Disagree.

In the real world of grown actors where the stage manager's authority goes unquestioned most of the time, it's suitable for the stage manager to go out of his or her way to make a show-oriented environment for the actors when they cannot do so themselves. In high school, however, because the stage manager doubles as just another drama student along with other student actors, his or her work for a show often goes taken for granted, questioned, and all too often, not adhered to. Kelly points out a bunch of little hospitality things stage managers could do to make a more show-oriented atmosphere during rehearsals, such as play music or set up the green room in the style or tone of the show to help the actors get into character and ready for rehearsal. He's even make the suggestion of having the stage manager be the one to make break-time food runs for the company. While I completely agree that the stage manager should make the rehearsal space and time hospitable for everyone involved, it wouldn't work in a high school setting. Because each student has an equal place in classes, including theater classes, so there's no differentiation in authority between students, only differentiations between jobs each student holds for a show. With that said, because the stage manager is just another student, others tend to rely on their quasi-friendships with the stage manager and expect slack cut just for them, when in the real world, they'd be kicked out of a show. As of right now, none of us know how we'll manage in theater's real world, but it certainly won't be like high school.

Untitled, Round Two.

In the midst of college applications, scholarship applications, and deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life (nerve wrecking, much?), the first thing I write down as my major is either "Stage Management" or "Technical Theater". In middle school when our counselors began to lecture about preparing for high school and college, I sat there and thought to myself, "Stage management...what else is there?" Until that moment, I hadn't really given thought to any other possible profession outside of theater. Even today, I don't really see myself working in any other field. Theater has been my passion since the 4th grade, and that feeling has never changed. I found stage management because I was a 4th grader too scared to audition for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Still wanting to help, I asked the teacher what I could do, and after a thoughtful pause, she said "Be my assistant." Neither of us knew then what effect that opportunity had would have on me for the rest of my middle school, high school, and soon-to-be college and professional career. I thank her every day for being the one to initially trust me and allow me to act as a key component to her first major production. I am so incredibly grateful to her in every production I've been a part of since then. I remind myself before every show, "I'm here because she believed in a 9-year-old girl way back when, and look where that 9-year-old girl is now," and I smile.