Julia Weber
Staff writer
Those who have witnessed live theater know the feeling of chills that creep up when the lights come on and the stage is set. But what happens before that transformational moment?
For Execution of Justice Production Stage Manager Cheryl Mintz, most of the work of the play comes long before that very moment. Before everything can go exactly right when an audience fills the venue awaiting a transformative live art experience, countless decisions — practical, conceptual and creative — must be made to let the artistry and message of the play shine.
Chautauqua Theater Company’s production of Execution of Justice continues its run of performances at 4 p.m. today in Bratton Theater. The play documents the trial of Dan White, a former city supervisor of San Francisco who was accused of murdering then-mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California.
Mintz has worked on 39 productions alongside playwright and director Emily Mann spanning a 33-year collaboration.
“Production stage managers, we don’t get to choose our season,” Mintz said. “We don’t get to go into an artistic director and say, ‘This is a play I really want to do,’ but what I’ve found in my career is that if you commit to a theater company or an artistic director or director whose vision and mission align with yours, you can have a very fulfilling journey in this business. That’s what I’ve found with Emily.”
Mintz’s role is to intake the artistic direction of the designers and director and translate the feedback into technical cues that correspond to changes in lighting, sound and projections.
“When a production stage manager calls a show, we’re listening to all the designers — what their goals are for their cues,” Mintz said. “Generally, they know where they want the cue to fall, of course, but it’s up to the production stage manager to understand and coordinate the cue.”
Because the set is stationary and there are no major scene changes, most settings are signified by changes with light, sound or visual projections. Mintz is responsible for planning, coordinating and executing each cue to make the show run smoothly.
“Lighting, sound and projections meld together and work sort of like a chamber group of musicians, in a way. The three of them are in musical harmony together,” she said.
For Ashleigh Been, production assistant, and Karly Amato, assistant stage manager, Execution of Justice has been a valuable experience to learn from seasoned theater professionals. Both Been and Amato have experience working with Mintz in educational settings and said the opportunity to put their studies into practice has been a great one.
“It’s really been so incredible to work with such seasoned artists,” said Amato. “All of the designers, Emily, Jade (King Carroll) and Cheryl, have been really amazing to work under, to see how they work and work together.”
Been and Amato work to support the success of the show by ensuring everything that takes place backstage runs as smoothly as possible for the actors.
“Backstage, we try to support them as best we can, give them whatever they need. If they need a minute, if they need time to themselves, we try to support them in the best way — whichever makes their jobs easier also makes our jobs easier,” Been said.
Mintz emphasized how many people contribute to the success of a play behind the curtains and advised Chautauquans to read the program and take the time to learn about each person who contributes onstage and behind the scenes.
“Read that list of all those roles, and you’ll get insight into how much is happening to bring a production to the stage,” Mintz said.
“Everybody pours so much into this piece,” Amato said. “I hope that audiences take that away and are really moved by this piece.”
