Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021 - 30

stage managers struggle with, often giving
our time and energy at the expense
of our own health. In May of 2020,
the Broadway Stage Management
Symposium featured a panel of stage
managers and social workers focused
on the mental health of stage managers.
In August, USITT featured a panel with
the organization Behind the Scenes
highlighting the mental health resources
they have available. " Even without
the uncertainties of life in a pandemic,
the unique environment and stresses of
working in the entertainment industry
are extremely challenging. It's critical
to make sure you, and those you care
about, stay healthy; mentally and emotionally
as well as physically, " said the
greeting on the registration page for the
panel.
Race and Equity
In the days following the murder of
George Floyd, we experienced a new
social awakening. We See You White
American Theatre (https://www.weseeyouwat.com/)
published a powerful, critical,
insightful, and thought-provoking
treatise enumerating the many ways
systemic racism has infected the theatre
and detailing how our industry
needs to change.
To be an effective leader in rehearsal
and performance, it has become clear
that new learning and understanding
about race and equity must be part of
a stage manager's skill set. Only with
new tools can we combat the systemic
racism that is embedded in our culture.
During the shutdown, many members
of the stage management community
have embraced the responsibility of educating
themselves.
The Year of the Stage Manager
Facebook group became a meeting
place for stage managers to lean into
these conversations, learn in public, and
rebuild our process in order to do better.
The group's founder, Amanda Spooner,
told American Theatre magazine, " I
think what stage managers should be
doing right now, as much as they can, is
learning exactly how white supremacy
culture functions in the performing arts.
What am I doing to dismantle white supremacy
culture? You can't dismantle
it unless you know it, unless you see
it. When stage managers go back, and
their role is as a middle manager, you
30 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | FALL 2021
Anti-Racist Stage Management Panel, Broadway Stage Management Symposium, 2021 with: Tiffany L.
Robinson, R. Christopher Maxwell, Cody Renard Richard, Narda E. Alcorn, Ron Vodicka, Lisa Porter, & Beverly
Jenkins. | Image courtesy of Matt Stern.
can pretend that because you're not legally
a supervisor, you can wash your
hands of it. But you're lying to yourself
because you're clearly an authority in
the room. You're clearly functioning as
someone who is guiding a project and
guiding priorities and keeping clear
goals " (Pierce 2020).
One way to begin this process of
learning is reading and discussing important
books such as White Fragility
by Robin DeAngelo and How to be an
Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. During
the shut down, discussion groups sponsored
by YSM and The Stage Managers'
Association (SMA) were places where
stage managers could share their understanding
of cultural differences, the
impact of micro-aggressions, their own
privilege, and how white supremacy has
been built into many of the systems we
have accepted.
Ira Mont said, if stage management
is " fundamentally...taking care of the human
beings working on a show " (Pierce
2020), then we need to develop a much
better understanding of how what we
say and what we do affect BIPOC company
members and perpetuate a culture
of white supremacy. Readings and discussions
and self-education are a necessary
step for stage managers to realign
our actions with the values of equity,
equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Some stage managers have written
about the systemic issues in our
industry.
The insightful article " Hold,
Please, " written by six BIPOC stage
managers (Flores et al. 2020) points to
the vital importance for stage managers
to critically assess their process. " For
stage managers in particular, we must
be mindful of the ways we facilitate our
rehearsal and performance processes.
Choosing not to practice continual selfreflection
and adjustment perpetuates
harm to ourselves, everyone around
us, and particularly Black, Indigenous,
and people of color " (Flores, Maxwell,
Meredith, Murphy, O'Connor, Smith, &
Waters 2020). The article gives specific
examples of how concepts like urgency,
perfectionism, objectivity, power-hoarding,
and more contribute to white supremacy
culture.
Leading stage management educators,
Narda E. Alcorn of Yale and Lisa
Porter of UC San Diego, collaborated
on an article on Howlround to help
stage managers " emerge from this
lengthy COVID-19 pause prepared to
navigate a new production landscape "
(Alcorn and Porter 2020). Some of their
detailed strategies for stage managers
include:
* " Intentionally incorporating anti-racist
language can prioritize the deconstruction
of systems of oppression. "
* " Establish boundaries when racist language
is part of the content of a play,
clearly stating how that language will
be used by different members of the
company. "
* " Speak up as an ally and stage manager,
taking on the responsibility of
disrupting and interrupting racist aggression
towards non-white colleagues
who have been harmed. "

https://www.weseeyouwat.com/ http://(https://www.weseeyouwat.com/)

Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021