Over the Winter Quarter 2016, I was lucky to have stage managed SCU’s production of The Good Doctor. This was the first time I had stage managed since… high school. I was really nervous, but even though there were some bumps, everything smoothed out in the end. Here are some things I learned over the last 9 weeks:

In order to stage manage a theatrical production, there are three essential things that you need: patience, patience, and more patience. (A sense of humor is also helpful). In complete seriousness, you need a lot of things to stage manage, but patience is a huge component of it all. Here are some things I learned over the course of rehearsal and performance of The Good Doctor:

1. Organization – At any given point during a rehearsal or performance, there could be at least three or four things happening at the same time. You have to know when to call Go for the lights, sound, set, and curtain and being organized REALLY helps. Pencils, erasers, highlighters help. But setting up your workspace thirty minutes before call/go time is probably the biggest hand you could ever give yourself. Stay on top of your stuff.
2. Flexibility – Someone in your cast and/or crew will be late one day. And on another day, someone else will be late. Or someone will be sick and will have to leave early. You gotta be flexible! Additionally, sometimes you don’t know how things are gonna go, so you just gotta go with the flow and facilitate as best as you can.
3. Confidence – This is so important. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing–fake it til you make it. Or, alternatively, ask questions. Stick to your word and know that one or another, it will work out.

It was an absolute joy to have worked on such a fun and funny show with such amazing, talented individuals. I learned a lot about being a stage manager, but I also learned a lot about theatre and story and listening. As a creative writer and playwright, this experience was invaluable. I loved witnessing discoveries within the script and looking at it from different perspective. The possibilities are endless with theatre and a great group of people. 🙂