"Trolls Under the Bridge"

[bart]

dirac has posted a Link today to an article about George Cripps, production stage manager for Ballet Florida. (He's also assistant to Marie Hale, the company's AD -- and I THINK it's his cultured Welsh voice making the pre-curtain announcements: reminding us to turn off our cell phones and thanking all those donors and corporate sponsors. But that's another story.) Cripps began as a performer -- a countertenor --but did not like performing on stage and switched to the behind-the-scenes technical side of performance art.

We're trolls under the bridge. We shouldn't be seen or heard. Unexpected things happen, but the idea is to never let the audience know.

The article got me to thinking about people behind the scenes in ballet companies, especially those whose work during the performance keep the ballet going. Their invisibility to the audience -- while making the magic happen -- is at the heart of what they do.

Anyone else have any stories about back-stage people? Or about someone whose especially important to a company that you know? our have you yourself been personally involved in this aspect of ballet?

P.S.: Here's the Link to the article,:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local...iness-headlines