What is a stage manager?
How do I get the best seats?
What is it like backstage? Part One
What is it like backstage? Part Two
Why is LCT getting involved in festivals?
Can you give me some audition tips?
Why aren't audience members allowed back stage after the play?
Why is the women's restroom upstairs?

What is a stage manager?
The stage manager is one of the most important people involved in the creation and performance of a show. During rehearsals, he acts as a rehearsal assistant to the director. The stage manager notates blocking, keeps track of schedules, prompts actors, and sometimes even fills in for missing actors. Each night, the stage manager fills out a report so all members of the production team are kept up to date on set, costume, lighting, and prop notes.

During tech week, the stage manager helps merge the technical aspects of the show with the performers. The stage manager notates all cues in the script and begins to call the cues to the crew so the lights, sound, and curtain cues are all executed in the right place.

During performance, the stage manager is command central. She makes sure all the actors have arrived on time. He is in contact with the house manager so the play starts on schedule. She sits at a desk off stage to the audience's right and follows the script and watches the play on a television monitor. He is on headset calling the cues throughout the night.

Traditionally, the stage manager is the first one at the theatre each night and the last one to leave. Our stage managers volunteer a lot of hours for each production. We couldn't do it without them!

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How do I get the best seats?

• Become a season ticket holder—or a patron. Season ticket holders can reserve their seats a week before the general public. Patrons (season ticket holders who have also made a donation of $25 or more) can reserve their tickets two weeks before the general public. Please note that this is only for the season you have season tickets for. If your season tickets are only for the five Mainstage shows, you can't reserve early for the Youth Theatre shows.
• Use the mail order form at the back of your newsletter. Mail orders are opened first—before the box office opens in the morning.
• Order early. The box office opening dates are on the back of your season ticket coupons and are in the newsletter. Mark the dates on your calendar so you remember to order your tickets as soon as you can. We do about 80% of our business for the week on Monday—most of it within the first hour!
• Don't choose the most popular nights. Come on a Thursday or Sunday or on the third weekend.
• Expand your horizons. What are the best seats? At LCT, even the seats in the back row are within sixty feet of the stage. There are only five rows difference between half-way back and three-quarters back. There are only ten seats across a row in the center section, so even at the ends of the row, you aren't way out to the side. Have you tried the side sections? You may find a new favorite seat.

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What is it like backstage? Part One
Our scene shop doubles as the stage left wing (space off stage to your right as you face the stage). The scene shop has storage areas for lighting instruments, lumber, and paint. We also have a props cabinet where the props are stored for the current performance. Props are any items actors hold in their hands.

Other props are stored in our props loft. This is a treasure trove of items ranging from stuffed turkeys to dining room furniture. Dillon McArdle, LCT Scenic Designer/Tech Director, also has an office up in this area.

The scene shop is where the Stage Manager sits to call the show's cues. The S.M. sits at a desk with a television monitor overhead. The monitor is connected to a video camera in the back of the theatre so the S.M. can see the entire stage. The S.M. has intercom communication with the technicians in the control booth at the back of the theatre and the follow spot positions.

At one time, the theatre was the Cavalier Restaurant. The scene shop, which we built in 1968, used to be the employee parking lot. In fact, you can still see a little bit of "No Parking. Cavalier Employees Only" on the wall between the scene shop and the stage! A garage door size opening and a smaller door size opening offer access to the stage.

The stage right wing (to your left as you face the stage) is a wall. Yes, a wall! In fact, there is no stage right in our theatre. Many theatres have wing space on both sides of the stage to allow greater varieties of entrances and exits and easy scenery shifts. The lack of a stage right wing is the reason our scene changes sometimes take longer than they should; all scenery pieces have further to travel and there can sometimes be traffic jams as we attempt to move scenery on and off from the same stage left location.

The LCT staff would love to show you behind the scenes at your theatre. Please call 784-9292 if you would like to arrange a visit.

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What is it like backstage? Part Two
Our backstage tour continues with the green room. This is the area where the cast and crew congregate before and during the show. It also serves as our makeup room. Our green room is filled with furniture from past shows. There is a table that is often filled with food (theatre favorites include Betsinger cookies, Brooks chocolate chips, and Sue-Food).

A long counter runs along the east wall of the green room. This is where the actors put on their makeup. The counter has drawers for personal items and there are many lights around the mirrors. Actors generally put on their own makeup, but are always willing to assist each other with a problem. Many actors adorn their makeup area with good luck charms and flowers from well-wishers. Several of them stake out favorite makeup mirrors weeks ahead of first dress rehearsal.

The green room also features a tiny costume area where ironing and repairs can be done.

There are small dressing rooms for the men and women. Each dressing room as six lockers, two sinks, and a toilet stall.

The green room can get pretty crowded during big musicals and Youth Theatre shows. Improvements made during our 1999 renovation include a drinking fountain and air conditioning.

Along the back wall of the stage runs our crossover space. This hallway serves as the chief way to get from stage left to stage right. We also store platforms, staircases, and doors there. The opening to our trap door (which is located in the center of the stage) is in this hallway.

As you travel to the north, you come to our quick-change room. This is a closet-sized space used for fast costume changes.

Space is at a premium behind-the-scenes at the theatre. We try to make use of every nook and cranny.

Call us at 784-9292 for a back stage tour.

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Why is LCT getting involved in festivals?
The cornerstone of our mission statement is "To entertain, enlighten, and educate all people in the La Crosse area through the selection, presentation, production, and sponsorship of theatrical literature and activities." As audience members, you know how successful we have been at achieving our goal. For 38 years, we have shared with you plays that made you laugh and made you think.

LCT also entertains, enlightens, and educates our actors and crews through participation in creating the exciting plays you come to see. Our volunteers have fun working on a show, but they often find deeper rewards like a sense of accomplishment, self-awareness, and a social home. They become educated about theatre craft and also learn some life lessons along the way. Festival participation raises the intensity of the theatrical experience for the volunteers.

Part of the exhilaration of working on a show comes from successfully meeting the challenges of putting it all together. These challenges are magnified in a festival setting—sets and costumes have to be loaded, transported, and unloaded; actors and crew have only a short time to adapt to the demands of a new performing space; actors have to deal with scenery, props, and lighting specials set in different locations; crew has to learn and adjust to new technical equipment.

The pressure of touring also fosters a strong bond among the cast and crew. The group really has to work together to make a touring show a success. The group also travels and lodges together. The social aspect of any theatre event is strong, but the unique festival challenges can enhance the feeling of theatre "family."

This is not to imply festival participation is only stress and hard work. While at festivals, our volunteers have met other community theatre people from across the state, country, and world. They have shared theatre experiences and their love of theatre. They have seen new plays, new twists on old plays, and interesting choices in lighting, costumes, scenery, and staging. They have attended workshops on acting and technical theatre to increase their knowledge of their craft.

In our next festival experience, our Fantasticks cast and crew will have the opportunity to see plays from Japan, Korea, Canada, and The Netherlands and meet with the actors and crews. They will be immersed in Japanese culture via home stays and a visit to a school. Beyond the normal festival excitement, our group will have the honor of representing the United States at this event. It is a responsibility our cast and crew take seriously.

Festival participation helps to grow the abilities of our actors and crew by providing them with challenges and opportunities beyond what we can offer at home. Festival participation demonstrates our commitment to "entertain, enlighten, and educate" all who come through our doors. The value of festival participation is seen at every one of our quality performances.

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Can you give me some audition tips?
Auditions are a source of tension for many actors. At LCT, we try to make the audition process as friendly and painless as possible. Here are some tips to help you do your best at auditions

• Prepare. We almost always have perusal scripts available for checkout at the box office. Take time to read the show and get an idea of the plot and characters. This will help you understand the scenes you will be asked to read at the auditions. If the show is a musical, we will have perusal tapes to check out. Listening to the score will help you select a song to sing for your audition. The more you know about the play, the more confidant you will feel at the auditions.
• If you are auditioning for a musical, pick a song that is similar in style to the show's music. The other work of the show's composer/lyricist may provide you with a good selection. Choose something you enjoy singing. Ask a friend who plays the piano to go over it with you because hearing it live is a lot different than singing along with the Broadway cast recording. Do not pick a song with lots of flats or sharps—remember the piano player will be sight reading it. It is best not to sing something from the show you are auditioning for.
• Warm up your voice on the way to the audition. Sing along with the radio.
• If you are feeling tense, leave the auditorium and do some stretches. Make your nervousness work for you, not against you.
• Dress appropriately for the show. For example, if you were auditioning for How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, you could dress in business casual. For Phantom of the Country Opera, jeans would be just fine. You don't want to dress as a character, but you want to help the director(s) visualize you in the world of the play.
• When you are doing a reading, try to keep your face out of the script as much as possible. Spot memorize your next line and deliver it to the other actor, not to the page. This helps you connect with the other actors and will energize your line readings. Make sure you have good breath support, articulation, and projection.
• Have a good time. This is your chance to get up on the stage and perform.

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Why aren't audience members allowed back stage after the play?
There is very little room back stage for meeting actors after the show. The scene shop, located to your right as you face the stage, is the main storage area for set pieces since there is no space on the other side of the stage. When the show is a musical, it is really packed. Sometimes we joke that we need to Vaseline the set pieces to get them past each other as they travel on and off stage.

Even when the show has one set, the shop space is an area of activity after a show. Crew members are setting up for the next night's show.

We must restrict access to the back stage area for security and insurance reasons as well. Many of our props and set pieces are borrowed, and we need to minimize use to the actual performance. While the actor knows that vase is fragile, an audience member might not.

The actors and crew members know the nooks and crannies of the back stage space. Audience members do not. For their own safety, it is important to keep the audience in the audience.

Unfortunately, the limited back stage space means that your chance to meet your actor/crew friends is limited. If you would like to speak to someone after the play, please stay in the auditorium and ask the Artistic Director or one of the crew members to contact that person.

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Why is the women's restroom upstairs?
Over the years, several architects have tried to add a ladies room downstairs. Each time they have run into the same problems that must have plagued the original architects. Due to the limited lobby space, the need for clear exits, and the arrangement of the load-bearing walls, it is impossible to locate another restroom on the main floor. Further complicating the issue for the original architects of the 1940s was the mistaken idea that women would rather have a large space to fix their hair rather than have more toilet facilities. They located the ladies room upstairs to provide the extra space. Now this lounge area serves mainly as a place for women to wait in line.

Why can't we add stalls upstairs? Once we start new construction, we would have to be ADA compliant. this means we would have to provide a restroom on the main floor that would be large enough to be wheelchair accessible. There is not room for this to happen, so no new construction can take place upstairs.

Our building was originally designed to be a movie theatre. The busiest use time for the bathrooms would have been the half hour before the movie would begin. It is also likely the audience was not a capacity crowd.

The busiest usage time now is the intermission. Most of our shows are sold out. This means we have too many people using too few facilities in too short a time! Our intermission length is usually listed in the program as ten or fifteen minutes. In actuality, the intermission length is dictated by the length of the line to the ladies room.

Thank you for your patience. The inadequate restroom facilities is a problem that can't be fixed.

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