Interview

Interview with Richard Hester

K:How did you get into this career? RH: In junior high school, as I was heading to the bus to go home, our Drama teacher was standing in the hall trying to get people to work on the spring musical, a production of Bells Are Ringing. He needed one more person for the stage crew. Without giving it a second thought I said, “Sure!” and I’ve never looked back. That teacher, a fantastic man named Donald Wonder, and my high school Drama teacher, a man named Robert Godthaab, made me love theatre. There was never any question that it was going to be a huge part of my life. In college, I planned on being an actor and acted in anything and everything around campus. During my sophomore year, I sent out several letters to off-Broadway theatres saying that I was willing to work for free, if they needed an intern. The one theatre that responded was a theatre called the American Place that was presenting the New York debut of this clown/mime from San Francisco named Bill Irwin. The show was called The Regard of Flight and it became a big hit. During the summer, it was extended, and they started actually paying me. I was getting $100 a week and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!

What is your job and what does it entail? My job, as I see it, is to make it possible for everyone in the production to be able to do their work. As a result, I work with the director, the designers, the cast, the crew, and even the front of house staff. I am responsible for scheduling, making sure that everyone is where they are supposed to be, and doing, what they are supposed to do. After the show opens, I become the director in the director’s absence. It is my responsibility to make sure that the show remains in the same shape that it was in on opening night. I watch the show from the front and note both the actors and the tech crew.

Whats the hardest part of your job? Allowing each artist in the production to work to the best of their abilities. Because we all work with people who create, it is necessary to be flexible enough to allow each of those people room enough to do that. Some actors need to be left alone, some need constant attention and some fall in between.

What does a typical day look like for you? We get to the theatre an hour and a half before curtain. At that point, we figure out who is in the show and who is out sick. We make sure the wardrobe and hair department know and if program inserts are necessary, make sure that the front office staff has them. The actors start trickling in about an hour beforehand and are required to be there ½ hour before showtime. If I have notes to give them, I try and do that before their half hour call so that the half hour is theirs to prepare. I try and keep the stage manager’s office a place where people will visit and hang out because that is the easiest way to find out what is actually going on in the building.

What are your responsibilities as Stage Manager? Basically, anything that goes wrong in the building, I am answerable for.

What is the craziest thing that has happened backstage? There have been all sorts of things that have happened that the audience never had a clue were going on, and I, for one, think it should stay that way!

Whats next for your career? You never know. I have rarely looked for work in my career, it usually comes to me… So who knows what lies around the next bend!

Interview with Molly Goodman

What is your job? I am currently a scenic designer, lighting designer and stagehand. How did you get into this career? I once upon auditioned for a play. When I saw my name wasn't on the cast list, I accidentally wandered into the scene shop and haven't left since. Or, to be more concise, I did it in high school, college, the community and it progressed from there.

What is your job and what does it entail? Depending on my job, depending on the day, I am a scenic or lighting designer/stagehand. It's hard to fit everything I do into a small space, but I'll try. Essentially, I do everything in theatre but act. That includes designing and building (and sweeping) the set, hanging and wiring and programming lights, loading in equipment, cleaning equipment, general troubleshooting and running rehearsals. Hopefully not all at once.

Whats the hardest part of your job? The hardest part of technical theatre is that it is constantly changing. The technology is always changing, the demands of the show are always changing and you have to keep EVERYONE happy. I've learned just this. "Give them what they want, even if it's upside down."

What does a typical day look like for you? Typical day usually consists of me going to work in the scene shop building sets for whatever is coming up. Then usually around 6 pm, I'm in rehearsal for something else, sometimes even at a different theatre. Usually for this I'm running lighting board or battens. What are your responsibilities? Essentially my responsibilities are to make the show run as smoothly as possible for the actors. There are important artistic points too, but the long and short of it is to make the show go. After all, no one goes home whistling the lighting plot.

What is the best part of your job? The best part of my job is that it's never quite the same and there are always new challenges. It's not an office job and you can take it and apply it to absolutely ANYTHING. Name any other job where required skills include being able to wire toasters, balance precariously on top of tall things, make a piece of wood look like a castle, make train wheels spin, make actors shut up and other things that are usually considered magical? What is the worst part? Unfortunately, techie happiness is always way far down on the list of priorities. Dinner breaks are short if they happen at all, hours are weird, actors are inconsiderate and the director will always ask for the impossible. But one day, in a galaxy far, far away, there is a thing called union theatre with mandated breaks and overtime pay. What is the craziest thing that has happened backstage? Oh man, I can't even think of a specific one. Probably when mid scene change, as there were 8 huge guys running a 16 foot train offstage at full pace, one of the dancers thought it an ideal time to ask me if it was going to hit her if she continued to stand directly in it's path. In my cartoon mind, it did and she made a roadrunner shaped outline on the train =P What is next for you in this career? Hard to say, the opera I'm currently working on opens next week. Then after that I'll hopefully expand my portfolio a bit with new designs and I'm currently looking for a master electrician job for this summer. The name sounds fancy, but all it really means is master light hanger.