done on the show but I never actually loved the play itself. Even on closing night, the script still didn't resonate with me. But that was the most valuable lesson to learn because you're never going to get your ideal job every time you are looking for one and you have to be disciplined enough to love your job to the point that it doesn't matter what the project is. The people and the experiences are really what matter in the end.
Owners took up most of my first semester so by the time I re-entered the world, it almost shocked me that there was only a month left. It's bizarre how much the world goes by when you're so wrapped up in a project that you forget anything else truly exists. I closed out the last month of the semester with dinners with friends, ushering the next show at Yale Rep, and jumping right into my next project. Hedda Gabler is now 2 weeks from tech and I can tell this one is going to be one of my favorites.
Grad school is already halfway done as hard as that is to believe. I don't know how I will feel when it's actually over but for now I'm grateful for the the classmates who are like siblings, for shows that push me, and for the people in my life who aren't physically with me but continue to know and love me anyway. As I prepare cover letters and resumes for summer jobs, I find myself nostalgic for my past and the jobs I've held previously. Tonight I came across some recommendation letters written by people whom I hold very close to my heart. And still every time I read them I am amazed how their letters capture how well they truly know me. It's a gift to have people like that in your life. They are the same people I turn to when I need advice, a reference for a job, or someone to remind me of where I came from. I am in the process of applying for dream jobs for the summer but I never forget how much the people and the jobs that came before mean to me and how they shaped where I am now.
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