PROFESSIONALISM: Stage Manager as Disciplinarian

[GalFriday]

Everyone makes mistakes. I believe we are defined by how we treat people in their weakest state. I know my weakest state is when I have screwed up. I beat myself up and can definitely be found awake many hours later replaying what I should have done better. As Stage Managers we are frequently put in the situation of having to discipline people when they have made a big mistake.

How do you deal with this? What techniques have you found to keep people listening and not defensive?

The GSM of my show at Cirque was brilliant at this. He was able to open a conversation about why things went wrong and really listen without preconceived notions of why someone would do what they did. The result of this was much better communication between stage management and the rest of the show staff. I have tried to honor him by using this technique, sometimes I am successful and sometimes I fail but I keep trying. I also am always willing to put myself in someone else's shoes...empathy can go a long way.

So, what are your techniques?
How do you discipline?
How do you keep yourself listening?
What if the mistake is huge? What if someone is hurt?
How do you move on?

Do these techniques vary with different department? Do you treat technical different from artistic?

What about in your own team? How do you deal with a Stage Manager that may be naive but is also very wrong?
How do you keep them listening while setting them on the right path?

I do not have the answers here but i am very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Edit to subject-Rebbe

[kiwitechgirl]

So, what are your techniques?
How do you discipline?
How do you keep yourself listening?
What if the mistake is huge? What if someone is hurt?
How do you move on?
Do these techniques vary with different department? Do you treat technical different from artistic?

Primarily I always try to listen with an open mind - blaming or disciplining without knowing the backstory doesn't achieve anything as there may be a bigger problem which hasn't been solved.  I also try not to go in and accuse - that only puts people on the defensive; I find it's much better to say "tell me what happened" than "what did you screw up?".  To a certain degree it depends on the person and the relationship I have with them; if it's someone I know well and trust then chances are they'll be beating themself up about it anyway, and be totally aware of what they did wrong, so why should I make it worse - my primary concern is to make sure it won't re-occur.  If it's someone I'm not so familiar with, then the conversation is usually much more oriented to finding out if they know how things went wrong, and sorting that issue out.  One thing I have absolutely no patience with is people who don't admit their mistakes - if you screw up, tell me so we can fix it, don't try to weasel your way out of it by blaming someone else or the equipment.  My absolute pet hate is people who make the same mistakes more than once - anyone who works with me will tell you that I don't want people to say sorry when they make a mistake, I just want them to admit it and not do it again!  If you do that, then it's forgotten and in the past and I won't mention it again.

In my situation, if the mistake is huge and ends in injury, then it quickly goes above my head to the production manager whose job it is to investigate - so all I have to do is give my account of what happened, and I'm quite grateful for that.

I do find that I treat cast and crew differently when it comes to mistakes - probably because generally when cast make a mistake there's much less possibility for injury (well, in my situation anyway - I can imagine it'd be different on something like a Cirque show!), and so I don't tend to go too deep into it - just find out if there's anything I can do to help prevent it recurring.

[Mac Calder]

I generally start with "Okay, lets go get a coffee...", then find a quiet area and invite them to sit. I pull out my notepad. Then I start with "Okay, I guess you know why we are here. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Now that I am scheduling production crew, I get a bit more firm than when I was dealing with talent. Generally I just say "When you get a moment, can you come to the office" then when they come up, lead them out into the green room and get right to the point with my point of view, then ask them to justify. Generally crew appreciate it more than edging round the fire.

In the event of someone doing something really dangerous, I don't bother with niceties. I will call a crew member directly from the floor and rip them a new one, and in two cases so far have actually just walked up to a crew member, took the tools from their hands and said "you're services are not required for the rest of the day. I expect you in my office at 0700 tomorrow morning."

[Rebbe]

I think of myself as a problem solver rather than a disciplinarian.  When mistakes happen, I always ask the people involved for their take on what happened, and why.  Often in telling me this, they will also propose a solution for avoiding the same situation in the future.  I also find that lots of thespians are like you, GalFriday; they’ll beat themselves up about a mistake more than I ever could.  I use this approach with actors, crew, and SM team.  If the people involved don’t come up with their own solution, I’ll talk them through what steps to take in the future.  I find actor personality conflicts, people who have a bad attitude, or those who are just unsuited to the work of stage management to be more frustrating and less “solvable” than concrete mistakes like forgetting to check a preset or dropping lines. 

I’m usually not in a position to take putative measures, so if the same mistakes continue to be a problem, I’d take the issue to the production manager.  With crew or SM issues, I can sometimes re-assign jobs if I really don’t trust someone to improve.  With actors, I can’t perform for them, so the best I can do is ask for their cooperation.  I mostly work on plays with a fixed end date, so in the worst situations at least I know I only have to deal with the “problem child” for a limited amount of time. 

[geoffsm]

I think of myself as a problem solver rather than a disciplinarian. 

Exactly.  I always try to approach as a discussion rather than an attack or accusation.  This helps you understand the background and all sides of the situation before handling it.  This helps to avoid things getting heated which you definitely don't want, especially if it's a group of people.

I had a fairly large problem at the theater at which I worked this past summer.  There was a lot of conflict among the female members of the company and they weren't getting along at all, scapegoating one actress in particular.  Although the situation involved all of them, I spoke with each girl individually (there were about 7 of them) so that they could let the emotions flow on me before they confronted each other.  In the end I ended up sitting with them in the dressing room for an hour after the show one night.  Each girl was allowed to speak on each "sub-problem" that made up the situation, while I served as moderator.
This worked to great success, and I believe they went home and baked cookies together afterward.  I never had another problem for the rest of the season.

You just have to get a feel for your company.

[computekid]

I'd like to start a discussion on what kinds of things we as stage managers can do as disciplinarians.  Many of us cannot hire and cannot fire.  In the academic world, none of that hangs over the heads of your laborers.

[MatthewShiner]

In the professional world we can't hire or fire either.  We are ultimately, always middle management, and have to figure out how to manipulate or eliminate bad behavior through management skills. 

I can tell the producer or general manager of behavior and they can choose to do something about - but I am bound my AEA contract on what I can and can not do.  Sometimes an agent is involved.  Sometimes AEA is involved.  But most of the time it's just me talking to an actor; a heart to heart to figure out what we can do about that behavior.

[SMrose]

I'd like to start a discussion on what kinds of things we as stage managers can do as disciplinarians.  Many of us cannot hire and cannot fire.  In the academic world, none of that hangs over the heads of your laborers.

As for the academic world, students are graded on the labor they do or don't perform.  Some are even work study/scholarship and either don't get paid for hours they don't do or aren't offered a scholarship the next semester.

I establish or use the "producer's" rules right from first rehearsal so everyone is aware of the expectations.  I also get with the director prior to rehearsals and establish a unified front in handling situations as they arise.

I have had to be the disciplinarian on professional shows: from reporting and recording late arrivals to calls as well as reporting alcohol consumption in the theatre dressing room  (during the show by an actor) to the producer.  This is a level of discipline that I felt needed to be addressed by managment.  I also  talk one on one to actors/crew/staff for offenses that don't need to involve mgmt right off the bat.

[TheSingingSM]

I'd like to start a discussion on what kinds of things we as stage managers can do as disciplinarians.  Many of us cannot hire and cannot fire.  In the academic world, none of that hangs over the heads of your laborers.

I have had to be the disciplinarian on professional shows: from reporting and recording late arrivals to calls as well as reporting alcohol consumption in the theatre dressing room  (during the show by an actor) to the producer.  This is a level of discipline that I felt needed to be addressed by managment.  I also  talk one on one to actors/crew/staff for offenses that don't need to involve mgmt right off the bat.

I have a question regarding this. You say that you go to the producer. I've been told that, regarding some problems (such as a director wasting time in rehearsals and getting behind schedule or the one you just mentioned about the actor sneaking a drinking in the dressing room), one can/does go to the producer. However, I was in a workshop at the last SETC about Director/SM relationships and collaboration (which may or may not fit this thread...); and I asked "If such and such director is doing this and causing problems for the production, does one go to the producer?" The speaker's reply was, "That's a great way to get yourself fired." The speaker was a former, professional SM in New York (or I remember New York...) and now works as a director. So, my question is...would one go to the production manager about problems that kind of fall out of your hands? I'm just looking for clarification one the "go to the producer/go to the production manager" conflict that I've been hearing. I'm thinking it's the production manager, but I just want to be absolutely sure. Thank you.

[TarytheA]

I'm a pretty new SM, but my first thought on this is that it would depend 1) on the producer/production manager for your show, and 2) how you approach them.

If you go to them whining and complaining about "so-and-so did such-and-such" or said something you didn't like, or "she's really obnoxious and makes my job so hard", you might be fired for your bad attitude and being unprofessional.  But if you approach them and say "Here's the situation, I thought you should be aware..." or "My concern is X and I've tried Y with Z amount of success, do you have any suggestions for me?"  you're more likely to receive the help you're looking for.

Of course, it depends partly on the group dynamics you're working with.  If the producer's best friend is the director/actor/person giving you trouble, and the producer is THAT kind of person, he might not like hearing anything negative about his best friend and retaliate.  It seems a pretty unprofessional thing to do on his part, though. 

[PSMKay]

It's important here to not confuse "producer" with "production manager." They are two very different roles.

In a school environment, the producer would be the school itself, or whoever is bankrolling the show. The production manager would be the person who is heading up the production team - it may be a teacher or a student who has the role of supervising the production elements.

In a professional setting, the producer is either the board of trustees (non profit) or the producer. The production manager is the person appointed by the producer or artistic staff to head up the production team.

In most (but not all) cases the stage manager's direct report will be the production manager. Carrying behavior concerns to the PM is therefore a rational thing to do if it requires escalation. Carrying it all the way to the top (the producer) would seem excessive to me unless all other routes have been exhausted.

[babens]

Not to throw another wrench into the cogs, but I suspect many members here are working just as much in the non-profit world as they are the commercial world, so don't forget that the artistic director is also another person who may need to be made aware of a problem situation that is coming up in rehearsal.  Some directors may not respond to a production manager when it comes to what they feel is an "artistic" issue (as some directors view production managers as their technical go-to person)

[TheSingingSM]

It's important here to not confuse "producer" with "production manager." They are two very different roles.

In a school environment, the producer would be the school itself, or whoever is bankrolling the show. The production manager would be the person who is heading up the production team - it may be a teacher or a student who has the role of supervising the production elements.

In a professional setting, the producer is either the board of trustees (non profit) or the producer. The production manager is the person appointed by the producer or artistic staff to head up the production team.

In most (but not all) cases the stage manager's direct report will be the production manager. Carrying behavior concerns to the PM is therefore a rational thing to do if it requires escalation. Carrying it all the way to the top (the producer) would seem excessive to me unless all other routes have been exhausted.

That's what I thought. It might have just been a flub where the person said "producer" when he meant "production manager". Thank you very much for clearing that up.
Post Merge: Sep 18, 2011, 12:08 am

I'm a pretty new SM, but my first thought on this is that it would depend 1) on the producer/production manager for your show, and 2) how you approach them.

If you go to them whining and complaining about "so-and-so did such-and-such" or said something you didn't like, or "she's really obnoxious and makes my job so hard", you might be fired for your bad attitude and being unprofessional.  But if you approach them and say "Here's the situation, I thought you should be aware..." or "My concern is X and I've tried Y with Z amount of success, do you have any suggestions for me?"  you're more likely to receive the help you're looking for.

Of course, it depends partly on the group dynamics you're working with.  If the producer's best friend is the director/actor/person giving you trouble, and the producer is THAT kind of person, he might not like hearing anything negative about his best friend and retaliate.  It seems a pretty unprofessional thing to do on his part, though.

Oh no, that wasn't the issue. I was getting clarification on "who" to go to if everything else has failed. If the actor/crew member or whoever in question is causing problems. You can be sure that I'm going to try everything myself. I would expect that the production manager would expect me to do so. Also, you are correct in that the way to go about communicating those problems is to be completely objective and matter-of-fact (but not to seem arrogant).

But yeah, I was told that while the stage manager works for the director, he also works for the producer and if the director is wasting time in rehearsal or is REALLY getting far behind and it becomes a problem. The stage manager keeps track of the director's "performance" which goes to the producer. I just wanted clarification and to run that by y'all so that I don't make a mistake that turns into career suicide before I even get started.