Show Highlights

Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil

Las Vegas Resident Show

Michael Jackson ONE is “an electrifying fusion of acrobatics, dance and visuals immersing the audience into the world of Michael's music.”

I joined the team in October 2015 and my ability to adapt quickly was what helped me to be successful and thrive in this new environment. Now I relish the daily trainings, the complex lineups, the high-stress show call, and the overall responsibility that comes with being a stage manager for Cirque du Soleil.

In 2021, I led the process of re-opening MJ ONE post-pandemic break. This involved creating an ATM Matrix (Artist Training Module) to keep track of each artist’s progress in reintegrating into the show. The requirements spanned from makeup coachings and costume fittings to rigging rescues on each apparatus and contingency refreshers. In addition to running all onstage trainings from the first week’s technical validations to our final dress rehearsal, I also had to integrate an entirely new SM team at the same time. MJ ONE is full of complex and unique processes that each stage manager needs to know to be successful. Teaching these processes and seeing the team come together was incredibly fulfilling.

Over the past few years I have also had the opportunity to work on and call many incredible events with MJ ONE, including our performance at the NHL Vegas Golden Knights Hockey Game, several of our annual Michael Jackson Birthday events, the IAEE Expo in New Orleans, and many other publicity events. Additionally, every year we host a Halloween Event at our theater where all Cirque employees can bring their kids. Here they can trick-or-treat around the building, enjoy activities onstage like acrobatics, and then participate in a costume competition. This event has become very special to me and each year we try to make it more memorable than the last.

You can watch the official Michael Jackson ONE teaser video here!

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

National Tour

I was a stage manager on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular tour for seven seasons encompassing three different versions of this show.  I worked my way up from being the 2nd assistant to becoming the replacement PSM in 2014.

This large production featured a 12 ton video wall, a 4.5 ton automated double-decker bus (as well as several other automated elements), and foy.  The tour traveled in 18 trucks.  Depending on the year, the cast was as large as 47 people including the Rockettes, dancers, singers, children, and Santa, plus 2 camels, 1 donkey, and 5 sheep.

The show call was very cue-heavy and was called entirely off of a counts-of-eight script.  After learning to call the show my first season, I decided that future stage managers would greatly benefit from having a practice cue light box so I built one to closely resemble the real thing.

I really loved touring this show, especially getting to teach it to my local crew in each city and streamlining the stage management team's methods from season to season.  Even when we had four performances in one day, there was a lot of pride in working on such a precise and beautiful show and that was reflected both onstage and off.  

Heathers The Musical

Off-Broadway: New World Stages- Stage 1

Heathers The Musical was based on the 1989 cult classic film Heathers starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.  The musical was written by Larry O'Keefe & Kevin Murphy and directed by Andy Fickman.  With a cast of 19 and a band of 7, this show had a big presence for off-Broadway and a cult following to match.  

There was very little wing space backstage and a long list of props (including four 3 ft. tall pig piñatas!) so I had additional shelves and hooks installed wherever possible to maximize storage space.  

The show call, which I did several times each week, had an exhilarating 1300+ called light cues plus numerous cue lights for sound, flies, deck, etc.  

Throughout the four month run, I hosted many aspiring stage managers in a shadowing experience either following me backstage or watching my show call from the booth.  During BC/EFA Easter Bonnet season, I also helped organize the nightly post-show auctions and donation collection.   

Here is the music video I made for the closing night party of Heathers The Musical on August 4, 2014.  It was created with permission from all parties involved.  Heathers The Musical then put it on their official YouTube page the following day where it has received an overwhelming amount of views and support.

Props to our ridiculously talented Assistant Stage Manager Cassie Apthorpe for putting together this love note to the New World Stages production of Heathers: The Musical. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did... sniffle.

Silence! The Musical

Off-Broadway: P.S. 122 & The Elektra Theatre

A parody of the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs, Silence! The Musical ran off-Broadway in several locations around New York for two years.  I served as ASM for a year and a half in two of those locations.  

I joined this project when the show went back into rehearsals to prepare for a re-opening at a new theater (P.S. 122).  During this time I filled in as Production Stage Manager and oversaw the rehearsal of all new cast members and show changes during the PSM's temporary absence.

The "show call" here involved running the lights, sound, and video projection systems ourselves.  I implemented additional technology such as an external keypad attached to the QLab laptop to make the small SM booth more ergonomic for a long run.

In addition to typical ASM duties, I was also responsible for prop maintenance and replenishment.  Even during the great Twinkie shortage of 2012, I made sure this show was always fully stocked!  I also made the cake for the 100th performance / cast album release.


The Producers

Riverside Theatre- Vero Beach, FL

This production of The Producers had massive scenic elements.  Max Bialystock's office stored upstage and tracked downstage to play and numerous wagons tracked on and off.  The set was so large, in fact, that despite the extensive wing space, only one act of set pieces could fit backstage at a time.  Every minute of intermission was utilized in order to shift the set pieces to and from the adjacent scene shop.  

I created a comprehensive scene shift plot and detailed intermission changeover plan to optimize crew members and space.  Some of the wagons were so large that the crew moving them during the show could not see any cue lights and since verbal cues were not an option I often had to cue transitions with a traffic wand on my flashlight acting as a mobile cue light.  While running my ASM deck track, I also called all internal fly cues, which is a job typically done by a head carpenter.   

This show was incredibly satisfying to see come together because it took so much time and hard work to get it there.

Norwegian Cruise Line

(Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Legends in Concert, Second City Murder Mystery)

I have worked on the Norwegian Epic several times now.  During my first contract as stage manager, I called Blue Man Group and Legends in Concert in the Epic Theater, and Cirque Dreams & Dinner in the Spiegel Tent while also stage managing two smaller shows around the ship.  

When I came back for another contract as PSM, I worked exclusively in the Spiegel Tent on Cirque Dreams & Dinner, which featured twelve extremely talented circus performers including contortionists, aerialists, roller skaters, jugglers, strong men, acrobats, and even quick-change artists.  These acts, already impressive enough on land, were performed on a moving ship, often in rough seas, twice nightly.  I created extensive contingency plans and performances were altered whenever necessary to accommodate the changing ship movement and keep the cast and crew safe.

Spirit The 7th Fire

National Tour

My first touring experience was on a Native American production created by Peter Buffett.  The cast represented tribes from all over the country and showcased their rich culture through music and dance.

The production, which toured in a large tent, featured over 90 ft. of video screen displaying National Geographic IMAX footage and used an automated fly system.  Working in a tent came with it's own unique challenges such as dealing with sometimes uneven ground, high winds, and flooding.  However, getting to spend so much time outdoors while working on a show was an amazing perk.

A highlight of this tour was performing on the mall in Washington, DC for the celebration of the opening of the final Smithsonian Museum there- the National Museum of the American Indian.