Stage Manager Creates Collectible Joy with CurtainCards for Broadway Cares

Every night on Broadway, stage managers work behind the scenes, guiding the intricate rhythms that keep a show running smoothly. This spring, though, Maybe Happy Ending stage manager Plato Seto is stepping into her own spotlight in an unexpected way.

Seto is the creator of CurtainCards, a collectible series of trading cards celebrating Broadway actors and the characters they portray. The cards are available exclusively during Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ twice-annual Red Buckets fundraising campaigns. What began as a creative outlet for Seto has grown to include cards for & Juliet, Maybe Happy Ending and Oh, Mary!

The limited-edition cards are available only to theatregoers at those three shows during the Spring Fundraising Campaign through April 26, or while supplies last. Each pack includes six cards, with one randomly inserted card autographed by the actor featured on the card.

We spoke with Seto, founder of PS Projects, about the inspiration behind CurtainCards, balancing life behind the calling desk with creative exploration and how a small idea can provide meals, medication and health care to those in need while spreading joy across the theatre community.

Stage managers keep Broadway running eight shows a week. What’s a day like for you?
Plato Seto: I spend a lot of my day talking to people. Checking in, giving notes, making sure things are happening when they’re supposed to happen. A lot of people think stage management is purely organization, and that’s definitely a huge part of it, but I also think of stage managers as the glue of the building. Theatre is a community. We spend so many hours together, and the people are just as important as the logistics. I really believe that the more you take care of your people, the better the show will be.

Stage management is such a behind-the-scenes role. Have you always enjoyed creative projects outside of the rehearsal room?
For a long time, the creative things I did were still part of the job. Designing signage, making callboards look nice, putting together opening night gifts. I always enjoyed those little aesthetic touches. But a few years ago, I started asking myself what brought me joy outside of the hustle of the industry. I began designing things for other people—digital callboards, front-of-house boards, little visual projects here and there. It started very simply. I liked designing things, so I kept doing it. The two words that really guided me were freedom and expansion—expanding who I was creatively and figuring out what that meant for me.

How did the idea for CurtainCards first come to you?
Honestly, I don’t think there was a single lightning-bolt moment. We were in the stage managers’ office tossing around ideas for something fun we could make for Broadway Cares and someone jokingly said trading cards. The second they said it, something in my gut just clicked. Around the same time, I had started rewatching movies I loved when I was a kid and thinking about the things that made me happy growing up. I loved Pokémon cards. I loved collectibles. So it became this moment of putting those pieces together. I thought, “Why don’t we have this for Broadway?” Something small and fun that lets people take a piece of the show home with them.

What does the design process look like when you're creating a set of CurtainCards?
Something that’s really important to me is that the cards reflect the show as it already exists in the world. My camera roll is basically full of screenshots and inspiration. Marketing images, social media posts, color palettes, textures, anything that captures the feeling of the show. Sometimes I’ll just be walking somewhere and see a color that reminds me of a production and take a photo. The goal isn’t to invent something completely new. It’s about amplifying what’s already there and presenting it in a way that feels true to the show.

Do you have a favorite card you’ve designed so far?
Maybe Happy Ending will always have a special place in my heart because there are so many visual layers to that show. There’s so much texture and detail to play with in the design. With all respect to HwaBoon, the George Washington “Mother” card from Oh, Mary! might actually be one of my favorites. It just makes me laugh every time.

I saw that card and quite literally laughed out loud. It’s genius.
The idea for that one actually came from a friend! CurtainCards has really become a community effort in that way. One of our dressers, Jacob Kramer, told me, “You should have a Mother card,” and at first I had no idea what they meant. Then I started looking through Oh, Mary!’s Instagram and suddenly it clicked. I was like, “Oh. Yes. This absolutely needs to exist.”

The cards are being sold during Broadway Cares’ Red Buckets campaigns. Why was it important for you that the project support that effort?
Broadway Cares has always been such a huge part of our theatre community. When I was growing up in California, my family would try to plan our trips to New York around the times when the Red Bucket appeals were happening. I loved getting the signed posters and Playbills.

But also, I recognize that those things cost a lot. I loved the idea of creating something at a lower price point, something fun that people could get while donating that might be a little more accessible. The more I’ve worked on the project, the more I’ve realized it’s kind of a love letter to Young Plato. It's a love letter to the shows. It’s something I would have absolutely loved when I was a kid going to Broadway shows.

What has it been like seeing audiences and performers react to the cards?
It’s been really emotional. For a long time I didn’t fully let myself sit with it. I have this habit of moving the goalpost instead of celebrating the win. But once people started sharing the cards or bringing them to the stage door to get signed, I realized they were really connecting with them. It’s something small, but it brings people a little bit of joy. And honestly, simple joys feel pretty precious these days.

The cards have expanded beyond Maybe Happy Ending to include Oh, Mary! and & Juliet. How did that happen?
I started thinking more about why I got into theatre in the first place. A conversation with someone very dear to me about how they found their purpose through storytelling reminded me that when I was younger, I used to write stories and draw all the time. Eventually I realized that CurtainCards could be another way for me to be part of storytelling. It’s a way for people to take a piece of that story home with them. So I reached out to Broadway Cares about expanding the project. There was definitely a moment where I thought, “Maybe this idea is too silly.” But then I also thought, “Why not ask?” Sometimes you just have to decide to do the thing.

At the end of the day, what do you hope people feel when they pick up a CurtainCard packet?
I hope they laugh. I hope they smile. I hope they know they made a difference with Broadway Cares. I hope it reminds them of the show they experienced. CurtainCards are really just a little postscript of design you can take home with you. A way to keep a piece of the story long after you’ve left the theatre.

CurtainCards are created by PS Projects and available exclusively during Broadway Cares’ Red Buckets fundraising appeals. Learn more about Red Buckets.

See more of Plato Seto and CurtainCards in the gallery below: