Outstanding Stage Manager Award 2014

Did you have an Outstanding Stage Manager this season?

Help us recognize them by submitting an application for the Outstanding Stage Manager Award.

If you registered a production with the IT Awards this season, then your Stage Manager is eligible for this award. Just complete the application.

Read about our previous recipients:

2013 Outstanding Stage Manager, Abbey Bay

2012 Outstanding Stage Manager, Katie Kavett

2011 Outstanding Stage Manager, Laura Schlachtmeyer

2010 Outstanding Stage Manager, Jaimie Van Dyke

2009 Outstanding Stage Manager, Jillian Zeman

Do we see theatre anymore?

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Jillian Zeman.

I don’t know if anyone else feels this way, or if this is true for anyone else, but I really don’t go to theatre much anymore. Not because I don’t enjoy it, not because there isn’t anything I want to see… but time. My show is usually on the same schedule as everything else and unfortunately I can’t exactly put in for a personal day to take in a show.

Tonight was treat. I actually got to watch a show. And it wasn’t one I was training on; it was out of pure enjoyment and, well, time. My current show is in Raleigh, NC and right next door in Durham was the national tour of Wicked. I’ve never seen it before (yes, I know most of your jaws all dropped… a New Yorker of 7 years, working in theatre hasn’t seen Wicked?!)

The production was amazing, and there were moments where I was looking around going “how did they do that?” I’ve had those moments with OOB as well, most recently with

APAC’s production of The Pillowman directed by Tom Wojtunik. Now here’s the difference, this show had a budget of who knows how much, and OOB has a strict budget. I think what is most remarkable is that on the larger big-budget productions you have an idea of how they made something work, but didn’t know the specifics (and granted, I’m speaking of theatre people who know what to look for during those special effect moments). However, on the OOB productions the designers have to bring a level of creativity to make the magic happen on a much tighter budget. I love sitting in a theatre and analyzing how a special effect happened. It’s moments like this that I’m so proud to work in OOB. It may not have the budgets that the larger productions do, but we have just as much, if not more creativity and talent to put on display.

I can’t…. I have rehearsal.

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Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Jillian Zeman.

This facebook group grabbed my attention immediately.  1. I thought it was hilarious.  2.  It describes my life perfectly.

I’ve always loved never having to be behind a desk.  That’s just not me.  I like to be up and around.  If I answered phones for a living and had to live behind a desk with a word document opened in front of me I would probably die a slow death. 

But sometimes I wonder.  What is it like going to work for 9am and being home by 6pm?  A weekend… two days off in a row?  What’s that like?  Usually my one day off a week consists of laundry, some food shopping, and maybe a nap. 

When I was first started working OOB, sometimes I was working numerous shows at a time.  A day off didn’t even exist.  This was one of the few times I ever dropped my laundry off at a wash-n-fold.  I had to schedule eating into my day.  Days out with friends were few and far between, if they existed at all.

However, despite the busy schedule, I loved every minute of it.  I loved jumping from one rehearsal to another (and maybe having to take a class in between).  And while I didn’t necessarily love not being able to go out with my friends, I made a lot of others. 

I take my hat off to those who are able to balance it all:  work, family, and theatre (because let’s face it, some of us can’t just rely on theatre to pay the bills!).  I sure haven’t mastered it yet, something always falls to the wayside and unfortunately it’s usually my personal life.  Thanksgiving is the one holiday my family celebrates, and I haven’t been there with them for three years.  I always miss it, and they miss me, but they understand the career I’ve chosen and they support me even if it means I can’t be home for the holidays. 

It comes down to support.  My family and friends support me and my career- I don’t think I’ve ever worked on a show they haven’t come to; and I support them in everything they do.  So, maybe I have rehearsal (or a performance) but they’re usually waiting for me at the bar afterwards.  

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My First OOB Job

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Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Jillian Zeman.

 One of my very first jobs in NYC outside of college was OOB.  I didn’t know much about OOB at the time, I had only recently gotten involved in stage management and I was trying to get as much experience as I could.  My stage management professor in college told us on our first day that though she could tell us how to do everything, we wouldn’t learn or understand until we were actually doing it. 

The show was Folie A Deux written by playwright David Stallings, and it was the first production by MTWorks.  I’d gotten the job through a friend who was involved in the company and I was really excited to work on an original piece.  

I was very green.  In my head I’d built up what I expected the process to be.  You expect an official rehearsal room, to move into the theatre during tech, and you expect everyone to be as passionate about the project as you are.  The passion was there, but there were a lot of things I did not expect on this job.  For one, I did not expect to work as the lighting designer as well as the stage manager.  I also did not expect to be rehearsing in someone’s living room.  But as I’ve worked more and more in OOB theatre, I’ve learned that this is not far from the norm. 

OOB theatre, and, well, all theatre is about teamwork.  The cast and crew of Folie A Deux worked together to get the show up.  Everyone pitched in to pick up the slack of what needed to be done.  A friend of mine was in town during tech and I had him assisting me with light focus.  Whereas in the bigger, more commercial productions there are strict lines about what someone can and cannot do (due to union rules, of course), OOB theatre has everyone dipping into different areas to get the work done.  There’s no argument of “that’s not my job”.  Everyone wants the show to be what it can be, and they help to make it happen. 

One of the most memorable incidents of this production was getting kicked out of the theatre during tech because the space had been double booked.  I don’t even think we’d gotten through the first act of the show.  Thankfully, our director, Cristina Alicea, was organized and knew exactly what she wanted and she and I were able to finish lighting the show without the cast. 

The show went well, and we had some great audiences come see us.  As a stage manager there’s always a rush of pride when the audience gives a standing ovation.  You’ve seen the show start as reading in a living room, and now there are lights, sound, costumes, props, and talented actors doing their thing.

After this production, I became a member of MTWorks and remain one to this day.  Though I am not as active in the company now as I was when it first started, I still remain close to them and consider them my theatre family. 

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Guest Blogger of the week: Jillian Zeman

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We would like to thank Johnny Blaze Leavitt for his fun and insightful blogs last week. 

We are happy to announce that next week's guest blogger is Jillian Zeman.

Jillian Zeman has been stage managing in New York City and OOB for the past 5 years.  Some of her OOB credits include:  Folie A Deux (MTWorks), Ragtime (APAC), Oh Virgil! A Theatrical Portrait (Woodstock Fringe) and Dark Side of the Moon (Thirsty Turtle Productions).  She has stage managed three national tours with Two Beans Productions (Winnie the Pooh, James and the Giant Peach, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing) and is one of the stage managers on Nickelodeon presents "Storytime, Live!", currently touring across the country.  Jillian had the honor of being the first recipient of the "Outstanding Stage Manager" award presented by the IT Awards.  She holds a BA in Production and Stage Management and a minor in Management of the Arts from Marymount Manhattan College.

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