The fall musical, “Mean Girls,” requires multiple rehearsals from April to November to ensure everything is ready for opening night. At these rehearsals, light and sound cues are created, conflicts are resolved and schedules are established, all of which co-stage managers junior Sophie Ermgodts and sophomore Gabby Marie Flynn regulate.
“There’s a lot that goes into [stage managing],” Flynn said. “We organize everything, take attendance, get people where they need to be and send out announcements.”
Flynn said staying on track can become difficult, and Ermgodts agreed with her. They acknowledged stage managing requires one to be on top of things.
“You have to know where everything goes,” Ermgodts said. “You have to answer a lot of questions that you may not know the answer to right away.”
Ermgodts stage managed last spring’s play “Musical Comedy Murders of 1940”, but this is the first time Flynn has stage managed a high school production. Thus, she said she’s thankful for Ermgodts for guiding her through these challenges and being fun to work with.
“She’s shown me the ropes a lot and just really help me get my footing,” Flynn said.
Ermgodts, having a little bit more experience, won’t be calling the show from the technical booth alone. She said she’s thankful to be stage managing alongside someone to help guarantee everything runs smoothly.
“[Working together] makes my job a lot easier,” Ermgodts said. “Where we can divvy up the work instead of all the work being on me.”
The stage managers are ready to see the big scenes they collaborated on and help put together.
“This cast is really talented,” Flynn said. “It’s just amazing to watch the process.”
As they continue to prepare, Ermgodts, too, said it’s exciting to witness all the hard work come together.
“[Seeing] the process unfold and develop and make a show that’s nothing into something [is] really cool,” Ermgodts said.
“Mean Girls” opens Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, with additional shows on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased online via GoFan.
