Could you tell us about your background?
I came to the UK in 1999 to go to RADA, to train in technical theatre and stage management there. Before that I studied metallurgy in Norway, but I got interested in students’ theatre, in lighting and RADA seemed a good place to learn it. The course was very good and very exciting. Theatre running in England has such a long tradition, people know what their jobs are. I find it a very healthy working environment.
My plan did not involved staying here. I enjoyed the studies a lot. Also, having been a student before, I came there to do something specific. I had already done the fun bit, so I could focus on the studies. I didn't take part in the graduation as I got work with a dance company on tour of Italy, but I thought it was better to start working as soon as possible.
How did you end up in opera?
I sort of stumbled upon opera. One of the first companies I worked for was Tete-a-tete. They were doing their first tour. I met up with Bill Bankes-Jones. It was quite mad, a very good learning. When you are working on a small scale, you get all the reposibility and you’re in charge of everything, from driving the truck, doing the setup, to ironing the costumes. Off you go… I have worked with them ever since, on everything they’ve done since ten. Six Pack, Family Matters Brittens Canticles in Westminster Abbey with Streetwise Opera, Push! , The Knitting Opera, Odysseus on Ground, Blind Date…
For English Touring Opera, and it was the first year when James Conway took over, I did Die Fledermaus. Working as a stage manager on that was very demanding, very tight schedule, every day something was going on. Away for months, on the road. I’ve done lots of touring.
In between, I was doing a lot of theatre as well. Funnily enough, also with new writing. Both the opera and theatre I’ve been doing have been new work. It’s been very exciting.
When something new is being created, you don’t really know how it is going to end, nobody knows what props are going to be used, mad ideas can come up – that need to be acted upon very, very quickly… (laughing)
Tomorrow somebody has to be cycling in that scene, so get a bike quickly, try that, ah, well, it didn’t work… With things that are fresh and new, lots of scenes are going to be rewritten, right up to the moment you will start rehearsing… That’s very exciting. And you have no idea how people are going to react to any of it… Quite often, when you are sitting there, you don’t understand how on earth it is going to come together. And then when you see everyone’s vision materialise, it is fantastic. You just have to trust that if you facilitate what the director and the designer want, it will come together. And you can create something amazing. Which you absolutely can’t see at the beginning of the process. You just have tiny pieces of the puzzle. Then, at the technical rehearsal, you think, “This is very good. Nice!”
I am moving now into production management. For Tete-a-tete I’m Technical Director, so I production-manage all their shows now. Which is great, having come from being their stage manager for so many years. We are also doing the Tete-a-tete Opera Festival, which I’m Technical Director for at Riverside Studios. It is in its second year now, a brilliant event. Some people come with hard demands, but most are very happy to be doing it within the limitations we have there. The Festival is just getting better and better, bigger and bigger… Glyndebourne and Opera North are taking part, lots of other people. I think it’s great there is a place like that.
What does it take to be a good stage manager?
There are a lot of classic things: to pre-empt, to be organised - and the most important thing is to spread information and make sure that information is passed around. If somebody has an idea, you take it onboard. You need to make sure everyone is on the same page. Also, you need to get on with people, especially singers… (laughing) It’s all about respect for what people do. I’m not from the school of the stage managers who go around with a clip board, always complaining that singers lose things. I understand that, singers have a lot to think about. It’s the singers people come to see. The job of a stage manager is to make it as easy for singers as possible.
Do you think that opera productions would be much easier to run without singers?
Yes… Only I don’t think anyone would pay for a ticket to come to watch a nice list of props (laughing Before you ask: my wife is not a singer. Although we did meet on an operatic production many years ago.
How could singers make your job easier?
Singers are on the whole very good to work with. I think, to make my life easier singers should read the schedule (laughing). No, singers are lovely and it’s not their job to make my life easier!
What are the most difficult things you have to deal with in your profession?
I haven’t worked for any of the big opera companies. I am stage-managing Grange Park Opera third year in a row, we did The Gambler, Bluebeard’s Castle, this year it’sagain David Fielding directing and designing. It’s very satisfying to work with people that you really respect and help them make things look amazing. Ultimately, they can only get things to happen if the whole team pull together.
What are your present engagements?
At the moment, I am production-managing The Barber of Seville with Armonico Consort, which is going on tour. After that, I have Grange Park Opera in summer and then the Tete-a-tete Opera Festival. In the autumn, we’ll be doing Ionescu’s The Bold Soprano. I might go and see it in Paris first, they are doing it there next month. I also do production management at the Arcola Theatre in East London.
Do you normally apply for jobs?
People recommend you around -and you are only as good as your last job. This is how I moved into opera. I really like it. I understand what people’s needs are. The most exciting time for me is the technical rehearsal, which is the proof that everything is in order and everything that has come out of the rehearsals has been taken into account. You have to make sure that things run to schedule. Especially when you have big orchestras, if you are 5 min. over their call, they will just walk out. It's important to know what the conductor’s needs are, that you’re all clear by the time the orchestral rehearsal comes.
There is a different focus on every part of the process. We’re just there to ensure that it all happens correctly and that people get to do what they need to do in the little time we get. Because most often there is not enough time. In the UK, you will have four weeks to rehearse something, off you go, whereas in other parts of Europe rehearsals are a lot longer. So here you need to be really quick, and make sure you get through everything you need. The lighting people need their time, the orchestra need their time, the conductor needs his time with the singers need time to get used to the production. Then the opening night – wow, we got there! That’s very nice.
And the opposite, when it’s a very long run?
Then longest thing I’ve done was stage-managing at a Soho theatre, we were running every day for six weeks, and I was cueing it. There, the danger is complacency. You get used to it that
things are going very well, and then suddenly something goes wrong. That pulls you up again! I think in places like Grange Park where there is a lot of money invested and a lot of people are coming to see it, you might be doing 7-8 shows, you can’t afford a single one of them to ever go wrong on your part. You have all the time to repair, the place is very well facilitated, there is enough crew, you have a good team of stage managers. So it’s endless checking and re-checking, with lists and people going around in pairs with clip boards checking every aspect.
What happens when it does not go to plan?
There are things you cannot plan for, like a singer stuck in traffic or something falling apart, and you have to make a decision whether to start or not. There was this case – quite amazing I ever got another job after that – early on, my first job with Tete-a-tete. I’d been driving around, picking up costumes, I was responsible for everything there. I was just going to put on some sound effects of dogs barking. I was just about getting ready. Then, I suddenly noticed I couldn’t find the minidisc with the barking. There was orchestral music to go with the barking, so we quickly photocopied the effects and gave it to the orchestra, so they would bark at the appropriate moment. The members of the orchestra became a dog each. Woof. And it was fantastic. It worked really well!
As soon as you realise something has gone wrong, you have to make sure you tell everyone, so a solution can be found to deal with it. If something like that happens, it makes you focus a bit harder (laughing).
You also must be aware that little things can totally throw a singer, like the order in which props lie on the table. They have so much to do, they are singing, they are looking at the conductor, if there is a spoon they have to do something with, it has to be upside down like it was before at the rehearsal. Because of the spoon is positioned in a different way during the performance, the singer has a moment of doubt and they can miss their entry, especially with modern music they can get lost very easily. The detail is very important.
Then, when the show is up and running, you‘re just being vigilant.
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Your first opera was a contemporary work with Tete-a-tete.
I don’t consider myself a very good score reader, and yet there I was, trying to cue from a contemporary score… The challenge was very exciting. You had to be absolutely precise. It was very satisfying, in the end. Some scores can be incredibly tricky and you just have to learn the music during the rehearsals. Sometimes when you follow one instrument, you are fine, and then they cough, and you are totally lost… (laughing)
Are you tempted to move into theatre or is the opera bug stronger?
I love opera. I love the way music unveils another layer of emotions. But I also love doing theatre. My career has been a mix of both. As a stage manager you have to be able to do both, if you are a freelance. When you understand how the two work, and you are comfortable with both, you can take some things from one and put it into the other. Actually, you’re doing the same job, you just need to be sensitive to what people’s needs are.
In a way, technical rehearsals with singers are a lot easier than with actors. Actors often ask where the line comes from – singers know it comes from the music. Actors would often stop and want some direction; sometimes it can be more frustrating to work with actors than opera singers.
What are your goals?
My goal is to establish myself fully as a production manager in opera and theatre. I also love working with Grange Park as a stage manager; it’s nice to mix the two and build up experience. Stage management is always challenging but I need to push myself more and spice it up a bit for myself.
Production management gives me the opportunity to work on several projects at the same time; while as a stage manager you have to focus on one thing one hundred percent. When I was doing three shows, opening very close to each other, I would wake up very early and the brain will switch on, I would get lots of stress back into my life, which is good (laughing)
I’m actually turning down work at the moment, there’s so much to do, which is great. People often say I should be working in TV as it is financially a better option, but I’ve trained in theatre, I’ve worked in theatre, it’s a completely different thing. Actually, at the moment more and more TV people are coming to see what it is like in theatre, because the TV work is drying out due to diminished revenue from advertising. A lot of freelance researchers have moved to theatre and film. Theatre always seems to do well, especially in tough times, doesn’t it?
I think the opportunities are always out there, even when the times are not ideal. I think now is probably not the time to change what you do, just stick with what you know. Whereas maybe a couple of years ago you would have been asking yourself, “Do I want to be doing this for the rest of my life? Are there other things in life I would like to try?” I wouldn’t want to change what I’m doing anyway.
In theatre, there is always space for change. Someone who has been an electrician can become a lighting designer, or a director, there are so many opportunities. Find out what you want to do and try it.
You are just so contagiously optimistic. I haven’t met an optimist for a long time…
(laughing) … that’s because you’ve been hanging out with singers!
There is this funny thing about singers. And actors. They desperately try to get the part, and then as soon as they’ve got it, they start complaining about it. They are really happy when they get the job, but then it seems to be the right thing to start complaining about everything and everyone. Hang on: you are doing exactly what you wanted to do – you might as well enjoy it!
What makes a successful opera singer?
The presence. The ability to express emotion is very important, a beautiful voice is not enough. Movement is important. It’s nice when people move straight from the music. Ideally, the spectator should stop being aware of the singing and get absorbed into a character. Successful singers work hard and do the job well. A good singer makes it look effortless.
What do you think about funding opera?
Funding is difficult for everyone in the Arts now, not only in opera. There’ve been lots of cuts. It would be very interesting to watch private sponsorship next year. This year things got arranged.
The trend in opera seems to be concert productions - that makes the stage manager redundant. Are you worried?
You will probably still need one, wouldn’t you? I’m not sure. One of the technicians I work with calls opera the heavy metal of theatre: big sets, big budgets… That’s why it’s exciting for carpenters and other people involved on the set. You get the chance to play with the really big toys. In the ROH you have a very advanced stage, one of the best in Europe. I think it would be very sad to do just concerts. The chance for designers and lighting designers would be gone. I think there’s always going to be a need for things pushed to the max and opera is ideal for things like that to happen.
Concerts in churches will always be there but people will still want to go to the opera house and see a big Turandot, won’t they? A flight of fancy, something spectacular… It’s been like that for hundreds of years and I don’t think it will just vanish.
Are you afraid of the 2012 Olympics?
Of course not. People who are coming to the London Olympics know that London is famous for theatre. You will have Cultural Olympics, all sorts of Arts projects. I don’t think that people who will come here will just want to see the sports, they will want the whole London experience. Just the opening ceremony will keep a lot of theatre people busy, won’t it? And for everyone in entertainment it’s going to be a great chance to show off. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think opera will suffer because of the Olympics.
What would you change in the world of opera?
I think we need to find ways to open opera to more people. When I give away my complimentary tickets to people who normally would not go to opera, they love it! If opera could open itself up to new audiences… Some things can seem a bit elitist. You can go to the opera house and get cheap tickets. You might not be able to drink in the champagne bar, but there is a pub down the road…
When you are not working, what are your favourite things to do?
This year I haven’t had much time for anything. It’s been extremely busy. But I like catching up with friends, going for walks by the sea. I love reading novels and biographies.
Production managers are enviably organised. How about your private life, are you a very organised person?
I can be very good at forgetting things, like birthdays, or paying a parking ticket… But it’s better to let myself down than to let the client down. Although I’m not sure what my wife would say… (laughing)
VIEW Marius Ronning’s page HERE.
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