Whenever You're Ready: Nora Polley on Life as a Stratford Festival Stage Manager

by Shawn Desouza-Coelho

Backstage with one of Canada’s greatest stage managers

Whenever You’re Ready is an intimate account of the career of Nora Polley, who — in her 52 years at the Stratford Festival — has learned from, worked with, and cared for some of the greatest directors, actors, stage managers, and productions in Canadian theatrical history. In so doing, Nora became one of the greatest stage managers this country has ever seen.

Here is an account of the Stratford Festival’s history like no other. From her childhood forays into a theater her father, Victor, worked tirelessly to help maintain, to her unexpected apprenticeship and the equally unexpected 40 years of stage management it ushered in, this is the Stratford Festival seen exclusively through Nora’s eyes. Here is an immersive account of a life spent in service of the theater, told from the ground floor: where actors struggle with lines and anxieties, where directors lose themselves in the work, where the next season is always uncertain, and where Nora — a stage manager, a custodian, a confidante, a pillar, a rock — finds her rhythm, her patience, her perseverance, her love, her consistency, and her invisibility. These are the qualities that make a stage manager great and, whenever you’re ready, this book will show you why.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theatre, Memoir

420 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2018

Reviews

[Jim Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this title, for while I am not much of a theatre-goer (and I have never been to Stratford), I thought it would be interesting to read about an occupation that is more or less "invisible" to the public. While Ms. Polley did not write the book, the actual author does an admirable job of collating all of her memoirs and recollections into a very readable form, it's as if Ms. Polley were writing it. This is a large book, and it always amazes me how people can recall events year-by-year over decades of time. I gave this book an extra star for Mr. Desousa-Coelho's writing. However, I found that after reading part-way through the book, I was losing interest at a disproportionate rate due to my less-than-acute interest in the subject. This book would be more enjoyable for someone in the performing arts, and with an interest in the history of the Stratford Festival in particular. Still, it's a good look behind the scenes of the people behind the curtain.

[Katheryn Haskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will start this off by saying - my 5 stars is based on the fact that I am a stage manager, so I understand all of this. Second to that - if you're not a stage manager, or involved with theatre back stage, this will likely be lost on you.

There is SO much to unpack in a 45 year career. This is brief, tidbits of a life, a career and the festival. So while it seems like a lot is missing - it is. But it hits so many points of what stage management is and how it's evolved.

I also grew up in the area. I know what the theatres look like, what Startford is like. The author did an amazing job of describing all of it.

I'm currently not working in my field (pandemic and I was pregnant before hand) and this makes me greatly miss it. Nora Polley is a true inspiration to people aspiring to be back stage in theatre. She is theatre goals.

[Rebecca Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever You’re Ready is a truly inspiring look into the world of stage managing. Shawn DeSouza-Coelho tells Nora Polley’s story in a first-person narrative, which provides the story with an authenticity and energy that made this book difficult to put down. Reading Nora’s stories truly showcases the highs and lows of the theatre world, and her experiences put a comedic spin on life in the theatre. DeSouza-Coelho included stories of Nora’s childhood, her time as an apprentice stage manager, her personal life, working as a stage manager, and her retirement. As a former stage manager in my local festival theatre, it was truly a privilege to read Nora’s take on life behind the scenes and as an individual. I recommend this book to anyone who is involved or interested in the theatre.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a poignant book for any Stage Manager or aspiring Stage Manager in the Canadian Theatre Industry.

I believe that anyone in theatre should read this book as it is a first person perspective of the silent yet active work of a Stage Manager and how they support the show's process.

As a Emerging Canadian Stage Manager and Theatre Creator, I felt very connected to Nora's story and her cast of characters who are featured in the book. I found it fun to read the names of people whom I have worked with or have met in my theatre journey. Or people I've seen perform onstage over the years.

If you are a fan of the Stratford Festival it is also an in depth history of the people who have come and gone during that their time there.

I laughed and cried. What more can a girl ask for when reading a book.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book is certainly a must read for any Stratford nerd like myself. It is, however, somewhat awkwardly constructed. It is written from the first-person perspective of a real person, but written by someone else (the fact that there is an afterward to discuss this fact is testament to the oddity of this choice). On the whole it still works just as well, and perhaps more honestly, than any ghost written autobiography, but it does leave the reader to wonder "Who is really saying this?" while they read. Also, there is not real story (by which I mean no goal or conflict) here except for a life lived and a career worked. The book is more a collection of reminiscences, recollections, anecdotes and memories than a cohesive narrative. Each year of Nora Polley's life is given a short chapter (sometimes more focused on the theatre, sometimes more on her personal life and family), but I was sometimes left wondering if that really was the most interesting thing that happened that year, or didn't more happen? Also muddying the reading experience is the low amount of details about some people and places. Many people, famous and otherwise, come through the rehearsal halls and stages of Stratford a a little more biographical detail as they were introduced would have been nice. For the most part, the reader is left to rely on their own knowledge of theatre and actors in 20th Century Canada. This book was clearly written with the mindset that only people who are already interested in Stratford would read it. For example, at one point the "Third Stage" venue is referred to, and later the "Tom Patterson" venue is referred to. One would never know from the book itself that this is the same place, only with a change in name over the years. Oh well, it probably doesn't really matter much, as almost all the people who read this book will be those who leave a bit of their soul in Stratford and buy tickets every year to go and visit it. Indeed, a lot of the best anecdotes in the book I had already heard while doing tours of the theatres and archives. For goodness sake, I've seen Nora Polley speak at the archive tour, and for the record I am the sort of person who would want to read her hand notated scripts of Shakespeare's plays. In fact, I would have liked more information about the plays year by year, but the little glimpses we do get have helped me with imagining what those fabled productions of the past were like. Finally, it is worth noting that this book is very honest and those looking for nothing but a celebration of the Festival may be disappointed. Around the time of her retirement she accuses the Festival of having become a "play factory", and her opinion of the current artistic director seems mixed. Still, true honesty is better than flattery (indeed the book is not always flattering to its protagonist), and it is clear Nora Polley has loved the Festival all her life.

[Alexandra LaCombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recognize all of this book's flaws as noted in some other reviews. But, (1) I've been going to Stratford since 1996, only missing the Plague Year (2020), (2) I just finished rewatching "Slings and Arrows", and (3) some of the passages in this book took my breath away because of the memories and feelings and beauty and heartbreak and magic that is Stratford. I honestly have no idea if this would be of interest to anyone to whom Stratford is not their happy place, but there is enough of us who will devour every book about it. Yes, there are a lot of deaths, because Richard Monette is gone, and William Hutt is gone, and Peter Donaldson is gone (and now Martha Henry is gone, too), but they live on in so many hearts, and reading about them here is like a warm hug. Gosh, I never want to miss another season for as many years as I have on this earth...

[Mindy Gough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to adore this book, and I did love the stories told by Nora. Unfortunately I found the writing to be less than I hoped for - maybe Mr. Desouza-Coelho knew the stories and the people so well that he assumed the reader would follow, but in many cases I was back-and-forthing, wondering, "Have we been introduced to this person yet?" or "How did this come about?"

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm not completely sure that someone who is not a regular Stratford Festival goer would like it as much as I did. It was not a collection of salacious stories about celebrities from television or screen, so someone living in North Bay or Prince George or Tignish would not be able to put faces to the names mentioned, nor would they be able to walk the town of Stratford along with the memoirist like I could, but any one of them with an interest in theatre, classical or modern, would find this book a rare treat. It's a fascinating look at a behind the scenes but utterly essential career dedicated to classical theatre, in a world where only the visible faces tend to get applause and recognition.
I have been in the audience of many of the productions that were discussed in this book, and each time I read about them, I had the eerie sensation of my brain somehow remembering where I was sitting and so the exact view of the events on stage. I loved reliving those plays, The Stratford Festival Theatre (any of the four actual physical spaces ) is my happy place; revisiting those moments, especially William Hutt's very last performance as Prospero in the Tempest brought back vivid, rich memories of experiences I was thankful that I had.
It was smart of Nora Polley to have the book written by a professional writer (Shawn Desouza-Coelho) because it flowed beautifully.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Whenever You’re Ready: Nora Polley on Life as a Stratford Festival Stage Manager, with its very long title, is magnificent! It is a biography cloaked as an autobiography. Nora Polley’s long career at Stratford is detailed, along with bits of history, of life, and of giant personalities she worked alongside. Polley comes across as a lovely woman, dedicated to her art/craft and passionate about stage managing. She also very much loves the Stratford Festival. What makes this book unique is its author’s choice to write it in first person. Author Shawn DeSouza-Coelho chose to write as Nora Polley, telling her story. But he also did much research and interviewing to supplement Polley’s stories she told him. His Nora Polley is an eloquent woman. I’m sure, in real life, she is indeed that. But DeSouza-Coelho infuses her with an eloquence that propels us to read her story. It is novel-like in its telling. My only complaint is actually a brilliant artistic decision the author made: three chapters are written as if they are the stage manager’s “book” for the show. This is a great choice artistically. But I found turning the book sideways to read these passages was a pain. But I guess we all must suffer for art.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a Christmas gift in 2020 from a friend who I had worked in Community Theatre with. It was such a lovely surprise during a difficult Christmas.

Having volunteered as a stage manager in Community theatre for many years this book held a lot of interest for me. I had often wondered what it would be like to work as a stage manager for the Stratford Festival. One of my favourite parts of working on plays is watching it go from words on a page to scenes on a stage. The magic in watching an actor develop a character over time and the excitement when you see a performance completely brilliant and unexpected. This book gives some insight into these experiences that Nora Polley observed during her time at Stratford.

The book in some chapters are even laid out like a stage manager's book which I got a chuckle from. It turns out that being a stage manager at Stratford is not a glamourous job. I was reassured at exactly how much 'cultural' politics and egos affects the real world theatre scene. Community theatre is definitely just a microcosm of the real world.

[Amanda Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nora Polley might have been a great stage manager and she definitely has some great anecdotes from her time at Stratford, but it's hard to get invested in the sections about her personal life. These sections are so mundane and it's hard to keep track of all the family members and friends who flit in and out of the story.

This would have been better served as a collection of Stratfors anecdotes because there isn' enough drama or narrative tension to warrant a full narrative treatment. It's nice that she had such a lovely life, but that's not why people read books.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more a portrait of Nora Polley’s emotional life than her theatrical experience. There are a lot of deaths, which can be depressing. Her memories are focused on directors more than actors, which is understandable given her profession.

[Amy Roebuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five star read for anyone who loves Stratford Festival! A great read for anyone who loves theatre in general.

[SM Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the Stratford Festival in August 2023. It's by the stage manager for the Festival for 45 years, reminiscing about all the shows and people she met over the years. It was great to read about famous names such as William Hutt and Robin Phillips, to read about how the Festival evolved over the years. It's also the most accurate book about working in the theatre I've ever read. While it did bring back memories, it also reminded me how exhausting it all is.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this from 49th Shelf...thank you...but, well...started to read this and...as it turned out, it really wasn't for me...so I passed it on to a friend who enjoys theatre. She said it was interesting, but just okay...so I gave it three stars.

[Sandra]

What a disappointment! I just finished reading this new book. As a lifelong supporter and lover of the Stratford Festival, and a former performing arts archivist myself, I found the book to be disjointed and written with an assumption that readers already knew who was being written about. Ironically, this book about the world's best classical theatre needs a cast list to help readers less familiar with the Festival than longtime theatregoers. I did enjoy some of the stories, but I was appalled by the descriptions of Ms. Polley's last encounters with acclaimed director Robin Phillips. These harsh stories robbed a dying man of his dignity and were a grave disservice to Mr. Phillips and his family.. Some memories should remain private! What was she thinking????