The Junie B. Jones crew is all out at Governors State University this weekend, bringing burps and good cheer to University Park, IL. The Yellow Brick Road news team decided to chat for a few minutes with production stage manager, Navi Afshar.
YBR: Hi Navi!
NA: I don’t have time for this.
YBR: Great, so let’s get right down to it. C an you tell the folks at home what a stage manager is and does?
NA: A stage manager is like a curator at a museum. We take the work that is created by the artist(s) and maintain the intent and integrity of the production. The biggest difference is that we are doing a live show everyday in front of an audience. A stage manager is responsible for many things, including making sure everyone is there on time and that all the lighting and sound happens when it is supposed to.
YBR: Wow. That sounds really important!
NA: It is.
YBR: Well, as master and commander of the Junie B. Jones universe, how did you guys get all the way to GSU from Chicago? Didn’t you have to pack up all of Classroom One, the props, the costumes, not to mention, the actors?
NA: Lucille’s Richie Nanna decided that her grand-daughter was not going to get into a van and drive all the way to GSU. So, with some coordination from Mr. Scary and myself, Lucille’s Nanna rented a private Jet to take us down. Of course that meant we had to listen to Lucille talk about her indoor swimming pool the whole way…
Ok, but really we rented a U-Haul and a van and hauled everyone out early in the morning. There were lots of sleepy people.
YBR: Ah yes, the joys of life on the road. Another openin, another show eh? Eh?
NA: Right.
YBR: So what’s different about the show at GSU, besides its coordinates?
NA: There are many different types of stages for theatre. At the Apollo we have what is called a thrust stage, where the audience is on three sides. At GSU we have what is called a proscenium stage where the audience is on one side. A proscenium stage can feel like you are looking at a story book and a thrust stage can feel like you the book is coming right out at you. That being said, the show isn’t that much different aside from the audience being only on one side of the stage, as opposed to the three sides at the Apollo. Our director, Jackie Stone, directed the show in such a way that we were able to easily adapt the show for the GSU stage without any major changes.
YBR: Wow, it sounds like this Jackie Stone is as amazing at directing as you are at stage managing. What a team! So what’s your favorite part of the play?
NA: My favorite part of the show? Sheldon’s line about the 35 cents he is owed by Jeff Hooks! Sheldon is one of my favorite characters, and in my opinion, an unsung hero of the play.
YBR: Sometimes Stage Managers are the unsung heroes of the theatre. But not this time! Because as a special thank you for spending your valuable time, we’ve written you a song:
NananananananananaNAVINananananananananaNAVI
