Session Descriptions

 

DAY ONE – MAY 20th

 

Moving The Show. It’s not a tour, it’s not a sit down, it’s a unique experience, the one big move from out of town to Broadway. The show is still developing and possibly changing the whole time. Your set isn’t designed to tour. Your venue is most likely much bigger than your Broadway house. How can you tackle these and more unique challenges. Featuring the Production Stage Managers Bonnie Panson (A Beautiful Noise), Tony Award Honoree Beverly Jenkins (Dancin'), and David Lober (& Juliet), discussing the challenging process of moving their shows from their out of town tryouts in Boston, San Diego, & Toronto to Broadway.

 

Calling Session: The Phantom of the Opera. We will journey backstage and see how stage managers call and deck Broadway's longest running show. Stage managers Jillian Oliver (Goodnight Oscar) and Libby Unsworth (New York, New York) give us an exclusive peak at the process of cueing this spectacular show, along with general tips on how to learn the ropes on a big musical.

 

Accessibility On & Off Broadway. Accessibility is a challenge on Broadway: the venues, the economics, and more. Advocates are moving our industry towards more accessible and inclusive practices. How, as stage managers, can we provide support? Join stage manager, educator and author, Lisa Porter leading an insightful discussion on how stage managers can support, advocate, and be an ally during the production process for accessibility across many aspects. Joining her are Sammy Lopez (How To Dance In Ohio), Broadway producer and board member of CO/LAB, a non-profit providing creative outlets for individuals with developmental disabilities, Regan Linton (OSF, Phamaly Theatre), actress, director & change agent, and Peter Royston (Blue Man Group, The Public), stage manager and vocal advocate and ally to the disabled community.

 

Online Workout (2pm): Sitting in front of a computer all day is tough, so stage manager turned fitness coach Claudia Hodgson is going to host an online workout on Saturday afternoon that’s made for stage managers!

 

What’s Next: Work and Life After Broadway. What’s a stage manager to do when they’ve cued the final curtain and are ready for a change? What else is out there? What else can we do? In this session, four stage managers share their career pivots to highly successful careers using their stage manager skills and experience to great success. This session brings together: Michael Rico Cohen from Mrs. Doubtfire to NBC Universal; Carmen I. Abrazado from The Lion King to Law; Molly Braverman from Wicked to running non-profits, and Robert Mark Kalfin, from Victor/Victoria to the event industry. Together they pull back the curtain to many new opportunities.

 

Quick Hits: Stage Managers & Innovators Thoughts For The Future, Stage managers and innovators in our industry share a quick take on where we’ve been and we’re we are going. They share advice, insights, hope, and a vision for what our profession and our industry could look at in the near and not so near future. Some of the stage managers & innovators joining us are: Jason McDaniel (Empty Space), Ryan Kirk (Propared), Vinnie Macri (Clear-Com), Matthew Stern (Finding Neverland), Victor Gully (Upstage) and more to be announced.

 

Evening Activities:

NYC participants have the option to attend the Broadway show Leopoldstadt and have a Q&A with the stage managers afterwards.

Online participants can watch Kinky Boots online and chat on our platform with Broadway stage manager, Ken McGee lending insights during the show.

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DAY TWO – MAY 21st

 

Spotlight on the Assistant Stage Managers. Every show has one PSM, but many shows have two (or more) assistant stage managers. This session will focus on the specific strategies, challenges, joys, and opportunities of being an Assistant Stage Manager. Alexis Shorter’s ASM work on Broadway goes back to 1993 and includes The Producers, The Little Mermaid, Memphis, Aladdin and many more. Danielle Ranno has assisted on Broadway with & Juliet, Six, The Lehman Trilogy & worked as both ASM and PSM on Operas & Tours. Christopher Kee Anaya-Gorman’s Broadway ASM work includes Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, Hadestown, Paradise Square, and Camelot.

 

Collaborating with the Cultural Coordinator,. We will explore the role of cultural coordinator with Tavia Jefferson, the cultural coordinator of To Kill A Mockingbird and the revival of Company. Tim Semon, the Production Stage Manager of the Company revival will also join as we discuss the role of the cultural coordinator, how they interact with the stage manager and how they both can work together.

 

The New Equity. In this session, stage managers from the recent production contract negotiations and staff members from Actor's Equity Association share the many changes AEA has been implementing recently, including: the new open access program, EDI initiatives, updates to the production contract and much more. Join Equity Diversity & Inclusion Strategist, Danee Conley, former Equity 3rd Vice President, Ira Mont, and more to be announced to dig into the new Equity. There’s been a lot of change, especially for stage managers, so get ready!

 

Keynote: Jimmie Lee Smith. Jimmie Lee Smith has been there and back again. He had a hugely successful career on tours and Broadway doing numerous shows including, The Lion King and Saturday Night Fever. Then he moved on, opened a movie theatre and started a family; but life drew him back to Broadway for a career revival: The Mountaintop, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and more. He is also one of the founders of Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color. In this keynote Jimmie Lee looks back on this wild ride of work, life, and family, sharing insights from his personal stories.

 

Putting It Together. Creating a career as a stage manager is about much more than landing one Broadway show. Erin Albrecht (A Strange Loop), Bess Glorioso (Once) and Brant Sennett (The Music Man), and T.J. Kearney (Deaf West Spring Awakening) will share their journey and lessons learned from working on and off Broadway, on tour, and regional theatres. Together they discuss the choices you make, the directions you go, and how to put it all together, bit by bit, show by show. Bryan Runion, Cirque stage manager and author of the LinkedIn weekly stage management newsletter, Half-Hour will moderate.

 

Evening Activities:

NYC attendees attend the Wrap Party / Networking event to get seriously social.

Online attendees can join the online party, sponsored by the Stage Managers Association and schmooze.