Senior Project Reflection

1) What I am most proud of in my senior project is all of the experience that I gained over the last 9 months. I worked on 7 shows, 4 at iPoly and 3 at Chino Community Theatre, and this gave me the chance to work with people I might have never been able to work with. Experience is everything in my topic, and if I ever want to return to Stage Management, this experience will help me when trying to land jobs,
2)
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b. AE
3) One thing that worked for me was finding mentorship and independent components, because I was always able to find something new to do. While many people had trouble trying to get mentorship, I had no issues and already completed 120 hours by the time September was over. From all of this work I was able to learn a lot and improve my skills.
4) One thing I would change is the period of nothingness I experienced between The Rainmaker and Lady of the House. In this gap I was confused and unsure of what to do next, and I feel like working on another show would have kept me busy and informed. Finishing mentorship so early left me with a ton of questions after I got past foundation, and this wasn't fixed until I finally was able to move onto another show and jump back into the swing of things and talk to new people.
5) My senior project has helped to improve my understanding and skill in Stage Management. Junior year when I jumped into drama, I had no experience, and much of what I learned right off the bat was foundational. Research and mentorship opened my eyes to some of the in depth things, and working with new people allowed me to pick up the good habits of those around me. Working with these people gave me new contacts and experience, which is what gets you new jobs in theatre, so if I ever return to the topic the 7 shows I worked on this year will definitely be put on my resume.

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I'm Done!

I just finished my two-hour and I can say that I am going to graduate :D The next three weeks are going to be some of the best of my life so far, and it’s going to be sad the day that we graduate. I feel that I could not have had a better senior year. I got to experience new things this year, and they were all positive. I am definitely going to miss this school and the times I had here.

2 Hour Lesson Plan

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Mentorship

Literal:
Summer Mentorship
Mentorship
Check logs for contact info.
Interpretive:
Mentorship has provided me with experience, which is extremely important when it comes to Stage Managing. While research and books gave me a basic understanding of what Stage Managing was, it is a topic that requires you to get hands on to really appreciate it. My mentorship gave me plenty of the experience and guidance under Greg Cohen and Emerald Gonzalez, both of whom were invaluable when it came to answering my questions and giving me tips when I was trying to work things out. Experience is also necessary when one is bidding for jobs at a theatre, because there is a good chance that the company will not hire anyone with no experience. My mentor, Greg, has told me numerous stories about moving to Southern California from Northern California, and how he had issues finding jobs here because all of his experience was in local theatres up north.
Applied:
My essential question is 'What makes a Stage Manager essential to a theatrical production,' and my mentorship helped me both form this question and answer it. My best answer to my essential question is calling the show, and I got to do this for two shows for my mentorship. Actually working the shows gave me hands on experience, and helped me realize that my first two answers were only important in the rehearsal period, and that the Stage Manager really takes control of things during the run of the show. In addition to the hands-on aspect, I was also able to ask my mentors, Greg and Emerald, about my answers, and their input helped me decide which were important, and which weren't necessary.

Closing!

Today we closed our shows, and I am definitely going to miss this part of my high school experience. Many of the best memories I made were in drama club, and this was the place where I gave purpose to my time at iPoly. The cast of Delval surprised me by calling me up on stage and thanking me at the end of the run, which was a heartfelt moment. They also gave me a great card signed by each of them, and I am saddened to see this go.

Opening Night!

We finally opened our shows today for iPoly drama club! We started with New Kids at Vampire High, which got tons of laughs and then did Delval Divas, which enjoyed a strong opening. I am also the first student to receive director credits on an iPoly play, which I’m incredibly excited about. Tomorrow Nunsense opens and it is looking great so far!

Exit Interview Questions

     1)What is your EQ, what is your best answer, and why?

My essential question is What makes a Stage Manager essential to a theatrical production? My best answer is his or her duty of calling the show, because calling a show is what makes it come alive from the script. According to Emerald Gonzalez, Stage Manager at Chino Community theatre, if the cast were to perform strictly from the book, the show wouldn't have the same energy as if it was called live, leading to a full performance. The Stage Manager is completely responsible for the show at this point, and according to Thomas Kelly, author of The Backstage Art of Stage Managing, there is a mass exodus of creative forces, leaving the Stage Manager to maintain the show.

  2) What process did you take to arrive at this conclusion?

Coming into senior year, I already had knowledge of what a Stage Manager was. Junior year, I was a Stage Manager for the iPoly improv club, having started training sophomore year with Noreen, the Stage Manager before me. It was through improv that I became an Assistant Stage Manager for the iPoly Drama club, working directly under Joseph Hogan, and assisting Teo Crisanto with whatever he needed help with. It was through this connection to Joseph Hogan that I found my mentorship working on The Rainmaker under director Greg Cohen at Chino Community Theatre. It was on The Rainmaker where I was always being thanked for helping out where I asked myself why my services were necessary, which led to my essential question.

My essential question, what makes a Stage Manager essential to a quality theatrical production, needed to be backed up with a solid foundation. While I did come into senior year with a basic knowledge of Stage Management, I needed to refine my knowledge to come up with some answers to my essential question. To do this, I found research, a lot of which came from UpstageReview.org, and conducted several interviews with Greg Cohen and Emerald Gonzalez, and completed my first independent conclusion, which led me to my first answer, recording the blocking. After some more research on LoisBackstage.com, I came to realize that blocking was only a small part of a prompt book, allowing me to claim my second answer as creating and maintaining a prompt book. My third answer, calling the show, stemmed from an article on calling a show on LoisBackstage, and The Backstage Art of Stage Management by Thomas A. Kelly.

From these three answers, I had to pick one best one, the one that undoubtedly made a Stage Manager essential to a quality theatrical production. After conducting my fourth interview with Emerald Gonzalez, I made up my mind that my best answer was going to be my third, calling the show. There was some competition, especially from my second answer, maintaining the prompt book, but I came to the conclusion that the prompt book helped shape the quality, but calling the show brought it to life. My answer was backed up when I read the chapter in The Backstage Art of Stage Managing that explained calling a show, and Thomas Kelly explained that when a show opens, all of the creative forces move on. This is where the Stage Manager steps in and takes control over the running of the show, and maintaining the original quality of the show.

  3)     What problems did you face and how did you overcome them?

One of the first problems I faced early on in the school year was mentorship. While many of my peers were having trouble finding a place to complete their mentorship, I had finished all of my required 50 hours by the end of September, leaving me without a mentorship to go back to. This was worrisome when I had questions and needed advice on where to go next, because my mentor lived in Long Beach, a far drive from home in Fontana. While I did have all of my hours done, I was afraid the overall quality of my senior project would go down because of the lack of a regular place to go back to and continue my service learning.

The solution eventually came in the form of my independent components, which were Stage Managing plays for the iPoly Drama Club. While working on Lady of the House and Delval Divas, I was able to jump right back into Stage Management and get hands on with every aspect of the job. In addition to my work at iPoly, I also got into contact with the regular Stage Manager at Chino Community Theatre, and was able to go back to where I had done my mentorship and work as an Assistant Stage Manager with Emerald Gonzalez. I worked with a great cast, and with the president of Chino Community Theatre, Christopher Deihl. This provided me with plenty of people to talk to who have held every job in the theatre business, and guidance in my search to find a best answer.

Another issue that arose was during Investigation and Experimentation, and I was trying to put together a survey to find what kind of impact a theatre degree had on a Stage Manager’s salary. While creating the survey had not been an issue, finding at least 22 Stage Managers to take the survey proved to be a difficult task to accomplish. At first, I was under the assumption that I would be able to use SMNetwork.com, a forum for Stage Managers to give advice and tips, and this seemed to be the perfect solution. But when the time came to have people take the survey, I found out that control booth required that users remain active for so long before allowing them to create posts on the section of the forum where my survey would fit. This left me distressed and frantic to find at least 22 people to take my survey.

While the clock ticked down, I went to Mr. Hogan, desperate to find anyone that could connect me to the people I needed. After explaining my situation, Hogan immediately jumped onto his email, and found an old friend named Whinnie Lock who he had known at USC, and asked him if he could point us in the right direction. Mr. Lock was able to put me into contact with the Production Manager for the theatre department at USC, Ells Collins, who then sent my survey to Stage Managers who she had known and met over her career. This gave me a selection of Stage managers with different backgrounds, and when combined with other people I had managed to survey, left me with enough people to go on with my report. This just goes to show how important networking is in Stage Management, whether it comes to finding new jobs or getting help with whatever project you’re working on.

  4)     What are your two  most significant sources and why?

My first most significant source is The Backstage Art of Stage Managing by Thomas A. Kelly. This book, lent to me by Jon Shoemaker, is a very detailed descriptor of everything that has to do with Stage Management. The author picks apart every small detail, and relates every description with a story or example from his career. This book is so significant because it treats Stage Managing as the main topic, as opposed to most other sources I’ve read, which give the topic one small section among the many topics in theatre. It also helped confirm that I made the right decision in picking my best answer.

Another most important source was my second interview with Greg Cohen, my mentor. This interview took place at a time when I was confused about picking answers, and Greg helped me decide. Greg is a director, but he has held every job in a theatre, and has worked on dozens of shows. This experience, and his thoughtful answers guided me to picking out my answers, and ultimately my best answer, in addition to helping me build a solid foundation.

  5)    What is your product and why?

After completing my mentorship and independent components, I would have to say that my product is the relationship I have formed with Chino Community Theatre and the wonderful people who work there. While I don’t really consider Stage Managing to be a career choice, it has become a great hobby and creative outlet, and having this theatre that I can always go back to when I need an outlet is a great feeling. Having these very experienced people who I can go back to and ask for help when I need it gives me a piece of mind. It is also an opportunity to go back and make a little bit of cash if I ever need it.

2014 Interview

1.       Q: Who did you interview, and what house are they in?

A: My name is Angel Flores, and I am in East House.

2.       Q: What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

A: My main ideas are either basics of photography, of photography in forensics, because this year I have gotten into photography as possibly being a career, and forensics because it would be a lot of money to take photos, I would just have to get used to the blood.

3.       Q: What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

A: My mentor is going to be Jack from ROP, so I’m guessing I will either be working with him in his studio, or he will take me to one of his wedding events or something like that. He is going to be my mentor during the school year as well.

4.       Q: What do you hope or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

A: I’m just hoping that light will be shed on how the two hour is supposed to work, because it seems like quite a bit of work.

5.       Q: What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project?

·         Q: Is there anything to really worry about?

A: It is all about just getting stuff done on time, and it isn’t as hard as it seems. They (the senior teachers) will divide up what needs to be done and when, you just have to stick to the schedule.

·         Q: How does research work?

A: Research is done almost every week towards the beginning of the year, and happens less and less frequently as time goes on. During a research check, you are responsible for bringing 3 articles to read during class, and you margin note them. You also have to make a bibliography to accompany your research, and keep everything in a binder

·         Q: What is a house competition?

A: It is a physical activity, a challenge, or something else like a charity drive or spirit week that awards the winning house a point (or several). The house that wins overall at the end of the year typically gets free or deeply discounted grad night tickets.

Final 3 Column Chart

Final 3 column chart.