Age: 21 • Born: Canton • Home: Kent • Education:Rising senior in the BFA program in theater design, technology and production at Kent State University
By Bob Abelman
Alexandra Baxter didn’t go through life marking random floors with glow tape, calling light cues when friends entered a room or yelling “15 minutes” before a family dinner. “But I’m certainly a Type-A personality,” she says, “always organizing and scheduling. I have a color-coded binder and planner for everything.”
And so, it was only a matter of time before she found her way to stage management.
It happened while studying to be a dancer and actor in her Jackson High School’s arts program, near Massillon, first as a freshman member of the run-crew for the spring production of “Harvey,” and later as student director/stage manager for “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
“But I missed being on stage,” recalls Baxter, “so when I enrolled at Kent State University it was in the general theater studies program.”
After her first year of courses and having had the opportunity to work backstage for a KSU production under the mentorship and advising of faculty member Tom Humes, she realized stage management was the best fit for her interests and talents. And she has not looked back since.
“Rarely do you see a young stage manager so passionate, investigative, thoughtful and forward-thinking at this point in their artistic career,” Humes says. “Alexandra has and always will inspire her collaborators to lead with kindness, find joy within all moments of the process and work to the best of their potential.”
Despite a difficult job market at a particularly challenging, pandemic-disrupted time, her family has been very supportive of her career path. “Which is wonderful since it’s clear just from looking at me that there is nothing else I would rather do,” she says.
“I love technical theater, which is very much an art form,” she says. “There’s something extremely fulfilling about seeing a show go from the very first production meeting all the way through to the final strike. And stage managers are at the center of everything. They need to be fluent in all the different languages that make theater happen since they are handed maintenance of the show once it’s on its feet.”
At Porthouse Theatre, KSU’s summer professional theater in Cuyahoga Falls, Baxter has served as assistant stage manager in this season’s productions of “West Side Story,” “Godspell” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” Last season, she worked the productions of “Altar Boyz,” “BKLYN” and “Quilters.” All this, under the supervision of artistic director and KSU musical theater coordinator Terri Kent, has led to her first professional solo venture as stage manager this fall for “La Siempreviva” at Cleveland’s LatinUS Theater Company. The director will be Fabio Polanco, who is also on KSU’s faculty.
Baxter is still almost a year away from graduation. But she has no doubts that after walking across the commencement stage, she’ll be walking into a stage manager’s booth somewhere.
“Alexandra’s work at Porthouse Theatre and in the School of Theatre & Dance has been vital in preparing her for the transition into the industry. In both venues, she has been immersed in professional practice. As a result, a highly disciplined and effective process is part of her DNA. I trust Alexandra implicitly. She is a real partner and support in the production process. She is not only going to be an asset to me and LatinUS, but to every theater she works with in her career.”
Fabio Polanco, associate professor of acting and directing, Kent State University
What’s next
• “La Siempreviva” by Miguel Torres at LatinUS Theater Company from Sept. 16 through Oct. 9, located at 2937 W. 25th St. in Cleveland. Call 216-369-7158 or visit latinustheater.com.
