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Volunteer Profile: Timothy Eaker
By Andy Smith “Freaking out takes too much energy,” says Tim Eaker. And apparently this preternaturally calm guy means it, since Broadway Bares, the enormous show he’s working on, is just days away. Eaker, 28, stage manager of last year’s Myth Behavior, has stepped up to Production Stage Manager of the 2008 Bares extravaganza Wonderland. He’s working long hours, juggling innumerable responsibilities, but seems to be taking it in his usual evenhanded stride, says BC/EFA Producer Michael Clarkston, who’s known Eaker since their undergraduate days in the Theater Department of Southern Illinois University, which, admittedly, wasn’t that long ago, since Tim graduated in 2003. “Tim is a fantastic stage manager. We met in college where he assisted me on two pieces, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Sleeping Beauty or Coma,” Michael says. “I was immediately blown away by his attention to detail, thoroughness and his calm nature.” “Long history working together,” adds Clarkston. “Last year he was my lead stage manager for Broadway Bares 17 which led him to taking over this year as production stage manager for this year’s Wonderland. He’s dealing with the scheduling and craziness of 250-plus dancers. You may not see him onstage, but you will see his Looking Back
“I’ve always loved building stuff and I worked construction, building houses to earn money during school,” he remembers. His passion for building things led to two years studying electrical engineering, but “I didn’t like physics” and then a switch to the drama department at Southern Illinois. “I have a theater performance degree that I have no intention of every pursuing,” Eaker says. “Even in school, I did more stage managing than acting.” Graduation led to jobs in the St. Louis area, including a stint working at The Muny, a city landmark, where he earned his equity card. With a whopping 11,000 seats, The Muny is the largest outdoor theater in the country. This trial-by-fire taught Tim the logistics of working with large casts of both professional performers and amateurs, including groups of young children. Moving to New York nearly three years ago, Eaker’s found a series of production assignments on shows including Les Miserables, Frost/Nixon and The Country Girl. “I’ve been very lucky. My only non-production job was selling T-shirts at Beauty and the Beast.” He also began volunteering for BC/EFA shortly after his arrival, serving as Clarkston’s assistant for Gypsy of the Year and Easter Bonnet before quickly moving up to larger responsibilities. The Big Plan New York is “the strangest city in the world for me to live in because I love working outside,” Eaker admits. His five-year plan is to sock away enough cash to buy a boat and dock it in Liberty City, just south of Jersey City. “People there actually live on their boats year round.” “I’m planning on a forty foot, two-cabin motor yacht, with two bedrooms and a kitchen,” Tim says. “Nothing huge. I like cozy.” His next major project will help with this plan, a few months from now, after Bares 2008 wraps, he’ll hit the road working his first national tour, joining Stacy Keach as the disgraced 37th President on a 29-week tour of Frost/Nixon. “It’s my first national tour and I’m very excited; we’re going everywhere from LA to The Kennedy Center to Des Moines.”
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