Stage Managers.
There are bad ones.
There are adequate ones.
And then ther are the . . .

GREAT ONES.

For those of you who don't know or maybe don't fully appreciate the duties and function of a Stage manager, I'm going to expound- in brief- upon the subject.

A Stage Manager in theatre has all the responsibilites and typically none of the glory. They are at once Mother and Father, Firend and Mentor, Task Master and Crusader- They go to bat for their actor and crew- standing between tham and harm. They are the reason anything gets accomplished. ever. The good ones, that is. Maybe some people haven't had the experience of working with a really fine stage manager- but the positon is a masterful art and a rare skill, and not just anybody can or could do it with effectiveness.

Maybe I have this view, despite the fact that most actors have only an inkling of an idea what their stage managers go through for them and their show, because i have worked behind the scenes so much and in so very many capacities. But I am grateful to have seen- to have witnessed and learned from some truly incredible stage managers, and I have held all other stage managers to their standard.

The finest stage manager- and someone I'd like to consider a friend as well as a mentor, the finest stage manager I had ever worked with was the incomparable, unflappable Kent LeVan who I had the privelege of working with at AMDA. I got to know him and witness him in action for a few semesters while working production as work study- then I was blessed enough to have him as my SM for the drama showcase. He is efficient, he is incredibly brilliant, funny, warm, caring, intuitive and he knows how to make the trains run on time as-it-were. His advice, his support, his well chosen jokes and encouragements made all the difference in the world to me during that whole show-process, and I believe all involved could feel the effects of his skill-- even if they didn't realize or fully appreciate it for what it was.
I vowed from practically the moment I met him that I would hold all other stage managers to that impeccable standard.


They say we are shaped by those we have known- we learn what we like, and what we don't and then mold ourselves accordingly. Sorry future SMs, you have some incredibly big and stylish shoes to fill- not to mention some funky Tees.

All My Love,
BETH