Interesting...the dramaturg in me now wants to investigate this further. I agree, everything we are told and taught is 'he said, she said' through secondary sources. But then I wonder, what are the primary sources? It would be quite a dig but not undoable. But that would just be proving what we already believe - the point in the evolution of theatrical history that the term 'stage manager' came into use.
However, the way you speak of it makes it seem like there is some other history? Do you have a counter-thesis to the proposed evolution? I agree, it is general but also logical. Somewhere stage managers popped up. If this evolution is, as you put it, an 'urban legend' then what do you think is more likely the truth?
Also, you talk about finding the point before. Then are you speaking of something bigger than just the term 'stage manager'? I personally would argue there has always been stage managers. (Someone had to make sure the Greek actors showed up!
) I think the idea of discussing the history of the term is a way narrowing the history of the duties aka the duties becoming an acknowledge role/profession. To track the duties of a stage manager would be a whole different issue, since they have always existed in some way. So then how significant is the first one to be called "stage manager" really?
Also, I know my studies have been severally bias towards European and American history. What about other cultures?
This is very interesting and I would love to see some primary sources. Imagine reading about stage managers of long ago...we can't be the first to be curious. This would indeed be a great thesis topic - I wonder if anyone has investigated it before. Hmmm....
Post Merge: Jul 24, 2012, 01:06 am
Ok, so I think we should give this a crack. There has been a lot of debate online about the subject but no one seems to have gotten anywhere (other than agree with the standard logic we are taught).
I was able to dig up the name "Maud Gill", who is often credited as being the first female stage manager (perhaps just in England though, there doesn't seem to be a reliable source). I found this tidbit :
"Peggy Dear (obituary April 20) was, indeed, a pioneer of women in stage management. However, the first woman stage manager in this country was Maud Gill, who took over the post at the Birmingham repertory theatre in 1917. She left a fascinating and entertaining account of her experiences in her autobiography See the Players. She was told that a woman ought not to be put in charge of stagehands because "working men" would not take orders from her, but she decided that, since mothers had been keeping order in the home since the beginning of time, the way to go about it was to treat them as a mother would treat her family. It worked." ( newbielink:http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/may/07/guardianobituaries [nonactive])
I skimmed my History of Theatre text (Brockett, Oscar G.
History of the Theatre. 7th Edition. 1995.) and am amazed to find not one mention of stage management! There was no mention in the index so I looked at the general Theatre Management mentions, which all mostly refer to what we would consider producing or artistic directing aka arts administration.
However, I did find this juicy statistic : 17th-19th centuries saw theatrical troupes gaining support and growing. By the late 18th century some troupes employed more than 200 people, including stage hands, maintenance personnel, and prompters.
By this point there most likely should have been stage managers - interesting though how the text does not name them as such.
I think, perhaps, the key will be looking into the history of technical theatre - of stage hands. We understand the actor-manager and director-stage manager theory. What we need is the moment somebody gave the stage hands a boss that functioned backstage as well as in management (really the stage managers power to walk on both sides of the curtain).
One forum post suggested the key to unlocking the mystery would be in old tax returns - who first filed their occupation as a 'stage manager'. This is a good idea, and perhaps could be useful but I don't think it would guarantee the first stage manager who most likely was working freelance well before tax records we have (though you never know).
I think a great way to track this would be in gathering old playbills and show notices - track how they mention production staff. Again not a sure fire way...
The hunt is on. I just graduated this May, I'm going to see if I can still get into my library database which would give us some primary sources. See what I can dig up.
