The Assistant Stage Manager's Handbook to the AEA Small Professional Theatre
Abstract
I am a Computer Science and Theatre Arts Double Major in
Kalamazoo College's class of 2011. For a long time I have
thought of becoming a professional actor on stage or film, hence
one of my majors. Aside from taking classes in theatre I had
been taking classes related to a second career option; realizing
that many actors remain unemployed for lengths of time I had
been preparing myself for a job in computers as a backup plan.
However until the summer of 2010, I have been lacking experience
within a professional theatre.
In the winter of 2010, I sought a job interview for an
intern position at Stageworks Hudson in Hudson, NY. Although I
had experience in job interviews my lack of professional theatre
experience made me nervous. Despite being nervous my employer
Laura Margolis, Artistic Director of Stageworks Hudson,
reassured me about my role here at this theatre; there was no
reason for me to be nervous, I wouldn't be some toilet bowl
cleanser and I certainly wouldn't be discriminated as a rookie
intern. Needless to say, the Artistic Director and I got on the
same page and in no time she called me up and told me I had a
job for the summer of 2010.
During that summer I worked as an Assistant Stage Manager
(ASM) for three shows at Stageworks: Lizzy Duff Adam's Or,
Deborah Margolin's Imagining Madoff, and Jessica Dickey's The
Amish Project. Throughout my experiences at this small
professional theatre in the Hudson Valley of New York, I hoped
to give myself a good idea on whether or not I want to commit my
life towards theatre and a strong background for a handbook: the
very one you hold in your hands. By putting what I learned and
picked up on this job, I hope to provide you the reader with
some insight on what an Intern/ASM does at a small professional
theatre.