He’s Not "Just a PA"

For those of you trying to decode the opening paragraph, let me offer this guide. In the film world, the entry-level position is known as a PA, which is a production assistant. In theater, where I got my start, the entry level production position is ASM, or assistant stage manager.

ASM's have a myriad of responsibilities, among them being sweeping floors, repainting and timing scenes. Yes, during rehearsal in theater, one of the stage manager responsibilities is to time scenes. Much as AD responsibility is often handed down to the Second AD, stage manager responsibility is handed down to the ASM.

My first job as ASM was with a mentor, who was forgiving of my mistakes. In my second job I was even luckier, because the PSM (production stage manager) gave me no such leeway.

In my first day as ASM on this play, I showed up on time, but without a watch. As I said earlier, one of my responsibilities was to time scenes. The stage manager took one look at me without a watch, and asked where my watch was. When I said I had forgotten it, she sent me home. She said to come back when I was prepared to work.

It was one of the best lessons I ever learned; and one I remember to this day. One of the best Assistant Directors I've ever worked with is a hard-working guy named Van Hayden. Van has been an assistant director for some time, and one of the things Van has done on every shoot has had a profound effect on me. Before every shoot, he gives a PA training. It's long, and it's thorough. People kid him about spending so much time on a job that used to be referred to as a "go-fer's" job. Van and I think differently.

Basically, it's low man (or woman) on the totem pole. It is an entry-level position. PAs are responsible for everything from getting coffee, to driving vehicles (on non-union shoots, where Teamsters are either not employed, or only used for big trucks), to running errands, right up to and including helping with lock-up. Yes, they are the people who stop you from getting into your home when film is rolling, or stop your car from coming down the block, or ask you to wait just one second before you cross the street. It doesn't make them very popular, but ask any AD who has had a take lost because a PA failed to hold his lock-up, and they'll tell you just how important that job is.

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