There's nothing like running around trying to handoff this or change someone into that in 40 seconds or less. Sound crazy? Welcome to my life. I didn't plan on this being my path of interest when I arrived in the theatre department, I just kind of fell into it. I had done acting all throughout my childhood up until high school. Then, when I decided to switch my major to theatre when I was a sophomore in college, there seemed to be more of a need for backstage work. I had never done anything backstage before. I didn't even know what it meant to be backstage. I was so used to the attention being on me as an actor that the thought of slumming around behind the curtain in all black not only piqued my curiosity, but made me panic a little. That is until I began doing the real work.

My first experience backstage went smoothly. It was during a farce comedy where I was assistant to the props master and the costume designer. In other words, there really wasn't much to do except make sure everything was in its place and make sure actors don't mess with anything until it's time. Easy enough, but not what I thought backstage life was truly about. It wasn't until I got a job at an Equity theatre company that I learned the real lesson. I remember my first experience at the house was as a spotlight operator during their run of "Sweeney Todd." I had never touched a spotlight in my life, let alone think about operating one. The first few nights were rough. I cut off many a hand and a head maybe once or twice before quickly realizing and horribly correcting the problem by swinging the spot too high above the head. But then I started getting in to the swing of things. I wasn't being pressured or coddled into how spotlight operating works. I was just expected to learn it on my own. Cool. I like doing my own thing, so this whole figuring it out on my own thing was certainly working. It was such a great experience, and now I was able to have spotlight operator in my arsenal of odd theatre jobs.

However, my second job there wasn't until the end of the season where I actually got to work backstage. Quick changes were a foreign subject to me. You don't typically do any for college productions, so I was never taught or told anything about them. Working as crew, you're expected to assist in quick changes. It is exactly as it sounds: change a character from one outfit to the next before their next entrance, usually a minute or less. It sounds easy now as I write this, but trust me, experiencing it firsthand was super nerve wracking. I was horrible at it. I cried almost every night of technical rehearsals because I didn't think I would ever get that super fast 30 second change down before the show started. But then I remembered my time during "Sweeney Todd" and the lesson I'd learned from that, the lesson of learning something on your own. The entire time I had done these quick changes I was with either the assistant stage manager or the costume designer, freaking out because I knew I was being timed. Then one night, it just sort of clicked. I wasn't going to get anywhere if I let one little change stop me. Yes, there were others around, but I was still on my own, figuring out things as I went along. It was in that moment that I focussed up and started really getting the hang of those quick changes. Mission accomplished. Now, I'm working in that same house a year later as an assistant stage manager for the final show of the season and I haven't had to panic over small changes, just if an actor forgets a prop that I know I preset but will continue to mull over if I had or not.

Here's the thing, backstage work doesn't get the respect it needs and deserves. Most people write it off as some silly past time, like anything theatre, really. Backstage work is some of the most fun you will ever have, and you learn something along the way. For me, I learned that it's OK to stress and it's OK to cry and be upset over something that's totally your call, but you need to pull yourself together and fix it yourself before someone else steals your thunder. It's important to know that being backstage means you'll be on your own sometimes, or means you may be put into situations where you're not sure what you're doing. Ask. Your stage manager, your assistant stage manager, your director, one of them will have the answer, but until then, you may have to figure out the problem yourself. Sound insane? Trust me, figuring things out myself was the most valuable lesson I could've been taught backstage and in life.