Stage Managed - Lee Davis
Lee Davis
Stage Manager
I caught up with Lee in the production office, where he seemed to have a large collection of lipsticks. To find out why, read on...
Q: What does your job involve?
Before the production begins: looking for rehearsal rooms, getting rehearsal props together, making sure the rehearsal room is set up, organising the staff - cos I need an ASM (assistant stage manager) and a DSM (deputy stage manager) who's in rehearsal all the time. And once that's organised, go and get the actual stuff in conjunction with the designer. I'm charge of getting the furniture and props for the show, making sure it runs smoothly in the tech, various health and safety things, budgeting... a little bit of everything.
Q: What's it like working with new plays?
Because it's a new piece of writing, things change quite a lot, so you have to be on your toes when it comes to props etc. You can get last-minute decisions by the designer or the director, because things are coming out of rehearsal all the time, which is exciting for everybody, but especially if the weeks go by and big changes are made, that can lead to frustration sometimes. But it does keep you on your toes - it's not like an established play where you'd know the piece and have an idea where you'd get stuff from. And as the weeks roll on, that gets even more intense. And now we're into production week, we pretty much hope we have everything, but you never know...
Q: What's your priority now, at the start of tech week?
Right at this minute I'm going through my props list and making sure we've got everything and that it's all been passed by the designer. There are a couple of things he hasn't seen yet that we got in the last couple of days, like the tree, which is dressing for the set, and deciding what knife we're going to use, are we going to use the sharpening stone, the credit cards that the character Rafi would have, the logo that's to go on the camera, lipstick and nail varnish - little things like that that are just coming up now and need to be sorted out today. Breaking down the props, too - the sofa and the fireplace, for example - to make the set look lived-in.
Q: Hairiest moment in the job?
Nothing really hairy in this production. Getting the set out of the rehearsal wasn't much fun. I was in a bad mood that day. Getting camcorders for free - next to impossible, because it' not something people want to give away for any length of time, because the production lasts around six weeks. People ask 'why don't you just buy one?' but we don't have the budget for that.
Q: What do you love most about the job?
It's nice just not to do nine-to-five. And, in a weird way, it's nice when people who DO work nine-to-five ask what you do, and they've never really thought... 'oh yes, I guess someone has to find all that stuff, make sure it runs smoothly...' When you're talking to people who don't really realise how theatre works, that's maybe when it's at its most rewarding.
Q: And rumour has it you've a bit part in this show?
Yes, but I was hoping for a line, cos then I'd get paid more! I'm looking forward to the tech, cos I haven't been on stage for a long time.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home