Masked bandits and stage management
Backstage captain - Inga MacLaughlin is the stage manager for the Theatre Under the Stars production “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which is now playing, along with “Annie” at Malkin Bowl until Aug. 22.
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Updated: July 15, 2009 1:49 PM
It’s just a part of the risk of performing in Stanley Park.
One moment you’re the star of the show and the next you are being upstaged by a raccoon.
“The raccoons, they just want to be in show business,” says Inga McLaughlin, while sitting on the green grassy slope overlooking Malkin Bowl. “They don’t usually come up during a tap dance number, they are more likely to go up during a quiet solo.”
She shrugs her shoulders and smiles.
“It keeps you on your toes.”
Being on her toes is something the North Shore resident is accustom to. Three years ago McLaughlin was the stage manager for the Broadway production of FAME.
Based in Manhattan, she worked and breathed theatre in the U.S. for 25 years, including a four year-stint with Andrew Lloyd Webber.
But after having two daughters, McLaughlin decided it was time to bring the family back to B.C.’s coast — and nature, including raccoons.
“There is no place better in the world,” the former Hillside graduate says.
McLaughlin also returned to the place her acting and stage managing career got its kickstart — in Stanley Park.
When McLaughlin was a teenager she worked backstage at Theatre Under the Stars. Later she move to front stage and when McLaughlin was 18 years old she won the E.V. Young Award for most outstanding young performer.
“Theatre Under the Stars kind of gave me my boost,” she says. “It is really nice to come back here and do a little of what was done for me.”
As the stage manager for “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” McLaughlin orchestrates the lighting, sound and all timing on stage.
She sits in a small wooden booth at the back of the bowl, where she transmits directions through her headset to 10 people in different managerial positions.
“Every time something happens it is because I said so,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
Unlike when McLaughlin first entered Malkin Bowl, this time she is not alone. Now her two daughters accompany her — one assisting backstage and the other has a role in the play.
Theatre Under the Stars has become a family tradition.
“It is really a pretty magical place,” McLaughlin says before pointing out a eagle’s nest high in a cedar across from the theatre.
raldous@northshoreoutlook.com
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