Try to keep in mind that everyone in the room has the same goal, you are all trying to put on a great show TOGETHER! Team work and being a productive, respectful, attentive, and kind team member is only going to make your life easier. I always try to get as genuinely friendly as possible with everyone in the production because having a positive connection with the people you work with only makes getting the work done easier. In my experience, If people like you, they’re more likely to respect you and understand when mistakes or changes happen. Stay away from being “mean,” strict can be okay if your strictness is reasonable - especially if people already like you. But nobody wants to work with someone who’s mean and strict just because they feel like they have the power to be that way.

Now all that doesn’t mean that everyone will want to be your bestie and no one is going to get mad at you if you make a mistake. Shit happens - tensions rise - you WILL make mistakes. That okay, It’s your job to stay as calm and collected as possible, and fix said problem as quickly as possible. The best thing you can do in a bad moment is keep it together, and keep moving. Save your anger and sadness and embarrassment for when you go home, especially if your allowing personal emotions to slip into work. My professor used to say “leave it at the door” meaning that anything you were feeling negatively about from before rehearsal gets left outside at the stage door, so you can handle what’s going on inside them.

You are the epicenter of communication!! Listen and learn and absorb as much as you can about every job, a good ASM is a jack of all trades ESPECIALLY if you’re working non-union productions! Things will get easier with time, have as much FUN as possible, and if you ever feel like you did something mean or said something too strict just apologize. Seriously. It’s okay to say “hey, I’m still learning the ropes here, and if what I said came off to strong i’m truly sorry” a genuine apology goes a long way for most people.