So That Everything Would Work
The duty of the stage manager is, humbly, to make everything work in the backstage area.This means precise control over the entity: presence, organising and scheduling, but the most important thing is the right attitude.
Panicking does no good in surprising situations which can never be avoided, says Aila Pulkkinen, who has worked at Ilosaarirock for six years and spent the last three as the stage manager of Rentolava (The Chill Out Stage).
Her apprentice, musician Mika Kemiläinen, praises both the tuition he has received and the laid-back atmosphere which is required already because of the name of the stage. In the backstage area there are sofas, hammocks, dartboard and a football, which has been greeted with enthusiasm. Already a week of hectic labour has been done by Sunday, including co-ordinating the building work. During the gig of the opening band the pace is already slowing down, work is getting easier and even some hanging out and listening to the artists might fit in the schedule.
Text:Hanna Kauppinen
Translation: Hanna Laaksonen
Pictures: Matti Immonen