My place in all of this you might ask? I was the Stage Manager. First of all, let me say the event ran December 9th and 10th, 2011 with two performances each day. I began working on the production during last May of 2011. As the lead Stage Manager I was responsible for the Technical Entertainment Crew (TEC) communications and instructions. A Stage Manager is also responsible for what is referred to as “calling cues.” As an example, when the orchestra needs to be muted and the lights need to change operation (come up), then it is my job to see that the instructions for every coming and going to that effect happens correctly and specifically on time. An event of this magnitude requires over 300 cues and a well-defined script that has been rehearsed countless times. Independently, I lost track of the number of hours I put into my position; as a crew we rehearsed well over 30 hours. When you are in the trenches with a vision of what needs to happen, you do not think about the amount of time, just the end desired result.

Even though the production started back in May of 2011, it began for me as a Freshman entering the Technical Entertainment Crew. That first year, I was not involved much at all. I evolved as a capable TEC member, but began very timidly; totally lacking any self confidence. Additionally, Ihad to learn to communicate with people that were sometimes quite different from myself. I made new friends in the crew, but primarily built scenery and learned the “lay of the land.” Moving on to my sophomore year, it was completely different. I was placed on multiple crews for major events; including “fly.” This is where scenery is dropped in and out as needed. I was allowed to participate on Nutcracker, Musical, and Zenith. Sophomores are not typically involved in all three events. During my Junior year, again I participated in all three. However, for Nutcracker I was Assistant Stage Manager and I was truly stumped. Basically, I was there to serve as a liaison and address conflicts while calling a few cues at the end. Musical that year presented a new challenge as I served as “house sound.” This leadership role provided me the opportunity to serve all the microphones for the production at varied levels and needs. Zenith allowed me to be the Assistant Technical Director. I was assigned to Mr. Poole and assisted Cooper Ruff, the Stage Manager. Often there were conversations with Mr. Poole where I shared with him my concerns; the lack of confidence in my abilities to embrace challenges he was putting before me. Primarily, he had recommended that my Senior year I serve as Stage Manager for Nutcracker. Ultimately, the entire Junior year yielded leadership roles for every production. This opportunity to share my experiences is in hopes that some other young person will take that first step and get involved. The support in teachable moments is always there for the taking.

So, back to being a Senior! Technical Entertainment Crew at Westlake High School has laid a foundation for a wonderful high school experience. I have learned a craft, developed interpersonal communications skills, acquired leadership abilities and responsibilities, and made wonderful friends while having the time of my life. I am a more confident, competent, accomplished student for having participated in TEC throughout high school.

When I first began tech as a freshman I didn't really have a clue about what the organization was or even what my full potential could have been. I wasn't sure where I would fit in, I didn't know a single thing about lighting or sound, I hardly spoke, and I was surprised at the amount of tools that there actually were. To be honest, when I first chose tech as an elective it was because I wanted a quick technology credit to graduate (Although I later realized that tech theatre never actually fulfilled a tech credit at the time). Most of that first year consisted of me just wanting to get through the class and get on with my high school life. However, that all changed when I signed up for Zenith at the end of freshman year. Up unto that point I had not worked a single production but felt as though I should sign up for at least one just to see what it was like before my year ended. I have never regretted that decision. My experience was, well, indescribable. Never had I understood the usefulness of the information I was learning in class until I went to my first rehearsal. Of course, I was still the quietest freshman you could imagine but that didn't deter students from helping and supporting me with whatever I was doing. The older students encouraged me throughout the show and let me know that whatever happened, as long as I did my best, that's what mattered. That experience is what gave me the push that I needed to choose to stay in tech. The valuable lessons I learned from that first show will remain a part of me throughout my entire career and probably the rest of my life.

Getting into my sophomore year, I began to get more involved and understand what the organization had to offer. That, I believe, was my year of firsts. That year was the first time I had touched a camera larger than my own camcorder. It was also the first time I had learned about lighting in the theatre which led to me being chosen to design the lights for "Simply the Best" at Zenith. When it was first suggested by Mr. Poole that I could potentially be a leader in the organization I was baffled. I was becoming more talkative but still hardly said anything more than a few sentences, and I certainly had no recollection of ever leading anything in my life. How could this one man believe that I could achieve anything in the field of leadership? Well, it has taken me months to realize it, but he was right. I love the thrill and challenge of being able to bring a group of forty or so people together and seeing everyone having a fantastic time while still putting on performances that seemingly only Broadway and Cirque can match.

The pinnacle of my junior year and really my entire time in tech theatre was being chosen by Mr. Poole to lead the crew for Zenith 2011. Stage managing Zenith was, to be honest, stressful at times being the main person that everyone would go to for answers. I now have a new appreciation for the many positions on the crew such as the follow spots and Pro Tools operators. My position allowed me to see everything that they did. Those forty crew members taught me that perfection may not always be possible, sometimes curveballs will be thrown in your direction, and that as long as you encourage each other and shrug off the misfortunes then the show will always continue. Being able to pull off three flawless performances was pretty phenomenal. In the end being able to go through this with my tech friends was what really made the experience that much greater. Truly, my experience stage managing Zenith taught me to listen to those who believe in me, trust them and believe in others. I learned how to lead and how to be led. I learned that by creating a positive and supporting environment, each crew member becomes an integral part of an unbelievably successful production.

I learned stage managing isn’t just about calls cues at the exact right times or getting the correct lingo when you talk over the radio. Don’t get me wrong, those are incredibly important duties but I have learned to believe that those aren’t the highest priorities of a stage manager and just doing those things well isn’t going get you chosen or hired as one. The most important job of a stage manager, at least how I saw it, is to make sure everyone on his/her crew is having fun. Without fun or enjoyment the world would stand still and all of us would stare at each other blankly and nothing would get accomplished. When someone is having fun they are more likely to do a better job, think faster, and most importantly want to come back and work under you again. Everyone benefits from a little bit of fun, not to the amount that it becomes distracting, just enough to keep people thinking “Hey. I’m glad I’m here."

I learned to be ready for anything. Bye Bye Birdie was an interesting musical to tackle. It’s not exactly what you would call the most modern of musicals probably fitting of the classification of dated. The script had been edited in many places and had cuts in others to try to make it slightly more appealing to modern times, but for me this just made it difficult to follow. None the less it was bushels of fun (Seeing a theme here yet?) I still remember the first cue I ever called during one of the technical rehearsals. I called it completely wrong. It wasn’t even close. No one noticed though so I did the second most important thing that a Stage Manager has to do; Move on and Forget. I eventually got the hang of things and the cue calling path seemed to smooth out as I was calling each one of them with much perfection. Everyone seemed to be having fun so I existed in a very happy state and life was good. The cues called in the production weren’t terribly hard to call putting calling them as the least of my worries.

I learned that a Stage Manager is useless…without a crew. He/She can sit in a chair looking all ominous and powerful for as long as they desire and call cues to their heart's content, but if there is no one on the other end nothing will happen, obviously. There are times when a crew member may feel useless, but every single person is important on a crew, and I’m not just saying that to be cheesy. I’m not a ‘You’re Special!” kind of person, I’ll tell you the truth pretty much all the time. Every single person on a crew is needed 100% of the time during a show. If anything a Stage Manager is the least needed position on a crew! They just blab the entire time and occasionally something will happen when they say a special word. If you think about it, the stage manager has no direct control over how the production comes together! Everything is ultimately in the hands of the operator, just some food for thought.

I learned how much fun being a leader is! I have some very distinct viewpoints that a lot of people would disagree with and would say that I’m only asking for trouble. Several of my close friends have become tired of hearing me say this but as I see it motivation should be seen though what experience can be gained, not about the position. Without putting the limitation on yourself of "I only want to be a Grip Head," you open up so many doors of opportunity. Instead get in the mindset of, "I want to lead." It’s an experience rather than a position. The experience you get is what you will remember for the rest of your life, not the position you had. There are multiple places on a crew where you can lead and with that it makes your goal of leading easier to achieve as well! The other thing I believe that most people don't is more personal, but I love to see others succeed and I hate to ‘take’ positions from people that they really wanted, even if I was the best fit. I believe this goes hand in hand with my previous point in the respect of that I don’t see it needing the best Road Hog operator. I see it as needing the Road Hog operator that wants the experience of being on a production crew and working with moving lights the most. It’s kind of a confusing point to put in text but hopefully that makes a little sense.