Greetings from Stage Management

By Caroline Boettcher, Coriolanus ​stage manager

Hello!

My name is Caroline Boettcher and I am the Stage Manager for Voices Found Repertory’s production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus! I am currently a junior at UW-Milwaukee and I am pursuing a BFA degree in Stage Management. I’m pretty new to Stage Managing as this is only my second time doing it, the previous being Romeo & Juliet with Voices Found, but I am so grateful for the experience and I am loving the work that they do and let me do. ​

Happy Stage Manager...

The first thing people ask me is “So what does a Stage Manager do?” Well to put it simply, we arrange all of the aspects of a theatre company and make sure they produce a successful performance.  Stage managers have excellent people management skills as they have to manage actors, technicians, rehearsals, performances, props, costume fittings, and coordinate with both the front of house staff and, of course, the beloved director!

...sassy Stage Manager

When I was Stage Managing Romeo & Juliet in the summer, I had an Assistant Stage Manager with me during rehearsals and who would be in charge of backstage during performances. They would help me with line notes for actors, acquiring props, and keeping track of props during performances, along with any other small jobs I may need. However, the problem I am running into is that most of the people who I knew or could get into contact with about being by ASM were busy with school or work. Our whole team tried reaching out to people they knew who might be able to help me but no one seemed available. While I do have school and work on top of Coriolanus, I have resigned to the fact that I will probably not have an ASM for this show.

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What I really need is more contacts in the theatre community that would be willing and able to Stage Manage future shows for this theatre company, especially people willing to learn from the experience, as I have and still do. ​

The guys in charge of Voices Found Repertory (Jake, Alec, Andy, and Eric) are so incredibly dedicated to their work and I know how excited for the future they are. Sometimes I step back and think to myself ‘Do they really trust me as much as they say they do?’ Well here I am doing a second show for them, so I must be doing something right!

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Coriolanus will play during the third and fourth weekend of October, 2016 at the Arcade Theatre. Buy tickets here, and subscribe to our blog to follow the production and get updates on what we’re working on!