Wednesday, November 28, 2007
USI graduate is stage manager for national tour of "Hairspray"
 By her own account, Stephanie Weinzapfel has an amazing job. The 2006 graduate in theatre arts is production stage manager for the national tour of "Hairspray: The Musical."When the touring company came to Evansville in December for one performance of the Tony Award-winning show at The Centre, Weinzapfel was backstage making sure that all went well with light cues, scenery placement, and other aspects of the show. Weinzapfel got her start in stage management as a student at Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, and continued to manage productions at USI Theatre. As a USI student, she worked during the summer at both New Harmony Theatre (NHT), USI’s professional Equity theatre, and at Lincoln Amphitheatre in Lincoln City, Indiana, where USI produced musicals in association with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. She became connected to her present employer, NETworks Tours, through a contact she made in 2005 as an assistant company manager for NHT. Weinzapfel got to know an assistant company manager at Lincoln Amphitheatre who began touring with the show "Rent." Upon graduation in 2006, Weinzapfel joined "Rent." Her contact moved to the "Hairspray" tour, and Weinzapfel succeeded her there when she moved on from that position. “Having the opportunity to take a show like 'Hairspray' across the country and around the world is a learning experience,” Weinzapfel said. “Since the show has powerful messages of acceptance, justice, and belief in oneself, we can play in countries that don’t share our history of segregation and still find a common ground.” In summer 2007, the company spent a month in Japan. Weinzapfel climbed Mt. Fuji and watched the sun rise. “I work on a level with some incredible theatre professionals — everyone from Broadway directors and choreographers to actors and technicians from across the country. I get to see cities and events that I never would have experienced without this job,” she said. Weinzapfel said life on the road includes sleeping on a bus with 12 other people. A large portion of her job involves coordinating departments and facilitating communication within the larger company, including the producing office and the creative team. She also runs the rehearsals to prepare understudies and replacements. “I work longer hours than I’ve ever worked, and I love it,” she said in a recent e-mail message. “The sheer problem-solving that goes into every day and every show keeps my interest. For example, for the Evansville performance I had two of the 'Motoromouth boys' out due to injury, so I had to figure out how to reorganize the show so that it was less obvious that there were holes.” Weinzapfel expressed excitement about the performance in Evansville. This was the first opportunity for her family and the USI theatre community to see her work at this level without traveling. The company schedule also included performances in Fort Wayne, Muncie, and Owensboro, Kentucky. Weinzapfel said her years at USI helped and continue to help her in significant ways. “The opportunity that NHT and Lincoln afforded me to work at a professional level to build industry contacts was invaluable. During three summers at those theatres, I learned much about the business of doing theatre while being able to hone my skills in a relatively sheltered environment,” she said. She continues to seek professional advice from USI Theatre faculty members and maintains contact with fellow theatre majors. “Several of my best friends are still USI students, and we call and compare notes on our shows,” she said. ”One of the best things about theatre is that it is a universal, unifying event. We can all find ways to relate.” Weinzapfel was the recipient of the Henry J. and Hazel D. Bennighof Presidential Scholarship at USI. Betty Vawter News and Information Services bvawter@usi.edu |
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