Author Topic: How to be a good stage manager?  (Read 7212 times)

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MatthewShiner

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How to be a good stage manager?
« on: Aug 07, 2014, 11:25 pm »
I am unsure I want my entire career diluted to one web page

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Good-Stage-Manager
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

loebtmc

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #1 on: Aug 07, 2014, 11:53 pm »
Hmmmm - I know we've tried to keep our jobs from being carefully spelled out, and there are things I disagree with, but hmmm - I wonder who put together this list.

RuthNY

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #2 on: Aug 08, 2014, 11:33 am »
It reads like a student, a community theatre stage manager, or an high school educator wrote it. Also, remember that these "wiki-type" pages are accessed and edited by many different people. I think, as an attempt to try to explain stage management to a potential high school or community SM, it does a decent job.


Hmmmm - I know we've tried to keep our jobs from being carefully spelled out, and there are things I disagree with, but hmmm - I wonder who put together this list.
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
--Alan Alda

loebtmc

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #3 on: Aug 08, 2014, 01:33 pm »
agreed - but interesting what is and isn't spelled out -

KMC

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #4 on: Aug 08, 2014, 01:38 pm »
They also exist for every profession, so we probably shouldn't take too much offense.  I'm sure many nurses would balk at the "how to be a good nurse" wikihow...  :)
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

leastlikely

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #5 on: Aug 08, 2014, 02:03 pm »
I'm Anne Sullivan and the show is Helen Keller?!?

On_Headset

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #6 on: Aug 11, 2014, 07:08 pm »
Obvious question: if you don't know what an Assistant Stage Manager is, who told you that you could run a stage crew? (Even at the high school/community level.)

XanderQCall

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #7 on: Aug 12, 2014, 03:05 pm »
It may be just me, but I find the part about "think of the ASM as Assistant to the Stage Manager" a little insulting. The ASM is an integral part of the SM team and go-to person for all things backstage and that "to the" kind of belittles the position, makes it sound more like a go-fer who runs errands for the stage manager than the stage manager's right hand.

On_Headset

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #8 on: Aug 14, 2014, 06:13 am »
It may be just me, but I find the part about "think of the ASM as Assistant to the Stage Manager" a little insulting. The ASM is an integral part of the SM team and go-to person for all things backstage and that "to the" kind of belittles the position, makes it sound more like a go-fer who runs errands for the stage manager than the stage manager's right hand.
Thing is, it's actually an accurate description of what an ASM conventionally does on a high school or a low-level community crew.  :-\

The more high-quality community outfits will use the ASM "properly", with their own distinct duties and responsibilities, but there are plenty of environments where they are just gofers or assistants.

nick_tochelli

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #9 on: Aug 14, 2014, 03:31 pm »
OMG.....WHY DID I PAY FOR AN EDUCATION?!

If only I knew everything I needed was on wikihow....

PSMKay

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #10 on: Aug 14, 2014, 04:16 pm »
It's a wiki, y'all. The last edit to that page was 8 days ago. This thread is 7 days old. Qwitcher[bleep]in and go fix it if you don't like it. The illustrations are lovely and the instructions are a good start for a community theatre SM who's been thrown into the position unprepared.

KMC

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Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« Reply #11 on: Aug 15, 2014, 06:40 am »
It's a wiki, y'all. The last edit to that page was 8 days ago. This thread is 7 days old. Qwitcher[bleep]in and go fix it if you don't like it. The illustrations are lovely and the instructions are a good start for a community theatre SM who's been thrown into the position unprepared.

The edit should just replace the text with a link to this forum!
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

 

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