Stage Manager Details Daily Routine At THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Deputy stage manager for the long-running West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega-hit mega-musical THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Richard Kingcott, discusses her role in the behind the scenes production of the musical as part of a new interview.

Shedding some light on the day-to-day job of the deputy stage manager, Kingcott shares, "Sometimes The Stage Management team can be in as early as 10am to help run Auditions, do rehearsals or prop maintenance and at other times we are just in for the performance itself. If this is the case, the Stage Management team and myself come in around 2 hours before the performance starts. I give out the daily cast covering sheet to the relevant departments that the dance captain has provided for us while the rest of the team are getting ready for the show onstage. I test the cue lights, give the half hour call to the cast and crew, open the house, count the show down, tick everyone in and make sure the show is ready to go! The Stage Manager fills out a show report at the end of each performance and we pass on information to him to include on the form."

Additionally, Kingcott says of his position, "I give out the technical cues to the rest of the technical departments during the show - sound, lighting, automation etc - I'm a bit like the Wizard of Oz really, making it all happen backstage and ensuring the show runs smoothly. All of the technical cues are written down in the prompt copy of the script. You have to think on your feet quite a lot in my role especially when things don't go according to plan, we have a lot of plan B's in place as a back-up but you sometimes have to make a decision quite quickly!"

Check out the original article on the matter here.