Chad Comello

Curtis Stelter, the stage manager, acted in North Central College’s production of Love Song and directed The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged in January as part of the student-directors series at NCC.

What are your responsibilities as stage manager?

Well, it differs greatly on what stage of the rehearsal process we’re in. When we first started it was more my job to create blocking, so whenever the directors choose to have blocking of any kind I have to write that down just so that we know where they’re supposed to go. I also write down any notes that they have. I send out nightly rehearsal reports for what happened in the show. If the directors want a new piece of the set or if they really want a specific sound cue or light cue, I send that out. It goes to all the directors and all of the designers, so if anything has been added or changed, they know.

As we get closer to the show and get off-book, then it’s my job to feed them lines if they call out for it and give them line notes, which is just if they mess up a line then I correct it and I give it to them so they can get as close to the text as they possibly can. Once the show opens and we get into tech week, I have to write all my cues down…all the light cues, all the sound cues, all the scene changes, things like that. We have, I think, two or three rehearsals outside of what the cast does that is just technical rehearsals.

Have you had previous stage managing experience?

Last year I did Bruce [Reif] and Jake [Dewar]’s show, which was an improv show. But it was a student-directed series. My responsibilities were far less strict because in the case of them, I was stage manager for two people. I didn’t really even write cues until tech week…which, for the most part, Bruce had brought all of his technical things in and a lot of it was just ‘lights up, lights down.’… It gave me experience in learning what I needed to do. But the greatest experience I’ve had is having Kaylee [Oost, the co-director] having done two or three stage managing gigs a year since she’s been here at the college, so if I have a question I can go straight to her.

How did you get involved with this show?

Aileen [Rak, the other co-director], Kaylee, and Jared [Grebner, the producer], we’ve been friends since freshman year. We were in the same orientation group and we’ve been really, really close. All of us were actually a part of Jesus Christ Superstar [NCC’s 2008 senior musical]. We had all been talking about our senior musical, and we had all wanted it to be a different experience and stuff like that, so we were talking about it through all the years. And when it basically became time to have the meeting, we all just started talking about ideas and looking up shows. I think Aileen and Kaylee came in with the idea of The Wedding Singer, and we all listened to it and were like, ‘If we make it really campy and ridiculous, it will be a lot of fun.’

Your focus has been in acting. Is that something you want to pursue?

Yes. When we first started discussing positions and things like that, I expressed interest in directing the show or being like an acting coach. Because one of things I wanted to do here was kind of create my own directing experience… But the more we talked about it, we realized that we didn’t have a stage manager. I thought, I’ve never done anything like that before, expect for the other one, so I’d be very interested to find out, to see what it’s like and have that in my belt of things that I’ve been doing. But as I’m working to finish up here, I have an acting internship with Chicago Shakespeare in the spring. Actually, the show ends on the 6th [of March] and then we strike and then the internship starts on the 7th. So, no break – just going right into it.

I really want to keep acting. That’s my thing. But I want to get my M.F.A. and teach at the collegiate level. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher – I came in with a secondary education minor – but I realized it just wasn’t possible at all. So the more I had acting classes and the more I experienced what it’s like to teach, like, have someone who gets the concept of what you’re trying to teach but until…it’s that moment you get it. When you work with them and work with them and work with them and they finally get it – that’s what I want to do. I want to work with people, really gifted people, and make them that much better. But the big plan is to finish school and then act for 10 years or something like that. Hopefully it will be a long string of acting gigs. I just don’t want to settle into a teaching career before my time as an actor is done. I do, though, when I’m 40 or 50, want to be tied down to a college teaching every year.

Final question: What is your favorite song from the show?

“Single.” Without a doubt, right now, it has to be “Single.” I’m just a comedy nerd and music nerd. Musically, my favorite song in the show has to be the opening and finale [“It’s Your Wedding Day”]. The opening of the show is one of those few songs that when I hear it, I want to get up and dance. Like for most of the songs in Hairspray, I want to get up and dance, and that’s how I know it’s a good show. The opening, I want to get up and dance. 

Taylor Martin, the show’s music director, is a music major who has been involved with North Central’s theater program for three years with roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, She Loves Me, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. After serving as assistant conductor for last year’s production of Phantom of the Opera, Martin will lead this show’s pit orchestra.

As musical director, what are your responsibilities for this show?

Taylor Martin: My responsibilities are to prepare the cast for anything music related, make sure that everything’s clean, they understand what’s going on at all times, and hopefully try and make some music out of the music. But it’s easy when the cast is as talented as they are, so that’s good. And then, concretely for the show, I’m playing in the orchestra and rehearsing the pit orchestra as well, preparing them for the performances.

You’re playing in the pit?

I’m playing guitar, yeah. The third guitar part. Power chords.

What does the pit consist of for this show?

The pit consists of three keyboards, three guitars, bass, two reeds, and a drummer. Like a rock band, plus saxophone, clarinet and flute.

How did you get involved with this show?

I’ve been involved with a lot of the shows on stage for the last three years, so this a new direction that I’m kind of pursing. So I asked if I could be involved. It’s generally for musical theater majors, but I wanted to be involved with the show so I asked if I could music-direct and they let me.

How do you as the music director make your interpretation of the music come to life?

Well, I have to know the music really well before rehearsals start, so I have to know the score – make sure I know everything inside and out. And then beyond that, it’s working with the actors; not telling them what to do, but working with them and saying, ‘What’s comfortable for you?’ I have an idea, and I’ll take their ideas as well, because they’re bringing a lot of character-driven ideas because they’re all great musicians. From a largely musical aspect I’m bringing ideas that can hopefully help them shape their character and their musical choices into something that really makes sense in terms of the big picture of what’s going on.

Being a part of a musical in this setting – is that something you want to do in the future?

It’d be great. I really enjoy it. I’ve been involved doing theater for a long time – for seven, eight years maybe – so to completely give up on it would seem ridiculous. I really like this aspect of it; it’s a whole new approach, sort of creating a show and molding it into something that works. So I really love that aspect. If other opportunities arise, that would be awesome.

What’s your favorite song from the show?

My favorite song is…it’s either “If I Told You” – because the end is really epic – or “Right in Front of Your Eyes.” That song is pretty sweet.