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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Transferring From Engineering to Theatre
« on: Oct 15, 2020, 05:55 pm »
Try some different areas and see what you like! One of the best ways to learn stage management is through experience. Can you see if there are any crew positions available for upcoming shows at your school? I realize things might be a little different in the current, mostly-digital time we live in, but if your school has open crew positions, running crew is a great way to see stage managers in action. Being an ASM is also a great way to learn stage management, and often in an educational setting you might get paired with a stage management team that has experience they can share with you.
You might also find that there's an area of theater that has some overlap with engineering. (Scenic design? Lighting technician?) Having experience in a wide variety of theatrical disciplines can be a real benefit to a stage manager's toolkit, as it gives you a shared knowledge of what other departments do and what language they use to do it. The more you know about what other people do, the better prepared you are to work and collaborate with them.
You might also find that there's an area of theater that has some overlap with engineering. (Scenic design? Lighting technician?) Having experience in a wide variety of theatrical disciplines can be a real benefit to a stage manager's toolkit, as it gives you a shared knowledge of what other departments do and what language they use to do it. The more you know about what other people do, the better prepared you are to work and collaborate with them.
