Teaching Stage Management

[CEBB]

I have been a stage manager for many years, but am teaching my first undergrad course. I am having a hard time coming up with projects for the class as much of stage management is hands on and learn as you go. Does anyone have suggestions of scenarios they posed to their classes or a good final project for the class? I think it would be hard to make them create a hypothetical prompt book based on a production that doesn't really exist, right?

Thanks for your help!

[planetmike]

Hi,

If you've talked with the class about the "right" way to do things, you could give an assignment of "fix this prompt book." Either create a "bad" book from scratch, or find one of your old prompt books and make copies of it for everyone. Students could be graded on their thinking about the information presented in the book, and how they would do it differently. Mike

[missliz]

When I took a SM class (and my college only had one), our end-of-year project was a prompt book for a simple short play. It was fairly straightforward, with a few sound cues and light cues that were hinted at or specified in stage directions. We did a contact sheet, SQ and LQ sheets, prop list, and prop and costume tracking. I wish I could remember the name of the play for you!

[dallas10086]

A good project would be a pre-production project: have everyone read the same play and have them go through prep - french scene breakdown, props list, costume plot, light plot, sound plot, audition forms, etc. Lawrence Stern has a more detailed pre-production checklist in his book that they could use as reference.

Another project could be to help them with Equity rules: give them various, fairly common scenarios and have them respond using Equity rules as a source. You could pull from current event scenarios as well: your actor just fell 30 ft into the pit, what do you do? Or, your actress' manager/father is continually disruptive in rehearsals but he's allowed access per her contract, how do you handle it?

A resume project is always helpful. Give the entire class a list of career information and turn it into a professional resume. Throw in too much information so they learn what is good to keep and what's good to leave off a resume.

[PSMKay]

You're welcome to use the student challenges as idea seeds.  I don't recommend using them exactly, as a quick google will give some of our answers.  They're not terribly projecty, but they do provoke some discussion.

[Maribeth]

You could give the students a video of a short scene, a script, and a list of light and sound cues, and teach them to "call" the cues off of the video. They could also read a play, and come up with a list of questions that they would ask a director before starting rehearsals.

Can't take credit for this- I know others who have had their SM students tape out a rehearsal room, based on a groundplan you give them. Or, you can have one of the students "direct" a scene, and have others taking blocking notation.

I think anything that is more hands-on becomes more interesting. Have them shadow a local SM, and write down their expectations before and after the experience. If you like the idea of a "prompt book" as the final project, you could have all of the smaller projects throughout the semester relate to the same play, and then be compiled into a book at the end of the semester.

You can probably make a paper project into a more hands-on experience by involving outside "guest artists". Have someone play your director, or to be actors for your SM students to interact with.

[bex]

I like Maribeth's idea of all of the projects relating to the same play.  Creating a prompt book for a show that isn't actually in production is really tough (I had to do it for my SM class in college) and it would've been a lot less daunting if we'd done it in installments through the semester- a unit on pre-pro where you make contact sheets and audition forms, a unit on blocking notation, a unit on cues, etc.

Also, PLEASE teach your students how to tape a groundplan by ACTUALLY taping a groundplan!! Theoretical discussion is not really helpful there.

My class also did a lot of reading AEA contracts- we had an AEA guest artist in the department that semester, which was really helpful because we could actually apply what we read in the contracts to the production happening at the time- the rake on the stage didn't meet the guidelines, we had to fix one of the dressing rooms, etc, but reading those contracts in class and being able to discuss "I don't really understand what it means by 'XYZ' " has been SO helpful now in the real world.   

[MatthewShiner]

What does one teach in one quarter or one semester stage management class?  I am a little insulted that one can distill my career down to one class.

I think the best thing would be to tie it to one (simple) show and go from pre-production to the run.  Having the arc follow the natural rehearsal process, but it depends on what the focus and goal of the classes - and with out knowing that, I am hesitant to offer any specific suggestions.

I would skip over the AEA stuff, that seems to be more advance stuff anyway.

When I teach the under grad stage management class for non-stage managers I tend not to focus on stage management as if they are going to be stage managers, but the role of the stage manager as a calibrator in the process.  Yes, it is interesting do script analysis and coming up with a prop list and entrance exit plot and but that can be seen as pretty busy work.

I always tried to tie with the show I was doing at the time, and invite them to the tech of the show I was doing.

Also, try to make sure to include stage management for something other then theatre, as it often help some people understand the job when it is tied up with theatre specifically.

[lsears]

I'm in my first year of teaching as well.  As Matthew said, I was astounded to think the work of a stage manager could be taught in a single course.

My question to you is who are you teaching?  Are your students people who desire to be stage managers, or are they theater studies/acting/design students required to take a stage management course?  The first course I teach in SM is for all of the above, and in additional classes I target specifically to SMs (I first had to explain to administration why a single SM course was insufficient).  After looking at who the course was for I've adapted it so that the goal is for students to understand how SMs relate to the entire production process.  What do stage managers need from the various departments?  What do we provide to various departments?  We go through a simple play from pre-prod to closing, doing only paperwork that illustrates the types of things needed for multiple departments. 

Good luck, I'd love to know what you settle on doing.

[BeccaTheSM]

A play I worked on recently would be a good project piece. "Things We Want" by Jonathan Marc Sherman.

A box set inside an apartment, TV (that plays a couple of things), a window someone has to try to climb out, consumable props. It's a lights up/lights down show, with only a few sound cues (TV sounds, door buzzers, song on the stereo, toilet flushing) but with a few juicy hidden complications to discuss--like finding a working VCR.

Just my two cents on the idea.

[MatthewShiner]

Just be careful about using a play not in public domain - I am not sure about copywright issue about using a play for a class project.

[missliz]

Aha! The play we used was The Master Poisoner, which is a public domain one-act. More are listed here:
http://www.one-act-plays.com/royalty_free_plays.html

[On_Headset]

One assignment I did as an undergrad really stands out.

We were given some broad sketches of a set and some notes from the various production departments, as well as a list of items the director required be incorporated into the design. (A revolving bookcase, a 3-foot-by-3-foot level surface suitable for tapdancing, etc.) The assignment involved converting all of this abstract information into a buildable set design, and then preparing a rehearsal plot. The cumulative assignment was taping that plot out within a set time limit. (20 minutes, IIRC.) We were marked on five major elements:
- Compliance with Equity and Ministry of Labour safety requirements/guidelines/policies.
- Successfully taping out the rehearsal plot. (They checked with compasses and rulers to make sure that every length and angle was correct.)
- Incorporating the advice and materials provided by the various departments, especially incorporating the Director's requirements. (This was actually a trick question: fulfilling one of the Director's requirements would have involved an Equity violation.)
- Demonstrating an understanding of the process, as opposed to the component parts. (The point of the exercise is that you get to see and understand how being careful and thorough [or cutting corners] early in the process can help you or trip you up down the road.)
- A written report incorporating your own notes on the set. (Potential dangers and risks, reasons why you made the decisions you did, what priorities you identified as being most important in devising a final solution...)

There was a portion of the mark for aesthetics, but it was by and large a process-and-safety mark. (Of course, this was in a non-conservatory program where we were required to take set design courses concurrently, and might not work as well in other learning environments.)

[SMLois]

I've just been contacted by my alma matter and asked to come and guest lecture.  They are a BFA acting program and BA theatre program with only ONE first year tech theatre course (there are no upper level tech options unless you do directed studies, which I did).  I am being given 1 hour with the 25 students in the class, of which there is maybe one who is interested in stage management.  Any suggestions on what topics I should attempt to cover?  It feels like such a huge thing to condense my entire career down to an hour....

[centaura]

Again, in the line of some of the question above - whether the class is for future stage managers, or just folks who need to have a stage management course - putting together a schedule.  Say - having a (fake) list of actors and how much time the costume shop needs with each,  how much time the director wants with different scenes, when a special tech rehearsal with a specific actor might be needed, maybe even in a rep situation where they are putting on shows at night and rehearsing things during the day - etc.  Have them put together a rehearsal schedule of what actor needs to be there, when, with meetings, etc. worked into it - and have it follow Eq guidelines for how many hours someone can work in a week.  Now, this is primarily going to be useful for students who want to be stage managers.

Another idea - more time consuming - see if there is an old prompt book around (ideally a show where there is an archive tape of the final production), with blocking, and have the students put themselves through the  blocking as if they are putting in a new actor.  Have each stage manager do a scene - and have the other students be the "actors" - they you can check if what they got the replacement to do matches the video.

-Centaura