Complacent Stage Manager Calls for Places Whenever

by Matt Keeley. @reallymattkeeley.

PALO ALTO, CA - Backstage at the Palo Alto Playhouse, confused cast members were left with an indeterminate amount of time to prepare for the top of show when complacent stage manager Robert Gilman called for places whenever.

“We were just chatting in our dressing room, still mid-hair and makeup, when we heard him announce places in, you know, whenever feels right,” said puzzled ensemble member Stephanie Schwartz, mentally calculating if she had time to grab a bag of snacks she had left in her car. “I do my hair and makeup first thing to get it out of the way, so I’m ready whenever needed. And in this case, I’m needed whenever. So I’m good then?”

Though still able to function at a semi-timely manner, performers and production members alike discovered new challenges from Gilman’s lackadaisical management style.

“You know, I appreciate the leeway we’re given, but it’s been a little hard to time when to fire my cues lately,” admitted sound board operator Jesse Heston, stowing his Nintendo Switch to better pay attention. “I used to just let stage management make the call. Like they were in the driver’s seat and I was the steering wheel. Kinda feels like I’m a self-driving Tesla. Oh man, I might have to actually learn this show.”

While certainly a departure from the expected punctuality of a stage manager, most production staff weren’t exactly surprised from the get-go.

“I noticed in rehearsals that Robert’s notes seemed a bit…general,” confessed director Becky Hoffnauer, who had intended to bring up Gilman’s complacency to him but, you know, never got around to it. “When we had to look up specifics, it was always a vague approximation of what’s supposed to happen. The Scene 1 furniture gets taken offstage…by somebody. A couple of lines before there’s a light cue. Exit wherever feels right. Our tracking sheet is a blasé nightmare. But like, at the same time, strangely chill.”

As of publication, Gilman had informed the cast that they would be holding the house for, “you know, as long as we feel like it.”