To My Fabulous Cast,
No, this isn't another daily call, I promise. And I swear that this time I'm not going to yell at you for showing up to rehearsal late. This is something different. Something you are probably not used to. There are so many articles about how difficult the lives of the stage managers are, and it is difficult. There are also articles about how awful actors can be, and they can be awful, but there aren't as many articles about how much we really do appreciate all of you. Because we really and truly do. Without you, there would be no me. I'm sure you have heard time and time again, people say to you "Thank your stage managers, thank your stage managers!" Very rarely do we thank you guys.
Thank you for putting up with our constant emails, our angry voicemails, and our "stressed out" faces. Thank you for supporting us through the ups and the downs during this rehearsal process and for keeping us on our toes. I have never laughed so hard in my life, and that is because of you guys. Our job is stressful, that's for sure, but so is yours. You have all of those lines to memorize and notes to learn. There is no way to know what the other person goes through, even though we are so incredibly co-dependent on each other. I am so proud to work with such amazing people and call you some of my best friends. When you see people as much as we see each other, how can you not become a family? I know that you would always have my back if necessary, and for that, I am truly grateful. It is truly incredible the amount of work that you put in to make this show the best it can be. Although sometimes I may get angry and stressed, it's just because I'm trying to keep so many schedules straight, I can't even remember my own.
The incredible amount of pride I feel when you step onto that stage cannot be described. I have watched you in rehearsal. I have seen you struggle to get those chords and those dance steps down. I have watched the progression you made from our first read through, to now. It's amazing and there is no one prouder of you all than me, even though I may not show it sometimes.
Thank you all so much for all your hard work -- I wouldn't be here without you.
Love,
Your Stage Manager
