Maddie Grissom
Stage Management
My Philosophy
Communication and Safety are the two most important words when I am Stage Managing.
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Communication is vital to keeping the process continue smoothly. Communicating with the Actors to make sure they are informed and not having to guess, with the director to ensure the integrity of the play is upheld, with designers to support their creative process, and as a whole to keep the production cohesive.
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I believe it is my job to make sure that everyone in the company is able to do their job safely and that they feel safe in the space. Physical, Emotional, and Phycological safety are all vastly important to allow the creative brains I interact with stay creative. Keeping an open line of communication with those involved to maintain all three parts of safety.
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It is my job as the Stage Manager that those around me are set up to succeed and given the space to create, emote, and be vulnerable in their craft.
Background
I got into Stage Management by accident, truthfully. I did not know what practicum to sign up for that upcoming semester due to a shoulder injury keeping me out of the Scenic Shop. When asking the Production Manager what I should do, she mentioned that all of my professors had said I would make a really good Stage Manager and asked if I wanted to ASM The Aliens that next fall. My response was "Sure! What is an ASM?"
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Quickly, my logical, organized, task oriented brain started to thrive in the ASM setting. I loved it. Making documents, taking blocking notes, making sure others were able to succeed? Right up my ally. So when the SM position for the spring opened up, I jumped at applying.
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The most exciting, proud, and also challenging moment of my Stage Management career was during She Kills Monsters. I had just SMed Doubt: A Parable the semester before and cued a total of 56 cues the entire show. For SKM, during what we referred to as the Monster Melee, a 2.5 minute massive fight sequence, I called close to 75 cues. The actors could hear me through the multitude of headsets we had backstage and came up to me after the show saying "You never stoped talking!"
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I ended up either Assistant Stage Managing or being the Stage Manager for 8 shows in the last two years of college. A lot of my directing mindset comes from what I call my "Stage Manager Brain".
* - Devised Project
^ - Theatre for Youth
+ - Inclusive Production
Examples of Work
Reports
Snow White Rehearsal
Schedules
She Kills Monsters Tech Rehearsal
She Kills Monsters Rehearsal
She Kills Monsters Performance
Contact Sheet
General Daily Schedule
Run/Deck Sheets
She Kills Monsters Run Sheet
She Kills Monsters Contact Sheet
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Backstage Flowchart
Calling Script - Digital
She Kills Monsters Contact Sheet
See me in action in this interview during Snow White with Sturgis Youth Theatre!