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February 22 - March 19, 2016
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Stage Management and Direction
JOHN COLEMAN,
Lyric stage manager
Each Lyric production has a stage manager, assistant director,
and assistant stage managers. The stage manager works with
everyone who’s involved in maintaining the excellence of the
show over time. Assistant directors are in charge of dramatic
upkeep, making sure the staging is accurate and that the director’s
intentions continue to be met. The assistant director rehearses
and puts on understudies, and deals with absences of choristers,
actors, or supernumeraries.
The stage manager calls the show. That includes making
sure all the technical and lighting cues, as well as the scenic
moves, are executed at the correct time. If something went
too fast in the previous performance, we make sure that this
time it’s slower, and so on. We’re timekeepers, making sure
rehearsals and performances start on time and calling breaks. We
constantly work together with all the other departments – clear
communication is incredibly important.
The number of assistant stage managers (ASMs) for a
particular show depends on several things. How many entrances
are in the set – can two ASMs cover them all? How large is the
cast? How technically complicated are the scenic moves? In
Wozzeck
, with four different places to enter and with scenery
moving frequently, we had to respond to those needs. In
Der
Rosenkavalier
things are very busy onstage at the beginning of Acts
Two and Three, so again, you take that into account.
One ASM cues the projected titles. The others take attendance
backstage, check that performers have their props and costume
accessories, and cue all the performers. They see that scenery is
moving correctly and they give warnings to crews, while always
making sure the environment safe for everyone onstage.
Our team has to be “on” and ready to respond in any
situation – say, if something is left onstage and you’ve got to get
it offstage in a hurry. One night in
Wozzeck
the big round lens
in the doctor’s office didn’t come in on cue, and at one point I
said, “We’ve got to cut it, because if we don’t, it won’t be safe and
will be a distraction” It’s all about making split-second decisions
like that and then making sure everyone knows. You have to be
clear in everything you say and do, because you want it to be a
memorable performance for the audience every night.
Carpenters and Sound
MICHAEL SMALLWOOD,
Technical Director
Before performances, the carpenters have already dealt with
the assembly and disassembly of sets when they come in and out
of the building, plus repairs that wouldn’t be done by our scenic
artists, and creating new set pieces (or modifying existing ones)
Lyric’s running crews, working in perfect synchronization night after night, are the glue
that holds each performance together. Their ability to maintain extraordinary professionalism
under extreme pressure is one of the company’s greatest strengths.
Here’s an insider’s view of Lyric’s running crews and how their work happens.
Stage managers Rachel Tobias and John Coleman confer
at the stage-management desk.
Lyric’s sound board