Q& A with Stage Manager Tina Jach

Q: Victory Gardens produces many world premieres. What are the biggest challenges, as a stage manager, of working on new plays?
A: The biggest challenge is keeping the script up-to-date and making sure all involved have the changes. We do not have a dramaturgy department, so keeping up with changes falls into the stage manager's lap.

Q: How is working on a musical (such as The Snow Queen) different than working on a straight play? Which do you prefer?
A: Working on a musical is different because there are more components. You have music/musicians and different types of rehearsals that can happen simultaneously. On The Snow Queen we also had puppets, so during a rehearsal we had music, puppetry, and staging rehearsals happening in different rooms at the same time. I think a musical can be more fun, but I do not have a preference. The thrill is working on a new piece that nobody else has done before and developing that script with the actors, playwright & director.

Q: What has been your favorite part of working on The Snow Queen?
A: The people and the music. I think it is a great musical.

Aaaaaaaand we’re off!

Previews began tonight – it’s great to see how an audience responds to the work we’ve done thus far. We’ll continue to develop the piece and finesse scene work before we open on Monday the 11th, so we'd love to hear from you if you've attended a preview performance. Join us as storytellers to add your own narrative to the Snow Queeen blog! You can send us your thoughts by posting a comment here or emailing me (click the link on the right).

Here are a couple of photos from our final rehearsal last night – as you can see, we’ve come a long way over the last few weeks!

Gerda and the Enchantress puppet.

Kai and the Snow Queen puppet (check out the Nov. 12 post for comparison)

Gerda in her ‘Jenny Lind’ carriage.

Want to see more? Come check out the full production – you can order tickets by calling the box office at (773) 871-3000 or by visiting www.victorygardens.org. Preview tickets are as low as $26 (and there are discounts for students and seniors)!