From Sir Studley Duds to Ninja Black Crew Gear: Meet Perry Kaufman

Perry Kaufman is a senior at Yorktown High School and has been involved with Encore since he was 9 years old. He earned his Star Award in 2011 and has stage managed productions of The Hobbit and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. When asked to write his bio and provide a little more information about himself, this is what he told us:

Perry is “a Serbian native and moved to the United States at age ten. His motivation for leaving Serbia and settling in America was largely in part to a lost friend which he discovered in the Russian wilderness while hunting. Unbeknownst to Perry, his family found the child’s behavior peculiar and sent the poor boy to America so that he would not have a negative impact on their son. Perry has made it his life’s mission to find this boy and repay him for his families mistake. But in the meantime, Encore has kept his busy while he is on the chase.”

Perry clearly has an imagination and is one for laughs, but with all jokes aside, we got to know the real Perry, one that is a real team player and understands the meaning of responsibility and time management.

Encore: What productions and programs have you been involved with Encore?

Perry: I have been involved with Encore since I was 9. I started with the summer camp Stage Door and then did the show The Frog Prince that fall. I remember playing a frog and the assistant to the villain bunny. I recall playing a lot of leap frog on stage and attempting to do karate. Since then I think I have done cast six other times, and tech a lot more, I’ve lost count by now. But most recently I was on tech for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Triton in The Little Mermaid, and Sir Studley in Once Upon a Mattress.

E: What is your most memorable experience at Encore?

P: Honestly, each show has its own memorable moments and it’s hard to compare them to one another. Because there is a different cast and crew for every show, I have learned to appreciate each special moment. One moment that comes to mind now happened during The Hobbit. It was a live show and the first scene had just finished, so the stage was completely dark. I remember there being a loud, shattering noise, and then someone told me that Gandalf had accidently slammed his staff against the wall and glass was all over the stage. We then had to sweep the stage during the blackout to clean all the glass and continue the show. Thankfully, we cleaned up all the glass, or at least no one stepped on any, and the rest of the show went smoothly.

E: What do you enjoy most about working on the crew?

P: Crew is different from cast because there is only a week to prepare for the show. I love it because over the span of two weeks the crew forms a close friendship. Their role is to make the cast members look good. They are also unseen. They walk around wearing all black in the dark, which gives me all the more reason to do it.

E: How did your experience on crew and cast prepare you for your stage manager position?

P: The biggest thing that prepared me for stage managing was observing the other stage managers I worked under while on tech. Watching what they did gave me an idea of how I would stage manage. Also, just the experience of doing so many shows helped me be familiar with Encore productions. I already knew how shows came together and what needed to be done so that they were ready for performances. Because of this, I was familiar with the stage managers role and duty before I stepped into the position.

E: With your extracurricular activities, how do you balance time for theater?

P: Encore productions are on the top of my list for extracurricular activities, so I balance my schedule around them. For instance this past spring I had to balance school, stage managing and varsity tennis at Yorktown, which was a challenge. I was able to balance all three by talking to my coaches and teachers to make sure I could handle everything. So, I’d say the most important thing about making time for extracurriculars is communication. People are always understanding if you tell them your schedule ahead of time, and they are willing to work things out. My coaches and teachers appreciated that I told them the stress I was under, and were more than willing to not only work with me, but to also come see the show.

We thank Perry Kaufman for sharing his Encore journey! Time management definitely involves prioritizing and good communication, and we hope his experience can help you as you manage your time for the things you love as well!