As the New Year becomes comfortable and the number of times we correctly write the date increases, I get closer to yet another production. I would apologize for how often I write about theatre, but it’s my passion and I could talk about it for hours so I’m just going to keep on writing.
In the spring of 2015, my sophomore year of high school, I became a stagehand for the musical. I had never done anything relating to high school theatre before that and I really had no idea what I was doing. But a love of the theatre world, coupled with some intense stage fright, led me to being a stagehand. It was amazing, I bonded with the cast and crew so well, and I immediately knew that this is what I wanted. My observant eye quickly learned the quirks of each cast member and what I could do to make things easier for them. The following fall, due to a series of odd circumstances, I was cast in the school play. It was a very small role and a lot of it was moving around scenery but hey, I was used to that.
Then came spring of 2016.
I had proven myself as a valuable asset to my school’s theatre tech crew, and that hadn’t gone unnoticed. I was given more responsibility, a lot more actually. I became props master. With a long props list and one fairly fast quick change, I had a few moments of, “Can I do this? Is this too much for me?” But I stuck with it and gave it my all. The result was a well-oiled machine.
At this point, the regular theatre kids knew me pretty well. After all, I had already done three shows with most of them. I also knew them very well. As I said, I’m pretty observant so I noticed what little things I could do to make things easier for everyone. Because of that, they like to say that I’m kind of an “everything”. What that means is that I do things that dip into every area of the backstage world. I tape mics, I run sets, I track props, I track people, I provide water, I keep bobby pins on me at all times, I zip zippers, I provide personal moral support for anyone who is nervous (called the pre show pep talk, I have little talks with specific people who tend to get nervous), I basically do whatever they need me to do (whether or not they ask me directly) My cast and I went into summer vacation assuming that come fall, I’d be promoted to Assistant Stage Manager (ASM, the job I’d always wanted). Well one exboyfriend later, and that job was taken before I could even ask. So I was props master once again, which was 100% okay because I love that job with all my being. But I was also still an “everything”. With that, came a lot of comments from my cast like “For all intents and purposes, you’re the ASM” and “You already do everything, and he is just kinda there”. I didn’t quite believe them until he left for Hawaii with two shows left, and I realized that things were the exact same with him there and without him there. Well my director and technical director noticed that.
Starting February 7th, I am Assistant Stage Manager for our spring musical. I started as a stagehand and I’m proud to say I worked my way up in the theatre world. Now don’t let the word “assistant” trick you into thinking I’m not the highest I wanted to be. I didn’t want to be stage manager because they sit up in the booth. I wanted to be down, on the ground, being active with the people I love, and doing what I love to do. When the ending of our latest fall play came around, my good friend perfectly summed up what being a theatre family means:
“Physics is the study of the movement of bodies and space and it can unlock the mysteries of the universe but it cannot answer the essential question of what is our purpose here and to me the purpose of life is to love, and to love is what you have shown me, I didn’t think that I would make new friends here and I feel like I have a family of my own and I love you thank you”
– AA, 11/13/16, post 2nd show
Mountain Minder Journal 
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