Cassidy Gallant is a dear friend of mine, but she’s the kind of girl who can make you crazy. She’s adorable without even trying, with horn-rimmed glasses and a red lip. She manages to have both a bright wit and a dumb sense of humour, meaning she can make everyone laugh. She’s super friendly and likable. But most enviously, she’s so good at what she does – the fact that she got a job in her field right after graduation, a near impossible feat for most millennials, is a testament to how good she is. I sat down with her to talk about her field, her experience at the University of Windsor, and how she nabbed a great job post-graduation. Take notes, collegiettes!
You went to the University of Windsor?
I did.
And you graduated with what degree?
Drama – Communications, Media, and Film.
You did lots of Stage Management for the theatre at UWindsor. Did you want to be a Stage Manager from the get-go?
No, I came to the University and I wanted to do film. And then my roommate in first year said, “You should get involved more!” And at first I was like, “Boooooooo,” but I eventually did it and decided that I really liked it. I did it in high school, and I think I missed it.
But at first you wanted to make films.
I think I went to university solely to work on movie sets and make sure that continuity errors didn’t happen. Like Napoleon Dynamite’s cheese thing would have never happened had I been on that set.
Writer’s note: I had to Google this. According to moviemistakes.com, “when Napoleon calls Kip from school, you see that he was grating cheese for nachos. When the view goes to Napoleon and back, you see that the position of the block of cheese and amount of cheese on the chips changes. This happens multiple times throughout the scene.” You can watch the scene here to see it for yourself.
So you’re super anal retentive. Which is a good quality for a Stage Manager, I guess.
Yeah! It’s a perfect quality. (laughs)
And are you super picky as a Stage Manager?
Well I like to say that I’m mean, but then I’ll work with actors and they’ll say, “You’re not mean! You’re just very particular.” I’m just really specific, and especially at the University. Now that I’ve done professional shows outside the University I’m a lot less mean because they’re professional actors and they know what they’re doing. But I definitely remember being at the University and being the one who was there an hour early and was really really strict. But I also think that was my trying to show my feathers and appear to be a really tough Stage Manager. And then I got into the real world and I didn’t need to — they respect me regardless.
Did you ever want to be on the stage?
NO! (laughs) Never never ever ever ever. My drama teacher in high school said, “If you wanna be in drama, you have to act.” And I was like, “There gotta be a way around that!” And there was.
You did Stage Management for the University Players here at UWindsor, right?
Yes.
How many shows did you do?
I was Stage Manager for only one, and I was Assistant Stage Manager for five. And then I worked backstage for a couple more.
What was your favourite show that you worked on?
The Nerd. That was my last show. It was hilarious. It was the first time I was a Stage Manager here for the University Players, so that was different. I loved the cast. I loved the show. It’s nice doing comedies sometimes because we do a lot of darker shows. I loved laughing every night. I laughed at the same jokes every night for a two week run, sometimes twice a day, and it would still be funny.
Was it cool to work with the professional directors that the school brings in for the University Players shows?
That’s the best part about what they do at the University, because when you go out and you try to get hired at professional theatres, they don’t want apprentices who have only done work with two directors. And I got the experience of working with lots of guest directors who are actual directors in the real world, like Liza Balkan.
And it must have worked because you got hired pretty much right out of school for a job in your field.
Yeah!
And I know you like to say that it was luck, but if you take luck out of it, what do you think it was that got you a job that quickly? I think a lot of readers would be interested to know how you did it, especially since it’s so hard out there for recent grads to get jobs.
I knew where to apply. That was a lot of it. I knew what theatres were hiring for the summer. And I know that they hire apprentices that will work for little pay to start out, but I just did it.
So it’s about knowing where to apply and knowing where it’s hot to apply.
And having good references. The people I have as my references — even now, having more references — I’ll still continue to use. We work well together and they were good relationships.
If you could Stage Manage one show in your career, what would it–
RENT.
That was fast! I didn’t even finish the question!
I know! (laughs) It’s been the same one since high school. It’s a tough show. You don’t want boring shows where you can knit while you work. You want a marathon.
You want shows where you have to wear a diaper, like a brain surgeon doing a twelve hour surgery.
Yeah, you want a show where you have to sh*t in a bucket.
I don’t think we can swear on HerCampus.com!
There’s a Stage Manager I worked with who had to — I won’t swear again, so let’s say “defecate” — in a bucket during a show. He had the stomach flu.
Oh my god.
Yeah… he was just really sick and couldn’t get a replacement in time, so he had to do the show.
Okay, moving right along then… Are you up for a quick game of “Would You Rather?”
Sure!
Would you rather have your skin change colours to match your emotional state (ie. red for anger, blue for sadness) or wildly and uncontrollably flail your arms around whenever you walk?
Can I have both?! I want both!
No, you only get one!
I think the flailing arms. I think I already do that.
Would you rather always feel like you have to sneeze or have everything that touches you tickle?
I already have the second one, so I guess that one!
Would you rather sing everything you speak or only speak in rhyme?
I’m Linda Belcher [from the TV show Bob’s Burgers] so I would love to sing every word I speak!
Alright, thank you Cassidy for the interview!
Alright. It’s gonna be a masterpiece, I can feel it.
I feel a Pulitzer coming.