Stage Manager Ebonie Bogle Keeps it Together

Thirty minutes before the curtain rose on the all-school spring production of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda the Musical,” Ebonie Bogle ’25 slipped into her seat in the tech booth overlooking the sold-out house of the Horn Theatre, opened her thick script binder filled with notes and cues, adjusted her headset, and took a sip of water. For the next two hours and forty minutes, laser-focused on the stage and the book in front of her, she orchestrated the action that brought the production to life.

As the stage manager, Ebonie is the conduit between everyone on stage and behind the scenes, responsible for calling up to 300 cues for lighting, sound, and action per show. “I’m the person who’s been to every show but has never seen it,” she says with a laugh. “I have to keep my head in the book and follow along with the script. So I never really watch the show unless there’s an action on stage that I have to do a cue off."

I’m the person who’s been to every show but has never seen it.

Ebonie’s job begins with auditions and ends months later when the cast and crew take their final bow. In between, armed with her script, lots of pencils with good erasers, and Post-it Tabs, she and her assistants or deck chiefs attend the rehearsals and document everything. But it takes more than office supplies to be a good stage manager, it takes listening and organization. Ebonie explains, “I follow Ms. Pongratz [the director] as she gives the actors notes on where to move and what their action is during the scene. I write down everything: what props they’re moving, how they’re moving, and where they go on stage. I keep all those notes in my book and then send out rehearsal reports daily with updates for each department.”

Ebonie has been involved in the technical side of theater since fifth grade when she joined the backstage crew for the Middle School production of “The Phantom Tollbooth.” She was hooked and was soon providing technical support during assemblies. A freshman year elective in Technical Theater provided a greater foundation, and by the spring of 2022, she was the stage manager for McDonogh’s production of “High School Musical.” In preparation for her role, Ebonie benefitted from “boot camp” training with longtime Theatre Manager Susan Tanury who stressed the importance of organization and documentation as well as how to handle unforeseen situations that may arise during a production. In addition to the production script, the stage manager’s binder also includes what to do and say if there is a power outage or a medical emergency.

With close to 100 students from all three divisions participating on stage and behind the scenes for the production of “Matilda,” Ebonie’s training, organization, listening, and communication skills assured that the four performances were flawless. She says that the keys to putting on a great show are to always say everything with a “please” and “thank you,” make sure everyone feels heard and understood, and take notes. Lots of notes.

—Meredith Bower