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In this Evaluation I will be looking at the preparation I made for this Elective, as well as identifying my strengths, reflecting on my Allocation Action Plan, what I have improved upon, the challenges I faced, what I need to improve upon and how to improve upon it for the future,  as well as my experience with working with others. In preparation for this allocation, I made sure that I had a one page-a-day diary and notebook to note down important information along the way. I prepared myself as much as I could mentally and physically for this allocation, such as making a comfortable set up at home for the extensive amount of zoom calls I would be having. Making sure I will have enough energy throughout the day and to take my breaks away from the screen. I knew before coming into this allocation that the Stage Management roles involve intense paperwork and constant communication, so I knew I needed to focus on making sure I have breaks from my phone/laptop. 

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In this allocation, I identify my strengths lie in being organised in many areas. This is shown in making sure we get the rehearsal calls and rehearsal notes out as soon as possible. Completing the Prop Bible swiftly, making note of attendance of the cast every single day, in the morning and afternoon. Making note on what props and furniture we have/need on a spreadsheet along the way as well as making to-do lists, especially for more important days ahead. In more ways than not I was the voice in the room; I would call tea breaks and lunch most of the time and remind those to sanitise their hands and social distance. Furthermore, as First Assistant Director, I had to shout the slate and take for the sound team to hear for the last two days of the allocation. Because of this role, I feel it automatically made me more seen by everyone else, and more questions were posed to me rather than Devon. 

In addition, others have told me that I appear calm and collected on the surface, as well as in control of the situation for the most part. I have never known this if no one else told me, so I guess this is a strength of mine too. Especially as most of the time I didn't feel that confident or in control of what I was doing throughout most of this allocation. I believe the confidence mainly grew in the last few days at the most. 

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In my Allocation Action Plan, I feel like I have successfully improved upon dealing with the creative's needs as moving into in person means a lot more demands were made (such as printing etc). Handling the actors in around filming; checking them in at the beginning of the day and after tea breaks and lunches. General scheduling like making rehearsal and filming calls. I did manage to do a decent amount of prop and furniture sourcing, working closely with Anna Reid and letting the creatives know what is available. As well as becoming familiar with the process of visiting the Car Park store and emailing relevant questions to Robert Coupe. Usually conversing with Creatives intimidated me a lot in the past two years at Guildhall, but I can confidently say that that I don't feel that way anymore. When it comes to getting the work done, there is no need to be hesitant talking to the director or writer. They are just as part of the team and you are. 

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The main challenges I faced was some communication errors I keep making. I still stumble over my words and not even fully understand what I am trying to say. Most of this is made when the voice being in the room- I think it comes down to public speaking nervousness as well as not being sociable for three months due to lockdown. In addition to this, I could say things in a much better and friendlier way; I can sometimes come across a bit standoffish without meaning to. Live time keeping is where I struggled as Im focusing on so much on paperwork or on another activity, I completely lose track of the time and forget tea breaks. When I started prompting the script for when we started run throughs, hearing out for important information whilst reading the script was a huge challenge. I've never had to multitask in that way before and it took a while before I became comfortable with it. 

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I still feel I need to develop in my photoshopping skills. Even though I got a license at the start, I never touched it in this entire allocation. I could have photoshopped the train ticket or make the women’s march flyers but either I was far too busy and inexperienced, or Devon already was on it. I would have loved some photoshop lessons with Robert, but nothing managed to be scheduled in. Because of the nature of the show, we never got to buy big furniture items. So, I feel like we missed out on handling a large purchase and the process that comes with that. In general terms though, as I mentioned before, I need to brush up on how I communicate with others and get better at general multitasking. Hopefully, I will be Production Manager in my third year and with that a lot of these skills that I yet to develop, I can do that then.

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Overall working with Devon James-Bowen in these six weeks has been a positive experience. I felt we worked cohesively together as one unit and both prioritised different tasks each to then progress further. Devon was very good at the general organising and the protocols needed to move forward with certain tasks. In many situations, I felt like I would have been incredibly lost without her help and feel lucky to have had her. A part of me does feel guilty for being the only other SM with her in this production as I am sure my lack of knowledge was stressful for her. But that is neither mine or her fault, that is just how the situation happened to turn out due to the programme changes because of the Pandemic. There were times where I feel she could have used her voice more and took more control of the room when we were in person. I felt that she shied more and more behind her desk the more the weeks went on, and because of that I became more of the conduit for information for both the creatives and the cast- which was a bit intimidating. On the other hand, this is Devon’s first time in a bigger role such as this in her time at Guildhall; so, we both most likely felt the same in wanting to stay in a comfort zone of some description. 

 

In conclusion, I feel like a much more confident person overall which was one of the more important reasons as to why I chose this for my elective. Because of the odd situation of their only being two SMs in a devised piece in result of the pandemic- it opened up all new opportunities that wouldn't have been present to me if I was just an ASM in a show role. I got explore DSM, SM and Director type roles as well as ASM. I genuinely have learnt a lot about myself in these past six weeks. Being told by several others that I don't need to feel so self-conscious about my decisions, and how I come across; has really boosted my self-esteem. Because of this I feel a lot more confident going into future roles at Guildhall whatever they may be. 

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