Broadway Behind the Scenes

By Lindsey Rosa

Being the Stage Manager of a Broadway show is a huge achievement. Being the Stage Manager of Hamilton, one of the most popular shows on Broadway, is an achievement on a whole other level. Amber White, currently holds the position of Production Stage Manager, which means she coordinates rehearsal schedules, dividing responsibilities among her fellow stage managers, being the main contact person, and calling the show. Some of her previous show credits include: The Last Ship, In the Heights, and the tour of Wicked.

Amber White is a California native and attended undergrad at Loyola University in Los Angeles. She never thought she would be on this path. Coming into undergrad, she was a Finance major, but took up an interest in theater when she became a work study student for the department. There she found her love for the position and began to explore the option of pursuing this as a career.

When White was in her college years, she never saw herself working on Broadway. She never even considered New York to be an option. But even though she was excited to be working there, at first, the city didn’t stick. Since those years, she has grown a lot. Her daughter, husband, and she, now call the city home, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

One of the most important factors that goes into the theater industry is networking. White was working on a production of Dinner with Friends in Los Angeles and met the Production Stage Manager (PSM) of the same production that was being produced in Boston. That connection ended up being the PSM for Avenue Q on Broadway. He asked her to join him in New York City on the production as a substitute for the Assistant Stage Manager. The ASM took a leave of absence and so White stepped into the role.

White has seen all types of performing arts: operas, concerts, dance, and theater. Through all of those, she says that it is so important to understand union rules.

In theater, both stage managers and actors are under a union called, The Actors Equity Association. This union allows them to receive benefits. To be a part of this union, you can work at certain company’s and gain points towards your card, or you can get bought into the union by a company. This is what happened to White. She worked for a theater company who got her into the union, and now she pays the monthly fee.

White stated, “I never wanted to be comfortable in my 20s”. From Avenue Q, she continued to work. One production led to another, and she was working on a new project every other month. It was a “worthwhile struggle” but it was important to “try and separate the two and not always be thinking about the job”. As a college student starting out in the business, this was a meaningful piece of advice.

She also mentioned, “When you are in school, you are the top dog, but it is important to set the imaginary tool bag aside. You go from knowing everything to knowing nothing”. This was helpful to me because college theatre and professional theatre are different, and she assured me of how different they truly are.

One thing that stood out to me the most about Amber was her position and gender in the field. Nowadays, the field of Stage Management is becoming dominated by women, however, there does seem to be a lack of representation of producers, designers, and directors that are female.

“Be a good person and forget about gender and not buy into gender roles,” Amber went on to say that “sometimes women are a blockade for other women”. It put it into perspective that this career track is more accepting than most of women in power, unlike most.

Having worked in the industry for a long period of time, she has found different types of theater spaces to be negative. White was determined to make any space she worked in, would be one that was friendly and inviting.

Leadership is a huge part of a stage manager’s job and she told me to, “Lead by example, but only if the people above you allow it”. At first it shocked me a bit when she said that because I always believed that Stage Managers had a lot of power. White went on to explain that stage managing is “All of the responsibility and none of the power”.

White enjoys working with the company of Hamilton and will continue to be in the room where it happens for now.

References:

Franklin, Marc. Playbill.com. https://breakalegnetwork.com/day-life-hamiltons-stage-manager/

About the Author

Lindsey Rosa is an arts manager and theatre maker that specifically focuses her work in the theatre and music industry. She has worked in several theaters across Connecticut including Naugatuck Teen Theater, the Thomaston Opera House, and Get Up Stage Company. She is a sophomore at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and studies Arts Management and Performing Arts with a concentration in Theatre. Lindsey wishes to bring arts education to low-income areas to give access to those who cannot afford it. In her future, plans to travel throughout the world analyzing different cultures and seeing how they use art to communicate. That information will help her analyze how culture and art are intertwined and show that it can define a person’s background.