Although I can’t sing a note, theater somehow became an integral part of my college years and beyond. I did once audition for a high school play with the older sister of a classmate. No preparation, no idea what I was doing, but Kathy grabbed me by the hand and dragged me on stage. The result was predictable and less mortifying than it might otherwise have been given how little time I was given to react.
It did set me on a path. I became a stage manager. That’s the person responsible for keeping all the pieces moving in the same direction. While you’re rehearsing, your job is to keep the schedule, map people to rehearsal spaces, keep track of the decisions the director is making, and generally be aware of everything that is going on.
During performances the job remains much the same but the stakes rises. Are the actors in position for the next scene? Are the stage hands set to switch things in and out? Is the lighting crew ready for the next cue? You’re generally standing just off stage with an annotated script in front of you and a headset on connecting you to everyone in the crew. You’re also likely to be giving hand signals to other crew members for their next action.
To an outsider, backstage all looks like chaos. Another professional will look for the stage manager. If they are calm, the chaos is an illusion. When something goes wrong (pretty much always), the stage manager’s job is to remain calm while dealing with the problem.
How and when do you learn to manage chaos? One method is to have a passel of younger siblings. By the time I was nine, I had six of them. This turns out to be a very effective lab to learn how to separate signal from noise. And be given and earn responsibility. There’s always lots of noise trying to claim it is signal.
Another is to show up and stick around. Showing up is easy. Sticking around can be more of a challenge. Presence by itself won’t do a lot. You need to learn what matters and what doesn’t. Figuring that out can take time even with the help of others pointing things out.
Coming back to stage managing. The noise you do wait for is the applause after the final curtain falls.