RoltSmith2

 

Rolt Smith ’89
Theatre Geek

Rolt Smith is where the Broadway buck stops.

The college drop-out worked in a bank on Block Island before he chanced into a URI theatre course at the perfect moment: The stage management program was just coming into being. “We were building something together,” Smith recalls. “I was finally paying attention to what made me happy. It changed my life.”

He’s never stopped paying attention since. First at Matunuck’s Theatre By The Sea, then on tour, and finally in New York, he’s built a career as a backstage boss, responsible for the mundane stuff—the props in place, the understudy ready—and for the overall artistic integrity of the show. He makes sure the show stays fresh, alive and special to each audience, eight times a week, for as long as it runs.

His credits include Chicago and The Producers, and his coworkers Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey and Christie Brinkley. He’s currently production stage manager for Fish in the Dark, written by and starring off-beat comedian Larry David, and like each show before, it’s his favorite.

He’s also an occasional guest lecturer at URI. “When I ask how many are theatre management majors, so many hands go up,” he marvels. “It always gives me a thrill, because it’s a great career. Like no other.”

—Pippa Jack