Anne Lincoln

8th May 2006
"Nell of Old Drury", Catherine St., London W.C.2

Tonight's guest was Anne Lincoln, Stage Manager of English National Ballet, who was welcomed by Michael Ludgate, Chairman, and interviewed by Judith Woodman. Ms Lincoln has been with ENB for nearly 23 years and has traveled the world with them (she has just returned from Madrid), visiting all kinds of theatres and staging varied programmes, often in challenging circumstances.

Anne began by reminding us that stage management is the theatre's invisible asset. She actually found her career by accident; having a great love of theatre but not wanting to act. After her A levels and doing various jobs, she knew she wanted to work in the theatre but was not sure where to start. She had the A levels and decided to go to Loughborough University to read Drama and as more than 60 percent of the course was practical, she discovered the world of stage management, sound, lighting and the technical side of production. She then had the unexpected opportunity to be technical director of the Loughborough Students' entries to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She enjoyed this challenge and had a very successful Fringe Festival which helped her to decide that stage management was what she wanted to do.

After completing her degree, she got a job as ASM in a small scale touring theatre company in Lincolnshire (and adopted the stage name "Lincoln" as there was already somebody in Equity with her own surname). She learned her trade by doing all the odd jobs an ASM must do; from making tea, buying the milk, sweeping the stage, and learning all she could from people who had experience in the theatre. She first got into dance through a summer job working for the East Midlands Dance Company. She enjoyed working with dancers and found that they were easy to work with, compared to actors, because of the discipline in their lives.

After some time with the theatre group, she felt she should move on with developing her career and needed more experience. As a member of the Stage Management Association, she entered her details on a free list which this organisation circulates monthly to every theatre/opera/dance organisation in the country. As a result, Festival Ballet got in touch with her and offered her a six months contract as Deputy Stage Manager, and 23 years on she is still there!

Anne then told us something about the work and status of the Stage Manager, which she sees as a bridge between departments in the ballet company. All departments involved in a production work in different ways and with their own priorities towards the same end product, while it is the SM's responsibility to achieve the unified end result. Putting on a new work may involve the Stage Manager in consultations with the designer about the practicability of the design from the studio on to the stage, or a costume design which may not be suitable for the demands of the choreographer, e.g. with regard of lifts. She spends time liaising with people involved in all aspects of production and said it is important to earn a person's trust. She is now involved in the new production of "Canterville Ghost" at Wimbledon later in May, after "Swan Lake" in Madrid, and is in the process of confirming arrangements for a tour to Versailles and the Far East, so she is extremely busy. She must work out the technical schedules for these shows abroad, which involve performances beside a lake at Versailles and with no dressing rooms available. She must travel with the company wherever they perform and cope with all the requirements of the different venues.

The piano score is of vital importance in plotting the performance in the studio and working out entrances, exits and when the curtain rises. She consults the designer about scenery moving and lighting cues which have to be blocked out on the piano reduction score, though by the time the ballet gets on to the stage it may all have to be changed! ENB have to rehearse everything in the studio and can only get into the theatre about three or four days before the first performance, which will be the first time the dancers and technicians experience what the show will look like. She gave us the details of what happens each day before a new production first night, and the importance of finding time on stage for the different departments and the dancers.

Anne told us some stories of near disasters averted just in time before first nights in unfamiliar
theatres, due to lack of time for a full run through. As Anne pointed out, her job has some very stressful times but also great times when all goes well. When the company toured to Barcelona they found that the Opera House would be closed for the Easter weekend and as it was not
economic to ferry the company back to the UK just for the weekend, they all stayed in Barcelona for Easter, so for the first time in 23 years she had Easter off and in Barcelona. Anna explained that ENB cannot tour abroad as much as they would like, because they are subsidised only to play in the UK, and if they do go abroad the promoter will have to pay the whole bill including technical and dancers' rehearsal time, plus travel and accommodation. They have done a long tour of "Swan Lake" in Australia, which was Derek Deane's arena production. This was very successful but extremely hard on the dancers.

As well as dealing with stage production, Anne must look after the dancers and take into consideration their very demanding work-load. She praised their dedication and lack of "diva" behaviour. She found that Nureyev had a sense of humour (after an embarrassing introduction) and made a good impression by providing a cup of tea just the way he wanted it.

Anne then explained some of the problems in fitting ENB productions into various theatres; some with narrow stages with no depth, some with perfect stages and insufficient flying grids, and dressing room problems. She outlined briefly how lighting rigs operate with the scenery hang and the compromises that have to be made to make the production succeed on such different stages. She mentioned that audiences nowadays seem to expect more spectacular productions as a result of seeing so many block -buster films, so that they refuse to use their imaginations and suspend disbelief.

Regarding modern technology, Anne still uses a score and pencil, but appreciates communication systems, cue lights and television which make her job a little easier. She explained the story behind the superstition that it is bad luck to whistle on stage, from the days when stage riggers were ex-sailors and orders were communicated by high pitched whistle. An inappropriate on­stage whistle could result in a piece of scenery or weight being lowered on top of some unsuspecting actor. Anne described how the Albert Hall productions in the round were organised and the difficulties involved, especially for the dancers who have to stay on stage for the whole of each act. Some ballets in the round work more successfully than others, especially "Swan Lake" which was the greatest success, and have introduced a huge new audience to ballet. ENB travel with their own stage floor and lino which can be adjusted in sections and raised and lowered to suit different stages. Members remarked on the silent shoes of ENB dancers, and Anne told us that dancers are told to hammer their shoes to make them soft and she would pass the compliment on to them.

Judith thanked Anne for such a fascinating insight into what must be a very demanding job as stage manager to a classical ballet company. She was presented with a gift to much applause for giving us all such an entertaining and informative talk.