Crew Blacks
Get Your Butt To Williamstown- The Best of Theater Do.
“I’m not driving with you. And neither is Mom. You have to do it yourself” said my twin brother Brian. He had his arms crossed and one hip popped. I pestered him all that week to drive the four-hour trek with me. He still wasn’t budging. “You kidding me? I’m going to the middle of nowhere Massachusetts and no one wants to help move me in? That’s perfect” I said as I zipped up my two suitcases by sitting on them, nearly breaking a sweat. I stuffed the suitcases in the back of my car and slammed the trunk. “I’ll see you in August” I barked.
Williamstown, Massachusetts is neatly tucked into the north west corner of the state. During the year, it’s home to Williams College, a prestigious liberal arts college. Once June hits the campus is turned into a theater artist’s haven, the Williamstown Theater Festival. Tony winning productions have been born there and prestigious actors, playwrights, writers, and directors have flocked there. It’s said that if you want to have a career in theater, you have to get your butt up there at some point. Make sure to take the Taconic.
I had no clue what I was getting into. My plan until March of my senior year at NYU was to get into Yale Drama and be a series regular on some cable network by 26. Nowhere in that plan was me frequenting a theater festival where adult actors ran around with ribbons in lush fields. That formidable summer shaped the way I see theater and art. I found my love for producing, honed my craft, and made lifelong friends.
Fog engulfed my car as I approached Williamstown (not kidding). When it lifted, I saw steeples of old churches, ivy covered buildings, and lush mountains that hovered in the distance. I knew I was in a magical place where summer was endless and time stood still. I hope I get to return soon.
An Actor’s Best Friend
I grew a deep appreciation from crew members when I was an Apprentice at Williamstown. My crew requirement started as Derek Klena’s dresser (also known as a glorified babysitter). I forgot to make sure his shoes were tied when the Times came to do press pictures, and a few weeks later I saw his untied shoes in the paper! I wasn’t the best Apprentice dresser.
Another time, I accidentally fell asleep on a kitchen table during my overnight food assignment (we made food for the carpenters and painters who were pulling an overnight). I also have a terrible history with wigs (I threw them like Frisbees when I did quick changes) but I don’t want to paint a more terrible portrait of myself.
In the “Managing Creatives Through Change” section, I talked about how we will use the “Creative” installment to apply our Vroom-Yetton model of leadership and encourage recommendations be made from the people that will be implementing and living the change once Broadway returns. So, let’s get started on that promise, shall we?
“It’s very much not the workplace I’m worried about, it’s the surrounding environment, New York City.”
— Sara Donovan, Beetlejuice
I sat down with Beetlejuice’s Rose Bisogno (Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor/Dresser) and Sara Donovan (Wigs Dresser) to hear their thoughts and insights. In short, Sara and Rose’s jobs on Broadway help actors change into new costumes and hair pieces.
Sara and Rose were in agreement that backstage is a tight but safe area. Once backstage, it’s a controlled environment. Actually, it might be the safest place in the theater. Rose explained “coming from [the] wardrobe and dressing perspective, hygiene at Broadway level is pretty close to what it needs to be. But it should be heightened a couple steps more for Corona.” I found it very interesting they would say this, but once you think about it, backstage is kept spotless due to Equity and other union standards. Rose joked about how Sara walks around with hand sanitizer in her fanny pack. Dressers backstage were already protecting themselves from sweaty actors pre-Covid. Once they interact with an actor after a personable quick change, they automatically wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after touching bare bodies. Sara also mentioned the backstage area where actors put on wigs. She described how tight it is, accommodating only 6-8 actors and dressers. People are shoulder to shoulder and transmission can occur if no protocols are put into place.
Something interesting…
Talking with Rose and Sara, they mentioned to me a non-verbal code of conduct that dressers and other wardrobe have around actors. Pre-Covid, many of them would suppress their coughs and sneezes while interacting with actors. Dressers didn’t want actors being worried about transmitting any cold or other viruses, so they would put themselves through grueling pain to suppress anything that would make it seem like they were under the weather. Dressers wouldn’t want actors to blame them for getting sick and missing a show. Not that an actor would go out of their way to call out a dresser, but it is a fear. Sara even said that she’s worked through colds and fevers to support her cast, but also to make sure she wouldn’t loose money. Once shows resume, I hope that dressers and other wardrobe call out when they need to.
One Normal Night
-Rose-
She arrives at the wardrobe room for continuity hour (the hour before half-hour where the crew gets ready for the show). Before half hour, there is a quick wardrobe meeting where all the dressers are briefed on the show ahead. After, she completes various tasks like filling up water bottles and re-checking tricky zippers and weak seams. Then, Rose checks in on the actor that she is dressing and at half hour “we go to our battle stations.”
-Sara-
Sara has a similar outline. She arrives for continuity hour and checks up on hair styles, takes out curlers for specific wigs, and other essential tasks to get ready for the show. After the show, Sara has 15 minutes to put all the wigs on blocks, clean their laces, and put rollers in. At the end of the 15, she goes back to her station, cleans up, and heads home.
Other than helping actors with costume changes and wig changes, Sara and Rose are at lower risk of transmission. Sara, Rose, and the other crew members are able to keep their distance when need be backstage. The only risk factor would be actor-to-crew when quick changing or interacting in the small dressing rooms. But, with Sara and Rose’s help, we can find a solution that works really, really well.
“I would go back in a heartbeat.”
Mother of the Cast
Remember our conversations with house managers and how informative they were? I decided to interview the creative end of a house manager- the stage manager.
A stage manager, in short, manages every creative behind the curtain. Rachel Bauder, stage manager at Beetlejuice, was kind enough to answer in great detail my questions via email. So, I’ll be quiet and let her do the talking.
Would you be scared to go back to work right now if the only precautions in place were wearing masks and gloves?
I would be anxious about returning to work right now given the fact that the virus is far from gone. While wearing masks is part of the safety equation, it’s not all of it. Me and my SM team and our crew could wear masks and gloves backstage, but the actors would not be able to, which could become unsafe for all of us at the theatre.
What parts of your job are you most scared about performing?
I would be the most concerned about noting the show from the front of house in and amongst an audience of 1500 people. At Beetlejuice, I used to stand at the back wall of the orchestra and was able to stay relatively far away from the actual audience. I would have to make sure I can still note in that way with plenty of space between me and the audience before I felt safe doing it.
Walk me through a quick overview of your job pre Covid-19.
Before COVID, I was the Production Stage Manager (PSM) of Beetlejuice on Broadway. Being a stage manager for a Broadway show means being a manager in every sense of the word. I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the show, which includes but is not limited to putting together daily and weekly schedules, organizing press appearances, training understudies and replacements, deciding how to run the show each night given different circumstances (actor absences, actor injuries, crew training, etc.), calling the show, sending out performance reports, and making sure the performances run smoothly and safely. There were a lot of moving parts in Beetlejuice and my team and I tried to stay a step ahead of it all. My team consisted of 3 additional stage managers as well as a handful of stage management subs. Stage Managers are often the central hub of communication between all of the actors, crew, and different departments inside the theatre as well as general management, production management, and creative teams outside of the theatre. The PSM is also responsible for maintaining the artistic integrity of the show, which means watching the show as if I were the director or the producers and noting the performance to make sure it stays clean and tight. The job is never the same two days in a row, which is what makes it so exciting. It’s definitely never boring!
Do you think Broadway can return by Jan 2021?
It’s so hard to say…so much has happened in the last 3 months, who knows what could happen in the next 6. We learn a little more about this virus every day, so here’s hoping we’ll learn how to eradicate it by January 2021! My hope is that once Cuomo deems it safe to return to Broadway, our audiences will be excited to return too!
What are some problems you foresee going back to work?
The main problem is that we would not be able to social distance at a theatre as there is not always enough space to allow for that. I trust that the theatre owners are coming up with solutions for how to keep backstage and front of house clean and disinfected often, and we would also need to put in place some strict policies about coming to work (ie. if you have a cough or a fever, stay home!). We would also need to consider a change in protocol for people who need to cross back and forth between front of house and backstage (like myself, the Company Manager, the Sound Engineers, etc.) and for actors greeting fans at the stage door.
What is the protocol if you call out? Does the ASM step into your role? Who would step into the ASMs role?
Every SM team has a handful of sub stage managers who are trained on various tracks in the show. Internally, teams of SMs usually try to train on each other’s tracks, as well, so we have a variety of options if one of us calls out (or takes a day off!). So for example, if I took a night off, everyone on my team bumps up one position and we bring in a sub SM to cover the extra track. How we divide the work is less important than making sure someone is technically “the boss” every night.
Are you mostly the PSM?
I am usually the Stage Manager (the position below PSM), but Beetlejuice was an amazing opportunity for me because it gave me the chance to bump up to the Production Stage Manager after our PSM left to work on another show. It is the path I was hoping to take and where I had hoped to land, but it’s not an easy journey! I had been the PSM for one month and one day before Broadway shut down, but I also stepped into that role whenever our usual PSM took a day off, or a vacation, or stepped away to work elsewhere.
Which SM calls the show? Is there a specific title for them?
The PSM is the one who builds the show call during technical rehearsals before any audience see the show. The PSM is the “expert” at the call for that reason, but as soon as the show “freezes" (or as soon as the creative team stop making changes and tweaks and decide the show is just right the way it is), the PSM will want to train the next in line on the team in how to call the show. In a long-running show, the entire team will learn how to call so everyone can take turns. That way it stays fresh for everyone but no one has the burden of having to call all 8 shows every week. On Beetlejuice, 3 of the 4 of us had learned the call. Had we run a little bit longer, we would have also trained our 4th team member to call too!
Would a structure of the SMs and ASMs ( for Beetlejuice) look like this- SM-SM-PSM then two ASMs assigned to each?
The term “Assistant Stage Manager” is a little deceptive because they aren’t necessarily assistants to anyone on the team. I think SM teams work best when everyone functions as if they are on the same level without the hierarchy of one assisting another. But structurally, it would look like PSM —> SM —> 1st ASM —> 2nd ASM. There are only 4 of us on the Beetlejuice team. On smaller shows, there may only be 3. On plays, there are generally only 2. Everyone on the team has their specific duties and responsibilities but the hierarchy is less important than what each team member does to keep the show functioning optimally every day!