Behind every production is a powerful crew led by a stage manager. A stage manager’s job isn’t just any job. They are everywhere all the time, keeping the ship afloat. For the past three years, RAHS has had an amazing stage manager. Winter Falkowski, a senior this year, has been stage managing since the spring of their sophomore year. Winter is also the president of RAHSprov, the school’s improv troop.

Stage managing is an important role in any theater. When asked how they got involved in stage managing, they said, “I had done crew and cast a bunch in the past and, while I enjoyed both, … neither of them really felt like my thing.  But I still really enjoyed theater, so I looked at other options I could do in the production area.  This was two years ago for the student production of Mary Poppins, and, as a sophomore, I decided to apply [to be a stage manager]. I didn’t think they would let me, but I became an assistant stage manager, and it grew from there.”

Stage managing can be stressful but also a lot of fun. One of Falkowski’s favorite parts of having this role is “Being able to be someone to rely on and being able to fulfill a role to get stuff on track because anytime something needs to be organized, I want to do it, and I’m here, to help.”

Rising to the point of being relied on so much is not an easy path. It helps shape people and develop their skills. To this point, Falkowski has stated, “It’s kind of wild because I remember when I started doing theater, I was kind of shy and didn’t really know what I was doing, so the fact that I got to a point where I’m in a lot of leadership positions is crazy to think about. That’s something I’m really proud of.”

One of the most important skills to come out of stage managing is organization. Not only has Falkowski mentioned it helping with stage managing, but also being an officer in RAHSprov.  The coach of RAHSprov, Andy Lindvall, also stated, “Winter is tremendously organized and proactive in making sure everything has been taken care of.”

Falkowski left with some great advice for anyone looking to get into stage managing or any leadership role, “I would say it can feel very intimidating because there’s a lot to do and it’s like a relatively solo thing but there’s a lot of people willing to help you and you’re not alone.”

Come catch Winter’s wonderful work at the Winter One-Acts or any RAHSprov show.