There is a whole world behind the scenes of high school plays. Acting students that are not performing in the plays stay involved by stage managing.

Senior Gabe Bolio said that being a stage manager means that he has to buy most of the props, keep track of the props, ensure that all the actors know when to come on stage and from which part of the stage, and help direct scenes. Bolio also said that stage managing entails giving input on directorial choices and helping with memorization and blocking.

“Eli Nash and I are both stage managers for the Hamlet play on March 13th,” Bolio said.

Senior Eli Nash said that for stage managing Hamlet, he and Bolio have to work one on one with the actors to make sure they know their lines and to fill in for odd jobs when they are needed.

“My teacher suggested that I might enjoy stage managing, and I’m happy to do it because it’s a great chance to work behind the scenes and have a bigger hand in the production,” Nash said.

Junior Amy Kelleher stage managed To Kill a Mockingbird earlier this year. Kelleher said when the play opens you are in charge of all the backstage work, so during the play you move sets, help with costume changes, and deal with all the little disasters that happen along the way.

“At this school we also get to do scene directing which is rare for a stage manager at professional theater companies so it’s nice that we get to experience some directing too,” Kelleher said.

Kelleher said that she did stage managing because she loves the actors at this school and wanted to help make their plays amazing.

Junior Claire Wong said stage managing the musical was very time consuming. Wong said all the stage managers had to be there before the actors arrived to preset the props and ensure that all the set pieces were ready.

“We often had to stay after the actors had left to collect props and mics and put them where they belong, even cleaning up anything gross that had been left from the night before like whipped cream,” Wong said.

Wong said for acting you focus on your character and what is central to the interactions between the actors, whereas the stage managers are behind the scenes people who help the show run smoothly by making the actors’ lives as easy for them as possible because acting is already stressful enough.

“I’ve made so many friends in the musical and the play. It definitely has made me more responsible because the musical was very demanding prop wise. I will definitely stage manage another production,” Wong said.