On: My first Stage Managing Gig!

I answered a call on Dance/NYC for volunteers for a short dance piece choreographed by Isabella Bruno to be featured in The American Living Room Festival. I was actually meant to audition for the choreographer on two separate occasions, but that never happened. Soon, she sent a request out for someone willing to stage manage the piece. Course, I've never actually done this, in the traditional sense, but I've run many a board and I assisted Ashley for Launch, so I figured I could learn quick and make it work.

So, we met and Isabella is cool. I came to a rehearsal and I thought her idea for "Quirk" was great, though it could have used some refining and more rehearsal time with the volunteers. The whole concept centered around the individual habits and daily routines of ordinary people. She rehearsed for three months with a group of four dancers around whom the piece revolves. They mime everyday activities like making coffee, getting dressed, and applying makeup. The 20 or so volunteers act as background bodies, filling the space for the quartet to move around, fight through, to instigate and be provoked. The bulk of the piece is inspired by the subway; the way people isolate themselves in a crowded box. I loved the way she contrasted the close-knit relationship between the quartet against the sort of removed and independent "chorus". She set the work to a soundtrack, comprising a handful of songs by The Books, which I enjoyed immensely. I think the music doesn't always have to make the piece. In "Quirk", the music accompanies the piece.

So, stage managing is such a rush. Different than the rush I might get while performing, but the adrenaline is there. It's more of a cerebral buzz. The excitement of the countdown to show time; the moment when house opens and the audience begins to pour in (both nights were sell outs!); "house out", "music go", "lights go".... and they begin and it's nonstop from there. A good SM is on it. She knows the movement and the music by heart. She know when to do what and how to fix what goes wrong. She is calm under pressure and never transmits her anxiety to her crew or the choreographer or the performers. She's cool as a cucumber. That is I. I had a blast and I can't wait to do it again.

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