In AOC We Trust
Stage Manager
Playwright: Annika Halonen
Director: Grace Herman
Loyola University Chicago | The Underground Theatre
About In AOC We Trust
In the new play, In AOC We Trust, the first entirely non-male student government bill in Nettleton High School’s history comes face to face with the corruption, complexity, and brokenness of the American education system. As their world becomes increasingly absurd, the six students have to decide how much responsibility they have as student leaders, both over their own education, and to their peers, faculty, and school district at large.
Props Organization
When organizing the prop closet, I arranged props by their preset locations. For example, I divided shelf space between props preset outside the classroom door and those preset stage right. Since each character carried a bag or backpack with specific items, I also designated a separate shelf to organize props that needed to be preset inside bags. This system streamlined my pre-show duties and made it easy to visually confirm that all props were returned and accounted for at the end of each performance.
Calling Script
During the process, I developed a clear and effective calling script that was easy to read and use. I organized cues with color-coded tabs: yellow for standby, green for go, and blue (on the opposite page edge) for blocking markers. I boxed cues and drew lines to the exact line or moment they were called, noting visual blocking when cues occurred during non-speaking moments. I also used parentheses to provide context for cues, such as labeling “music” next to light and sound cue 75 to indicate the start of a choreography sequence. To support page turns, I marked cues with drawings of eyes and arrows pointing to the next page.
