For the month of November, we are going to take a look at what goes on “in the wings”. Stage managers are a quintessential part of a production, yet almost everything they do goes unseen by the audience.

This week, we interviewed Lori Newsom, a senior BFA student at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, studying Musical Theater and Stage Management. Newsom has extensive collegiate and professional experience in both stage management and performance.

A stage manager serves as the liaison among the cast, tech, crew, management, and directing team. They can oversee props, sets, lights, sound, and potentially more during a production. They are in charge of scheduling communication, making sure everyone has arrived, calling cues during a production, and making sure everything is in place. They are also the go-to contact for any issues that arise, working tirelessly to resolve them.

Stage management is important because these individuals are “the way that everyone’s brilliant ideas on how to make a story come to life, come together. [They are how] it gets done, and most importantly, the way that everyone feels safe and comfortable.”

According to Newsom, “stage managers need to be very organized… Someone who is approachable. [Someone] who people can come talk to if they have questions or problems. They tend to be someone who is really good at leading a room and keeping people on a schedule.”

These individuals are truly some of the hardest workers in the theater industry. As someone who works both on and off the stage, Newsom said “It makes me much more relaxed and able to focus on my work, as an actor, because I know there are hundreds of eyes on all the things I am worried about behind the scenes. I know that I’m taken care of.”

Making sure that everyone is taken care of is key. Newsom noted that the theater is a fast-changing industry, and it is so important to make “safer spaces, more comfortable spaces, consent forward spaces, and places where people can just have a good time and feel like they can focus on what they need to do”. When a stage manager focuses on these things they create an enjoyable process for everyone involved in the production.

Stage management is for the strong leaders of this industry. Without their hard work, musical theater as we know it would not exist. It takes a level of dedication and passion for the arts, and we are so grateful for them all. We thank all of the stage managers for everything they do!