Last week Playbill launched its new weekly feature, How Did I Get Here?, with Tony winner and current Kimberly Akimbo star Victoria Clark. The column spotlights not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage who create the magic that is live theatre, asking them a simple question: How did you get to where you are now?
This week How Did I Get Here? profiles Thomas Recktenwald, who recently became the production stage manager for MJ The Musical at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre. Recktenwald comes to the biomusical about the King of Pop after working as the SM for the hit Hugh Jackman-Sutton Foster revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man.
On Broadway, Recktenwald has also been the production stage manager for Pretty Woman: The Musical and On Your Feet!, stage manager for the Tony-winning Kinky Boots, and production assistant for Disney's Mary Poppins.
In the brief interview below, Recktenwald shares his advice for how to get a stage management gig, and why working on the stage management team for Kinky Boots has been his favorite work experience to date.
What made you decide to become a stage manager? Was there a particular production or performance that influenced your decision?
I actually kind of fell into being a stage manager. I started off as a crew member in high school and was asked if I’d like to stage manage a show. I told the director I wasn’t sure what all that entailed—other than what I had experienced as a crew member—and she said that’s what school is for, we will teach you. So I said yes and fell in love with it. The beautiful blend of management and creativity ignited something in me.
How did you get your first job in the theatre? How did this current job come about?
My very first professional job in the theatre came through one of my high school directors, Joe Schulte, who worked at The Muny [in St. Louis, Missouri] every summer. He got me in the door as a production assistant. My current role as the incoming PSM of MJ The Musical came via my longtime friend Julia Jones [the outgoing MJ stage manager], who recommended me.
Can you detail the nightly duties of a Broadway production stage manager?
The nightly duties of a PSM range from preparing pre-show paperwork for various departments and communicating with understudies who will be on for the show, to looking ahead at the rehearsal schedule and calendar to keep the production moving forward. Large musicals require the PSM to have both the micro and macro picture in their view. During the show, you can find me either calling the show (cueing scenic, lighting, and sound) or in the office working on emails and schedule forecasting. To close out the night, we create a show report which contains all details of the day at the theatre—notes on rehearsals, crew calls, performance remarks, and show run times.
What is the most memorable day job you ever had? Are you still working a day job?
I only had one “day job,” and it was working as a bartender/server at Therapy in Hell's Kitchen when I first moved to the city. I worked there for about two years and at times while I was doing a Broadway show. I have not had to do have a side job since then, thankfully.
Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
This is a lengthy list, as I have been fortunate enough to work with the best in the biz. Each of them crafted me into the stage manager I am today in some way. They are (and in no particular order): Cindy Kocher, Beverley Randolph, Clifford Schwartz, Michael J. Passaro, Lois L. Griffing, Frank Lombardi, Kenneth J. McGee, Julia P. Jones, Steve Beckler, Jason Trubitt, Mark Dobrow, Theresa Bailey, Rick Steiger, Mary MacLeod, and Shannon Hammons.
Tell me about a job/opportunity you really wanted but didn’t get. How did you get over that disappointment?
I really wanted to be the ASM on the revival of A Little Night Music (2009) and was unfortunately passed over. I remember being incredibly disappointed and frustrated. It took me a couple of days to get over, but I reinvested in my network and reached out to people I had never worked with before to meet for coffee. It is the best way to find that next gig—just get to know other stage managers and stay on their radar.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Listen first and talk second. We have so many forms of communication, but active listening takes real work and is the key to successful communication.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
Be patient, in all aspects. If you got the job, you don’t have to do everything in the room. If you didn’t get the job, it will happen when it’s supposed to. If you’ve been doing the job, everything should not trigger an immediate response; stop and re-read before you hit send.
What is your proudest achievement as a stage manager?
Being on the SM team for Kinky Boots from its Chicago run to Broadway will always be the best thing I’ve ever done. My career moved forward, I made life-long friends, all while doing a show that broadcast a message of love and acceptance when the world needed it most.
