Okay, I'll admit it - I have been watching this. Part of me wants the series to succeed - if nothing else but to celebrate the industry - but part of me is watching it as if slowing down to look at the scene of a road accident. And I guess I should be pleased to hear that it's been renewed for another season (something no other behind-the-scenes of theatre series has done), even if it's been getting progressively more 'Soap Opera' as its been going along.
All that said -
Acknowledging the license of writing a fiction and freely admitting I have never been involved in the workshop / rehearsal process for Broadway (though yes, for London), it's still pretty clear some of the writers are pretty loose with the realities of the process, too. There's been a couple of real clangers so far, but - and here I finally get to Stage Management - I'd be disappointed if AEA and the SMA didn't, even informally, express dismay over how the role of SM is portrayed in the series.
Rather than show the SM - if only in a minor role - as an active member of the artistic team, and an interlockutor between all parties in rehearsal and production, they've given the poor soul the job of announcing breaks during heated moments in rehearsal.
"Let's take 5 minutes."
No sign of the SM discussing matters with the Producer, the Writers, the Directors or Cast. The closest the SM has gotten to talking to 'Derek', the Director, was a variation on this line last week, where she said, from across the rehearsal hall -
"We've still got 2 minutes, Derek".
An immaculately tidy SM desk, no sign of members of the Company conferring with the SM after 'meltdowns' in rehearsal (which seems to happen with terrible regularity in this world), no sign of the entire company going out for lunch or drinks together....
Not entirely a useful impression of the work we do, all in all. Pity when SMASH is offering the public a fictional 'behind the scenes' account of something as big as a Broadway show.
Oh, and while we're at it - I'm trying to imagine what theatre Stage Door person would let someone uninvolved in the production past them, especially during a performance - and which ASM would then happily let that person watch the production from the wings, partially blocking their view, with nothing more than a gesture to be quiet?
Just sayin'...