While the cast of the smash-hit hip-hop musical “Hamilton” weaves through fast-paced raps and intricate wordplay, he follows them word for word, calling the show’s 856 lighting cues and 40 set cues with rapid-fire, split-second timing.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Juggling the Details of the ‘Hamilton’ Juggernaut
While the cast of the smash-hit hip-hop musical “Hamilton” weaves through fast-paced raps and intricate wordplay, he follows them word for word, calling the show’s 856 lighting cues and 40 set cues with rapid-fire, split-second timing.
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While I appreciate that this exposé was stage management-centric, I really would have liked to see more about what makes Hamilton so unique from the stage management perspective instead of just what a stage manager does, which seems to be what the interview questions focuses on. I'm not really sure why the stage manager himself said that this show is unique in it's precision because it uses cue lights for turntable transitions, which is seen universally all over Broadway in the first place. It's just a little bit frustrating to click on an article hoping for some real insight into what each stage managers experience is working on a particular show but writers continually have to focus on what stage management is instead of the show itself. This stems so much from a lack of public knowledge on the subject of stage management obviously, which has always confused me because the stage managers role is present in every production, from school shows all the way up to Broadway.
I guess that I should be happy that the stage manager got a rather long shout out in a such a reputable news source, but I have to agree with Brennan in this situation. While Hamilton has an insane amount of cues, it's nowhere near some shows I've seen. This is not to discredit Jason Bassett's job, because handling a show of that magnitude takes the utmost skill, but I wish that the article addressed more of the specific elements of his job as related to Hamilton . However, this article was written for the Wall Street Journal, a notoriously economic-centric newspaper, so it's all about knowing your audience, I suppose. They also keep talking about the turntables, which I guess is a big element in terms of aspects audience members take away from the show, but I don't think that it should be focused on all that much. There are much more 'dangerous' sets. Maybe it's my CMU drama jadedness leaking through, but it seems like every show has a turntable. This isn't anything new. Yeah, this article isn't geared to me, but I wish there was something I could take out of it.
Another week, another Hamilton comment. This is one of the first ones I've read to deal specifically with the stage manager, whilst still fawning over various elements of the production. (Is the hyperbole getting out of hand yet?). The fact that the show appears to hinge on the almost 900 light cues is an interesting one, as we have no talk here of what may be time coded and what is actually physically called. The set cues are significantly more cut and dry, and while the two turntables are an unwieldy concept for such a large scale production, it is clear that the vast majority of the people involved have an idea of what they are doing. The article, as has been said, isn't particularly concerned with the particular challenges Hamilton brought to Bassett, instead opting to give us a look into what being a stage manager entails, which perhaps didn't need to involve Hamilton to prove the point that stage management is difficult. Oftentimes, stage managers are the most overworked and under-appreciated members of the theatrical process, so I would love to see an article detailing how a stage manager views their work and the challenges they face in that specific process. Instead, more Hamilton.
I too was a little disappointed with this article. While it's definitely nice to see an interview with the stage manager of an extremely popular Broadway show, and especially nice to see it in a mainstream news source, the interview itself isn't particularly insightful. It asked very basic questions about the job in general, which forced the stage manager to give fairly basic answers. I agree with Jacob's point about wanting to hear about the stage management perspective on their work and their process in the creation of the show in addition to the end result, rather than just their view on the end result of the production. Seeing as this is a more mainstream news source, however, I'm not surprised that the article didn't go into much more depth, especially since as a prospective stage manager I know that I'll always want to know more information about the stage management process than the average person reading this article in the Wall Street Journal.
I wish this article had gone more in depth about stage managing Hamilton in particular. The article title makes it sound like the interview questions would be centered around Hamilton and the challenges it presents to its Stage Manager. But instead they really seem to be more focused on stage management in general. I get that it’s a relatively unseen and unknown part of theater but you’d think they would ask more than one or two question that related directly to Hamilton. That complaint aside I did like that the article was focused on the stage manger instead of one of the other more visible members of the show. Maybe in time there will be more articles like this and they’ll get more show specific. That being said I think Hamilton deserves some praise for the way its gone out of its way to bring attention to what goes on behind the scenes. One of the shows they did for the people waiting at the ticket lottery was a demonstration by their SM of how he calls the show and in their social media stuff they will reference and bringing their set designer and show his work that lead to the set they have now.
I really like this article because this is exactly what I want to do in the future. I want to be a Broadway stage manager for a big musical. Stage managers do not get nearly as much credit from the public as they should. The show is not possible without a stage manager. Jason Bassett needs to be extremely focused and call all of the intricate cues perfectly to get the affect that the director and lighting designer created. The director and all of the designers put all their trust in the stage manager to maintain the show the same way it is on opening night. I really liked when they did a Ham4Ham with Jason Bassett calling the cues along with the cast performing a song. It showed the everyday theatergoer part of what a stage manager does during a show. I hope there can be more articles about stage managers on the blog and more recognition for them in general.
These questions are so basic it almost hurts to read them. The stage manager has to describe to the interviewer how he calls for “go” over headset and how he knows when to call the cues because they are in the script. This article is really only good for people who know almost nothing at all about theatre. Anyone who has worked even once in a theatre can answer almost all these questions. I would have liked to hear more from the stage manager about the actual running of the show. I recently saw a photograph of a page in the script annotated by one of the stage managers of Hamilton, and there was a new cue basically every three lines of the song. Had this interview been done by a theatre magazine rather than the Wall Street Journal, we definitely would have seen more of the stage manager’s process behind getting ready for a show and tricks he uses and basically what made Hamilton different from any other show.
As much as I love that a stage manager is getting public attention, and that there is even an article about one, I can't help but be disappointed in the blandness of the interview. All of the questions where very basic, or more about the interaction with the actors, than the SM himself. I would have loves to know what it was like to call a show so cue heavy, and what the tech process was like. It's pretty obvious that this article was written for non-theater folk. And while the Musical Theater geek in me is a little upset I didn't get to hear more, I am actually so happy that an article was written about a stage manager. There is never enough attention on the people who work backstage on a show, and how difficult that job can be. In fact most people don't even know what a stage manager is. So would I have liked to learn more about the intricacies of being the Hamilton SM? Of course. But someone who is a regular wall street journal reader, and has never been to the theater just learned a little bit about stage management, and I think thats more important.
I can see how people are upset this article and interview were rather basic. However, everyone needs to remember the audience this article was targeting in the first place. Yes, as a stage manager, I wish this article went into so much further detail. I would love to get a real, detailed look at what it's like to stage manage this show. However, with that said, this is exactly the article I will turn to when a family member asks what it is I do as a stage manager. The role of a stage manager is a difficult one to explain simply because most audience members don't know they exist. In fact, if the audience is aware of the stage manager, they likely aren't doing their jobs very well. This article explains the role of a stage manager in terms that average Wall Street Journal readers can understand. Hamilton has gotten an insane amount of press, including its stage management team. And even if that press seems shallow and lacking to us as theatre people, it is making the world aware of what the stage managers role is on at least a basic level. That, to me, is a win.
I can see why other were disappointed but his article, I myself was a little bit too. It tells stores from the production, relative to the stage manager and what they shared was very generic. I could have asked any Broadway stage manager and gotten similar answer, and probably any community theater stage manager for the same conclusion. Just because Hamilton is so big right now the media is publishing anything they can with the title in it. Well, for click bait it worked for me. I was not expecting it to be about the stage manager but was happy when it was. The part that I always wonder about, which was hinted upon a little is how the from the start of this show to where it is now, do the stage managers switch. Just like actors come and go, stage managers do too for a production, but each runs things a little differently and each has their own style, I wish to have heard more from Bassett on how that worked out.
I really love that this article focuses on the management side of such a hit musical. Yeah sure, it is a bit brief on the gritty details, but that is because it is written for those who only need an overview to get the point of the article. This article is meant for those who don’t necessarily know about the backstage aspect of theatre. The article really captures the job of the stage manager without going into the details that could scare the basic theatre goer away from reading it. Whenever any of my non theatre friends asks what a stage manager does, this article will definitely be a resource for teaching them what I love to do.
Ok so some people are sorta disappointed at this articles blandness. I get that. But like Alex said, it's written for people to get an overview. Its so intense to read about how many things PSM's and SM's have to manage. I love hearing about what it takes backstage to create the magic onstage. I get so excited reading about the POV of a stage manager since there are a few students in my freshman class who are looking to go into that field and it's great to think that they'll be managing ALLLLL of that.
Especially managing HAMILTON!!!
I can't wait to go watch this show and see all the movement onstage and try to picture whats happening offstage to create this masterpiece of a show.
The blandness of the article probably comes from the fact that the article is more geared toward the non-theatre-studying crowd. I'm so happy that they were able to get an interview with the production stage manager of such a monumental show, since usually they interview the actors or creators of the show who have more time to be accessible to the media. I'm not surprised by anything he said about how he ran the show, but I do think that it's important to, as a stage manager or production manager, truly believe in the show you're working on, which makes you work that much harder to make it as great as it can be. I'm glad that he had an opportunity to see the show before he started his work on the project, and that he was so moved by it. His response to the last question helped inform me of where he was coming from with his answers to the previous questions- it's clear that he loves what he does for the show because he is truly moved by the show.
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