Jo Bachman, BFA in Theatre with a concentration in Stage Management, 2005
Jo worked as an audition reader for SiG Productions in DC as a teenager, and she credits the company’s president, K Williams, with getting her an influential gig. Jo worked as a production assistant for the Stephen Sondheim 70th Birthday Concert, hosted by the Library of Congress in 2000 with an array of Broadway stars and Sondheim himself in the audience. She was sent to get emcee Nathan Lane, who hadn’t responded to earlier calls for places. Jo recalls, “After the show he caught me backstage and told me he’d never forget my face when I opened that door. I was either star struck or something, but that crystallized stage management as my track.”.
Jo didn’t actually start majoring in theatre at VCU, but she took a class in costume construction for non-majors. That’s where she got to know Liz Hopper (former Head of Costume Design), who convinced her to switch to theatre. Jo worked backstage on numerous shows, but especially remembers the first show she called. It was for the production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile directed by Barry Bell (former acting professor). “The cast was hilarious, and Barry was very encouraging.”
One of the concepts she learned at VCU was that a good stage manager “needs to be able to step in and let the director know something they might not see.” One of her jobs as ASM on The Civil War, was to keep track of the Union and Confederate soldiers. After one big battle scene was blocked, she noted to director David Leong (former Chair of Theatre Department) that he’d killed all the Union soldiers! “You have to be willing to speak up.”
After graduating from VCU, she spent six years as Company Manager for the Richmond Ballet’s Studio Series and touring shows. “I learned to call dance, where the cues are based on music or movement. In theatre, the stage manager starts in preproduction, but in dance you don’t usually show up ’til tech.”
Jo left Richmond Ballet in 2011 and now serves as Artist Services and Contract Manager for the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts. “I provide everything a touring performer needs: lodging, transportation, catering, hospitality and other logistics.”
About this job, Jo muses, “I found my niche in terms of working in the performing arts. This is a good fit for my skill set and the way I want to live my life. Sometimes I miss being involved in the creation of a work, but I feel like the position I have puts me close enough to feel involved and meaningful.”
Header image: Jo and family at VCU graduation in 2005. From left: Her father (Ned), Jo, her sister (Hope), and mother (Ellen).
Compiled by Liz Hopper (professor emeritus) and Jerry Williams (BFA ’71) for the August 2023 Theatre Alumni newsletter