Jobs 101: Production manager

For production manager Azy, her world really is a stage.

Youth.SG sat down with Azy, who was busy preparing for the upcoming staging of Those Who Can’t, Teach, to find out more about her job.

Tell us more about yourself! 

I actually started at The Necessary Stage as a production intern after completing junior college at 18. I fell in love with stage production, which led me to continue pursuing it even after I graduated from NTU.

Originally, I thought I wanted to write for a living, which is why I took a degree in English literature. But my minor in drama and performance got me even more interested in the theatre making process.

When I’m not running around on stage, I love reading and catching up with my favourite television shows, or starting new ones, like the new Netflix series A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Currently, I’m reading Chantek by Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit.

What’s a day in a life of a production manager like?

My days usually consist of catching up with everyone: various suppliers [of items for the set], the scriptwriter, and the technicians and the props [team] to find out if everything is going smoothly.

There are times when everyone can get very stressed, especially if we’re just a few weeks away from production. It’s also my job to be the mediator and calm everyone down.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on the job?

I can’t pinpoint the weirdest thing I’ve seen on stage, but there was once where an actor was supposed to do a quick change in under half a minute, and the dresser forgot his pants!

There have been other times where people go on stage with the wrong shoes, or wear someone else’s shoes.

What keeps you motivated? 

I think it’s seeing everything go from the small details to such a big production, seeing the fruits of your labour on opening night.

It’s very different from being on stage, because we know we’ve done our job well when no one says anything has gone wrong. This keeps me going.

What has your job taught you?

For one, it has taught me to be very meticulous. Everything has to be organised for [the productions] to go smoothly.

During my first month of my internship, I remember my mentor scolding me so badly that I felt like I was crying every night after I got back from work.

Would you ever go on stage if you had the chance?

No way! I’d rather be backstage.

I’ve been on stage before, I did a 30-second stint on the production of Gitanjali [I feel the earth move] where I said one line and that’s it.

I also did a few scenes during my drama and performance modules, but I think I’m more comfortable backstage.

How has the industry changed over the years, and what advice would you give to youths who are interested to work in this line?

I think youths these days come in with more experience, so they come in already knowing what they’re getting into. A lot of schools offer courses, such as arts business management, that weren’t available during my time.

If you want to be in this line, you shouldn’t be overly ambitious. Start from the basics, and work your way up.

You should try to spend as much time as you can to learn the ropes by working backstage. There are a lot of opportunities in the growing theatre scene in Singapore where youths can learn about backstage work.