Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Sometimes someone can coin a phrase or describe something in a way that makes it click with other people.

We've heard of "management by walking around," quite a bit. But an article I read recently in the Washington Post really brought that concept to life for me. Michael Passaro is both a production stage manager, and the head of stage management at Columbia. He works with roughly 100 different people on any given night.

I always say that I’m a hybrid C.E.O. and chief operating officer for the producers and the creative team. On a musical, if you include the crew and cast and even the musicians, there are about a hundred people, on average, who work at the theater on any given night. I am a huge proponent of trying to check in with everybody as much as possible face to face — “How are you doing? What’s going on?” — on a nightly basis.

They’re more likely tell me about something in person, as opposed to sending email or texts. It’s also my opportunity to give them direction or notes I might have from previous performances. I call it being the mayor. (Emphasis added.) I walk around, say hello and find out how everyone is doing.

Being the mayor. I like that.  A lot. 

***

And if Kate could be mayor of any town, it likely would be Corolla, North Carolina. Here's Kate on the lookout for some wild horses. As you can see, the day was a success.