Onstage > College and Graduate Studies

Undergrad schools for SM

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supershorty:
Every stage manager I know has come from Webster University in St. Louis, and they're all fabulous.

HollywoodH:
Where are you from? I agree with Scoot about looking for a school. Look at programs that would appeal to you. Where would you like to live? Webster is a great school but not many of your credits may transfer it may take you 4 years to complete their program (being a conservatory). It depends on your situation. I started at a community college as well and went to a state school which was a great start but I got the most from my internships. Well, hope your search is successful!

MatthewShiner:
just find a good school with a nice undergrad threate program.

become a smart, well rounded person.

you know, you may find after college you dont want to be a SM - so go get a nice well rounded education.

Libby:
I agree with the Boston University. I am just graduating this year, and I have loved it. A word of warning though, you should be sure you want to be a stage manager to go here. There really is no oppurtunity to do anything else, so if you want to work in all avenus of theatre, look elsewhere.

MeganTrigg:
I'll be graduating this semester from a small liberal arts college. When I started here, they'd never had anyone actually stage manage their shows - the stage manager was the person who was on book and eventually ran the lights. That's it. In my four years here, I've been a major part of helping the department grow, which I have to say has been an amazing experience. There's really not been time for anyone to sit down and formally teach me how to stage manage, so I'm forced to learn trial-and-error. I make a lot of mistakes, but I pride myself in the fact that I rarely make the same mistake twice.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend a small theater department. I know everyone in our department, and everyone knows me. And I get individualized advice - rather than general classes on how to stage manage well, I have professionals who say "instead of doing this, why don't you try that?" and are actually watching what I'm doing. I've also been able to stage manage our larger show every semester. And as of last year, I was involved in all shows during the semester. My next show will be my 9th at a college that does 2 shows a semester. Talk about practical experience.

Just because I don't get stage management classes doesn't mean I don't still learn things that help me stage manage, either. I love sitting in classes that are totally unrelated to theater and figuring out how what I'm learning directly relates to the shows I'm working on.

Plus, I'm a pretty lazy person by nature. Not having a whole department to support a formalized way of learning means I *have* to do it on my own. Good lord, if I ever had to sit back and take notes on what a stage manager does, I don't think I'd ever learn anything!

(Apologies for any incoherence. I really shouldn't be writing things when I'm up late after opening night.)

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