Sarah Rugo, Stage Manager
Stage Manager Sarah Rugo during a Digging Up Dessa rehearsal, 2021. Photo: Jennifer A. Lin.
We recently asked Sarah Rugo, Stage Manager of Digging Up Dessa, some questions about her job, favorite moments in rehearsal, problem solving, words of wisdom for young people who may be interested in stage management, what she enjoys about Metro Theater Company, and more!
As the stage manager for Digging Up Dessa, what do you do?
Some people think of a stage manager (SM) as a person who gives orders, but really, the stage manager is the primary communicator on a theater project. In fact, unless it has to do with safety, the stage manager rarely makes the decisions. When it comes to artistic choices, those are up to the director, designers, and performers – the stage manager’s job is to keep the lines of communication flowing among all departments so that the collaboration goes smoothly. This includes taking notes in rehearsals and emailing daily reports to the design/production team, which is the main form of communication between the director in the rehearsal hall and the rest of the artistic team who are working on their own areas in their own spaces and on their own schedules. Calendar-keeping and communicating is also a big part of the job. This runs the gamut from the daily rehearsal calls for the cast to scheduling costume fittings, to setting up the technical and dress rehearsal schedule so that everyone is able to get the show installed and running in the theater, but without being overworked (which is always a delicate balance).
The second major aspect of the SM job is being the primary organizer. There are so many moving parts to putting a production together, so the SM is the person who does the paperwork to track all of it: blocking, costumes, props, scene changes, and later sound and lighting cues. As the actors start to memorize their lines, it is also the SM’s job to be “on book,” reading actors their lines when they call for them while rehearsing a scene. It is the SM’s responsibility to assist the cast in being as word-perfect as possible in order to honor the word choices that the playwright has made in crafting the play. This involves giving line notes to the cast in order to communicate (sometimes very fine) corrections.
That brings me to the third major part of the SM’s job: maintaining the integrity of a production. Once the play has had its final dress rehearsal, the director’s job is complete, and the SM is now the person “steering the ship.” It is the SM’s job to assure that the plan that the team has put together with the guidance of the director is achieved every time the show is scheduled to be performed. This includes making sure the cast and crew are aware of the schedule and on time for calls as well as supporting them to be sure that they can all do their jobs to the best of their ability. During the show, the SM calls the cues for the technical elements, and/or runs them themselves; for Digging Up Dessa, I ran the lights and sound (the designers set-up the boards to communicate via an HDMI cable so I could control both through one console), for Last Stop on Market Street, we plan to add an audio technician since there will be live music.
As the stage manager, I am typically the first to arrive for the workday, the last to leave, and always the one who sends the report about how it all went in the middle.
What are some aspects of your job that you enjoy the most?
I love hearing the reactions of the audience, from the first gasps and excited comments as they come through the door and discover the scenery and lighting, to those moments when everyone is laughing together, to the sound of the applause at the end of the show. Those reactions mean that the collaboration of multiple theater artists are having an impact, and that is the payoff for me, because I help to bring all of the pieces together while the audience is experiencing it in the same moment, in the same room. It is an experience like no other, and the reason I can’t stay away from theater!
What are some unique challenges that come with stage managing a play during a pandemic?
This was the first time I had returned to work since the pandemic began, so it was a personal adjustment to be wearing a mask in the workplace, and there were added cleaning and documenting responsibilities, but I think the hardest part was clearly saying an actor’s line when they called “line!” There are more things to schedule, like regular COVID testing when we move into the theater and the cast removes their masks, and it also makes snacking during breaks a bit awkward, but I was frankly so happy to be getting back to theater-making that I was willing to manage those new burdens (which are also shared by Metro staff members and each contracted artist). And of course I appreciate that everyone at Metro is willing to do their part in order to protect each other person in the group - as well as the public - as best we can.
What were some of your favorite moments in stage managing Digging Up Dessa?
We had a really fun time taking a field trip the the Mastodon State Historic Site! It was a beautiful day for a drive in the Metro tour van (which also brought back great memories for me!), and it was quite beneficial for us to see the scale of a mastodon skeleton. When we got back to the rehearsal studio, we worked on the scene in which Dessa and Mary Anning go to the natural history museum and see a mastodon skeleton together, and it really affected what the actors were doing. Julia and I could see it in their bodies, that they had the sense-memory from the recent museum visit. So that was fun and also very cool. I love how as the stage manager, I help to facilitate success for the actors, as well as the other company members. It’s really satisfying to know that I helped to make it happen.
The moment in dress rehearsal on stage at the Grandel when the actors removed their masks for the first time in the whole process was huge! We had been working together for more than three weeks at this point, and they hadn’t seen the bottom of each-other’s faces! It was profound.
Can you describe an interesting problem-solving moment during a Digging Up Dessa rehearsal?
As Dessa, Rae is supposed to punch through the print of Charles Darwin while in the Museum of Natural History. We had rehearsed it with an empty frame while we were blocking and working through the scenes, but we knew we needed to start working with the frame filled in order to see how the prop would behave, and how it would feel for Rae. We cut some pieces from a large roll of white craft paper and used some gaffer’s tape that we had on hand to attach it to the frame in the back.
When we ran the scene , Rae punched her arm through the frame as we had rehearsed, but the paper just flopped down still attached at the bottom of the frame, and still whole. Her punch had simply pulled three sides free. This was not exactly the effect we were going for – not only does the playwright call for it to rip in the script, but it is a much more exciting surprise for it to tear and be completely ruined. So, we tried it again. This time, instead of using a couple of (about 4”) pieces of gaff tape on each edge of the paper, we taped each edge completely to the frame (which required cutting a hole for the hanger hardware), and we used a mat knife to cut a tiny “x” in the middle of the paper (something Julia Flood had learned in a previous production). We ran the end of the scene again, Rae punched it in exactly the same way, and it worked! Her fist ripped right through the paper, leaving a big hole, and her face staring back at us! It also made a wonderful, loud tearing sound as the paper gave way! So good, in fact, that Julia told the sound designer (Rusty Wandall) that we didn’t need the ripping sound effect that he had provided for the moment, because the real thing was plenty loud, and would get the audience’s attention all on its own. (In fact, a duplicate, pumped-in sound effect could ruin the moment.)
You have a long history of working with Metro Theater Company. What keeps you coming back?
I was attracted to Metro Theater Company initially because of its mission, and that is the primary reason I keep returning. A very close second is the quality of people who are on staff and contract with Metro. There has been a lot of changeover in personnel recently, so I’m always meeting new Metro people on the job… but I always know that they are quality people because they have chosen to serve Metro’s mission as well.
Any words of encouragement or wisdom for young people who may be interested in stage management?
Get as much experience as possible in every area of the theater. Stage managers need to have as many practical skills as possible, because (especially once the show is opened) they are the primary problem-solvers. Also, it is of utmost importance that you treat with respect everyone with whom you come into contact. Theater is a collaborative process centered around storytelling which is one of the most basic and unique human experiences that bonds all people together. It is all about the people. (Plus if you’re a jerk, no one is going to want to work with you!)
ABOUT SARAH
Sarah Rugo is so happy to be working in the theater again as well as with Metro Theater Company! After serving as production manager for Metro from fall 2004 to spring 2017, Sarah took some time off to raise her young son. She returned to Metro to stage manage It’s a Wonderful Life and Ghost in 2019-20, and missed theater so much during the pandemic hiatus! Sarah earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, followed by a stage management internship with Lexington Children’s Theatre, before moving to St. Louis to work for MTC. In addition to taking Metro Theater Company’s touring productions to hundreds of local and regional schools and community centers, Sarah has overseen its mainstage productions in venues such as the Grandel Theatre (It’s a Wonderful Life, Ghost), Missouri History Museum (And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, Afflicted: Daughters of Salem, Battledrum), Wydown Middle School (The Boy Who Loved Monsters and the Girl Who Loved Peas), Clayton High School (Interrupting Vanessa), the West County YMCA (Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse), COCA (Go, Dog. Go!), and Edison Theatre (Hana’s Suitcase, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Giver, and Jackie and Me). Her other favorites include: Earth Songs, New Kid, and Delilah’s Wish. In past years, Sarah spent her summers stage managing for Union Avenue Opera. She has also worked for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre.
Photography: Julia Flood, Jennifer A. Lin, Sara Levin, Mira Whiting, and Sarah Rugo.