Team Experiences
Metamorphoses
BY MARY ZIMMERMAN
DIRECTED BY: LUKE WORLAND
Stage Manager, Armory Free Theater, Fall 2017
In the Fall of 2017, I was the Stage Manager for Luke Worland’s Senior Thesis, a production of Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. This was a huge learning experience for me because this was my first leadership and stage management position in college. I learned about how I want to present myself as a leader and a stage manager; I want to be knowledgeable, practice open and honest communication, be a creative problem solver, be approachable to the actors and designers, and be an extra set of creative eyes for the director if they need it. Metamorphoses is a series of ancient Greek myths connected with the ever present theme of humankind reliant on each other for strength and to move backward in reflection on the past is to take a step forward. The production involved a cast of 20 that formed a human crawling wave, a bathtub, platforms that symbolized heaven and hell, a haunting a cappella sailor song, and a snake named Lasagna Del Rey. We blocked and rehearsed the show for four weeks, had one week of tech rehearsals, and three performances. I was responsible for reserving rehearsal spaces in Krannert, working with the props department to borrow props, I helped paint the set, and I called all the lighting and sound cues for the performances. I worked very closely with director Luke Worland to schedule rehearsals that supported our volunteer actor’s busy schedules and supported the process of the entire show. I also assisted him with coordinating meetings with the lighting designer, sound designer, and scenic painter. The performance included a lot of movement, and so I practiced time management and reading the room, and called breaks for our actors accordingly. One of the biggest challenges we encountered was the bathtub, that was stationed on one side of the stage, the director had envisioned that it would gradually fill with water before the show began as the audience was seated, through a showerhead from above. We all went home to brainstorm and came back the next day with ideas on how to make this happen. And in addition to that I brainstormed ways to make sure that having water onstage would be safe for our actors. I came ready to use some old carpet square to place and tape down to the floor in areas that would be potentially slippery. I wanted to avoid anyone getting hurt, so there were several other precautions that we created and plans for if something were to go wrong. I learned a lot about preparation and had fun being a part of making this project come to life. I absorbed all that I could from the actors, the designers, and my relationship with the director, Luke.
The Princess Play
BY ELLEN MAGEE
DIRECTED BY: KARA HYNES
Stage Manager & Designer, Spring 2018
This past spring, I worked on a student ran show called The Princess Play in the Armory Free Theatre. This was a show that was written by senior, Ellen Magee, about what happened to the Disney princesses after their happily ever afters and what if their magical world was suddenly taken over by a manipulative, evil dictator. Director, Kara Hynes, invited me to be on her production team in a cross over position between stage manager and assistant director, she wanted me to assist her in the organizational, management side of the process as well as be someone to bounce directing ideas off of. I assisted her with casting the show and was in it from beginning to end. Once we started rehearsals, our scenic designer dropped the project and so I jumped in because I had previous experience designing low budget sets for a theater camp that I worked at in the summer. Then, I also took on working with the costume shop to rent some costume pieces, and the prop shop to borrow different props. The project kept getting bigger and bigger. Kara and I realized that due to the fights in the script, we needed to find a fight choreographer to design safe fights that also looked good. And there was also a dance, so we contacted our good friend, Luke Worland, to choreograph a waltz. It was also a tricky situation because Ellen, who wrote the show, also cast herself as the lead. She had a very particular vision for the entire project and had a difficult time trusting and allowing Kara and I to be creative. In the end, I was responsible for coordinating and scheduling rehearsals for 23 cast members for five weeks, collecting props and costumes, finding someone to help me paint the set, and I called the lighting and sound cues. In addition to designing the set, I also designed the poster and program. The biggest thing I learned from this experience is to ask for help. Kara and I were aware of things that we wanted to get done but they were out of our skill set. I wish that I had been able to have a person to help me with my responsibilities, but I learned that I also learned that I can handle a lot of moving pieces all at once. There were a lot of moments that I felt like a strong leader, but there were too many moments that, looking back at it, my stress and frustration got the best of me, and I didn’t communicate in the best way, in ways that I know I more than capable of communicating. For a long time, my focus was more on being a designer and less of a manager, but I realized that I was no longer needed to be thinking as a designer, I was needed to be thinking more as a stage manager (which is what I am more comfortable acting in). Once I recognized that I needed to make a switch in my thought, I was able to be a more positive and forward thinking person in my stage management position. I think that my biggest success was recognizing that I was not doing my job in the best way I could, and taking some time before rehearsal to get my stress under control, and make the conscious choice to be part of the solution.
