Week 5: Rehearsal Procedures

I can't believe we're already on week five! This week, rehearsals for A Man for All Seasons have continued apace, as has technical work. I also read the chapter in my text on Rehearsal Procedures.

My reading went into a lot of detail about the conduct expected of stage managers during the rehearsal process. Since I have already been in rehearsals for two weeks, it was interesting to compare what I have been doing with the procedures Stern and O'Grady seem to expect. Some things the text recommended I knew would be received unfavorably in our rehearsals, or were already being done by another person. I found several of the book's suggestions on blocking note-taking very helpful, such as drawing diagrams of where all characters are according to "french scenes" (which begin and end with character entrances and exits). It was also interesting to note the different methods of prompting lines, as I will begin doing so at tomorrow's rehearsal.

In rehearsals, we are almost done blocking the show, with the exception of one or two large and complex scenes, which we will be tackling tomorrow night. On the technical front, we have had many costume fittings this past week, with many of the costumes fitting just perfectly! The set is also making great progress; I believe most, if not all, of the pieces for the Tudor arches have been cut and are ready to be assembled. I am also very excited about what is going on in publicity, as the student worker in charge of that area has been developing a marketing plan for the play and has several great poster ideas.

I can't wait to see what we accomplish this week!

Week 4: Budgeting and First Rehearsals!

It's been another great week in stage management! This week, we've finally started rehearsals for A Man for All Seasons and I read another chapter, this time about budgeting.

The chapter on budgeting is fairly small. It provides a breakdown of chain of command when it comes to purchases and budgeting. However, in my capacity as stage manager for this fall production, I will probably not have to deal with a budget at all.

The more exciting update this week is definitely in regards to rehearsals. The cast read through the script on Monday and Tuesday and we had our first rehearsals on the stage on Wednesday and Thursday. It's so interesting to see the cast start to get a grip on the characters and story. I'm really excited about the cast; I think we have a lot of great people and particularly a lot of first-time actors or people who are new to Jewell Theatre. It's exciting to think that in seven weeks we'll be almost ready to open our show! But we have a lot more work to do to get there... See you next week!

Week 3: Scheduling and Company Rules and Getting Acquainted with Your Theater

Hello again! The third week of my blog is upon us and I have some more chapters from my stage management reading for you, as well as a report of this week's activities in the tech practicum.

This week, I read chapters 4 & 5 in Stern & O'Grady, which were "Scheduling and Company Rules" and "Getting Acquainted with Your Theater". Chapter 4 was mostly about how keeping a schedule (or multiple schedules) is important to keeping everyone in the company on-task so that progress towards opening night is being made at an adequate rate. Scheduling mix-ups can cause days of work to be lost, which will always result in a lower-quality end product. Fortunately, I do not have to create the rehearsal schedule for the fall play, as our director Kim Harris will be doing that himself. However, I do think it would be a great idea for me to create and keep a master calendar of all rehearsals, deadlines, work days, etc. Also included in chapter 4 was a section on the callboard, which is an area where I can post useful information for the cast and crew.

Chapter 5 was about understanding the organizational structure of your theater. It is important to know who is responsible for what so that communication can be effective. You will also want to know as much as possible about the physical structure of your theater: stage dimensions, location of circuit breakers, locations of light instruments, etc.

This week in the tech practicum, I finished reading the script for A Man for All Seasons. I also participated in tool certification for all the new student workers.

Tomorrow we have our first read-through with the cast of A Man for All Seasons (which is also on my birthday!). See you next week with more on the show!

Week 2: Characteristics of a Good Stage Manager and Understanding the Script

Hello! This week I've read some more chapters in Stern and O'Grady, as well as started working on A Man for All Seasons. While our technical crew is still getting situated and the real work of building the show hasn't begun yet, I spent my time this week making some forms that we'll need once the show starts. I worked with the director and technical director to create the audition form we'll be using at auditions this Tuesday and Wednesday. On my own, I also created a cast sign-in form which I'll use at every rehearsal as well as a cast and crew contact sheet so everyone will be able to get in touch with each other once work on the show starts in a little over a week.

My reading this week covered chapters two and three in my book, the characteristics of a good stage manager and understanding the script. The chapter on the characteristics of a good stage manager impressed upon me the stage manager's overall responsibility for running the show. The responsibility extends from preproduction to the end of a show's run and afterwards, meaning that it is a good stage manager's job to expedite and manage everything from auditions to rehearsals to final dress to curtain call. A good stage manager will make sure everyone's time is being utilized in the most effective way so the show can be the best it can possibly be. A good stage manager is also prepared for any emergencies that might happen, from injuries to fires.

The chapter on understanding the script was very helpful. It described many different tools that will be useful to me in running the show, such as how to create and use the prompt script, identifying problems, or things that must be done to run the show, and the creation of various technical plots. These will all be tools I can use to make A Man for All Seasons run more smoothly from start to finish.

I will be back next week, when I'll be able to talk about the audition process and more from Stern and O'Grady!