I will be continuing Stage Management as my Action this semester.
In this second semester, Stage Management will include aiding the cast and crew to put on our spring play.
In Alison Stuart’s TEDx talk, “Not All Giving is Good,” she brought up the lesson that to best help a community, you need to Provide Opportunity, Not Charity. I have been incorporating this lesson into my action and will continue to do so by providing opportunities for cast and crew to learn, rather than simply doing the task for them. This allows for growth, growth within the community, growth of knowledge and growth of trust and ability to teach others.
Another lesson she brings up is to Ask and Listen. I have been demonstrating my ability to communicate as a stage manager with three questions: Questions? Comments? Concerns? These three questions allow for cast and crew to communicate with me what is happening, what they think I should know and what I can help them with in both the present and the future.
I will not need to “start” this action a second time; it continued from first semester through to second semester. I plan to continue this action by diving headfirst into the tasks that need completion for our spring production.
Some complexity I will face with this action will include scheduling and task division, coming to a consensus on which script we will rehearse for the spring production. Personal challenges I will find are improvement upon skills, commitment and community building.
With commitment to drama courses and extracurricular activities at an all time low, another complexity I will face will be to up the interest and build community within the cast and crew who have already decided to commit themselves to the programs.
Productions, and therefore stagecraft, is not overwhelmingly sustainable. In terms of waste, called consumables, such as tape, paint, lumber and costumes, the Best Players here at Charles Best strive to eliminate as much waste as possible by purchasing materials and consumables second hand and ensuring that they are not thrown away until they have no further conceivable use.
I will continue to make decisions to the best of my knowledge and ability in order to reduce the waste that our productions and events cause.
This action provides many opportunities for the students at Charles Best. Whether they are interested in performing on stage in a major or minor role, or contributing in any measure of creative, artistic, logical or hands on way backstage, there is a role for anyone willing to reach out, learn and commit to the play.
The expert who takes part in my action is the drama teacher at Charles Best, Mr. Case. With industry experience and almost 25 years of teaching experience in drama and technical theatre courses, I have a lot to learn from him. The two of us will collaborate in order to create opportunities for cast and crew to grow their skills and shine.