Junior Lilly Autry knows what it feels like to be in the scene and behind the scenes. Since coming to Loomis Chaffee she has had parts in Something Rotten!, Our Towns, and the IDEA Theater Festival. She also has been the assistant stage manager for two shows, including Chicago. 

This fall she is the stage manager for Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, which will be presented in the Norris Ely Orchard (NEO) Theater November 5–8. Another Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is being performed this week, October 29–31, in the Black Box Theater, with senior David Shim as stage manager. Sophomore Zoe Rhodes is helping with stage managing for both shows. 

Lilly said she sees her role as “being able to fill in anything that is needed, making sure the cast has what it needs and the directors have what they need, and bridging that gap to make sure the show runs as smoothly as possible.” 

Lilly’s past experience as an actor informs her work on the other side of the production. 

“Having performed helped me build confidence, which is needed in stage managing because I need to assert myself at times with people my own age,” Lilly said.  

She plans to stay on the technical side of shows in her remaining time here. 

“I think I have found my groove in doing technical theater,” she said, “and I want to continue that to the best of my ability.” 

Lilly has other creative outlets. Last year she won a Silver Award in the Katharine Brush Flash Fiction contest and earned an Honorable Mention in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Connecticut Writing Region. She also plays the baritone saxophone in the Wind Ensemble and has been playing the alto sax since she was 8. 

“I enjoy the level of freedom these creative outlets give me because I have space to express myself and grow as a person,” Lilly said. “They are also a huge comfort for me because things like theater, music (saxophone), and reading/writing were a large presence in my childhood, so I enjoy when I can connect to those things. Also, some of my closest friends and fondest memories were made from places like band and theater, and that community is something I’ve always really valued.” 

On Friday, October 24, Lilly was in the NEO on Family Weekend as parents dropped in to see the actors do their warmups — a spirited and lively set of exercises — before the cast went its separate ways for rehearsal. “The cast gets stronger through rehearsals, which is good because it takes strength to do Shakespeare,” Theater Director David McCamish told the families.   

It also takes paying attention to details, like this tip for actors that was on a sheet of [paper in the theater: “Notice punctuation. Colons and semicolons make a change, either a change in thought or an emotional change. Use your voice to make these changes more clear.”   

Use your voice. Sounds like good instructions for a stage manager, too.    

Showtimes

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Black Box Theater: Wednesday, October 29, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, October 30, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, October 31, 7 p.m. Reserve your TICKETS.

Much Ado About Nothing, main stage: Wednesday, November 5 through Friday, November 7, 7:30 p.m. each night; Saturday, November 8 matinee, 2 p.m. Tickets available soon.