Courtesy of Jerry Holt

Jenny Friend MFA ’98 spoke to the News about her journey from the Yale Drama School to stage production manager at the Tony award-winning Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis. 

Friend obtained her Master of Fine Arts in stage management at Yale and began her career in the theater industry working as a stage manager for multiple theaters across the United States. In 2005, she settled at the Tony award-winning Children’s Theater Company, the largest theater in North America, to serve a multigenerational audience. She has since been working there as the production stage manager. 

“It is impossible to miss her impact, but it is possible for people to miss where that impact is coming from,” said Reed Sigmund, a member of the CTC’s resident acting company.

As production stage manager, much of Friend’s work is done behind the scenes. At a basic level, the role of a stage manager is to provide organizational and practical support to actors, technicians, designers and the stage crew throughout the production process.

However, Friend’s role extends beyond just technical practicalities. According to her colleagues, she bears the responsibility of caring for the emotional well-being of the performance team. 

“To me, it is just as important to have a cup of sharpened pencils as it is to talk someone through a rough moment,” said Friend. “Because they have to be actors … they’re the ones putting themselves out there emotionally, and anything I can do to make them feel safer at that moment is my job.”

Friend said she values her role as a stage manager as more than a job. To her, it is a calling, and she said that she“can’t imagine” herself in another career.

While this position seems like the perfect role for Friend, she told the News that her journey into stage management was not straightforward. 

“When you’re in high school, you don’t know that this career exists,” said Friend. “But once I figured it out, I said, ‘oh yeah’. Yale gave me the tools to really define what I did.”

Friend said that Yale School of Drama professors and faculty helped her hone her skills and connect with an industry she is passionate about. 

Friend’s passion for her work extends into all aspects of her job, she said. Colleagues told the News that they see her not only as a coworker, but a friend, teacher and confidant.

“She is a caregiver, she is a mentor and I’ve gotten to benefit from that mentorship for two decades!” Autumn Ness, a resident actor of the CTC, said. 

The Children’s Theater Company’s performances go beyond just productions for child actors. In addition to more junior-level shows, the company is one of the few professional regional theaters that also has a resident acting company. The resident actors are part of the Actors Equity Association and perform in CTC productions year-round. 

Producing shows with child actors brings unique challenges, according to Friend. She said that while most theater productions will cast young-looking adults to play young characters, the CTC casts children for their shows starting at age 10.

“We talk about focus and what we think certain people can handle and how to support them if they’re having difficulties,” said Friend about working with such a broad age range in her productions. “Maybe certain things are hard for you. [So] we’re going to figure out how to accommodate and make sure that you feel good in our room.” 

Her care for the mental well-being of the actors and crew goes against typical theater catchphrases such as “the show must go on” or “leave it all at the door,” she said. Friend said that she makes a point to embrace her actors as “full people.” 

Friend began her career at the CTC soon after the Company won a Tony award. The Tony brought a new sense of renown to the theater and its productions, and Friend said she had the great responsibility to continue the theater’s momentum. 

“You’ll be doing a show and sometimes things go wrong,” said Becca Hart, an actor at the CTC. “Jenny Friend has this ability to make it feel like it’s going to be okay. You have her as the captain of the ship and nothing seems quite as scary.”

Friend referenced the poem “To be of use” as the core to who she is. The poem highlights the importance of doing work that is good in essence as well as work that is good in quality. 

Friend has worked as the production stage manager of the Children’s Theater Company for 18 years.