PART 2 OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH ROLT SMITH, PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER FOR THE BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD
PART 2 OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH ROLT SMITH, PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER FOR THE BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD
Plus, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed!
Welcome to The Scene, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed. The Scene is here to provide theatre teachers with the most important theatre-related news, stories, and information. In this week’s email:
BROADWAY BEAT- New production of ‘Uncle Vanya’ to open on Broadway | When the Wig Is a Character: Backstage at Jocelyn Bioh’s New Play | Melissa Etheridge started several Broadway projects — but Bruce Springsteen ultimately sparked her new solo show | ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ musical, starring Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James, sets Broadway run | Rachel McAdams to make Broadway debut in Amy Herzog’s ‘Mary Jane.’
HOT TOPICS - Little-known theater jobs: Broadway box office treasurer | Aubrey Plaza Has Found Her Scene Partner | What Is an 11 O’clock Number? | How to Fill Out Your Performing Arts School FAFSA
THE BIG IDEA – The second part of our two-part interview with Rolt Smith, Production Stage Manager for the Broadway production of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
REGIONAL THEATRE NEWS - Playwright and ‘Moonlight’ screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney to lead Geffen Playhouse | San Diego's Old Globe Announces West End Musical Ride, Fat Ham, English, More as Part of 2024 Season Lineup | Why this season is crucial for Seattle's arts scene
WEST END WATCH - The Play That Goes Wrong extends run in the West End | The Devil Wears Prada Musical to Open in the West End | RSC's Catherine Mallyon to step down
PLAYSCRIPTS FREE READS -Check out The Great American College Tour by Carrie McWethy (McCrossen) and Ian McWethy and The Night Children by Adam Szymkowicz
The Broadway Beat
NEW PRODUCTION OF ‘UNCLE VANYA’ TO OPEN ON BROADWAY by Caitlin Hornik, Broadway News - Featuring a new translation by Tony Award nominee Heidi Schreck, the Chekhov classic will open in 2024.
WHEN THE WIG IS A CHARACTER: BACKSTAGE AT JOCELYN BIOH’S NEW PLAY By Tiffany Martinbroug, The New York Times - The styles in “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” in previews on Broadway, require a wig designer, several braiders, some synthetic hair, and lots of patience.
MELISSA ETHERIDGE STARTED SEVERAL BROADWAY PROJECTS — BUT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ULTIMATELY SPARKED HER NEW SOLO SHOW by Caitlin Hornik, Broadway News - After an Off-Broadway run, the Grammy Award winner brings “Melissa Etheridge: My Window” to the Main Stem.
‘DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES’ MUSICAL, STARRING KELLI O’HARA AND BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES, SETS BROADWAY RUN by Andy Lefkowitz, Broadway News - The musical is scheduled to play a 16-week limited engagement at Studio 54.
RACHEL MCADAMS TO MAKE BROADWAY DEBUT IN AMY HERZOG’S ‘MARY JANE’ by Caitlin Hornik, Broadway News - Manhattan Theatre Club has announced the Broadway premiere of “Mary Jane.” Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kauffman.
Hot Topics
LITTLE-KNOWN THEATER JOBS: BROADWAY BOX OFFICE TREASURER - by Ruthie Feinberg, Broadway News - Hear from the unsung heroes of the theatre industry, starting with Emily Jeppesen, head box office treasurer at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
AUBREY PLAZA HAS FOUND HER SCENE PARTNER by Julia Jacobs, The New York Times - For her stage debut in “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” the “White Lotus” actress is joining forces with Christopher Abbott. “We’re both unafraid to be ugly and weird and strange,” he said.
WHAT IS AN 11 O’CLOCK NUMBER? by Margaret Hall, Playbill - Explore the origins of this type of Broadway power ballad, which no longer occurs at 11 PM.
HOW TO FILL OUT YOUR PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL FAFSA by Dan Meyer, Playbill - This guide takes you step-by-step through FAFSA financial aid application, helping you pay for your performing arts education.
The Big Idea
Part 2 Of Our Interview With Rolt Smith, Production Stage Manager For The Broadway Production Of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
The following is the second part of our two-part interview with Rolt Smith, Production Stage Manager for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. To read Part 1 of this interview, please click here.
PART 2 OF THE SCENE’S INTERVIEW WITH ROLT SMITH STARTS BELOW
THE SCENE · Do you call the show every night?
ROLT SMITH · I don't call it every night. The thing about my job now is that it has grown into much more of a supervisory position. So, as an example, when we were mounting the San Francisco company of the show, I went out there and acted as a supervisor. Same thing with the Toronto production. I kind of supervised the North American companies of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And what that meant was that I was away a lot from the New York company. In order to do that, I really needed to empower my team to make the show function well without me, which they did really well. So now we have a routine where we try to have everybody call the show at least twice a week. So, there are times even now when I will still call several shows in a row, and even sometimes when I have to call two shows on the same day. It’s hard, but the thing I have to remember is if the guy playing Harry Potter can do the show twice on the same day, so can I.
THE SCENE ·Speaking of two-show days, how do you ensure that the cast and crew maintain their focus and energy on those long days?
ROLT SMITH · From the perspective of the Stage Management team, we don’t just do a rotation of calling the show; we also do a rotation of who runs the deck and what track each ASM is following for that performance. It takes five of us just to make this show happen: four people running various aspects of the deck and one person who's calling the show. So, we mix it up, and part of my job when I'm not calling the show is doing the scheduling. It’s important to keep people moving and keep changing their perspectives of the show. It helps make everybody more well-rounded and an overall better member of the production team. If they have the experience of knowing multiple tracks. and knowing today, I'm working on stage right. But I hear that there's this thing happening on stage left, and I know that they're going to need to do XYZ things. So, how can I help make that happen? Whereas if you don't know what happens on that track, you can't really help solve the problem, whatever it might be.
THE SCENE · How do you handle coordinating the swings, understudies, and even new people when joining the cast?
ROLT SMITH · Our show is unique in that the actors are all signed to a one-year contract, and at the end of that year, we go into rehearsal for a new group of people. In a way, we kind of start all over again every year. Of course, we often get people who want to stay. So now it’s really more about filling in some holes. That has its own challenges in terms of how you rehearse those people, but because of the nature of what the show is, people need to have the time to just kind of know what to expect, especially from a safety perspective. Safety is a huge part of our job as stage managers, and that's not something we get taught. I learned that on the job, and I think part of that is because the industry has changed so much in recent years. I would definitely say to today’s theatre educators that when training future stage managers, remember that safety is now a big part of the job. For this show, that's why we have to rehearse so much before people can go in because they have to be confident and comfortable in what they're doing. There are so many things they have to think about as a performer, and it's not just acting, saying your lines, and hitting your marks. It's also being aware of where you are in relation to other people and where you are in relation to the floor, which is about to open up. So, we ask a lot of the actors, and we have to be able to keep our eyes out for them when they're out on stage. And that's another part of what keeps us active; we have to help maintain everyone’s safety and look out to make sure that they're in the right spot at the right time.
THE SCENE ·- I think that's a really good point. I don't know too many teachers who have really given that level of responsibility to their stage managers.
ROLT SMITH · It’s hard, especially in an educational environment where you're dealing with students and safety. I realize that's a very fine line to walk as an educator, and just from a liability standpoint, it can get tricky. However, I do think that it's a challenge for a teacher to try to create an environment in which the students feel empowered and feel like they are being responsible for each other, and yet not putting them at risk of being held accountable or liable for something if it's to go wrong.
THE SCENE - Related to that, how do you handle unforeseen circumstances happening during the show? What advice would you give to aspiring stage managers about how to handle that situation? How do you stay calm under pressure, and how do you solve those problems?
ROLT SMITH - Yeah. It's tricky. It really is about staying calm and just thinking rationally. We handle this by having a whole plan. We call them our contingencies, and they are, for example, when X doesn't go the way it's supposed to, we do Y. The contingencies are even part of our rehearsal process. Once we teach people the show and they've learned how everything works, we then shake it up and say, OK, so now you know how that works, here's what you're going to do when it doesn't work the way it's supposed to. For the stage managers, it's really about planning ahead. Where are we most likely to have a problem and then have thought ahead of time about how to best fix that problem? I think that's one of the key ideas that all stage managers need to learn. It may be something you never ever have to do, but just thinking through a potential problem in your head helps you better analyze situations in general. I think that's a great exercise for people to go through, even if it is just an exercise that could be done in a classroom. Give your students a scenario where something goes wrong and brainstorm ideas on how they might solve the situation when this thing goes awry.
THE SCENE · Do you have any antidotes, great interactions, or fun behind-the-scenes stories about working on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that you can share?
ROLT SMITH · I don't know that I have any funny stories necessarily. The thing about a show that runs on Broadway this long is that so much about it is in the routine. There are routines that you will go through as part of the show, and there are things that will happen eight times a week, and so it’s not only what you see onstage but backstage as well. The backstage traffic becomes as integral as the on-stage choreography. For example, when you have to hand a certain prop to someone, you might have to do a specific backstage choreography that goes along with it. I think we're lucky because there was already this Harry Potter “thing” in the world that has nothing to do with us. So, there are people who come in, who are fans, who are excited to enter into the Harry Potter world. Everyone has a great respect for the Harry Potter story, the illusions, the magic, and even just the history of the show. There are a lot of people who grew up on these books, and they know them really well. I know that we're lucky to be a part of the world. You definitely appreciate the uniqueness of this theater experience. I think that's just the nature of the show, and because we do it every day, we sometimes forget how the audience perceives it. And while I don't get that many opportunities anymore to see other shows, when I do, it's often a surprise. It's like, I forgot how good this is, how great that effect looks because we see it from backstage where we can see all the moving parts that help make it happen. But from the audience's perspective, it's completely different, and that's a great thing and a really important thing to be able to do to remind us of how it is.
THE SCENE – That’s a great point and important to remember.
ROLT SMITH - This show's creators were brilliant when they put this play together. They incorporated old-school theater artistry and magic into making these effects that are quite spectacular. This is not something you are going to see at the movies. So, even if you're not a Harry Potter fan, if you're a theater fan, I think you will enjoy it because it is so theatrical, and there is so much about it that is truly magical. I talk about how great the show is, and I’m not patting myself on the back at all because I didn't create it. I'm just proud to be a part of it and grateful that I get to do it. The people who put Harry Potter and the Cursed Child together initially and help us to maintain it are brilliant in their vision. They taught us how it’s done, and now it’s our job to maintain it and keep it looking good.
I also have to say, and I think this is a valid point for educators to know as well. In the old days, the stage manager was sort of responsible for maintaining the complete artistic integrity of the show. This means the Stage Manager had to be a bit of a director as well. That's changing in the current world. Certainly, on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, they didn’t ask that of me. There is a whole other team of directors, usually called associate directors, who work on the team. We have a resident director who is with us all the time, and he sees the show at least four or five times a week. The resident director gives notes to the cast regularly. I will often get emails from him with notes to the cast because he likes me to know what he's telling them because it could impact something that we're doing. My point is there's someone with you, a director's eyes watching from the front, at least five or six times a week, and then, the actors will get notes probably three or four times a week. There is also a movement captain who is our equivalent of a dance captain, and she is at the show every day because she's also an understudy. So, she's also noting the show at least twice a week. And as our sort of hands-on person when, for example, before the show, we have to review a sequence because an understudy is going in, she'll be there with us, helping to coordinate that and make that happen. So, there's a whole other team of artistic eyes that are on the show all the time. I'm finding that happening more and more on shows, not just Harry Potter. These are newer jobs in the theatre, and its students should be aware that there are these positions out there now.
THE SCENE - That’s important for students and teachers to know. Last question: what advice would you give to aspiring Broadway stage managers?
ROLT SMITH - As I said before, always leave a show on good terms regardless of whether you leave before it closes or when it’s closed. Whatever the circumstances are, work really hard to try to make sure that people think fondly of you when they think back on the show because that will serve you well in the future. I would also just work, particularly when you're young and just starting out. Work as much as you can. I am a big proponent of more actual on-the-job training. As you get older and you do more and more, you can start to become a little pickier about what you're interested in doing or who appeals to you in terms of who you want to work with. But in the initial stages, say yes to everything. The only way to learn this job is to do it.
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ABOUT ROLT SMITH - Smith comes to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with over 20 years of professional experience. A few of his recent credits include the Broadway companies Kinky Boots, Fish in the Dark, Bullets Over Broadway, and The Nance. He has worked for City Center’s Encores! Series (On the Town, Stairway to Paradise, and Face the Music), at Lincoln Center Theater (South Pacific, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Happiness) and for Manhattan Concert Productions’ one-night-only performance of Crazy for You at David Geffen Hall. He traveled the country with the First National tour of The Producers (including the Los Angeles run at the Pantages Theatre) and worked eight seasons of the musical version of A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden as well as at Carnegie Hall for Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Please note: This interview occurred prior to the announcement that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be available for licensing to high school and secondary school theatre programs worldwide starting in 2024. Please visit LicenseCursedChild.com for more information.
Don’t forget to share this article with your Students… especially your aspiring Stage Managers!
Regional Theatre News
PLAYWRIGHT AND ‘MOONLIGHT’ SCREENWRITER TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY TO LEAD GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE by Charles McNulty and Jessica Gelt, The Los Angeles Times - Playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney has been named artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse.
SAN DIEGO'S OLD GLOBE ANNOUNCES WEST END MUSICAL RIDE, FAT HAM, ENGLISH, MORE AS PART OF 2024 SEASON LINEUP by Meg Masseron, Playbill - Henry 6, a two-play condensation of Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III, will also make its world premiere during their Summer Shakespeare Festival.
WHY THIS SEASON IS CRUCIAL FOR SEATTLE'S ARTS SCENE By Margo Vansynghel, The Seattle Times - More than 60% of organizations say ticket sales are still down compared with the last pre-pandemic year.
West End Watch
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG EXTENDS RUN IN THE WEST END by Gemma Nettle, The Stage – The hit comedy has extended its run at the West End’s Duchess Theatre until November 3, 2024.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA MUSICAL TO OPEN IN THE WEST END by Molly Higgins, Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill - Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell will direct and choreograph the musical based on the 2006 film and original novel.
RSC'S CATHERINE MALLYON TO STEP DOWN by Matthew Hemley, The Stage – The Royal Shakespeare Company executive director, to step down after 11 years in the role.
FREE READS
Read entire plays for free! Free Reads titles are perfect for your theatre, school, and competition performances. Click on the play’s title to be taken to the Play’s page; once you are there, click the "READ NOW" button, and enjoy!
Fire Exit
by Stacie Lents
THE STORY: Everybody at Westfield High School thinks they know what happened the day of the fire. Fire Exit opens in the aftermath, as the community faces what appears to be a prank gone terribly wrong. But as the kids and adults open up about their lives and the bigger picture of the day's events emerges, the truth proves to be far less simple. Told through a series of poignant and often very funny monologues, Fire Exit is a powerful ensemble piece that proves things, and people, aren't always as they seem.
Drama | 30 - 35 minutes | 3 W, 2 M, 3 Any (4-8 actors possible: 2-6 W, 2-5 M) | Set: Minimal
I Don't Want to Talk About It
by Bradley Hayward
THE STORY: Being a teenager is hard, and nobody wants to talk about it. Confronting the daily challenges of growing up, this series of monologues and scenes offers a look at a multitude of issues -- including dealing with parents who just don't get it, rumors, bullying, and suicide. By turns funny and tragic, the gritty details of adolescence surface -- exposing the things teenagers can't, won't, and don't want to talk about.
Dramedy | 30 - 45 minutes | 5 Any (5-32 actors possible: 0-32 W, 0-32 M) | Set: None.
