Ask My Friends - Company Management

So I remember being in college and not really understanding what a Company Manager and General Manager did. I would see their names and knew they were important by the placement but what did they do. Company Managers vary by what they are working on but I asked my friend Rachel Swan to tell me what a company manager in regional theatre did. I hired Rachel almost three years ago for Arena Stage and she jumped right in and was a great addition to the Arena Production Office. Since then she has grown to be a close friend.

"Hi. My name is Rachel, and I'm a Company Manager. Yups, I'm startingmy guest blog entry like I'm attending an AA meeting, but instead ofneeding a bottle of booze to get through my days, I'm addicted todetails, logistics & waiting for a pipe to burst. But they don't have meetings for that.

Alright, let me try to start at the beginning. In the grand theatricalscheme of things, the Company Manager assists the General Manager withcontracts (generally, doing the negotiations-in consultation with theGM, and definitely doing the paperwork), budgets, travel, housing, andpayroll. The Company Manager is also at the theater for eachperformance, checking in with the acting company and the sales office andbeing the person on the front lines for the producer(s).

In my current position as Company Manager for Arena Stage, I do some ofthose things and a great deal of others! I like to describe my job asmaking folks' contracts, then making sure each aspect is lived upto!

So, for an actor, director, or designer, it works something like this:My boss negotiates their contract with them (or their agent). I take myboss's notes and draft up a contract. That contract is sent via email orfax to the actor/their agent for approval. Once everyone agrees with allthe details, I create a contract packet, which includes partially executedcontracts (signed by my boss), and send it off. The actor countersignsthe contract and mails back copies (keeping one for themselves,hopefully...or I just mail one back!).

The first thing I address in their contract is travel andhousing. If they're local to D.C., I don't do anything because they'realready here and know how to get around (hopefully)! If they're from somewhere else,about a month before the first rehearsal, I'll contact them to make travelarrangements. The mode is specified in their contracts (train - regional orexpress, plane - coach or business, or driving - which means I have toarrange parking at their housing, the rehearsal hall, and the theater).

Next, I arrange for somewhere for them to live! Arena guests typicallystay at an apartment in a high-rise housing complex in which we rent anumber of units. They're spread throughout the complex, so folks can have theirprivacy. We rent out units on yearly leases, rent furniture, providehousewares (sheets to colanders and everything in between, per theAEA-LORT agreement), and arrange a cleaning service to go through betweeneach guest. So, I've got to coordinate who's in which apartment andwhat time, keys, laundry cards, get general info about the housing toguests (folks need to know their addresses to order take out!), etc.

While a person is in town for Arena, if they have any issue with their housing(broken toilet, gas smell, anything...you name it!), they come to me!I'm also in charge of paychecks (getting them to wherever folks are via mail or hand delivery) and billing (double checking that things are spelled correctly, listed in the correct order, orare in the program at all!!)."