Stage Managment
As a stage manager, I can use my experience to work in every department and understand other departments’ needs and challenges to create successful and entertaining productions.
Stage Manager
As Stage Manager of The House That Will Not Stand, I excelled at group leadership and faced the challenges I knew would come with the role. I handled pre-production paperwork early in anticipation of time-consuming hurdles. But our college troop finished blocking the show after only 6 days of intense rehearsal, the fastest a Western Michigan production has finished blocking in years. The Stage Management Team I led excelled across the board, and our work proved the value of my preparation. Addressing details like paperwork in advance allowed everyone on my team to stay level-headed, resulting in our record time for finishing blocking.
Director: Dee Dee Batteast
Producer: Joan Hareninton
Senic Designer: Dave Nofsinger
Lighting Designer: Sulaiman Rahman As-Salaam
Sound Designer: Landon Yocum
Technical Director: Ryan Hodges
Assistant Stage Manager
Director: Mark Lierman
Producer: Joan Hareninton
Stage Manager: Midge Makowski
Senic Designer: Andrea Imsland
Lighting Designer: Evan P. Carlson
Sound Designer: Joshua D. Reid
Technical Director: Patrick Niemi
Throughout The Haunting of Hill House, working with the actors and building a scary environment were enjoyable, but just the tip of the iceberg. The Stage Manager was out sick on closing weekend, so as the backup show caller, I had to call a two-show day without having seen the calling script before. I prepared with the Production Stage Manager and worked with the Board Ops, cast, and crew to prepare for the difficult calling sequences in the show. During the tech and rehearsal process, I strove to perfect the show's spooky moments and determined when a “pounding sound” would occur and where it would come from. I then communicated these timings to the Stage Manager, ensuring the special effects were executed correctly.
Asistant Stage Manager
The success of SpongeBob The Musical stemmed from working with a team in a collaborative and safe environment. Our biggest challenge occurred during the scene transitions. We had to maneuver a three-piece modular set that needed to be moved frequently and “dance” throughout the setting. I was tasked with creating a shift sheet that was up-to-date and exact, allowing crew members to clearly understand their responsibilities for set movement and to include details and marks on how 1, 2, or all 3 portions of the modular set would combine within 60 seconds and be structurally sound for actor interaction.