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Monday, March 11, 2024
Watch LEMPICKA Stage Manager Cody Renard Richard Talk Safety During Tech
www.broadwayworld.com: Watch Stage Manager Cody Renard Richard talk the cast through important safety measures during tech rehearsal at the Longacre Theatre! The video was posted on the production's official TikTok account.
7 comments:
Jasper Gitlitz
said...
Safety is so important in theater. Without important safety procedures in place, things can easily become dangerous in a theater. While we like to think of our art form as fun, behind the scenes so many people have to constantly be thinking about safety in order to keep it fun and artistic. Most of the time, the stage manager is taking charge of this concern for safety but gets little recognition for it. They work behind the scenes and make all the hard work they do look easy. Seeing a video like this where the stage manager is celebrated and the work that they do to keep the company safe is brought out into the open is very cool. By showing how much work the stage manager does and highlighting talks about safety on a big Broadway show like this, people both elsewhere in the theater industry and outside of it are more exposed to the importance of safety.
While throughout my Carnegie Mellon journey, I’ve discovered that stage management ultimately isn’t for me, I carry so much respect for them. Managing and explaining the moving pieces of tech to the cast and crew in a way that is efficient but not patronizing is quite a task. Cody Renards Richards seems to be an inspiration in the stage management world right now; he has asserted himself as a leading stage manager, but also his person outside his shows. I appreciate how during this walkthrough he took the time to announce the tech personnel the actors should be aware of by name to get them familiar with the flow. On a level much simpler than team management, it is so much easier to run a room when people know each other by name and who to go to for what. Lempicka seems like an exciting show and hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see it this summer!
It’s funny (but important!) that this article made it on to news from the real world. I actually saw this video on Instagram first - I follow Cody Renard Richard, the Production Stage Manager featured in this video, on Instagram, and I actually watched this video twice when it came up on my feed. Safety is so vitally important in theater, especially in tech when we are introducing actors, designers, managers and technicians to the moving parts of all of the design coming together. Having a level of communication this good and this clear is super important, and I’m glad that the cast and crew of Lempicka got this important safety communication. This type of practice is something that I think is essential to vocalize out loud to the folks working on a production. I genuinely hope that communication this direct and early around safety is a practice I continue to see become more and more commonplace.
I am so happy to see such a high influx of broadway shows showcasing their tech processes and figures on their social media pages. I have been seeing it a lot from Water for Elephants and it is always interesting to read the comments from people that had no clue how many people it took to run and create a broadway show. I had seen the video from Lempicka about Cody Renard Richard giving his safety speech. Not only was I excited to see Stage Management representatives on social media, but I was so excited to see someone so fierce give the talk. I remember thinking “I love the fun stage blacks”. I find it so cool to see his personal style and personality reflected through his clothing while still being professional. After seeing the video, I decided to follow him on instagram because I thought that he was definitely someone to keep an eye out for as an SM and producer, and also someone that I am inspired by as a hopeful future stage manager.
I think that communication surrounding safety both on and off stage is extremely important. Like Cody says in the video, there are so often so many moving parts in theatre that it is entirely possible we may encounter risks we weren’t aware were even present. I think that communication is the way we can circumvent this issue- as stage managers, blocking out the time necessary to explain out and work through transitions and such is difficult. However, it is often the difference between safety and harm’s way. Until it becomes a tragedy, it can be easy to forget that there is a reason these safety measures are needed. It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that leads to lax safety requirements and procedures. This is why I believe that it is so important to pay extremely close attention to safety at all times, even when you feel it is likely unnecessary.
I watched this tik tok a while ago and really loved it. I think that the publicity team for this show is absolutely killing it. And not only are they killing it overall but they are doing an especially good job of highlighting technical aspects and stage management along the way. I think the first time I saw what a broadway theater looks like during tech was when it came up on my for you page a couple weeks ago. Cody is a new stage management discovery for me and I quickly become obsessed. This video is a great example of how smoothly he explains very complicated things and ensures everyone's safety while also having fun and staying calm and regulated. You can tell he is comfortable with himself and his instructions and his team is receiving it well. This is essential when it comes to something like safety and he is an inspiration to me and so many others.
Having a stage manager speak to the crew effectively is so integral for a successful and well flowing production process. seeing this stage manager bravely take the stage and speak so confidently and eloquently was breathtaking. I have never seen this show, but I imagine that if the way that the stage manager leads the company is any indication of its quality, it must be spectacular. I've never heard of the story that it is telling but the source material sounds very thought-provoking. I also think that it is worth mentioning that Productions on Broadway are now starting to use Tik Tok as a way to share progress, photos, videos, and other important backstage data with audiences around the world; bringing in more attention to the process as a whole. I always enjoy watching these videos to get an inside scoop on what is happening on Browadway.
7 comments:
Safety is so important in theater. Without important safety procedures in place, things can easily become dangerous in a theater. While we like to think of our art form as fun, behind the scenes so many people have to constantly be thinking about safety in order to keep it fun and artistic. Most of the time, the stage manager is taking charge of this concern for safety but gets little recognition for it. They work behind the scenes and make all the hard work they do look easy. Seeing a video like this where the stage manager is celebrated and the work that they do to keep the company safe is brought out into the open is very cool. By showing how much work the stage manager does and highlighting talks about safety on a big Broadway show like this, people both elsewhere in the theater industry and outside of it are more exposed to the importance of safety.
While throughout my Carnegie Mellon journey, I’ve discovered that stage management ultimately isn’t for me, I carry so much respect for them. Managing and explaining the moving pieces of tech to the cast and crew in a way that is efficient but not patronizing is quite a task. Cody Renards Richards seems to be an inspiration in the stage management world right now; he has asserted himself as a leading stage manager, but also his person outside his shows. I appreciate how during this walkthrough he took the time to announce the tech personnel the actors should be aware of by name to get them familiar with the flow. On a level much simpler than team management, it is so much easier to run a room when people know each other by name and who to go to for what. Lempicka seems like an exciting show and hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see it this summer!
It’s funny (but important!) that this article made it on to news from the real world. I actually saw this video on Instagram first - I follow Cody Renard Richard, the Production Stage Manager featured in this video, on Instagram, and I actually watched this video twice when it came up on my feed. Safety is so vitally important in theater, especially in tech when we are introducing actors, designers, managers and technicians to the moving parts of all of the design coming together. Having a level of communication this good and this clear is super important, and I’m glad that the cast and crew of Lempicka got this important safety communication. This type of practice is something that I think is essential to vocalize out loud to the folks working on a production. I genuinely hope that communication this direct and early around safety is a practice I continue to see become more and more commonplace.
I am so happy to see such a high influx of broadway shows showcasing their tech processes and figures on their social media pages. I have been seeing it a lot from Water for Elephants and it is always interesting to read the comments from people that had no clue how many people it took to run and create a broadway show. I had seen the video from Lempicka about Cody Renard Richard giving his safety speech. Not only was I excited to see Stage Management representatives on social media, but I was so excited to see someone so fierce give the talk. I remember thinking “I love the fun stage blacks”. I find it so cool to see his personal style and personality reflected through his clothing while still being professional. After seeing the video, I decided to follow him on instagram because I thought that he was definitely someone to keep an eye out for as an SM and producer, and also someone that I am inspired by as a hopeful future stage manager.
I think that communication surrounding safety both on and off stage is extremely important. Like Cody says in the video, there are so often so many moving parts in theatre that it is entirely possible we may encounter risks we weren’t aware were even present. I think that communication is the way we can circumvent this issue- as stage managers, blocking out the time necessary to explain out and work through transitions and such is difficult. However, it is often the difference between safety and harm’s way. Until it becomes a tragedy, it can be easy to forget that there is a reason these safety measures are needed. It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that leads to lax safety requirements and procedures. This is why I believe that it is so important to pay extremely close attention to safety at all times, even when you feel it is likely unnecessary.
I watched this tik tok a while ago and really loved it. I think that the publicity team for this show is absolutely killing it. And not only are they killing it overall but they are doing an especially good job of highlighting technical aspects and stage management along the way. I think the first time I saw what a broadway theater looks like during tech was when it came up on my for you page a couple weeks ago. Cody is a new stage management discovery for me and I quickly become obsessed. This video is a great example of how smoothly he explains very complicated things and ensures everyone's safety while also having fun and staying calm and regulated. You can tell he is comfortable with himself and his instructions and his team is receiving it well. This is essential when it comes to something like safety and he is an inspiration to me and so many others.
Having a stage manager speak to the crew effectively is so integral for a successful and well flowing production process. seeing this stage manager bravely take the stage and speak so confidently and eloquently was breathtaking. I have never seen this show, but I imagine that if the way that the stage manager leads the company is any indication of its quality, it must be spectacular. I've never heard of the story that it is telling but the source material sounds very thought-provoking. I also think that it is worth mentioning that Productions on Broadway are now starting to use Tik Tok as a way to share progress, photos, videos, and other important backstage data with audiences around the world; bringing in more attention to the process as a whole. I always enjoy watching these videos to get an inside scoop on what is happening on Browadway.
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