Archive

‘The job is extraordinary’ says local Theatre’s stage manager

May 1, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

“This is my 13th year with Theatre Orangeville,” said Paula Stewart, who is usually the Stage Manager (SM) for productions at Theatre Orangeville. “I started in 2007 working as a summer student. They had a grant, so there could be a student in post secondary education. I came as a student and, then, I never wanted to leave. 

“I was working on production and that’s how I met Beckie [Morris Production Manger ]Beckie got me a job at Dayton Entertainment, where I was in production and a scenic painter.” 

It all worked out extremely well: in the summer season, Ms. Stewart apprenticed in theatres owned by Drayton Entertainment and in September, she was back with the crew at Theatre Orangeville. 

“At Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School, I was doing all science and math, for industrial chemistry. It looks better on your university application if you have some a creative credit too, I was told.

So, she became involved in what suited her very well, as Stage Manager for the Drama Department.

“The first show I called the cues for was with the Drama Department’s production of a rock version of MacBeth, travelling to Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre, and competing in the Thespian Festival in Nebraska.

“I did the calls for the last show in Toronto and at Nebraska. It was my stage managing debut.

“A lot of the problem-solving and that part of my brain went very well.” she explained and of theatre arts said, “Our first language is singing – we are built for this – we are wired for this.” 

Definitively, what is the SM’s job: “The SM are the organizers of the theatre world. They run the rehearsal schedule, the interactions between departments, communication from amongst the administration, rehearsal, artistic team and the departments of 

“The SM’s job in rehearsal is to write down everything. When an actor comes and says, ‘I don’t what I’m wearing next,’ you’ve got it ready.”

She commented about the growth she sees within a run of a play: “It’s just a lovely thing to watch, especially young actors – the young boy playing Raphie in Christmas Story one year – it’s a huge role for a young person. He came running off stage and said, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing next.’ We were ready to give him what he needed and after a couple of shows, he was saying, ‘I know what I’m doing!’ 

“Once they’re running the show, it’s usually just the SM and ASM and the cast.” 

Obviously, we talked about Theatre Orangeville’s stunning and completely original production of A Mid Summer’s Night Dream, performed on the stage on Island Lake in the Conservation Area. Paula Stewart was the Stage Manager for that.

“That was an incredible exciting, challenging and educational experience for everyone involved, in the best way possible, When I talk to other Stage Managers, who have been in the industry for decades longer than I have, they all look at me like I’m crazy.

“There was no roadmap for it. Just making a daily schedule took three people an hour and half. Usually, it’s much less.

“It was a life-changing experience for everyone involved – how far my patience will stretch and where my limits were. Would I do it again? I hope so. 

“Theatre persists,” she claimed with certainty, “After [COVID-19], people will be cautious but they will be hungry for these experiences.

How many times can a person watch and still appreciate a single play? That question has had a good run with Jonas and Barry in the Home, a play Norm Foster wrote, essentially for himself and David Nairn. They have been touring with the play around southern Ontario since it premiered here at Theatre Orangeville in October, 2015.

As SM for the play’s productions in several of those theatres, said Ms. Stewart, “I have seen Jonas and Barry over 187 times on stage and 280, including rehearsals. Watching the audiences’ reaction is always fun. The same jokes, it’s incredible how they manage [to keep them fresh]. After you’ve seen a show 150 times, the back stage crew – we made up back stories for all the characters in the story that are never seen.” 

To do another show like Mid Summer’s Night Dream, Ms. Stewart declared, “I would knock anybody out of the way that was applying for the job. The logistics of that show were fascinating and very difficult.”

Professionals coming here remark on the feeling of family among the entire crew.

The answer is, “Food. We eat together; seems like a simple thing: we cook together; often do a Chinese style hot pot. We did a travel dinner once, going from each other’s house to house.”

She explained, “The care you put into your food and the care of talking about things that are not about the theatre – going to someone’s house and making food there, rather than going to a restaurant or some place for a beer is not the same.

“I remember we did one dinner party when we got 20 people around a table that was meant for eight: two casts, pot luck. It was a lovely evening.”

To survive the enforced leisure on everyone, “I play the guitar well and the piano and I’m learning the cello -it’s a full sized cello. If I never play it again, that’ll be okay.” 

The burning question and answer to hold on to: “Why should people go to the theatre?” Paula Stewart was clear: “We should come to the theatre because you’re going to get something out it that you won’t get out of any other medium. Being with your friends, sitting around the kitchen table is a different thing from have dinner with them at a distance.”

She said, “There’s something about the story-telling in theatre – it will affect you in ways you’re not expecting.”

Readers Comments (0)