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[0:08] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here from Curtain Call and welcome to another episode of Take Your Bow, a new bite-sized podcast series from the Curtain Call stable that shines a light on people making theater happen.

[0:19] John Schwab: In today's climate of increasing isolation, we want to bring you a dose of inspiration.

[0:23] John Schwab: In each episode, we're giving someone in the theater a chance to take a bow.

[0:27] John Schwab: From the seasoned professional to drama student, vocal coaches to the life coaches. You'll find them right here giving insights into what drives them to be in the business and who inspires them.

[0:36] John Schwab: This week we're bringing you the creatives behind the Curtain Call virtual play reading series, The Remote Read.

[0:42] John Schwab: This Saturday we're producing a reading of Sir Tom Stoppard's play, A Separate Peace, which stars David Morrissey, Jenna Coleman, Denise Gough, Ed Stoppard, and Maggie Service, and directed by award-winning stage and screen director Sam Yates.

[0:55] John Schwab: The reading will benefit the Felix Project and those professionals who have found themselves out of work during the COVID-19 epidemic.

[1:01] John Schwab: On today's episode is Stage Manager Georgia Bird.

[1:05] John Schwab: Georgia has just come off the Broadway production of The Inheritance, and her previous credits include way too many West End productions to mention.

[1:33] John Schwab: So George, let's just get straight on it, because we have a busy, busy day ahead of us.

[1:39] Georgia Bird: We do.

[1:41] John Schwab: So straight in. What is your name? What do you do, Georgia?

[1:46] Georgia Bird: Uh my name is Georgia Bird. Um, I am a theater stage manager. Um, and I have recently been working away for the past year in America doing some shows over there in San Francisco and in New York.

[2:05] Georgia Bird: I'm also a theatre maker. I'm starting to produce some of my own things. Um a collaborator, I would say.

[2:13] John Schwab: That is a great answer. I mean, collaborate we all collaborate, and you're just taking your collaboration to the next level, like you by doing instead of joining. That's great. I love it.

[2:22] John Schwab: Um I well, I know how you work. We've known each other for a couple of years. You know, you're in our book.

[2:30] Georgia Bird: Yes.

[2:31] John Schwab: We mentioned we were doing our book, and then that's continued. And we'll get to what we're doing now, but who how did you or when did you know, Georgia, that you wanted to work in this business?

[2:42] Georgia Bird: Um I think I've always known that I've wanted to work in this business. Um I, as most people I guess, start in this industry as a performer. Um, and then I kind of took this different avenue with some help from other people in the industry who I knew from a young age who suggested that my skills were best put to be a stage manager.

[3:07] Georgia Bird: I guess I let's say let's put it in the street. I don't know what that means. I don't know if I don't know what they were saying, Georgia. I find it difficult to um I need to be amused quite regularly, so therefore being a stage manager and being able to juggle and organize um and kind of be in charge was something that somebody said I'd be quite good at.

[3:30] Georgia Bird: Um and so I moved to London to do that in my career about 13 years ago.

[3:36] John Schwab: I mean, I don't think that says anything about your performing now. I just think it says somebody has somebody spotted something that you're very good at, which like Matt and I are completely appreciating. I mean, it's not about taking direction or being told what to do, but it's going, hold on, I know what needs to be done, and I just want to do it. And I think and get other people to do it. And I think that's what's really coming through at the moment and what we could see.

[3:59] Georgia Bird: Yeah, thank you. I think it's uh I mean as a stage manager, my thing is always to kind of try and be two steps ahead of everybody else, and that's even the directors um and the creatives, especially if you've worked with directors consistently over time, you kind of get to know how people work, and you go, I know what they're gonna need in tomorrow.

[4:19] John Schwab: Yeah.

[4:19] Georgia Bird: Um and being that one kind of step ahead of everybody else.

[4:22] John Schwab: That's perfect. Who inspired you back then? And and who the second part of that question, who inspires you today?

[4:32] Georgia Bird: Wow, gosh, that's a question to ask. Um I mean, I had a very close family friend who worked in the film industry and um from a very young age kind of introduced me to TV and film, and I admired everything that he did, and he was a cinematographer in film. Um, and so as a young age I kind of looked up to him in how he worked.

[4:58] Georgia Bird: Um and nowadays, um I mean there are a lot of people I kind of look up to. I think there are um there is one man actually, I have to mention his name when I'm doing the industry. Um his name's Howard Jepsen, who is a uh an incredible company manager. I think you've met him quite a few times.

[5:19] John Schwab: I do know Howard, yeah.

[5:20] Georgia Bird: He's great. He's he's now retired, but um he knows exactly what theatre is about um and knows exactly how to run it. And so I think you know he has always been the person since I've been in this industry that I've looked up to.

[5:36] John Schwab: And what do your family think of uh your job?

[5:40] Georgia Bird: They don't really understand it. I mean the amount of times I've said to them do not ring me past 7:30 and at 7:30 my phone rings um which I'm not I'm sure most people do. Um my mum loves it my mum is uh is been in the uh arts she's kind of a writer um and so as soon as I started working in theatre it for her it's the best thing in the world um and she massively supports everything I do um but it's it's a very different world to where they live and to where I was brought up.

[6:15] John Schwab: Sure. And you know you just you mentioned that you you know you've stage managed you started out as a performer you're now producing your own things and collaborating how important is it especially in your job that the multi-skill the multi-hyphen it is able to jump across different um you know skill sets and and and use those skills to whichever job they find themselves they might be doing at that time how important is that in today's world?

[6:16] Georgia Bird: Wow yeah exactly I mean for today's world it's really important I mean I um I've been very lucky that I have been interested in collaborating and producing for quite a number of years and so therefore have been taking baby steps for the last five or six.

[6:58] Georgia Bird: And right now it's very important because um you know I'm I have different avenues that are open to me, especially with theatres being closed um and stage management jobs not being available at all, especially on platforms like this.

[7:16] Georgia Bird: Yes. It's not only that, it also keeps my brain sane because stage management is like an all kind of consuming role when you're working on a job. And if there is no other outlet, creative outlet, I think it's quite um it puts you in a very vulnerable position as a stage manager because not only do you not have any kind of other areas to be interested in, you you normally you're just solely concentrated on the show.

[7:50] Georgia Bird: Um and that can drive you insane.

[7:53] John Schwab: Sure, sure.

[7:54] John Schwab: And this is a bit of a silly question because I know how you've been spending your days, but I ask everybody the same questions. Georgia, how are you spending your days?

[8:03] Georgia Bird: Well, actually, I really early on started a routine, and I think that is a massive key to be able to get through this. Um so I wake up about 6, 6:30, I meditate and do breathing exercises for 45 minutes and a bit of yoga in the morning. Um, then I do some work emails and then I exercise for an hour or two with my husband, he trains me every day.

[8:27] John Schwab: Nice, good job.

[8:28] Georgia Bird: Um, and then before this, I cooked for about six hours a day because I enjoy it and it kept me busy. Um, but now we're zooming all day long.

[8:41] John Schwab: Uh yeah, this is yeah, so we I mean, when you decide when you we had a phone call, I just remember it was a glorious day, and Georgia, I was so happy when I saw you get in touch about the job because it's like, oh my god, I can't believe if George is free, this will be amazing. Because I just I know I've I've seen you in action. So you know, this these Zoom calls, which were we're on one right now to record this, but you know, we've been we've been making a play um in in a completely new way. And I mean, you kind of are redefining what a stage manager does in this digital virtual world. How are you finding it?

[9:24] Georgia Bird: Um, it's so interesting. I mean, it's a massive challenge because um technically it's very different to what you're what you would normally do technically in a theater, and also you don't have that necessary support of a team. So you're individually trying to kind of work out how to make everything run on your own without that kind of team support that you would normally have in a stage management role. Um but there are so many people that are helping, and once you've kind of got to grips with it all, it it seems to be running quite smoothly. And because there is a lot more to think about. I mean, it's as a stage manager, almost a technical stage manager, even though that you know Tim Kashani from Apples and Oranges in LA as our technical director, kind of making sure that things are running smoothly, but there's so many little things and that and normally these conversations, George, would be taking place over two months, and it's literally taking place over 10 days.

[10:25] John Schwab: Yes.

[10:25] Georgia Bird: That's one of the things is normally you have you know, you have four weeks to rehearse a play, and you kind of slowly are able to kind of put in all of those checks and what you need to do when you're going into a technical rehearsal. Um, and you know, you collaborate with everybody on those, whereas, you know, all of that kind of stuff has been condensed down to a couple of days, um, which is challenging but also really exciting because it kind of pushes you to really kind of figure things out by yourself.

[10:55] John Schwab: Yeah, and and and outside the box and ask questions. I mean, I've never asked so many questions and never, I suppose I don't mind sounding or feeling stupid because there are things I just don't know. Um I've produced theater before, I've produced film, feature film before. I this is something new, and kind of go, uh I don't know. Does anybody out there know? And I think we are going so far out of the box with all of our comfort zones as well, getting out of there. Um, but it is refreshing, I think.

[11:24] Georgia Bird: It is, it really is. And I think also everybody is starting from the same position, and I think that's what made me feel so comfortable when I began is we were all starting this together. This was a new venture, and everybody's on the same kind of footing. Um, and like you say, no question felt like a stupid question. And um, what's lovely is that kind of safe space that you have in a theater um and a rehearsal room has been brought along into the same Zoom meetings, and and that's a really lovely thing. We're working on a beautiful piece by Tom Stoppard. I mean, it couldn't, if written 50 years ago, it couldn't be more apt, you know, about people connecting, and it's great, isn't it?

[12:00] John Schwab: It's brilliant, yeah.

[12:02] John Schwab: Um, if you could have have to, if you had to self-isolate with one cast album from uh, you know, which one would it be if you had to throw all the others away?

[12:12] Georgia Bird: What from a show?

[12:13] John Schwab: Yeah.

[12:14] Georgia Bird: Oh hard. I think it would be Book of Mormon.

[12:20] John Schwab: Oh, that's such a good one. You know, we've had Avenue Q, we've had Book of Mormon, we've had some really happy, funny musicals. Um, we've had a couple of Lay Mizes, which is an interesting choice in these times.

[12:31] Georgia Bird: It is. I think Book of Mormon because uh it was one of the a show that I worked on as a stage manager, and um it made me feel happy listening to it every night. And I think you know, right now that's what you need.

[12:46] John Schwab: Absolutely. Okay, we're gonna do some quick fire questions and we're gonna let you go, Georgia, because I know you're busy. Um ready? Ten questions. Really? This or that.

[12:54] Georgia Bird: Okay.

[12:55] John Schwab: Movies or theater.

[12:57] Georgia Bird: Oh, oh, theater.

[12:59] John Schwab: Okay, Twitter or Instagram?

[13:02] Georgia Bird: Instagram.

[13:02] John Schwab: Tom Stoppard or William Shakespeare.

[13:05] Georgia Bird: William Shakespeare.

[13:06] John Schwab: I ask everybody the same questions. Don't worry, there's no right or wrong. Broadway or West End.

[13:10] Georgia Bird: West End.

[13:13] John Schwab: Clotted cream or jam first.

[13:16] Georgia Bird: Jam.

[13:17] John Schwab: Netflix or Amazon Prime?

[13:20] Georgia Bird: Netflix.

[13:21] John Schwab: Cinderella or Snow White.

[13:24] Georgia Bird: Cinderella.

[13:26] John Schwab: I wish you could have seen your face, people when she said that was great.

[13:30] John Schwab: Wicked or Lay Miz.

[13:32] Georgia Bird: I'm gonna admit something here. I've never seen either of them, so let's go for lemmers.

[13:36] John Schwab: Okay, good. Dogs or cats.

[13:38] Georgia Bird: Dogs.

[13:39] John Schwab: Lastly, Steven Sondheim or Lynn Manuel Miranda.

[13:43] Georgia Bird: Stephen Sondheim.

[13:45] John Schwab: Okay, now, Georgia, um, where could people find you online if they need to get in touch with you? And I know that you you'll once we get through with this, people are gonna want to work with you. So how do they find you online? Do you have any socials? Do you do twit?

[13:58] Georgia Bird: Yeah, I'm I'm an Instagram, um, which is probably the only social platform that I really use. Um, which is G G Bird.

[14:06] John Schwab: G Dou E G Double E Bird.

[14:08] Georgia Bird: Perfect.

[14:10] John Schwab: Okay, well, listen, um, thank you so much, Georgia. I'm gonna be seeing lots more of you on these phone calls, but um, I think we are so lucky to have you on this production.

[14:20] Georgia Bird: We are so so lucky. And um, anyone who who wants to follow the best stage manager out there, follow Georgia, see what she's up to. Georgia, thanks so much.

[14:30] John Schwab: Thanks, John.

[14:37] John Schwab: Georgia Bird Stage Manager on the first production in Curtain Call's Remote Read series, a separate piece by Tom Stoppard. The live performance takes place this Saturday, May the 2nd at 7 p.m. GMT, which is Greenwich Meantime. Also, 2 p.m. in New York, 11 a.m. in LA. And it is a one-time only showing. If you're not there at 7 o'clock this Saturday, you are going to miss it. You can donate or purchase a ticket for a separate piece by visiting theremote read.com. The Remote Read is produced by Curtain Call and co-produced by Platform Presents here in the UK and by Apples and Oranges in the US. And our equipment sponsors for the series are sure, the microphone specialists. Join us tomorrow with another creative from the Remote Read series. We'll be taking their bow. Bye.