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| - The Super Summer Theatre proudly presents, the captivating and robust "Man of La Mancha," produced by Philip Shelburne, directed by Joe Hynes, and written by Dale Wasserman with music and lyrics by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion. For the vast majority who make the trek to the Spring Mountain Ranch, just west of The Strip, will be viewing the show from the grass lawn, which is where I sat opening night. A week has past since then and word of mouth has been good for the mostly volunteer cast and crew who work tirelessly to provide the arts and theatre to their community. The second week's Friday night showing turned out to be the perfect show to see. It was not only a sellout crowd, doubling, almost tripling the previous week's attendance, but this time, instead of sitting in the reserved section of the front lawn, I viewed the action from behind the scenes, in the booth, with the crew calling the show.
Occupying the small, two-story booth, located 50 yards from the stage, were two men on the spotlights, the Assistant Master Electrician, the production stage manager (PSM) running the show, and me, perched on a couch observing, like a fly on the wall, absorbing everything I heard and saw like a sponge. The electrician, Darren, as his crew shirt read, manned the spot light favoring house right, while Taley, a Production Intern operated house left. The two worked in sync with each other, and ensured they both hit their lighting cues. However, the standout performance of the evening was not the actors on stage, or the unheralded stage crew. No, the true art was in watching the young, exceptionally talented, up and coming production stage manager, Amber Dagdagan in her element, calling the show.
Amber has been with the production since the very beginning, logging in over 6 months of prep work. If the director is the quarterback, and the producer is the offensive coordinator, Amber is the head coach, calling all the shots, overseeing the production in its entirety, typically in the shadows, and almost always overflowing with paperwork and deadlines. With the heavy workload, coupled with the pressures involved when working in an industry where being the "God or the goat" is the status quo, meaning you get either some good praise or all of the blame. With that in mind, Amber assembled her crew. Trenton and Tiffany, a pair of young and eager assistant stage managers, worked countless hours paying their dues, becoming extensions of Amber herself. When the sun sets and the metal curtain rises, exposing the simple, yet intricate stage, machine generated fog rolls through the seated crowd while Amber and her right hand woman, Assistant Master Electrician/Light Board Operator, Madison perform any last minute duties, before our Man of La Mancha takes the stage. Throughout the show, she executed every cue Amber called, swiftly and efficiently, like the seasoned veteran she is.
The controlled chaos in action can easily make an individual who is unfamiliar with the inner workings of a creative production feel like they are watching chickens running with their heads cut off; but to those who have been around, they will see a smooth operating machine. Amber and her crew know that they need to be at the top of their game at all times, unfortunately, that sometimes means picking up when others slip up. Watching from the grass, you would assume everything ran smoothly, but if you were to venture back up the circular stairs leading to the booth, you would find Amber Dagdagan, firing off commands and cues with the authority and confidence of a professional twice her age. Thinking fast on her feet, never missing a beat, she casually calls out audibles, often laughing with glee in the process. It is clear from the first moment watching her work that she not only has a passion for the theatre, but the skill, talent, and drive to succeed. Some people make a living working in theatre, others, like Amber, come alive. Amber graduated from UNLV with a bachelor's degree in Theatre Studies and can be found, behind the scenes for the highly acclaimed show, "Tape Face", and as the production stage manager for various House Seats PRESENTS performances on the Las Vegas Strip.
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