When an actor leaves a musical, the stage manager takes over integrating the replacement. They teach blocking, choreography, and music, start rehearsals with understudies, then move to full cast runs and a technical rehearsal in costume and lights.
A lot of people don't realize that when you— when cast members are replaced, which is a lot of times people leave the show, you are the one that's putting in the new people. The director is not always coming back.
The director is not always coming back, so it's up to the production stage manager to get them rehearsed and put into the show. And basically you do have help. I mean, you give them the script, you give them the music, and, you know, they learn their script, they learn their music, I give them their blocking on stage, the choreographer gives them their steps, the music director is giving them their notes, and then we keep working with them. I work with them first, and then I sort of feed them to the understudies. So, you got some people here who have been doing it, so feel it in. And then, particularly if it's a principal role, after they've worked with the understudies a bit, and then I'll bring in the principals, you know, and say, here, Let's do all the scenes that you have. Let's do all these scenes. Let's do all the dance numbers that you have with them. Let's put that together. And so they get a little more comfort all the time. And then we do a tech rehearsal with them in costumes, lights, everything that's required for that, and they go on. It's a process. Yeah. It's very mechanical, quite frankly. We can't do anything with you until you know the words, you know the songs, you know the steps. So once you get that, then we can work on the performance.
So yeah, directing is to your list of skills too.
Well, yes, but you're really— it's easy because you're directing something that's already been directed. You know, I mean, it's there. The show is up and on. It is evident what they want. Now, many times I tell understudies who are always, you know, very keen about going on, I say, you know, first job is to jump in the water and swim with everybody else. You want to swim differently, first help them. Right, right. You're to keep the curtain up, you're to keep the rhythm going, you're to, you know, you're filling in and making it happen. Once you're in performance and you've done it enough times, we can start exploring, you know, well, I see it a little differently. And then with the director's blessings or the assistant director's blessing, maybe we can explore that. But, you know, many times understudies say, well, I have a new take on it. I said, the only take you need to have is the original take, because if they wanted your take, you would have been. But you're the understudy, so you're here to maintain the show. You know, the integrity of the show and to keep the curtain up, to get the performance on. Then another point we can explore that.
TikTok Mental Health Awareness Month Video from The Magicians' Society of Manhattan | TA Spring 2022
