Over the last two months, Winthrop senior Harper Kirk, has been working with the Rock Hill Community Theater as a stage manager for the youth production Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Kirk has been involved in theatre since she was ten years old, been a part of the theatre program at every school she’s attending, and has experience with acting, direction, singing, stage managing and teaching dance. Since starting college, Kirk has been participating in more behind the scenes jobs but it looking into getting back into performing.
“I just finished my contract with Rock Hill Theatre stage managing Beauty and the Beast Jr.” Kirk said. “It’s pretty similar to the movie, just a bit shorter and pretty watered down. Since we’re working with kids, a shorter, simpler script gives us more wiggle room to teach technique and establish a strong foundation in young actors.”
As stage manager, Kirk compares her job to a “walking file cabinet” because of the various responsibilities she has throughout the multiple stages of the production.
“There are countless people with countless jobs that contribute to each production as a whole, and the stage manager is the liaison between them that keeps track of all of these moving parts. I was in charge of nearly all of the communication between the production team and the actors/their families” Kirk said. “I also helped a bit with classroom management and noise control during the rehearsal process. Once we got to tech week, I was calling light, sound, and set cues to the rest of the tech team on headset to make sure that the technical aspects of the show were going smoothly.”
In addition to these responsibilities, Kirk took notes during each rehearsal and compiled them into rehearsal reports which served as the primary exchange of ideas between each subsection of the production.
This production was not the first time Kirk has worked as a stage manager.
“I’ve had a bit of experience in stage management, and I really enjoyed it, so I was pretty excited when I got offered this job” Kirk said. “The thing that best prepared me for this contract was my stage management class at Winthrop. My professor, Biff Edge, walked us through everything we needed to know and even gave us the opportunity tp stage manage a one act that semester through the class. I still use the textbook sometimes.
When stage managing, Kirk has found that her favorite part is calling cues.
“My favorite part about stage managing is definitely calling cues. In my script, I keep track of when/how the lights change, when each sound cue should be played, and details about each set change” Kirk said. “I’m on headset with the light board op, sound board op, and running crew backstage. It’s my job to tell everyone what to do and when during the show. Calling cues for multiple things at once feels like a puzzle or a game to me.”
Even though Kirk has experience with stage management and working with kids, this was the first job where she has been the stage manager for a kid’s production.
“It’s different than stage managing for adults because not only do I have to keep open communication with the kids, I have to keep the parents in the loop as well” Kirk said. “Working with a young group means that we have to be much more involved in safety, transportation, time management, and behavior management than if we were working with adults. Even though this job was in familiar territory, it still felt like learning a new skill.”
After graduating in May 2023, Kirk looks forward to continuing her work in the children’s theatre industry.
“I’ve been in contact with a few children’s theatres around the southeast, and I’ll be working both as a teacher within the theatre and in educational outreach” Kirk said. “Beauty and the Beast Jr. has helped me prepare for this by giving me another chance to work with young actors and practice my craft before I officially start my career.
Eventually Kirk plans on getting a master’s degree in Theatre for Youth and continuing her work in children’s theatre but on a much larger scale.
