# Ask the (former) stagehand/stagemanager, director and all around theatrical jack of all trades **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 3, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408 "2011-03-03T21:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/21 "2011-03-04T21:06:53Z")
> [@Ludy](#): > > My husband worked on a show where one of the actors had a heart attack and died onstage on opening night. Holy crap. I think you win. Best story I have ever heard involved a woman in the audience with slight dementia climbing onstage during a production of Midsummer Nights Dream. It is claimed that the actor playing Bottom improvised some lines to her in Iambic and talked her into going back to her seat, but I don’t know if I believe that part. I have seen an actor improvise Shakespeare when they went up on their lines though, so I know it can be done. I just haven’t seen it often. I also know an actor who lost a kidney because the person he was working with was “in the moment” and forgot to not \*actually \*beat him during the production of a show. One of many reasons why I don’t like Method acting. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/22 "2011-03-04T21:16:01Z")
Were you ever moved to join Equity or IATSE? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/23 "2011-03-04T21:19:56Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I also know an actor who lost a kidney because the person he was working with was “in the moment” and forgot to not \*actually \*beat him during the production of a show. One of many reasons why I don’t like Method acting. Wow. Wow! I guess that’s called being dedicated to your craft. The worst accident I ever saw was when a rather heavy-set woman was descending a ladder and slipped off of the last step. Some actors who pretended to help her across the stage actually had to help her. She was really shaken up but at least she got to sit through another performer’s song before she had to act. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/24 "2011-03-04T21:36:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Were you ever moved to join Equity or IATSE? I am an IATSE member but I rarely work IA calls. I joined because it can be hard to get a full card and I had a rare opportunity to not only get a card without having to do the required permittee hours, but also for free.\* I keep up my membership as a backup plan. If I ever am in the position where I am back doing freelance and call work being a union member will come in handy. It opens some doors and doesn’t close any. \*I had done some work for a theatre that the workers voted to unionize. After that everyone on their call list was given the instant membership option. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/25 "2011-03-04T21:52:10Z")
I have questions about standbys/understudies. Not the ones who are in the show everyday then get promoted to a “higher” role when one of the leads takes a night off (or breaks a foot or whatever), but the ones who have literally nothing to do _unless_ the lead takes a night off. 1. Do they come to the theatre every night in anticipation of problems? Or wait for a phone call? 2. How often do the standbys rehearse once the show gets going? -k- ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/26 "2011-03-04T22:07:44Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > I have questions about standbys/understudies. Not the ones who are in the show everyday then get promoted to a “higher” role when one of the leads takes a night off (or breaks a foot or whatever), but the ones who have literally nothing to do _unless_ the lead takes a night off. > > 1. Do they come to the theatre every night in anticipation of problems? Or wait for a phone call? > 2. How often do the standbys rehearse once the show gets going? > > -k- 1. Yes, they come to the theatre. But they can usually leave a half hour after curtain (that is, after the show has started) as long as they live close by. If something were to happen mid-show, they would need to haul their asses back pronto. 2. The good ones will say the words along with the actors as the show goes on, via monitors backstage and in the dressing rooms. As for an actual “rehearsal”, I would say not very often. It’s up to the understudies/standbys to stay on top of their game themselves. I also just wanted to say: I’m a professional music director/conductor/pianist in New York City, if anybody had any questions about that, and if the OP didn’t mind my piggybacking on the thread. Seems like it might be the only part of the theatre experience nobody has offered up knowledge about in the thread so far, so I’m happy to throw my two cents in. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/27 "2011-03-04T22:30:45Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Were you ever moved to join Equity or IATSE? I came very close to joining Equity when I was primarily working as a Stage Manager, but dropped the idea when I moved more into producing and directing. I was working primarily in Los Angeles which has a lot of special union rules and workarounds so that being a non union member allowed me to get a much higher volume of work at lower levels than I could get as a union member. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/28 "2011-03-04T22:32:46Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I also just wanted to say: I’m a professional music director/conductor/pianist in New York City, if anybody had any questions about that, and if the OP didn’t mind my piggybacking on the thread. Seems like it might be the only part of the theatre experience nobody has offered up knowledge about in the thread so far, so I’m happy to throw my two cents in. By all means. That stuff is fascinating. I have always been amazed at how quickly the orchestra can pull everything together often with very little rehearsal. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/29 "2011-03-04T22:37:10Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > I have questions about standbys/understudies. Not the ones who are in the show everyday then get promoted to a “higher” role when one of the leads takes a night off (or breaks a foot or whatever), but the ones who have literally nothing to do _unless_ the lead takes a night off. > > 1. Do they come to the theatre every night in anticipation of problems? Or wait for a phone call? > 2. How often do the standbys rehearse once the show gets going? > > -k- My experience is different than DooWahDiddy’s. The shows I worked on usually had those actors employed in other roles during the regular run of the show often doubling a lot of roles. Even the bigger stuff that I worked on usually ran on a tight enough budget that they can’t just have someone on payroll doing nothing. I have not worked on Broadway, but I suspect that only Broadway productions (and maybe some Vegas shows, but none that I am familiar with offhand) can afford that sort of thing. Most of the shows that I worked on that had understudies also had a handful of performances set aside for the understudy to perform. I can only think of one off hand that didn’t, and it was a smaller company. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/30 "2011-03-04T23:08:31Z")
Sorry, I should have clarified. What we’re talking about here is the difference between a standby and an understudy. I described a standby (one who is not usually in the show unless someone is out) and you’re describing an understudy (one who is always in the show, but may fill in for a different part if someone is out). Both situations are common and a lot of shows will have both standbys and understudies at their disposal. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/31 "2011-03-04T23:16:33Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Sorry, I should have clarified. What we’re talking about here is the difference between a standby and an understudy. I described a standby (one who is not usually in the show unless someone is out) and you’re describing an understudy (one who is always in the show, but may fill in for a different part if someone is out). > > Both situations are common and a lot of shows will have both standbys and understudies at their disposal. I believe it. Like I said, New York has shows that are privately financed and can afford that sort of thing. Even when working at theaters the size of The Alley (very large regional theatre in Houston) they can’t employ standby’s because the budget just isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/32 "2011-03-04T23:21:49Z")
I love The Alley. I saw the original workshop of _Civil War_ there and I just recommended my aunt, who lives in Houston, to see _August: Osage County_ there. Great theatre, even with a lower budget! ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/33 "2011-03-04T23:27:36Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I love The Alley. I saw the original workshop of _Civil War_ there and I just recommended my aunt, who lives in Houston, to see _August: Osage County_ there. Great theatre, even with a lower budget! No way. I wasn’t working there then, but I know many many people who worked on that. I loved working there. Small world. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/34 "2011-03-05T00:21:11Z")
How does [South Coast Repertory](http://www.scr.org/) rate in the theatre world? Is it a place where people enjoy working, or do they dread appearing there? The Mrs. and I have season tickets and in my uneducated opinion the performances are of high quality. Now that we have kids we’re too lazy to go to LA for anything. In the summer, if we’re not away on vacation, we go see the [Shakespeare shows](http://www.shakespeareoc.org/) in Garden Grove but I get the impression that they are having budget problems. Taking as an example some of the shows you have worked on, how much money is spent on costumes and sets? Is there a lot of reuse of items or do you order everything brand new? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/35 "2011-03-05T02:16:09Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > How does [South Coast Repertory](http://www.scr.org/) rate in the theatre world? Is it a place where people enjoy working, or do they dread appearing there? The Mrs. and I have season tickets and in my uneducated opinion the performances are of high quality. Now that we have kids we’re too lazy to go to LA for anything. > > In the summer, if we’re not away on vacation, we go see the [Shakespeare shows](http://www.shakespeareoc.org/) in Garden Grove but I get the impression that they are having budget problems. > > Taking as an example some of the shows you have worked on, how much money is spent on costumes and sets? Is there a lot of reuse of items or do you order everything brand new? I love South Coast Rep. My ex worked there for a bit and had nothing but good things to say, and I have always found them to be a great place to see shows, and I _love_ their theater. They did a production of \*Urinetown \*back in 2004 (I think) that was fantastic. It helps that the play is a good one, but that’s the thing, they pick good stuff. I don’t know the Shakespeare company you linked to, but I do know one of the actors in those publicity photos (though not well.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/36 "2011-03-05T06:48:55Z")
As far as talking about theater, I’m way too tired and about to go to bed, but I can say there’s definitely a place for theater in my town. The troupe I’m a part of has been quite successful: we’ve made a profit in every show, I think, and a huge one in the last one. Admittedly, a huge profit for us isn’t exactly big in the world of theater, but it paid for that show, my show, and probably the next show as well… ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/37 "2011-03-05T18:24:37Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I dislike Meisner primarily because most of the meisner actors I have met are insufferable douchebags who aren’t half as good as they think they are, can’t take direction and refuse to turn in a consistent performance. I _might_ be a little bit irrational when it comes to Meisner ;). I think there is a lot of merit to Meisner in rehearsal actually, but strongly feel that it is a very incomplete method that places **the actor above the character** , and the character above the story which is (IMO) exactly backward. Good, this was the sense I was getting, too! I kept thinking, “Where is the character in all of this?” And story is paramount. The thing I did like about the Meisner technique, though, is that it stresses responding to what’s actually going on around you as opposed to what you would _like_ to go on around you. So you work with what your partner(s) is/are giving you, not what you were imagining they would give you. And you don’t plan to feel a certain emotion or make a certain gesture at a given time…you let things happen spontaneously by being open to the action going on around you. I always admire actors who appear effortlessly spontaneous, so this focus really resonated with me. Can you elaborate on Michael Czechov’s psychological stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/38 "2011-03-05T18:43:59Z")
Just f’curiosity, why’d you leave the biz? You say former stagehand/stage manager… Did you ever do ballet, dance, musicals or opera? Again, just curious… ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/39 "2011-03-05T19:28:42Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Just f’curiosity, why’d you leave the biz? You say former stagehand/stage manager… > > Did you ever do ballet, dance, musicals or opera? Again, just curious… I haven’t ever done ballet or opera, but I got into theatre as a sound guy and then a lights guy when I was a teenager, so I cut my teeth on dance productions and musicals. I always loved working on dance shows and wish that ballet opportunities had presented themselves, but it never worked out. I did get to hang out backstage when Baryshnikov performed at UCLA my senior year. That was all kinds of awesome. I unfortunately never got to work on opera either. I just never had the skill set for it. I have some friends who work a lot in opera and it seems like a good time, but they are all union members and I am not. I left the biz for complicated reasons. Ultimately it came down to me not wanting to do the grind anymore. [warning:long personal story ahead, feel free to skip] I got into theatre because I loved it, but I worked for money, and I worked a lot and made a living…but at some point I stopped loving it. From December 2005 until the start of 2008 I worked every day. I mean that literally. Seven days a week, usually multiple shows at the same time, directing, producing, designing, stage managing, I had something that I was either in rehearsal or production or pre production on every day. I also had a day job because I like making enough money to stay above the poverty line. At some point during that run, my day job (as a bookkeeper) started to become more lucrative than all my theatre work and I got engaged to be married, and I realized that I had just worked on 5 shows in a row that were not only not very good, they were actively terrible as art. I was working on these instead of the stuff that I knew was good because they paid a lot better, and I started questioning why I was working on crap that I hated for money, when if I was only in it for the money there was a _lot_ more money to be made elsewhere. So, I decided to go on hiatus. I would take a break and get married and try to have a normal life for a while. Any other time that I had ever stopped working for any length of time I would start to miss it after a month or two and go out and get more work. This time, not so much. I have been happier in civilian life than I ever was in the theatre. I recently (within the last month) quit the day job and moved to the east coast with my family and am starting the process of getting a teaching certification. I am just now starting to feel the itch and am thinking about getting involved with the local community theatre that I know is looking for volunteers and is supposed to be quite good. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408/40 "2011-03-05T20:01:11Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Good, this was the sense I was getting, too! I kept thinking, “Where is the character in all of this?” And story is paramount. > > The thing I did like about the Meisner technique, though, is that it stresses responding to what’s actually going on around you as opposed to what you would _like_ to go on around you. So you work with what your partner(s) is/are giving you, not what you were imagining they would give you. And you don’t plan to feel a certain emotion or make a certain gesture at a given time…you let things happen spontaneously by being open to the action going on around you. I always admire actors who appear effortlessly spontaneous, so this focus really resonated with me. And I love all of that in rehersal. But only in rehearsal. I think the good actors are the ones who make it seem effortless and spontaneous while doing everything exactly the same 8 performances a week for 6 weeks, or 12 weeks, or more. It’s why I always view actors who are wary of over rehearsal with suspicion. It happens a lot that you have actors say they don’t want to rehears too much because it will get stale. My feeling (and note, that it is not uncommon, but it isn’t the popular opinion right now either) is that the point where it gets stale is when the real work starts. You have to get to that point, get all the easy surface level stuff that only works on first blush out of the way before you can start to dig down and get to the stuff that is really true. There is a magic to finding the moments inside the set blocking, finding the real life of the play that is amazing. > [@](#): > > Can you elaborate on Michael Czechov’s psychological stuff? Sure. What I like about Chekhov, is his use of movement to drive emotion. It’s very tied into a lot of what Stanislovsky did, but works almost the opposite of “the method”. The idea is that you repeat the gesture, the physical movement that is associated with the internal emotion, and the internal emotion arises from that. I am particularly fond of the psychological gesture as a rehearsal tool. Creating as literal a phyiscal representation of what your character is feeling as possible then working that back into something that is normal and appropriate. But I like a lot of that symbolist bullshit. If you like reading about acting, I really like his book “To the Actor” a whole lot. While I am recommending books I should put in a mention for Towards a Poor Theatre, The Theatre and it’s Double, The Empty Space, Brecht on Theatre, and A Sense of Direction as my favorite books on theatre theory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-former-stagehand-stagemanager-director-and-all-around-theatrical-jack-of-all-trades/573408.md?page=3)