Beginner Stage Manager experiences

[Kary]

I am stage managing for the first time this year, a musical, and it's going really well.  It may be only a high school musical but it's still intimidating. The director is really easy to talk to and is letting me direct a bunch of scenes as well.  But a few weeks ago the director was ill and couldn't come for rehearsal.  I was only notified that rehearsal was supposed to go on as planned 10 minutes before.  So I had to come up with blocking on the spot for three new scenes, one of which was a large scene involving the entire cast.  I was overwhelmed at first, but I pulled it off and everything went well.  As a SM you certainly have to be able to work under pressure.

Did anyone else have any difficult, amusing, embarrassing etc. experiences as a first time stage manager?
And perhaps any advice?

[sievep]

Hmm, well, back in the day, when I was working in community theater, our lighting desinger quit the day before hang and took the design with her.  Long story short I got the lighting cues at half hour on opening night.

[Scaenicus]

Ooh, me!

I was SMing a straight show last year when our lead fell ill the night of the performance.  We think it was food poisoning, and it was just not good.  Everyone was freaking out, convinced we would have to cancel opening night -- the part was so well-suited for him that nobody bothered to assign him an understudy.  Nobody knew his lines, either, so we were terrified.  Then I, in a moment of clarity, realized that /I/ knew all of his lines and blocking.

I was heading over to costume and makeup when, literally fifteen minutes before curtain, he stopped throwing up and deemed himself ready to perform.

I got to bow, nonetheless.

[Celeste_SM]

My first show outside of school, the fire alarm went off in the building during the second act.  Full audience and cast evacuation, the works.  I was in a panic inside and calm outside.  It went fine (thanks to excellent ushers who knew exactly what to do, and a cast and crew and orchestra that followed directions) and we got the audience re-loaded and the show restarted within 15 minutes.

I just remember the look my light board op gave me when it first went off.  That "what do we do?" look...

[McShell]

Right out of college I was working at an arts organization, in the office, when I got a call from someone desperately looking for a stage manager, so i offered to do it "I'm a stage manager".  Turns out, it was a long running production of Beehive that had a sold out night, and they gave me a videotape to look at during my lunch hour, and had to call the show that night.  i had never seen it, or called a musical before, and there was no rehearsal. It actually turned out ok, the worst of it was my nerves.  I ended up doing that show for a while.

[BWEEVEED]

Opening night of the first show I ever stage managed (Guys and Dolls) a crate broke that someone had to stand on, the cyc ripped so it was 3/4 Havana and 1/4 New York, and we forgot to cover the Hot Box and the Mission when they went to Cuba.

It wasn't that awful but never the less a little grating on my nerves.

[Hols]

My first experience as SM was a musical too! Kudos to you on that rehearsal!

Here's my rehearsal story. One night, the director called and said he would be late. I planned out how to start rehearsal, and then the musical director called me. He was stuck in traffic, and did not know when he would arrive.

Ultimately, I ended up warming up the entire cast, and giving new blocking to a cast member while watching two scenes onstage simultaneously and rotating people using the piano to rehearse their solos.  (I think that might have been one of my favorite rehearsals)

[Similipoulette]

The last show I did, the director fired the technical director two days before opening. I got a student from my old college to design and run the lights for us.

[crazychicksj]

My first show was a musical also. A high school performance of "Chicago", enough said.(lucky for me I'd ASMed Dracula that fall for the same company) Roughly half way into the rehearsal process Velma broke her leg. We were in complete panic, parts of the show were double cast but we really didn't want the Velma from the B group going on with our A cast. We ultimately decided that she could sit out the dance numbers and the girl from the B cast could dance in her place.
We never ended up needing to do it though, Velma learned all the routines on her crouches in her free time including working in a can chair for her to sit on during the more complicated parts of the opening number. She was wonderful!

On the night we filmed neither of my follow sot operators showed up for their call. I panicked and called both alternates, but only one was close enough to make it in time. I tore open the door to our booth and yanked out our light board operator who also happens to be my best friend and told her "Tonight honey, you're learning to operate a follow spot". The alternate ended up being able to teach her the basics as well as a complicated effect for the second half of the show. Everything was fine until I got confused calling a cue and hit the GO button resulting in a filmed black out in the middle of Roxy and Velma's closing speech. The little divas (yes Velma's performance was wonderful but the actress was a insufferable bitch!) proceeded to continue until I was able to get the lights back up, after curtain call they proceeded to run/hobble from back stage to the booth to ball me out for "ruining their best performance yet!".

[LCSM]

"Tonight honey, you're learning to operate a follow spot"

Pure gold! It's ow my new all-purpose phrase!

[Nbayard]

My first show was Seascape by Edward Albee that has 4 actors, however we had the time slot that allowed way too much rehearsal for the small show, so we ended up working alittle at the beginning for the show before ours.  It was fun never the less. I love the director, she and i are still close.  But that was at my high school

[jempage]

"Tonight honey, you're learning to operate a follow spot."

Sounds like some sort of weird Stage Managerly pickup line...

[K.Singleton]

My first stage management experience was........ interesting. It was for the "V-day Celebration" on my campus.

I chose to start with something very low key, lite on the light cues, no props, costumes supplied by the actors, but I didn't have any kind of crew. My awesome cast had to be sure to look after each other backstage, and ever run some flys for me. They were great.

I had an ASM, but during tech she was either sleeping in the green room our out smoking. Not fun.

But over all, I was excited and enjoyed every moment of the run.

[Katie ~]

Okay!
I have a story.

First time I was on run crew...I wasn't even sure what I had signed myself on for when I agreed...and I totally didn't realize the importance of black.
So I wore the only sneakers I had...which were white.
The stage manager...(a guy with an interesting attitude) noticed one day and threw me the gaff tape and told me to tape my shoes black.
I did.
Both shoes....covered in tape.
He came back.
Looked at my shoes and started laughing.
Apparently it's customary to initiate new crew members in a way that shows them just how little they know about stage crew.

[Stagemanrob]

Hi all!

I am a member of our local community drama group, and have been stage managing with them for the previous year and a half, we do 2 plays and a pantomime a year, with other benefits and performances by request throughout... and the first show I stage managed was a murder mystery,.. of which they hadn't appointed a stage manager 2 weeks before the show. So I thought yeah any challenge is a challenge ... and a challenge indeed it was. Our shows are based in a church hall seating capacity of around 99 - 150 seats... and we are responsible for our own securtiy too. and our opening night was a cracker sold out, and being a friday night we have all the drunken youths causing problems for us, showing little respect to the church property.. anyways we were having problems outside the church and being stage manager for this group i also have to deal with the security and welfare of our audiences, so naturally thinking to myself i can leave my ASM to cover the scene changes with the crew, they are all up on it, they know what they are doing. So i leaves to sort the problems outside, i cant remember what was happening but it turned into a fight between two brothers, but being drunk they were obviously drinking, en route to them i slipped on a broken bottle fell over and cut all my chin and upper lip, (rather embarrasing i must admit!) but anyhows i got up as they say in the trade the show must go on i stepped in a broke the fight up and cleared the site of the youths (face bleeding.. ) thinking everything is ok on stage i return to carry on with the show, how wrong i was,... my ASM had very nearly messed the show up, one of the drops got stuck and they were stood looking at it with blank expressions ...luckily i got back just in time for the change of scene, freed the drop and on with the show i was rather upset with the asm and by god did they know it after the show, they all know what to do should something like this arise.. however i felt let down by the asm and crew but I was commended by the director for all the troubles that went on and how i didnt panic and how calmy they moved on with the show ....

what a show eh! but still working extremely hard with it ....