Topics

1

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / POLICIES: Stage Management Manual - What to Include

« on: May 17, 2012, 03:27 pm »

I'm currently working with Production Management at the theatre I'm working at to write a stage management guide. We want to have a way to help orient the overhire stage managers we are bringing in. We want this to be a place the stage managers go to for answers when they have questions specific to our theatre.

My question - if you were a stage manager working in a new rep. theatre for the first time, what information would you like to see in this manual?

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

2

College and Graduate Studies / Major in theatre or not. . .

« on: Jan 18, 2011, 04:11 pm »

Hey guys,
I've been a little nervous about my choice of a school, so I am hoping for some honest opinions here. I am going to a very small school in Manhattan. It has three very general majors (mine is called Media Culture and the Arts). I am working towards a career in Stage Management. Our theatre department, however, is brand new and completely student-run. We have no facility, and we are a VERY small group. This is the extent of my theatre-work in college (I've done alot more in the past). I've been very nervous that I made the wrong choice for a school. I keep wondering if I should have gone someplace with a well-known and established theatre department. I plan on going to grad school to major in stage management after I graduate, but in the meantime:
My first question: Will this choice of schools hurt me later when I am trying to get work or get accepted into a graduate program?
Second question: I believe I am getting very valuable experience where I am at as we try to grow our small group into a larger organization within the school. How can I communicate this valuable experience with potential employers/grad schools through my resume/applications?

Any encouragement/advice for my school-choice insecurities?

Lauren Samuelsen
The King's College

3

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Communication problems

« on: Jan 01, 2011, 08:26 pm »

Hey there,
So this is a problem I should probably know how to solve but I am at a loss. I am the stage manager for my college's student run theatre program. The director and president of the program is a fellow student. She has a tendency to leave things til the last minute despite my efforts to keep things on schedule. A very frustrating example of this is over breaks. We do one mainstage show per semester, but she refuses to think about the next semester before break. She insists that she needs time to think first then we can talk before the next semester starts. But when I try to get in contact with her over break, she ignores every attempt. I usually don't end up getting to talk to her until two weeks into the semester, and THEN she starts to think about what show we will do. This leaves absolutely no time plan things in an organized manner and we miss out on the best days for shows and auditions. I have expressed how important it is for us to work everything out before the semester starts so that we can go right into the production process. She agrees every time, but then does nothing about it. What am I doing wrong and how can I get her to understand the importance of communication and early planning?