The Wizard of Oz

   I am currently interning with Fox Valley Repertory Theatre on their production of The Wizard of OZ as a Stage Management intern.  So far we have had eight rehearsals and I have learned a ton about how to be a better stage manager.  I am working with a man named Tim Sadler (he is the official stage manager and I am his intern).  He is great.  He has taught me a lot about how to be a good stage manager.  He has shown me little ways to keep on top of things in rehearsal, tricks on writing rehearsal reports (mainly, how to not forget anything!) and most importantly how to effectively take down blocking.  Tim lets me do everything, from taking down blocking to setting up each rehearsal.  I got to run the first part of our third rehearsal because our directors train was late.  We have rehearsals on Sunday, Monday and Wednesdays.  By the end of tonights rehearsal we should have the whole show blocked.  This is a youth production so learning how to workl of theatre with children has also been a learning experience.  So far I have learned that patience is key, and making sure I have the right blocking down is crucial because the kids will forget where they are supposed to go.  This show is also largely puppeted.  I got to help teach the kids how to work with puppets, which was really fun.