Monday, October 11, 2021
Stage Manager Stories: Greg Livoti, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
www.broadwayworld.com: Stage Manager Stories: Greg Livoti, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Need a cue? Call a stage manager. Need a line? Call a stage manager. Need a day off? Call a stage manager. Need a call time, a schedule, an inspection, a to-do list, a floor plan, a script, or just a pep talk? Call a stage manager!
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This article came out just in time to celebrate International Stage Managers Day. I saw Phantom for the first time in London and that was an experience that I will never forget. I could not imagine being the stage manger for this show. I thought that Greg did a great job at explaining to the masses what it is that a stage manager does. I have not heard the comparison between an air traffic controller and a stage manager but I think that it is a perfect explanation. Honestly, even as a stage manager, sometimes I have no idea how to explain what I do because the job is so involved and detailed. I do think that maybe he didn’t answer the question about work load as candidly as possible. Maybe when you get to that level of production, it’s not as stressful? But I feel his answer may not be helpful to those looking into being a stage manager for their careers. I think this subject needs to be talked about more.
I think something that we sadly do not get to practice at CMU is maintaining the artistic vision of the director as our runs are not long enough for that and our directors are typically always present. It is the thing I am most nervous about one day having to do. I have done this to a certain extent while managing shows at Six Flags, but that was mostly about hitting marks for light cues. I have never given notes about hitting emotional beats or anything artistic. When I worked at Six Flags, our dance captain would handle anything like that and would also lead re-blocking rehearsals if we were down a performer and did not have a swing. Similar to how we have a meeting with the director during prep week, I feel there should be a meeting before a director leaves a show where they discuss with the stage manager the things the stage manager needs to watch for.
The beginning part of the article seemed a bit bland and general. Of course, as a person who has experience with stage management it was all stuff, I am rather familiar with. I have shadowed a Broadway production and have seen first-hand the range of things Production Stage Managers have to endure. However, when the article began to discuss COVID, specifically the return to Broadway for a production as big as “The Phantom Of The Opera”, I was so interested in what Greg Livoti had to say. I had not considered the small things, like the chandelier that have to be reconditioned. I also enjoyed his point of view on nerves and believe that philosophy of “We’ve done this before” can be applied to tests, presentations, and shows itself. I enjoyed his tone and leveled headiness through his interview. I have seen “Phantom Of The Opera” and given its complexities, I am sure Livoti has a fear amount of patience and calmness about him.
Perhaps this is just me, but so many of the jobs in theatre seem to force you to be super adaptable, maybe that’s just because I’ve been able to get a larger look into them because of my proximity and interest than say the intricacies in the dynamics of different office jobs, but these roles require different things in different contexts, especially more nebulous ones like stage manager or dramaturg. You need to have varied skill sets, not only technically in organization and planning but emotionally, in a way that goes beyond what is common in general. There have often been those moments where I know I and other people get caught up in something and a stage manager will be check in with us, make sure we’ve eaten or doing alright, and it’s a comforting feeling that someone is out there keeping an eye on everything and also a bit of a shock that people are able to keep so much in their head, it’s truly impressive.
This article explained not only what the role of a stage manager encompasses, but what it feels like to bring back Broadway after being dormant for over a year. I relate to a lot what the interviewee said about how it feels to start the performance process again especially because I agree that the emotions we feel then are the reason a lot of us do theatre. At least for me, when components of a show start separated and then come together in the end, what I call “the process”, that is when I remember why I love doing theatre and that this is where I should be in this moment. As a stage manager in high school, there weren’t more than a few performances per show, so one of the roles mentioned in this article I do not have as much experience with is maintaining the integrity of a show over an extended period. I find this responsibility of a stage manager to be a good representation of how important a stage manager’s role is in communication between all the departments especially because they only work with the designers before the show opens.
I have seen the Phantom of the Opera live twice in my life (thrice if you count the anniversary livestream last year), once in Taiwan when I was too young to appreciate the tech behind it, and once at the Orpheum in San Francisco when I was deeply entrenched in high school theatre. At the BroadwaySF show, I remember distinctly the whole set was on a rotating deck, split by walls for each location. It was amazing. I can't imagine what it's like to manage a show of that scale, considering my brain is a scrambling hot mess just from calling one song in SM Cue Lab, but I like to think I'll get there one day. I really liked Livoti's air traffic controller analogy, because that really is how it feels sometimes, being the hub of communication during the run of a show. I have a hard time describing what it is I major in when people ask, so this might be a little nugget I'll borrow.
Damn, stage managers really do a little of everything. I was intrigued by the article as I, myself, am I stage manager. What intrigued me, however, was not reading about someone else's work but rather reading about how someone else explains what a stage manager does. When I applied to Carnegie Mellon School of Drama I found it particularly hard to explain to members of my family and friend group what exactly I had applied for. “No, I am not an actor,” I would say, and “no, I am not a director either.” In accordance with how Mr. Livoti describes, I would often find myself employing the use of common analogies in the business. That being said, I had never thought to compare the role of a stage manager to an "air traffic controller" though I guess it makes sense. This was definitely a fun read, you bet I’m sending this to my family next time they ask what I’m studying!
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