That fact about me is not a secret. I am constantly obsessing
over shows and want to know all the facts about every current show on
Broadway. I have met a lot of people from, “You know Dogfight?!” or “You know 35mm?!”
However, there is a stereotype that to love all things musicals and what’s
going on in the Great White Way, and that is that you have to be an actor. Designers, technical
directors, stage managers, most don’t really care about that kind of stuff. But
there is nothing wrong with caring about it.
I’m A Human Before I’m A Stage Manager
That’s something I have to remind myself for many reasons,
but this is one of them. As a person, a quality about me is that I like
musicals. It doesn’t matter that I am a Stage Manager for that reason, I just
enjoy listening to showtunes and talking about who is cast in what and following
Book Of Mormon on Snapchat. Every
Stage Manager has qualities about them that make them unique. One of mine is
that I will religiously listen to the soundtrack and happily mouth along
backstage for a musical. And as a trait about me as a person, I see no harm.
Why It Can Be Useful
It can come in handy to have so much knowledge. I religiously
check playbill.com, broadwayworld.com, and watch the broadway.com show every
week. I follow them all on Twitter, to catch the updates as soon as they are
announced. I was the first of my friends to know that Newsies was closing. I learned quickly about Andrew Rannells
replacing Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig.
I researched more on how the Broadway community was just as outraged about the
Tony’s stopping the Sound Design Awards as I was. I have watched every episode
of Fly Girl, Hey Kid, Vlogger 24601, and Kiss and Tell. And now if I meet those
people, I can immediately strike up a conversation at the stage door with more than
just a, “You were amazing.” Making a connection with someone can really be
beneficial in the long run. When I went to New York for the first time alone I
felt better prepared to meet people and put myself out there.
There’s Nothing Wrong Without Not Caring Either
There are plenty of my friends that I cannot obsess over
shows with. Some of my best friends don’t pay as close attention, because they
are not that interested. So many of my peers couldn’t care less. And that is
just their personal choice. Just because you are involved with theatre doesn’t
require you to know everything about it. This knowledge is useful, but not required.
Having extreme knowledge of musicals and current Broadway news doesn’t lessen
your ability to be a designer, actor, director, technical director, or stage
manager. You may have closed a door on an opportunity you didn’t know existed, but
having that knowledge won’t make you better or worse. It is just a personality
trait of you, as a person, no matter what your career field.
