I Was a Westend Stage Manager - Ask Me Anything

[TheatreJunkie84]

Title says it all really!

Did the rounds of a few big Westend musicals as well as working for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House for a time. Worked with some big names too....gave it all up a couple years ago to start my family.

Anyone wants to know the ins and outs of working in theatre....ask me anything!

@5LeafClover I honestly love talking about all this so it's no bother!

A basic daytime routine of a west end show isn't actually that long...you'll be called for 6pm to head to the stage and start resetting all the props from last nights show. Depending on the size of the show you'll be doing this with 2 - 4 other people. You then do something called a 'shout check'. This is done by two people, and is where one person reads off a sheet every single prop used in the show, and the other person checks it's in the correct place. You then call actors to stage around 6:30 for vocal and physical wam up (or just physical if not a musical). This will generally be led by the dance captain and the musical director. You check everyone in, let everyone know about any understudies and swings that are going on, then call the half (6:55 for a 7:30 show). This is the half hour that the actors have to get ready before you call beginners...7:25, when all actors who begin the show should be in the wings and ready to go.

Post show is pretty much a competition as to who can get out the door and to the pub first unless you worked on Sweeney Todd, when you'd spend an hour post-show cleaning blood up before it set into the floor!

On west end and larger touring shows the pay is certainly enough to get by. Not so much on smaller shows though. I had a part time job as a lighting technician at a small studio theatre in my first year to make ends meet....I was terrible at it though so was happy when I was getting enough work that I didn't need to do it! There is unfortunately a horrific culture of hiring people, especially stage managers, for not much more than 'exposure' and 'credit'. I think I worked out one of my early fringe shows I averaged £3.50 an hour with what they paid me weekly and how many hours I did.

What's worse is some producers won't even pay you right away....stretching the 30 day payment terms sometimes for up to 4 months! Lucky those days are behind me, but there are still many out there having to put up with it.

@whattodo2019 make friends with cast and crew! Honestly...outside of this and the (official) booths in Leicester Square, there really are no tips!

If you know a company member you can usually get something called house seats for a reduced rate....they vary in price though. I know the Mamma Mia ones are around £25 but the Lion King ones are £70! They're basically the best seats in the house which are left empty each night for the producer or director to pop in and check on the show. Obviously these are empty most of the time, so are offered to friends and family of the company at a reduced rate.

Fascinating stuff. I’m definantly a frustrated stage-hand, (can’t sing or dance) - actually don’t have practical skills either. Just love the theatre!

What a fantastic thread. Good luck with your family.

@Loveislandaddict everything is relative when it comes to pay I think....yes, west end stars are paid very well whilst they are working, but then it makes up for all the time they're out of work once their contract ends. Though of course you do have the select ones who bounce from show to show raking it in....Camack shows are notorious for using the same casts. Pretty sure I saw the same cast of Phantom in Les Mis the next year!

I've worked with many chorus members who have gone on to leading roles, it's a great way to get yourself seen.

Hi OP, great thread

Do you think actors have a higher level of physical energy than most people? Of course I see dancers as being exceptional in that way, but I’m also very aware of how physically exhausting all kinds of performance art must be....I kind of wonder of some people are just blessed with being more constitutionally strong, if that makes sense!

What's worse is some producers won't even pay you right away....stretching the 30 day payment terms sometimes for up to 4 months!

Goodness, that's appalling. I expect you have to be quite assertive to survive.

Is SM a mainly female profession?

What is the career path once you have your first job in SM?

Where do you find new work from?

@AutumnRose1 I'd definitely say so! Not just physically but emotionally too. Amongst the glitter of musical theatre I've also I've done some incredibly hard hitting stuff in my time... plays covering everything from the 7/7 bombings to homophobia to rape and sexual abuse of children. You have to have a superhuman level of strength to be able to perform that every night, and I don't envy them at all.

Hi OP, great thread, thank you :)

Sorry to ask a silly question but what does your job specifically entail?

@AutumnRose1 sorry...just saw you were specifically asking about physical strength! Yes to that too. Actors in musicals will always do a physical warm up before a show. Members of the ensemble especially are constantly in the go, and physical health is extremely important.

Course sometimes you're on a show like Mamma Mia, where you're surrounded by half naked six packed men backstage for most of the show. Ahhhhhh good times.

OP thanks

I’m amazed at the physicality that actors make look so easy!

@5LeafClover I'd say it's 70/30 female. You have this lovely little pool of male stage managers that do the rounds on a certain producers westend shows, then outside of that you do seem to have a predominantly female profession. This is purely based on my personal experience though...I could be wrong!

My career path was ASM - DSM - CSM and then eventually SM. I'll go into more detail on these roles in a response to another question I've just seen

I always found new work from being called up or emailed randomly! As mentioned before it is very much who you know...you make a good impression and your name gets passed around. I've occasionally also gotten work by emailing production managers I'd previously worked with and letting them know I was available.

Hi OP thanks for this thread.
I'm a big ballet fan and always wanted to work in some capacity with the RB. They seem (to an outsider!) to be an unusually friendly company, compared to the reputation of Paris, NYCB etc, and their Guest Artists are stellar. First: is that accurate, do they all get on well? Second, who were the big characters and are there any funny stories to share? Lastly, how much did you personally enjoy performances at the ROH...was it always purely a job or did you ever happen to get lost in the moment?! Thanks!

I have so many questions everytime I go to the theatre, this has answered quite a few!

What time does a cast member need to actually be at the theatre for a 7.30pm start? Are there rehearsals for long running shows still, like The Lion King, or not needed?

Do the casr go home after performing/after show drinks or do they stay in hotels nearby?

Great thread, thanks! What’s your favourite show that you’ve worked on? And your favourite show that you’ve watched?

@aliolilover Ahhhhh I could go into so much detail about this, but I'll keep it brief as I think I can hear my little one stirring...

I'll make this easier and do it in regards to larger west end shows. Things are more complicated on small shows as you generally cover more roles.

• ASM (Assistant Stage Manager). We keep track of and maintain props, as well as help actors get on and off stage as smoothly as possible. Occasionally we'll also assist with quick costume changes or with moving/cueing pieces of set.

• DSM (Deputy Stage Manager). This person cues the show. They'll sit to the side of the stage (sometimes high up on a perch) with what's called 'the book'. This is the entire script and score annotated with every lighting, set, fly and sometimes sound cue. The DSM is on radio with every different department throughout the show and will give them a 'standby' and 'go' for every cue. In short, nothing moves or changes on that stage without the DSM'S say so. They have cameras and monitors set up and can see every inch of the stage, and won't let anything happen until it is safe and correct to do so. FYI this is literally my favourite thing to do

-SM (Stage Manager). Similar to the ASM in that they will have a track to follow backstage during the show, but they will have much more responsibility and often be the one cueing and overseeing scene changes, ensuring safety and precision.

-CSM (Company Stage Manager). For westend shows this is pretty office based, dealing with anything and everything to do with the acting and backstage company. You'll deal with absences, payroll, holiday, auditions, casting, agents, contracts...anything and everything that isn't covered above basically!

@MaitreKarlsson honestly.... the RB are all BEAUTIFUL!!! They're all absolutely lovely and have honestly never had a bad experience working with them. One of my favourites was dressing Ryoichi Hirano. He's such a lovely down to earth guy backstage and we'd always have a giggle during quick changes. I took a break from work and returned a year later... he remembered who I was and gave me a big hug before he ran on stage. He's fab

Favourite person by far is Sarah Lamb. I dressed her once and she was just absolutely lovely to me. Marianela I found to be a tad stand offish....but she was happy to make conversation and honestly I'd never hold it against her, the woman is a legend.

I constantly got lost in the moment!!! I wasn't there for that long (I think in total I did around 6 shows) but it's truly a wonderful place to work and I often reminisce of every moment spent in that building.

Totally not the kind of story you're after, but I remember getting into a lift backstage on opening night once and holding the door for Ian McKellen. I was totally not cool and genuinely star struck...I stuttered "wwwwwhat fffffffflooor?' Ahhh I was such a noob.

I’m impressed you like DSM’ing ime it’s bloody terrifying to do 😃

@Secondchild2019 call times vary between shows and cast members, but generally it'll be between 5-6:30pm. Rehearsals are absolutely still held during the day if the in-house director isn't happy or feels like he wants to tweak something. There is also a full 4-6 week rehearsal schedule in place on top of evening shows when there is a cast change (generally once every 12 months).

I don't think I've ever heard of a westend cast member not living in London or the surrounding areas (unless it's a star who isn't from the UK), so generally they'll all go home afterwards. This is obviously different for touring shows as you'll not usually be able to get back to London. Hotels are expensive so we stay in digs. This is basically people local to the theatre who have spare rooms or annexes and offer them to cast members for a small fee...usually around £10-20 a night.

For larger shows this is all covered as an added payment on top of your pay check...touring shows are definitely where you want to be if you want to save money! I worked with a woman once who toured solidly for 8 years. She never rented a property in London and lived out of her car....with the money saved from wages and not spending all her touring allowance she eventually saved enough money to buy a house in cash. Sometimes I wonder how with all the touring I did I never actually saved anything

My daughter is ASMing tonight for a friends performance; she does enjoy it

Thank you again for this thread. It's so interesting. What job does the production manager do then ( apart from hiring the stage manager as you said earlier!)?

What qualities do you think made you stand out so you got noticed and hired?

That's lovely to hear about the ballet! Thanks v much. Feel v envious...

This is such an interesting thread, thank you.

I see lots of posts on MN about children in the theatre. What are your experiences? What are the highlights and the low points? What do they actually get paid? Would you recommend it for your own children?

That's all for tonight folks as my little one has officially now woken and needs to be rocked to sleep! Will definitely continue in the morning though, so keep questions coming....it's actually been nice to reminisce about good old days!

Interesting thread. I have loads of questions...
what happens if a cast member doesn’t turn up - at what point does an understudy step in? Do they just hang around waiting just in case?
Are some shows easier to stage than others - you mentioned mopping up blood from sweeny Todd but are others a pain with loads of props or complicated scenery?
Have you ever witnessed really bad audience behaviour?