BWW Blog: What My Time as a High School Stage Manager Taught Me About Adulthood

As the current state of the world looms over us, it's easy to feel hopelessly lost, like navigating a ship that seems bound to sink any minute. Not only are we coming of age and meant to forge a new identity for ourselves, we're being sent out into the world to create in an uncertain future. So how are students, especially creatives who were already facing uncertainty in the job market, meant to enter into adulthood with so many obstacles?

Although having recently turned 19, my experience as an adult is admittedly limited, but going through life in the past year made me realize that I already had some preparation for the obstacles of adulthood. Surprisingly enough, some of the answers lie in the lessons I learned during my experience as a high school stage manager.

A stage manager, in the professional sense, is someone who calls cues, runs rehearsals, manages the crew, communicates with the director, etc. all while staying cool, calm, and collected.

A stage manager, in the personal sense, is someone who needs to be there for others, to be stoic even in the midst of panic to reassure everyone else. This seems like a lot of responsibility for just one person, and it is, but as prepared and perfect as stage managers seem, there's always a part of them that's just making it up as they go and hoping for the best. Once you look closely, this is also usually true of every single person you meet, no matter how steely their demeanor. Even you reading this. I know you're making it up as you go. So am I! So is everyone! Even the "real adults'' don't really know, and thats okay! Life is improv.

You're never going to have it all figured out. But even if we're stumbling along rather blindly, we still need to have a foundation, a framework of our ambitions to guide us in the right direction. We have to stay collected, and not worry too much about the things we can't control, otherwise everything is panicked. We need the ability to stay grounded, to remember what we're here for, and to focus on doing the next right thing.

During my senior year, my friend had just confided in me some rather dramatic news- right before I was about to call a two hour show. I was caught completely off guard by this information, and at this point enough drama (not the good kind) ensued in the ten minutes before curtain to shake us both up pretty badly. Finally, before places, I turned to him and said "It's okay, because for the next two hours you're just an actor, I'm just a stage manager, we're just going to do our jobs, everything will be fine". Looking back I'm surprised that I was able to separate "17 year old me" to "Stage Manager me" in the moment, seeing as this was the same person who once cried during class in elementary school because I would've rather been home watching Disney's Ratatouille.

But that's what you learn as a stage manager. You learn to be responsible, and to remove your personal feelings from the running of the production. If you keep a level head and remember what you're there to do, then you'll eventually come out unscathed, even with an uncertain future. This is what a stage manager is able to do every day, and this is what I take with me through life; don't lose your head, have faith it will be fine.

At a different performance, I had missed a cue, resulting in dishes falling from a platform and breaking. Yes, the sound still haunts me to this day. As horrible as it was, however, there was no time to dwell on it, and we had to get it fixed as quickly as possible. Thankfully, everyone was able to keep a level head, and we just kept on going with the show. Even if something seems like a complete disaster in the moment, you need to keep going, and adapt your approach to the situation. And even though that moment is one of the "Top Ten Embarassing Mistakes of My SM Career", hardly anyone remembers it now, which just shows me that nobody is going to judge you for everything you feel embarrassed about.

Working past mistakes is another step to maturity. When you adapt to the obstacles thrown at you, even if it wasn't your original plan, that makes the experience all the more validating.

So this is what you should carry with you for the rest of your life. Roll with the punches, fill in the blanks as you go, and have faith that no matter what, it's gonna be a beautiful show. And yes, right now it feels like we've all stepped through the looking glass, but if you keep a level head and an open mind, we'll all make it through okay.

To post a comment, you must register and login.