Thornton Wilder's Stage Manager in "Our Town": A Historical Perspective
Monday, March 8, 2010
Our guest blogger today is Tim Boucher, Assistant Stage Manager of "Our Town" at Everyman Theatre. For more, visit www.timboucher.com.
Written in 1937, Thornton Wilder's epic American classic, "Our Town," draws on then-contemporary theatrical conventions with which modern theatre-goers are likely to be unfamiliar. Chief among them is the role of the near-omniscient figure of the Stage Manager, played by Everyman Theatre resident actor Wil Love. Love, reprising his debut role in theatre after some 250 shows since then, first played the Stage Manager in Wichita East High School's 1959 production of "Our Town," at the tender age of sixteen.
Wilder's Stage Manager is at once participant and commentator- actor and narrator- of the events onstage representing typical small-town New England life at the turn of the 20th century. Atypical of modern theatre's insistence on an invisible "fourth wall" separating actor from audience, Love's Stage Manager addresses the house directly: acting as tour guide or concierge, orienting visitors new to Grover's Corners, New Hampshire; introducing the town's residents, their troubles and triumphs; setting up and commenting on the action of the play; and even jumping in and out of scenes with mercurial ease.
While such a figure appears onstage with less frequency in theatre of the 2000s, to the Vaudeville houses and variety halls of the 1930s and earlier, his presence was much more familiar. In today's theatre, the stage manager generally sits hidden in a booth behind the audience during performances and 'calls the show': coordinating action onstage and off with lights, sound and other essential timing cues. In old-time theatres- like the historic Town Theatre into which Everyman is slated to move in 2011- often trod the boards, appearing in front of the audience. As Douglas Gilbert wrote in his 1940 book, American Vaudeville: Its Life and Times, the stage manager of a variety or vaudeville house often "...acted as interlocutor in the minstrels (a feature in many bills), played 'straight' in the afterpieces, and sometimes took on important roles in the dramas and sketches."
In other words, old-time theatre demanded that a stage manager play the same role onstage as they do backstage: host and master of ceremonies. In addition to calling the show and coordinating the stage crew ('grips' in Vaudeville slang), the stage manager- since the mid-1800s- has been responsible for scheduling and running rehearsals. Like the interlocutor or "middle-man" of the minstrel shows, the stage manager acts as go-between and facilitator for artists, the director, production staff, and everyone else involved in the mounting and running of a show. In the case of Everyman's production of "Our Town," this is over forty people- all overseen by the watchful eye of Resident Stage Manager, Mandy Hall, and two assistant or deputy stage managers.
The roots of stage management as a theatrical discipline are intextricably intertwined with that of the stage director. In ancient Greek drama, the playwright was responsible for producing and directing his own shows. Termed the didaskolos or 'teacher,' it was his duty to train the actors and chorus, compose the music, and coordinate all elements of a performance. Religious mystery plays of the Middle Ages and the secular morality plays which they envolved into were overseen by a pageant master, who was tasked with coordinating rehearsals for the town-wide spectacles associated with feast days, and who was able to levy fines for bad acting and forgetfulness of lines.
From the strolling players and Renaissance Commedia dell'Arte troupes onward to the 19th century, it was typically the lead actor of a troupe who acted as actor-manager, choosing plays to produce, taking a lead role in them and handling finances and business on behalf of the company. As the internal organization of theatre became both more complex and standardized in the 19th and 20th centuries, these duties are now distributed across multiple individuals with unique talents and specializations: from the director and stage manager to the production manager and company manager.
Wilder's "Our Town," therefore, both memorializes and highlights dramatically a much under-appreciated figure central to the experience of theatrical production and its vast history: the stage manager.
Written in 1937, Thornton Wilder's epic American classic, "Our Town," draws on then-contemporary theatrical conventions with which modern theatre-goers are likely to be unfamiliar. Chief among them is the role of the near-omniscient figure of the Stage Manager, played by Everyman Theatre resident actor Wil Love. Love, reprising his debut role in theatre after some 250 shows since then, first played the Stage Manager in Wichita East High School's 1959 production of "Our Town," at the tender age of sixteen.
Wilder's Stage Manager is at once participant and commentator- actor and narrator- of the events onstage representing typical small-town New England life at the turn of the 20th century. Atypical of modern theatre's insistence on an invisible "fourth wall" separating actor from audience, Love's Stage Manager addresses the house directly: acting as tour guide or concierge, orienting visitors new to Grover's Corners, New Hampshire; introducing the town's residents, their troubles and triumphs; setting up and commenting on the action of the play; and even jumping in and out of scenes with mercurial ease.
While such a figure appears onstage with less frequency in theatre of the 2000s, to the Vaudeville houses and variety halls of the 1930s and earlier, his presence was much more familiar. In today's theatre, the stage manager generally sits hidden in a booth behind the audience during performances and 'calls the show': coordinating action onstage and off with lights, sound and other essential timing cues. In old-time theatres- like the historic Town Theatre into which Everyman is slated to move in 2011- often trod the boards, appearing in front of the audience. As Douglas Gilbert wrote in his 1940 book, American Vaudeville: Its Life and Times, the stage manager of a variety or vaudeville house often "...acted as interlocutor in the minstrels (a feature in many bills), played 'straight' in the afterpieces, and sometimes took on important roles in the dramas and sketches."
In other words, old-time theatre demanded that a stage manager play the same role onstage as they do backstage: host and master of ceremonies. In addition to calling the show and coordinating the stage crew ('grips' in Vaudeville slang), the stage manager- since the mid-1800s- has been responsible for scheduling and running rehearsals. Like the interlocutor or "middle-man" of the minstrel shows, the stage manager acts as go-between and facilitator for artists, the director, production staff, and everyone else involved in the mounting and running of a show. In the case of Everyman's production of "Our Town," this is over forty people- all overseen by the watchful eye of Resident Stage Manager, Mandy Hall, and two assistant or deputy stage managers.
The roots of stage management as a theatrical discipline are intextricably intertwined with that of the stage director. In ancient Greek drama, the playwright was responsible for producing and directing his own shows. Termed the didaskolos or 'teacher,' it was his duty to train the actors and chorus, compose the music, and coordinate all elements of a performance. Religious mystery plays of the Middle Ages and the secular morality plays which they envolved into were overseen by a pageant master, who was tasked with coordinating rehearsals for the town-wide spectacles associated with feast days, and who was able to levy fines for bad acting and forgetfulness of lines.
From the strolling players and Renaissance Commedia dell'Arte troupes onward to the 19th century, it was typically the lead actor of a troupe who acted as actor-manager, choosing plays to produce, taking a lead role in them and handling finances and business on behalf of the company. As the internal organization of theatre became both more complex and standardized in the 19th and 20th centuries, these duties are now distributed across multiple individuals with unique talents and specializations: from the director and stage manager to the production manager and company manager.
Wilder's "Our Town," therefore, both memorializes and highlights dramatically a much under-appreciated figure central to the experience of theatrical production and its vast history: the stage manager.
