“Stage managers can be bitter and coarse on the outside, but inside you’ll find a sweetness that just wants to please people. You know, kinda like a burnt marshmallow. And you know what makes every marshmallow better? Chocolate.”
— Explaining to the actors how to get good with the stage management
I saw a “shoutout to the theatre kids” post that was only about actors and I felt left out so this is for everyone else (please add to this if you feel you haven’t been represented!!):
shoutout to the theatre kids that aren’t actors
to the stage managers who manage to balance friendships and being authoritative in rehearsals
to the technicians that do extra training in welding and access equipment and so many other things to make themselves more hireable
to the techs and stage management who just sometimes want to wear colour but are instead in show blacks all the time
to the stage managers who get stuck mediating the tension between directors and designers who are older and supposed to be more mature than you
to the techs who injure themselves, deal with it, and keep working (or are told they aren’t allowed and are so annoyed about it)
to the designers that have to compromise what they want because the director doesn’t like it or there isn’t enough time/budget/equipment
to the casual crew members who just like theatre and want to be involved but aren’t trying to make a career of it
to everyone who tries (and sometimes fails) to fit in friends and healthy eating during tech week
to everyone who has ever done a year-long unpaid (or barely paid) internship in the hopes that it will lead to a job opportunity
to everyone who has ever worked really hard on making/finding a prop only to have it cut in tech or dress
to the design assistants that have to figure out when and how to become designers in their own right
to anyone who has ever managed to avert a crisis backstage where there’s barely any light and you can’t talk
to anyone who has ever had to make the decision to stop the show because some crises just can’t be averted
There’s gonna be THAT person that comes along when you aren’t expecting anything and they treat you right and everything’s healthy and they’re gonna make you feel all kinds of shit you didn’t know you could feel bitch do not let that go I’m telling you
