Thesis

Jennifer Luv

Directed Research - Professor Childs

12 February 2000

When the director leaves…

When the director of a production I was involved in decided that he had had enough of the artistic staff, enough of the childish singers, and frankly enough of the theatre, he quit. He left behind him a first-time professional stage manager, a group of demanding artists, and an unfinished, un-teched show. As the production staff baby-stepped through the tech/dress process, they found themselves circling about the production manager, the artistic director, and myself as the stage manager looking for someone to be in charge. It seemed that I was not qualified or trained to step in to fulfill a very important facet of being a stage manager.  I had not been trained to stage manage after the director had left.  Under normal circumstances, a stage manager would be asked to assume some directorial responsibilities such as recasting auditions, brush up rehearsals, and maintaining the integrity of the performance when the director leaves. But, it was this circumstance that I found myself in that made me realize that, in my seven years of collegiate stage management training, I had not been educated in the ways of directing at all… It will be the purpose of this paper to explore the benefits of participating in a directorial experience as a student stage manager. This exploration will include examining both the benefits of enhancing the directorial responsibilities of the stage manager in addition to the observation of the director in order to refine stage management skills.

When the director leaves town after opening a show or when a show hits the road leaving the director behind, the stage manager is often looked to or consulted with in regard to recasting vacated roles. Very often a stage manager is not present during the initial audition process.  However, it is possible for the stage manager to conduct the recasting auditions. As it is now, even when a stage manager is present at an audition, they are just coordinating or running the event. The director on the other hand is usually chained to a table for hours on end watching one performer after another recite, read,  sing, or dance. So, it is not uncommon that the stage manager has not been privy to audition techniques incorporated by the director or what criteria the director has taken into consideration for casting. Experiencing auditions at the table with the director, as would be the case in an assistant director’s role, a student stage manager would have the opportunity to observe audition techniques employed by the director. This would illustrate the initial relationship between talent and director and how this relationship is established. This exposure would prove beneficial when the time comes for the stage manager to recast. More importantly, this exposure, when guided by a stage management advisor, would ensure that the questions of audition format, audition materials, and what the director is looking for are asked.

Next, I would like to address the advantages of observing the director at venues such as concept and production meetings. At these meetings, the function of the stage manager is very specific. He/she is responsible for keeping the flow of the meeting consistent and ensuring that important topics are discussed. On the other hand, the director brings to the table his/her creative agenda. Being able to attend these meetings without having to assume the responsibilities of the stage manager would provide the opportunity to simply observe the actions and conversations of the production team. Secondly, without having to prepare structurally as a stage manager would have to do, it allows the opportunity for a collaborative conversation, artistic in nature, with the director -- an opportunity for the observer to become privy to the artistic agenda. Again, I would like to emphasize the advantage of allowing the stage manager to observe and partake in artistic collaboration. So often these conversations are forsaken. The Stage manager is given no opportunity to learn and understand where the artistic nature of the production is coming from. By giving the opportunity for the stage manager to observe in the assistant director role it is empowering him/her to draw upon their experiences in the future to know what questions need to be asked in order to maintain the artistic integrity.

            The topic of rehearsals is vast. First, I would like to draw upon my first-hand experiences on The Cherry Orchard. Watching Jeff Griffin communicate with the actors and watching him make directorial decisions has given me great insight as to why many directors do the things they do. For example, with one particular actor, Corey Hyman, it was apparent that he was not understanding the character of Petya Trofimov in the same way that Jeff Griffin had interpreted the character. In private conversations with the director, I was able to ask Jeff why he did not arbitrarily tell Corey to behave in Jeff’s particular style.  Jeff replied that in Corey’s particular case, he was the kind of actor who really needed to find the character for himself a little bit at a time. Even though Corey’s slow process made it painful to watch the rehearsals, Corey did find his way and developed the character Jeff had in mind. By observing this relationship firsthand as an assistant director and without having been burdened with SM responsibilities I really learned a valuable lesson about actors: they really need to be communicated to as individuals. Corey needed directions from Jeff completely different from Lindsay Marlin or Colby Chambers. This lesson is applicable in two ways. First, it will help guide me in communicating with actors after the director leaves and I will now pay closer attention to how the director talks to individual actors.

            Secondly, being at rehearsals and watching the director break down scenes for the rehearsal schedule will help a stage manager formulate pointed questions regarding the subject. Why did he decide to do one scene and postpone another? Why has he chosen to rehearse one particular scene for two hours and another one for one? Knowing the answers behind these questions will help a stage manager create more productive rehearsal schedules or at least will give the stage manager a resource of questions to ask that will help facilitate a production/rehearsal schedule.

            While speaking of rehearsals it is also important to point out the obvious advantage of implanting this observation for the sake of conducting improved brush-up rehearsals. Since it is typically the responsibility of the stage manager to conduct brush-up rehearsals, the training above clearly would be beneficial.

            One of the most artistic contributions a stage manager makes to a production is calling the cues. Serving as an assistant director will enhance this ability by allowing the stage manager to have looked at a production from a director’s perspective. A certain vocabulary is established while speaking about cues (time, length, placement, reason, etc.) which are overall factors that need to be considered. Allowing the opportunity for an assistant director to question how and why these elements are the way they are will lead to better understanding. Being able to speak this vocabulary also re-affirms the stage manager’s artistic voice giving them the confidence to have these artistic conversations after the director has left.

            My experience working as Jeff Griffin’s assistant director has been very enlightening. I have been able to ask the questions of a director that I have been harboring for years. I have learned a new vocabulary for communicating with actors. I have observed director/designer conversations I ordinarily am not privy to. And I have questioned acting techniques and why choices have been made the way they were. Given this experience is only with one director who probably is individual in his style you might be questioning how applicable these lessons will be in the future.   I can tell you from this experience I have learned what questions to ask and what artistic notions I possess that are valid. I feel this exploration was very beneficial both for accentuating my stage management responsibilities once the director leaves and simply to improve my stage management experiences.