The Practical Application

This is the outward part that everyone sees:

• The charts, plots, plans, lists, schedules, reports, and signs that the SM creates.
• The organization displayed. Never will you see an SM disorganized because disorganized ones are never hired again, and by the time you get into an Equity situation, such SMs are long gone.
• The attention to detail. Missing a detail today can cause loss of time and unnecessary money spent later.
• The thoroughness and ability to complete tasks, leaving no loose ends.
• The planning and scheduling, having a good sense of timing and how long it takes to do things.
• The administrative abilities, keeping complete and comprehensive files.
• The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, keeping all departments informed and leaving little room for interpretation or misunderstanding.
• The timekeeping throughout the day, monitoring how time is being used and if people are working according to schedule. The SM always arrives on time (if not early), starts things on time, and learns how to deal with people who have a propensity for being late.
• The ability to work spontaneously, improvising as unscheduled and unplanned problems and situations come up. The SM makes on-the-spot decisions.
• The ability to delegate. Sometimes a person will bring to the SM a task or a job that is just outside the bounds of what an SM does. If it is something that can be done quickly, then, yes, the SM jumps in to give support. However, the SM is careful not to get pulled into work that will keep him or her away from what needs to be done. If appropriate, the SM might delegate the job to the ASM, or better still to an intern or even to a technical department, if it fits within their range of work.

The Qualities of a Good SM

While practical application is more about charts and plots, being a scheduler and communicator, the qualities of a good SM, though seen and experienced by all, are not always obvious. The qualities of any person are the things that make up the personality, the demeanor, the attitude, the approach to life, and how things are done.

The qualities of a good SM are what make a producer or a director hire a particular SM over and over. It is the qualities of a good SM that make fellow workers and peers feel good about their SM and admire the work being done. It is the good SM that makes his or her cast and company feel comfortable and secure.

Qualities, combined with practical application, are what make everyone around say:

• “I love him.”
• “She’s a good SM.”
• “She knows her stuff.”
• “I worked with him and he was great!”

Probably the greatest quality a good SM displays, and perhaps even exudes, is love for the job. With that love coming from within, there is a wealth of other positive qualities that follow. Having love, consideration, and understanding are gold standards for any SM.

It seems to be a fact that the SM’s job is set up to be like that of a mother or father to the cast and the show in general, especially when the show gets into performance and the SM is the leader and caretaker of the show. Some go as far as saying an SM’s job is like being a psychiatrist or therapist. I would add it’s also like being a judge or adjudicator.

Identifying the company as a family seems to be a good analogy. Like any family, there are many parts, and with the number of people that can be in a show, especially a musical, you’ll find the dynamics of any and every family.

Whatever role might be prescribed to the SM, there must be the two parts of any person in charge and in a leadership position. On the one hand, the SM must be loving, understanding, fair, supportive, helpful, kind, generous, and a friend. On the other hand, the SM needs to be firm and judicial, bringing censure and discipline to those who disrupt the show, the life backstage, the traditions and expected behaviors of theater, or the rules and regulations of the union and profession.

In bringing censure and discipline, the SM must work from rule and order, what is written in union law and regulations, what is tradition or expected professional behavior. The SM cannot slip into ego or go to a place of mere control, exerting power or satisfying some hidden need deep inside.

The SM does not have to love everyone. The SM must, however, set aside any biases and follow the same plan of rule and discipline that is demonstrated to those in favor. Being able to act and behave in this way is in itself a great quality.

So, in the end, it will be the qualities that the SM brings to the job that will bring him or her to success as a “good” SM who gets people to say, “I love him”… “She’s a good SM”… “She knows her stuff”… “I worked with him and he was terrific!” And, I will add, who gets producers and directors to hire him or her again and again.

• A good SM sees and acknowledges the good work of all with whom he or she works, and whenever possible sings their praises in public as well as in private. The SM gives as much encouragement, compliments, and words of praise as he or she is sometimes compelled to complain, criticize, or give orders.
• All people have a need to be the center of interest or be idolized in some way. SMs are no different. However, the good SM learns how to step aside and let the others shine. The SM’s moments of glory and notoriety have to come in the quality and merits of the work being done.
• SMs do things without fanfare.
• Being humble too much and too often wears thin quickly. Self-serving humbleness is seen a mile away. Self-deprecation doesn’t work either, but having the ability to admit when you are wrong or make an apology to individuals or the group when a mistake is made is something that stands out and remains in people’s minds and hearts.
• The SM must, however, be careful not to become a caretaker or rescuer. He or she is ever present to lend an ear, provide a shoulder, maybe offer advice, or even give assistance. But the SM also knows when to step back and give a person the responsibility for his or her own problem, situation, or behavior.
• The SM is focused, which means being concentrated and “working in the moment.” He or she works swiftly but not frantically. In the most stressful of situations, the SM shows neither panic nor signs of being out of control. He or she does not get pulled into drama or hysteria. While everyone around may be losing their heads, the SM maintains enough distance to remain calm and objective, ready to steer the ship through turbulent waters and keep the show and the company afloat. As soon as an SM shows anything less than complete confidence and control, directors become nervous, producers fearful, and performers insecure. The company would rather live under a delusion of strength and security than see their SM display anything less.
• While working “in the moment,” there has to be a part of the SM that is also thinking ahead, anticipating what is logically coming and also what might be coming. This is a quality that works for any part of the SM’s job but is especially impressive to and welcomed by directors.
• Throughout the course of a show, the SM is the person from the production staff who ends up spending the most time with the cast. As in any profession, there are conflicts, disagreements, misunderstandings, and even outright fights. Having been given the harrowing job of caretaker, the SM must try to bring peace, order, and resolution. This is a minefield to travel. The SM must stay at the perimeter at all times. There is no one formula for resolving conflicts. SMs have their own way of working. There are some things that can, however, start the resolving process: Should the disturbance have started for all in the company to see, the SM should make an effort to bring things into a more private place.
  • The SM needs to give each person or group of people their moment of expression (hear them out).
  • Then, right or wrong, the SM gives the different factions a right to their feelings. The SM shows understanding.
  • The SM might state the facts as he or she has heard them. Then with calm and logic, go into the points of resolve.
  • In closing, the SM might make an appeal for the betterment of the show, to remind those in conflict of the professional standards expected of people working in theatre. If it appears that things are coming to a stalemate, it is a good idea to suggest a cooling-off time before getting together again, or simply making a truce, burying the hatchet, or agreeing to disagree.

• The SM is privy to some very private and personal information and learns things about cast members and star performers that are not for publication in any way, especially not as gossip. It is the SM’s job to remain tight lipped, to keep things confidential, and to keep whatever administrative information he or she has on file locked away in the computer and under password.
• The SM learns to never deliver an angry message from one person to another. The art is to edit the message, soften the blows, minimize the intensity, and yet still get the point across. The craft is to convey the sender’s anger to a lesser degree, perhaps expressing it as annoyance or frustration. The SM doesn’t want to metaphorically fall victim to “Off with the Messenger’s Head Syndrome.”
• An SM knows the truth and myth of his and her power and position within the chain of command and also learns how to use effectively whatever little power there is.

There are other “qualities” that could be listed in the anatomy of a good SM, but the above mentioned are a good start. Each SM develops a unique combination of qualities. Take what you like and add it to what you already have. However, before we move on to the next level of understanding in the anatomy of a good SM, there are two more qualities I have saved for last—leadership and humor.

• Every SM has his or her definition of leadership. That definition comes from experience and from the things that will be talked about in the next part in the anatomy of a good SM, the spirit of an SM. Leadership is not something the SM thinks about. Leadership comes out of being in control, keeping order, doing what is right, good, and best for all. Leadership is knowing the job well and putting all the things that make a good SM into practical application. Leadership is a hundred and one things: working with people, knowing and loving them, guiding and directing them. Leadership is asking people to follow. Leadership is guiding and traveling people through time, space, and event. Leadership is standing at the front, knowing when to step forward and command and when to remain subordinate and follow. Leadership is taking suggestions and ideas and running with them. It is thanking people and giving them credit for their contributions. Leadership is following the rules, being fair and understanding, and at the same time being strong, firm, and steadfast. It is learning from mistakes and using success to build assurance and confidence. Leadership is being strongly motivated and focused. Leadership for an SM is the sum total of all the things listed in this chapter and throughout this book.
• Surprisingly, a quality that has come up in almost every interview conducted with producers, directors, and other SMs is having a good sense of humor and bringing fun to the job. This one quality goes a long way toward creating a happy company. Humor is a quality seldom considered, yet an SM with humor is a joy to have in the good times as well as the stress-filled times. In his interview for this book, Bill Holland said, “I like an SM with a good sense of humor.” Paul Blake agreed, and the others interviewed made it unanimous. They liked having an SM who could generate fun as well as participate in it. They were careful to add, “As long as the humor is done at the right time, appropriately, is not disruptive, harmful to the show, mean-spirited, or at the expense of someone else.”

The Spirit of an SM

This last part in the anatomy of a good SM is perhaps the hardest to explore. It comes from deep inside the person. The spirit in every person and in every SM is different. It is highly individualistic. It is like fingerprints or DNA. It is the core, the foundation, and even the soul. This is so personal and private a place that it is hard to generalize and make a list of things that make a good SM—but I will go ahead and try anyway.

• The spirit is where the drives and motivations thrive, and where traits and qualities live in light, joy, hope, fun, and love, moving a person along in life and making them strong, successful, and productive.
• The spirit is also a place where there is darkness, where wounds and hurts have been collected from experiences in life. We all know that place inside of us. It is here that experiences remain stored, ready to push up anger, taking good and productive traits and qualities and making them into something unfavorable and destructive.
• There is inside every person a love and a desire to be something in life. As a child it may start out as wanting to be a fire-fighter, a person who takes care of animals, a dancer, maybe a movie star. This is all based on a love inside, wanting to express something. Most people today working as professional SMs did not start out wanting to be an SM. No child has ever said, “I want to be a stage manager when I grow up.” A performer, yes, or maybe a director, but not an SM. For the most part, becoming an SM just happens. One day a person simply begins helping out backstage, maybe on the technical crew or assisting the director, or maybe there’s a chance to be in a show as a performer if the person will also work as an ASM.

This is what Barbara Beckley of the Colony Playhouse in Burbank said when asked, “Why do you think a person becomes a stage manager?”

Anatomy of an ASM

Reader, student, or beginning SM, listen up and take notice of this next paragraph because, more than likely, before you become a solo SM and, even more, before you become a PSM, you will be an assistant!

The information in this chapter as well as the information in this entire book applies equally to the ASM. In many respects, the ASM is a mini-PSM. There is, however, something more for the ASM. The ASM must learn how to assist. An ASM must learn when to lead—when to take the ball and run—and when to step back and let the PSM be the boss. A part of the ASM’s job is to support and be of service to the PSM. The ASM also learns to take up the slack where there might be slack. If necessary, the ASM saves the PSM from mistakes, failure, or embarrassment, without expectation of recognition or reward. The ASM does this job with the same intensity and authority as the PSM, but stays within the boundaries of an ASM, not threatening the PSM’s pride, position, or ego.

The working relationship between the PSM and the ASM is in many ways like a marriage. There is a relationship to be cultivated and maintained. To help make this relationship work, it is the ASM’s job to learn the ways the PSM likes to work—the things the PSM expects from an assistant. Learning the PSM’s perfection level is important, as is learning the PSM’s ego factor. Most PSMs will not stop to think about their assistants in terms of what makes his assistant a good ASM. All the PSM knows is he likes the assistant, feels assured and good about this assistant, and feels the assistant has his or her back, as the saying goes. The PSM also feels well assisted and supported by the ASM, and will work with no other, show after show.

Show Business: A Glamorous Business

It is all true! Being in show business is every bit as glamorous, exciting, and thrilling as everyone imagines. There are parties and gala affairs. You meet the rich and famous, travel, and perform for dignitaries, politicians, and other very important people. You get to ride in limousines, have people wait on you, live in grand hotels, and maybe even have your own fifteen minutes of fame. As an SM you may work directly with the leaders in the entertainment industry, working at a high level of intensity. Your position is important, respected, and often held in esteem. Your work contributes to the performance each night, and you’ll have your ego stroked. In short, you get to live on the outer edge and send postcards to all your relatives and unemployed friends.

This is the part the general public and some young aspiring SMs focus on. It is intoxicating to the spirit and draws people in. The rewards and victories of being an SM are rich and sweet. The defeats can be great, lonely, and agonizing. The glamorous part is less than one-fifth of the total experience of being in show business and being an SM. The other four-fifths is what this book is about—read on and be informed!

In Closing

In the final analysis of this chapter, it seems that only generalities and similarities can be made in the anatomy of an SM. Each SM is as different and unique as fingerprints or DNA is to each person.

In conclusion, as one reads this chapter, one might say, “Well, that’s not me!”

True, but you have your own set of qualities, spirit, and practical application. So in your journey of becoming an SM, or being a beginning SM, let the information of this chapter stand as my bridge in putting forth some of the things I have experienced or observed in what makes a good SM.

Interviews

▸ Interviewer: As a producer or director, how do you choose an SM?

▸ Lara Teeter: I go with somebody I have a certain chemistry with. Somebody who has a love for theatre. I like an SM who is a “people person.” Someone who knows how to work with people. Someone who can deal with people in all positions and at all levels—from the executive producer to the man or woman who provides the janitorial services. Someone who likes being part of a family.

▸ Interviewer: What are some of the qualities you look for in an SM?

▸ Bill Holland: I want to know if this SM can work under pressure! While everyone is losing their heads and getting into a state, does this SM remain cool, clear-headed, calm? Also, can this person bend, go with the flow, work under adverse conditions? Can this SM get along with all kinds of people? I look for someone who is assertive, who is up front, present, and clear in thought and conversation. Someone who is too sharp, too Mr. Cool or Mr. Experience, is a turn-off. This is a warning to me because he’s got something more to prove. He’s not putting his time into the job but into himself. I look for balance.

▸ Interviewer: As a PSM, what do you expect from an assistant?

▸ Bill Holland:

• Healthy assertiveness
• Ability to change
• Knows the job well, the craft
• Can function in all the areas that I as the PSM function
• Can take over for me when I have to be somewhere else
• Knows how to work with performers/stars
• Has an ability to handle all things as I would
• Perhaps most of all, a sense of humor helps a lot!
• In short, my assistant must know my job without having my job.

▸ Interviewer: What about a good sense of humor in an SM?

▸ Lara Teeter: Oh god, thank you for that! I forgot all about sense of humor. Yes, and that should be at the top of the list for any SM. He must be playful and join in the fun but like a parent he must also know when to bring the kids back to sensibility and the order of the day. Do you know what I mean?

▸ Interviewer: Would you hire someone off the street?

▸ John Bowab: Not as a rule, but this one time I did. I liked him the moment he walked in. The unpretentious way he greeted me, sat down, and presented his resume. It was clean, simple, easy to read. Then on the first day of rehearsals I was really shocked when he had newly sharpened pencils at my table, a clean script if I wanted it, and he knew that I liked working with a tape recorder so there were fresh batteries. The man was a quiet and understated type of person, but he was a dynamo, getting the job done with a lot of extra considerations.

▸ Interviewer: Why do you think people become SMs and why is a person attracted to becoming an SM?

▸ John Bowab: Most of the SMs I have known started out with another intent—to act, to direct, to produce—and then somewhere they got to be an SM, maybe on a show, or as part of their studies in college. Then there are those people who love it. Why they love it, I don’t know; for the most part it is a thankless job. I’m thankful that they do it. Why does someone work on a building, eighty stories up? Some just like putting the show together. Maybe they like the regimentation, the power, the control, the challenge, being at the center of something. I don’t think it’s because they can’t do anything else.

▸ Interviewer: What about ego in an SM?

▸ John Bowab: A good SM must almost always have to eliminate ego, because with ego you have to pay a price. People become actors or performers because they need attention, acclaim, confirmation, praise. People behind the scenes don’t get that and if that is a driving force in them, then they shouldn’t be there. The SM’s praise and recognition come from knowing that the show worked—it comes from himself. An SM executes someone else’s dream, someone else’s vision.

▸ Interviewer: Why do you think people become SMs?

▸ Lara Teeter: I think it’s someone who looooovvvves being organized. Who likes to get things done. Who loves to compartmentalize—making sure things are together and doing things well. You can see it in the tools they carry: their colored tape, a pencil sharpener, rubber bands in little containers, paper clips, aspirin, Band-Aids. They are ready to do the job and they get gratification.

▸ Interviewer: What are some of the qualities you look for in an SM?

▸ Paul Blake: Aside from all the things an SM must do in the job, I like an SM who is also caring, nurturing, and encouraging.

▸ Interviewer: What qualities do you look for in a stage manager?

▸ Sheldon Epps: There are so many, but I’ll tell you one of the qualities I especially like is that I want a stage manager who is a listener. Some people are listeners and some are not. Someone who can set him or herself aside and hear what is being said and not filtering it through his or her… ego.

I also want to see that the stage manager is passionate about the work that we do. The work that we do is very, very hard… and demanding, and the reward, yes you get a check each week, but the reward is in getting it right. I want an SM who loves the theatre as much as I do and is not doing it just for a job… and you can sense and feel that when you’re interviewing a person. I have had some very able, capable stage managers do the job well, but they were rather passionless. I want a stage manager who really cares about the job—who is invested in creating the same kind of theatre that I am. Take my production stage manager, Red. Red is a perfect example of that. She is invested in the art upon the stage and whatever she can do, whether it is her job or not, to help the work of the stage be better.

▸ Interviewer: Why do you think a person becomes a stage manager?

▸ Sheldon Epps: It is my hope that the person who becomes a stage manager comes to the job with a love for the art of theatre and wants to be a part of that. Maybe they do not have a talent to be an actor or a director or designer, but [he or she] has a very specific talent and ability that makes the person know that being a stage manager is the way to be part of that community to express and make a contribution.