Stage Manager
Steel Magnolias
By Robert Harling
Marisa Figueras - Production Assistant
Working with Realism
The world of Steel Magnolias is driven by the place that brings these six women together - a working, functional hair salon. The story is moved by their heart and struggles, but is restricted by the hair styling. We spent a lot of time working out these details in rehearsals, especially since we were using real water and curlers paired with two dozen wigs and actors learning how to style throughout the process. It was a mental challenge to make the scripted actions work with the dialogue and acting, and one that took everyone's eyes and attention. Though one of the biggest challenges of this piece, this work came together beautifully to make the world of Truvy's Salon come to life.
Seamless Transitions
The realism of this play also brought the challenge of transitioning from scene to scene while making it feel like we've dropped right in to a new moment, not carrying on from the last. The script gives very little time to do this, jumping from a wedding in the middle of spring to a cold Christmas day in the span of a blackout. However, we never want to leave our audience in a long blackout while scenery adjusts and actors change costumes. To make this break from the world as minute as possible, we worked hard during tech to choreograph a seamless change on and offstage. We worked quick changes multiple times to make sure each step was calculated and practiced. We planned out each onstage sweep of struck and added props to be as seamless and direct as possible. This allowed the story to keep moving effortlessly.
Production Photos
all photos by Karl Hugh
