Stage manager plays many roles

Beth Henke is invisible, and that’s how she likes it.

As stage manager of Pitt Rep’s “Old… Beth Henke is invisible, and that’s how she likes it.

As stage manager of Pitt Rep’s “Old Times,” by Harold Pinter, her contribution to the production is essential, but goes unnoticed by the typical audience member.

“I’m the person in the background who pushes the button and makes things go,” she said with a shy smile.

Though “the person who gives orders into a head set” may be more accurate, Henke’s involvement with a show entails much more than simply cueing the lights. In fact, it starts months in advance.

She obtained the script in late March after approaching director W. Stephen Coleman about working on the show. Henke’s normal preparation begins by reading through the play a few times and trying to get a handle on the scope of the show, “though it almost always changes when designers are in the room,” she admitted.

This time, however, she read the script only twice and decided to wait until rehearsals began before forming an opinion. In a way that is typical of a Pinter play, the moments of silence reveal as much as the dialogue, leaving it open to numerous interpretations.

“The script itself doesn’t have a lot to it,” she said. “I’m still finding out new things, even after weeks of rehearsal.”

When pressed for specifics, Henke was reluctant to give details, worried that she might influence potential theatergoers.

“You have to pay attention to the dialogue, but with the looks and the [actors’] postures, there is so much more to pay attention to,” Henke said. “There’s just so much in those pauses.”

At rehearsals, Henke calls herself “the mom” since she is constantly making sure that everything is in order and running smoothly. With her long, blond hair neatly woven into a braid, it is not difficult to imagine Henke running a tight ship. She’s in everyone’s business – but in a good way.

Henke’s job is to make sure that the design team, the director and the actors are all working with the same vision. She runs weekly production meetings to make sure that the everything is on schedule. Having worked on more than 10 shows, both for Pitt Rep and Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, this is her fifth stage management position. And with only three actors and one main set, it is by far one of her most relaxing.

“It’s a nice change,” she said, especially when compared with her work on Pitt Rep’s 2004 production of “Bat Boy – The Musical.” While co-stage managing such a large show, she was struck by the dedication of her fellow students, especially those who, like Henke, rarely get seen in the spotlight.

“It was incredible watching the understudies,” she said. “They had such dedication though they knew they would most likely never get on stage.”

With such dedication of her own, it is hard to imagine that Henke is not a theatre arts major. She is actually majoring in business management and already holds a degree from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. After graduating from Pitt, she plans on entering the Masters in Education program. Ultimately, she wants to teach culinary business arts and has definite plans to stay in Pittsburgh to do so.

And as if that isn’t enough, Henke will also have a wedding to plan. She met her fiance, Joe Barkovich, while working on a University lab production two years ago.

Despite her busy schedule, theater is still on the menu for next semester, when she will be the full stage manager for “Dancing at Lughnasa.” But why put so much time and effort into something you’re not studying or pursuing after college?

“I took a costume crafts course and was asked to be an assistant stage manager for a show,” she said with a small shrug, though the tone of her voice implies a much stronger sentiment toward her backstage involvement. “You get to work with a great group of people to produce a product. I love to help people realize a dream they have in a show.”

In many ways, her latest show offers an apt metaphor for Henke’s many years of behind-the-scenes work. In Pinter’s plays, what is unsaid is as important as what is said and with theater, what is unseen is just as important as what is seen.