Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: My Summer with The Rep

It is truly incredible how fast time can pass when you are having fun. I feel as though it was just last Monday that I arrived at Temple for our first weekly management team meeting. In reality, it has been 10 weeks since that initial gathering. This week is a very bittersweet one, as we are in the final stretch of our season. This coming Wednesday, I leave for my first real vacation of the summer, but before that happens, I will have cleaned out my desk and house managed my final show for the 2014 season. Before we move forward into the final days of summer, I look back at what the season has given me. Here are my top five favorite experiences from my first year with Nebraska Rep.

5. Jazz in June
Every Tuesday in June, members of our management team took turns working at the NRT table at Lincoln's Jazz in June festival. It hardly ever felt like work, though! We were being paid to do what we love, while enjoying the beautiful (for the most part) weather, delicious food, and the vibrant sounds of jazz. It doesn't get much better than that!

4. The Company Party
From the planning to the actual party, everything about this event was a blast. You can't go wrong with a tropical barbeque theme and custom flavored ice cream from Ivanna Cone! A huge thanks to our Executive Director Paul Steger, and his wife Sara for hosting the party at their beautiful home.

Grill Master, Brad Buffum

3. Office time shenanigans
Our management team is made up of successful, dedicated, and organized people. We love what we do, and we do it well. But when you put four undergrads and a graduate in one office for extended periods of time, crazy things are bound to happen.

Bryan Howard wins for Most Photogenic. 

Desiree's attempt at being the "little n" for an "n-r-t" group photo

2. Meeting the Guest Artists
Working with new actors, actresses, and technicians was like a breath of fresh air. I have been involved in school and community theatre programs in Lincoln from age 13, so I've been around the same group of students and adults for nearly my entire theatre career. While we've grown and learned together, nothing beats working with a fresh group of strangers. I've listened to countless stories about their theatrical experiences in every city from New York to Los Angeles, to even Beatrice, Nebraska. I am thankful for the valuable advice each of them has given me, and for the time I was able to spend with them as friends.

"Barrymore's is closed?! On to the next!" Post-Circle Mirror opening, a night out with the company.

1. Opening Nights
Opening nights are what you live for as a company member. The set is complete, the cast is ready, and the management team is…cooking? Yes, for the post-show reception of course! Nothing beats the atmosphere of these celebratory gatherings. Food and drinks and delightful conversation. The lobby is abuzz with chatter about the show. The company members are content, yet proud. And finally, we breathe easy and relax, because we opened another successful show.

Our first and second opening nights.

It's been a pretty wonderful ride, and I couldn't have asked for a better first-year experience at the Nebraska Rep. Thanks for the memories!

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: On the Set of Circle Mirror Transformation

You still have four more chances to see Circle Mirror Transformation before we close our season on August 10th! If the charmingly humorous plot and appearances by guest artists aren't enough to convince you, perhaps the unique set design is.

Circle Mirror is performed in our studio theater, with a thrust seating arrangement. Such an intimate playing space can be both a blessing and a curse to directors and designers. How do you convey all that you want to with limited room?

"When set designer, Michaela Stein, and I first met in April, we decided that Circle Mirror Transformation takes place in a space designed and loved by Marty," says Director Virginia Smith of her collaboration with Stein. "Marty is the main teacher at the art center and she is committed to awakening the creative spirit of each person who enters her space. Because most of her students are children, we wanted to fill the space with art projects and supplies, bold colors, and an invitation to play. We wanted to make a safe space for these individuals to see themselves more clearly."

Circle Mirror stage

Special touches help to engage the audience, such as this community center bulletin board in the entrance way to the theater.

Fellow Assistant General Manager, Bryan Howard, and I channeled our inner child when we explored the set last week. 

You can join in on the fun here at Nebraska Rep by getting your tickets to one of these final Circle Mirror Transformation performances: 

July 30, 31 at 7:30pm

August 9 at 7:30pm

and 

August 3 at 2:00pm

We'll see you there!

Stephanie's Weekly Spotlight: It's Opening Week!

The countdown to opening night is quickly dwindling! On Thursday night at 7:30pm, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will officially kick off the Rep Summer 2014 season. However, there is still much to be done! Our management team is busy pulling decorations and organizing catering for the post show reception.

We aren't the only ones pushing forward, though. Our crew is still hard at work building the set, props, and costumes for our next show, Circle Mirror Transformation, which opens June 17th. The constant flow of new projects is simply one of many things that make repertory theatre so much fun!

Bryan Ruhs installs foam sheeting on the stage platform, to reduce sound from actor movement. 

Circle Mirror Transformation will be performed in the studio theatre, with a thrust seating arrangement. 

Be sure to get your tickets for this week's opening night of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, as well as next Thursday's opening night of Circle Mirror Transformation, with receptions in the lobby following both performances. See you there! 

Feature Fridays: The Many Hats of Management

It is not uncommon for actors to have more than one role at once. In fact, several actors in our company will be performing in multiple shows at the Rep this summer. Everyone knows that actors have several characters in their repertoire, and technicians are often skilled in more than one facet of technical theatre. Actors and technicians aren't the only ones who wear many hats; theatre managers do, too.

Each Nebraska Rep Management Team member may have his or her own title, but more often than not do they all take on multiple responsibilities that could fall under completely different job descriptions. Even in the two weeks that have passed in our 2014 season, members of our management team have already worked as publicists, event planners, tour guides, social media and mass media communicators, and salesmen. They may be known as Associate Director of Audience Development, Assistant General Manager, or Company Manager, but the truth is, they have too many titles to count (or fit on a name badge, for that matter). 

When you see a Nebraska Rep poster at your favorite coffee house, a tweet from our account on your newsfeed, or a commercial promoting our season during your favorite show, chances are one or more of our management team members have had their hands on it. It's amazing to realize that managers from all walks of life work together to promote and represent the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, whether it's on social media, radio, television, or in person. Our management team works hard to coordinate events for the public and the company, including taking part in Jazz in June, planning a company party, and putting together opening night receptions. 

Today's Feature Friday is for some of the theatre's unsung heroes: thank you, managers, for getting audience members in seats and having a good time in the process.

Some NRT Management Team members making connections and having a blast at this Tuesday's Jazz in June.

Meet Your 2014 Management Team Members:

Julie Hagemeier, General Manager

Joshua Waterstone, Director of Audience Development

Desiree Bartels, Associate Director of Audience Development

Emma Gruhl, Company Manager

Bryan Howard, Assistant General Manager and House Manager

Stephanie Kahler, Assistant General Manager and House Manager

Dylan Oxley: Public Relations and Company Management Intern

Jerica Binder: Administrative Assistant