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American Foursquare [Premier]
Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Co. -- April & May 2025
Written by Nicholus Hulstine, Directed by Paige Tatum
Role: Stage Manager
This project presented all of the unique challenges that come along with staging a new work. As a company, we worked directly with the playwright to shape the way characters were portrayed in the narrative to closely fit the lived experiences of our actors and production team. As could be expected, this brought along many script changes. Along with all of my other duties, as the Stage Manager, I tracked script changes and released change sheets and new scripts to cast and crew when they were provided by the playwright. I had never worked with a changing script before, so this project was a fun way to get into the workflow and communication challenges that come along with this type of environment.
Promptbook Sample
More sample pages available upon request.
Challenges
Script Revisions
As stated in the summary for this project, the biggest challenge as a Stage Manager was the control and communication of script changes. New scripts were delivered from the playwright as PDFs without any change notes. The Stage Management team then had to go through and compare the previous script version to the new version to find changes. Those changes were then outlined on a script revision sheet, which was provided along with the new script to the cast and production team.
This process was time-consuming and labor-intensive for the Stage Management Team. On future new-works I plan to advocate for a better streamlined versioning system, either involving playwright-tracked changes or software to track script changes.
Sample Script Revision Sheet
V2-V3.docx
Complex Scene Changes
The play also contains a scene change where the entire set receives a holiday-style makeover as if the family decorated for christmas between scenes. This process involved working with the Set Dresser, ASM, and Deck Crew to create tracks that would quickly and effectively changeover the set in a blackout. With the assistance of my ASM, we created deck tracking sheets for the crew that outlined the order and timing of the change.
Edible Props
American Foursquare is a domestic drama set in Christmastime and therefore has a full christmas dinner on stage. This was a recognized challenge in the production from the start and took considerable collaboration from the Stage Managment team and the Production team at large to pull off. Outside of budget constraints, a considerable amount of tracking was completed to make sure that there was an ASM in charge of the food at all times ensuring that it was produced and ready for use onstage.
Production Photos
Publicity photos below courtesy of Dana Nollsch Photography and Reno Arts News.
Want more information on this project? Contact me.
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