Stage Managing - Reduced Shakespeare Company

Joys Of Touring

What happens when you’re a five-person theatre company whose stage manager is too sick to fly and the shipping company won’t deliver your props and costumes? Reed Martin explains what happened last month when those hiccups affected our performances of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) in Oregon and Washington. It’s a tale of improvisation; scrambling and calling on reserves; promoting from within; early mornings and late nights; the beauty of muscle memory; all hands being on deck all across the country; getting the chance to admire beautiful scenery; not panicking; the show going on; and the whole thing turning into a Christmas (ultimate) miracle. (Length 19:47)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:47 — 22.7MB)

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By austin, 1 month ago January 20, 2026

Episode 632. Preparing And Doing

There’s a difference between rehearsing and performing and this week actors Dan Saski and Austin Tichenor, plus stage manager Elaine Randolph, talk about the specific challenges of touring a show with multiple combinations of actors to different venues around the country. Featuring unabashed fondness for The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), many comings and goings, the trick of doing a show you can only perform 4-5 weeks a year, unconventional processes, how much preparation can you actually do without the other actors, what’s language-driven and what’s movement-or-music-driven, incorporating new technicians in every city, speedy backstage changes captured on video, keeping theatre a living thing, how sometimes the lack of preparation brings magic, and ultimately the joy of seeing what different actors bring to the same roles. (Length 21:48)