Episode Details

Lisa Dawn Cave, top Broadway stage manager ("Frozen", "Fun Home", "The Color Purple"), is featured in this episode of "THEATER: All the Moving Parts", hosted by Patrick Pacheco, premiering on Friday, February 21st at 10:30PM on CUNY TV. From her backstage perch, on headset and in front of a monitor, Ms. Cave’s responsibility is tantamount to landing a starship, calling over hundreds of technical and automation cues to the stage crew in the course of any given show. In the case of Disney’s "Frozen", she began writing in her “call script” from day one of rehearsal, detailing every minute change, and marshaling not only a cast of forty but also dozens of creative personnel, including, lights, costumes, scenery, and video.

A self-described "Mama Bear,” she defines her job as the person to whom everyone in a production comes with questions. The key to her success? Patience, a calming presence and exceptional communications skills, often being called upon to “cool tempers, nerves and egos.”

Pacheco says, “Audiences are mostly aware of a stage manager when, as the Voice of God, some technical difficulty demands a ‘hold’ in the performance. But, prior to meeting Lisa Dawn, I was unaware of the sheer scope and breadth of her duties and just how much the success of any performance relies on her whip-smart judgment, knowledge of craft, and technical expertise."

"THEATER: All the Moving Parts" is a new CUNY-TV show, featuring in-depth interviews with top theater artists including playwright Theresa Rebeck, musical director Casey Nicholaw, intimacy director Claire Warden and choreographer Sergio Trujillo. Of Pacheco, Rebeck said, “I felt like I was being interviewed by someone who knows me better than I know myself.” Go to tv.cuny.edu/theaterallthemoving parts to see these and other episodes.

• Coming up on CUNY TV
• Recently aired on CUNY TV