How did you get started SM'ing Dance?

[BayAreaSM]

I've seen a few posts on here about what was your strangest "Other" project, but I want to know is the Why and the How. Why are you stage managing dance? How did you get involved?

Did you seek it out? Did it fall into your lap?

How did get you started in this "Other" form of stage management?

And, if dance is something that you fell into, do you like it more, less, or about the same as your usual stage management form (straight plays, musicals, opera, etc)?


My own response:

Personally, I hated dance in college and never was chosen (thankfully) to call any dance shows. After graduation and moving to the Bay Area, an opportunity presented itself for me to apply as a resident ASM for a ballet company. I figured a season-long gig was better than nothing, so I applied (never telling them I thought dance was dumb) and got the job in 2003. In the middle of my first The Nutcracker I absolutely fell in love with the art. In 2008 I was promoted to resident PSM and I love every minute. I do enjoy going back to Shakespeare and straight plays in the summers, but I don't think I can ever give up the ballet.


What's your story?

[dewitt]

I started college as a theatre and dance double major. They were very definitely two separate departments. I had acted in high school but I had no idea there even was such a thing as stage management. I absolutely loved dance but had no talent or practical experience in it whatsoever.
 Every year the dance faculty put on a big spring production with all forms of dance included, Ballet, Tap, Modern, and Jazz. A friend of mine who had been hired in as the professional lighting designer for the show asked me if I would act as the stage manager. I had some free time so I said yes just to find out what the job was. I was actually more like a combination asm and deck manager running the backstage area and scheduling, while he called all the cues. Anyway I was instantly hooked. It was  like the stars aligned and a light shone down to show that THIS is what I should have been doing all along. I made stage management my focus in both departments and never looked back. My first dance show was number 16 and this year was number 37. I have worked on every one except number 21 when I was living out of state. I am now the first official stage manager for the dance dept and also give a series of introduction lectures on stage management from the dance perspective.
I not only work the spring show but also the 2 companies attached to the dept, the rotating company in residence, and any touring companies that load in to the Dance space.
Along the way I also did a ton of straight plays, a few musicals and an opera, as well as various talent shows etc. I love both
dance and theatre because the vibe is so very different for each one. I love the part of theatre with the paperwork and seeing actors try things out and experiment with the text and the complex cue sequences. I love the physical closeness the performers
have in dance and the organic way the cues flow with the movement.
I am a little bit different from BayAreaSM in that I always imagined that Ballet would be my end all love affair with movement but when I actually got into it I found it to be the form I liked the least. As for theatre the friend who got me started opened his own community theatre that produces mostly classic works. I have been on the board for many years in various positions but this year he decided to step down and has asked me to become the managing director. Lots of work but no pay so it's tough but I like it. Dance is my primary form and I would never leave it.

[Maribeth]

My first show fell in my lap. I had no experience SMing dance, though I had taken a number of dance classes. An LD I'm friends with reccommended me to the production manager of a local modern dance company that he worked with, and she called to offer me a show. I've done several shows with them, some local and some out-of-town. Most (but not all) of my dance experience is working with the same company- I'd love to get some experience working in another type of dance, like ballet.

I like SMing dance a lot- part of that is likely the company I work with. They produce interesting work about unusual topics (the piece that I work with the most often is about the trials at Nuremberg- not a topic you expect to see in a dance piece).

I also get to travel a lot with them, as they have a lot of out-of-town gigs. Which means that we usually have a couple off rehearsal days in the studio to "get it back", and then maybe a day or two (sometimes only a few hours) of tech before performances. It's fun to work at that pace.

I haven't been doing much dance lately- but after a long period doing only theatre and opera I do miss it.

[bex]

The first show that I ever stage managed was our theatre department's annual dance concert. I had absolutely no experience with dance and had never even called a show before. My book was a disaster, let me tell you- I had no idea how to format cues without a script or sheet music, it turned into a typed list of cue numbers & a description of when it should go ("girl in pink swoopy arm thing" or "Sean & Katie lift DR") that really only made sense to me & the lighting designer.  I wish I'd known about SMNet back then, it would have been very helpful...

Unfortunately, I haven't SM'ed any dance since then, but I really enjoyed that first show (I'm still here, right?) and would love to get back into the world of dance.  I had an opportunity to shadow the PSM for a ballet company in residence at the theatre I'm interning at for one performance, and I loved it!

[BalletPSM]

I realize this is a few months old but...

I did an internship during a summer in college at a community theatre.  Part of my internship was ASM-ing one of the shows.  The stage manager was, at the time, the PSM of the professional ballet company in town.  We clicked and she hired me to ASM Nutcracker that December.  Then she hired me to ASM the Spring mainstage, and a couple studio shows.  Next season, there was a new PSM who continued to hire me. Next season, the PSM position opened up midway through the season and the directors called me and offered me the PSM gig.  I still had another month to go at school but we made the conflicts work and I was there for the next 3 and a half years!  I have done a fair amount of dance while in grad school, including work with a modern dance company in town and a dance theatre company.  I continue to work for both - in fact - the dance theatre company is going to the Dominican Republic in November and guess who gets to go!

I love SMing dance and working with dancers.  I have a strong dance background myself, which helps immensely. =)

[BlueRidgeSM]

I only ever SM'd a dance show once, it was a local children's Irish dance school.  I had volunteered with the same overarching company on a few children's musicals but this was the first time they called me up and requested me for a dance show. 

I had called shows before in the space they were using to perform, but the head of the dance company wanted me to be backstage for the performance.  I ended up having my light board op actually take the cues and I did little except keep order in the wings because a) I have never called a show from the wings before and b) I had never called a dance show before and the two combined made me uncomfortable enough to have the board op run the show themselves.  It also didn't help that I had been to very few rehearsals and the dancers had not rehearsed in costume and honestly all the music sounded the same to me.  I made a few stabs at a calling script (like bex said above, it was mainly like "girls in big circle" or "solo girl with red skirt") but ultimately when we got into the space and they told me I had to be backstage, I had the board op run it.  I just felt like I couldn't see enough from the wings (no monitor) and I was on shaky ground anyway with being unfamiliar with the show, my cues, and the music all sounding the same.

They never asked me back and I haven't had the chance to SM dance again.  I'd love to try but not sure how to get back into it.

[missliz]

I was recommended to a dance company by an actress I had worked with who had been in residency with the company. I had never done a dance show, but I had worked with some more experimental theater companies and was comfortable with a lot of movement-based calls. I'm still not much of a dance enthusiast, but I do their showcases twice a year and it's a nice dose of something different that keeps me learning.

[RWKSM]

Does anyone have any advice on stage managing in the dance environment? I have a completely theatrical background, and have absolutely no idea what differs from dance to theatre in regards to the stage manager. Also, what exactly does an asm do backstage on a dance show?

[BayAreaSM]

Ryan,

I recommend browsing through the other topics on this board for the very answer to your question!

For the 5 years that I spent as a ballet ASM, I found it to be the exact same role as the ASM in a regular theater production. Anything out of the ordinary really depends on the level of company you're working for and the type of show. Nutcracker is going to have kids, and you're probably going to need to send them onstage or help them off - shows with guest artists that don't speak the local tongue may need to be tracked down if they are coming up late for an entrance, etc.

Be sure to browse the topics on this board. There is a fair amount of info on dance SMing.