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Teaching Stage Management

Undergraduate Stage Management Curriculum

The curricular structure of an undergraduate stage management program is guided by the overall setup of the theatre degree. Conservatory-style training, often in a BFA program, typically provides a wealth of classes and practicum assignments on a wide range of productions. Opportunities to act, direct, design, or build may be limited or nonexistent due to the narrowed focus of the management curriculum. Education situated in a liberal arts environment will take a broader approach—combining specific training in stage management with study in other areas of theatre, along with a typically robust set of general education requirements in history, math, science, multicultural studies, and the humanities. Both structures have pros and cons, so below are my thoughts on what students should learn, in either structure, to be ready for the professional theatre world upon graduation. In creating an educational plan for young stage managers, the skills acquired are more important than the structure through which they are obtained.

The Introductory Course

Even if you are teaching in a conservatory program where all of your students have a stage management background, you will always find differences in their prior experiences. Creating a course not based on assumptions about their high school shows is advantageous. If the SM student is entirely new to the material, it will be accessible. If the student had the chance to work as a stage manager in high school, this can be an opportunity to learn a new method, or to better understand the “why” of what they have done.

Advanced Courses

Advanced study in stage management, whether as a formal course or an independent study, can focus on a specific aspect of stage management—developing additional skills in that area and synthesizing this new information with the introductory techniques previously mastered. Depending on the topic, this can take the form of a series of practical projects of increasing complexity over the semester, or a series of class presentations, discussions, and written analyses.

Production Basics

  1. The basics of acting and directing. Given the role the SM plays after a show opens, it is essential to have grounding in basic acting technique and the directing process. It is part one of acquiring the knowledge base and specific language to successfully communicate with your team.
  2. The basics of theatrical design and production. Similar to the acting and directing basics, a successful stage manager should take introductory classes in design and stagecraft. The SM may never participate in scenic or costume construction, but they do need to understand how to read a groundplan and to recognize which events in rehearsal may impact the plans of a costume designer. And because the stage manager is directly responsible for the execution of lighting and sound during performances, I recommend specific study in those areas. If an instrument malfunctions during a performance, the ability to “speak light board” and talk an inexperienced operator through parking a unit or bringing up another channel is invaluable. It is typical in larger professional theatres for the SM to work with the head electrician to run the check of each light before performances, making it important to know how to recognize when something is out of focus. And remember that in small professional settings, it is not uncommon for the stage manager to run the light board or sound console during performances.

Context Courses

The stage manager needs to read plays and know how to understand and contextualize them. Directorial concepts and design choices draw on the expansive history of our art form, and your own ability to successfully complete a production analysis necessitates understanding styles, trends, and terminology. Outside the theatre department, general education or elective courses that expose students to history and literature writ large, psychology, sociology, and languages will be a direct benefit to their future careers.

Practical Experience

Although classroom instruction is part of the equation, the best way to learn is through hands-on experience. Even very clever in-class exercises cannot replicate actual work on a show. Educators in the position to organize practicum opportunities for aspiring stage managers should seek to provide them a range of experiences.

  1. A range of SM and ASM assignments over a student’s career. In the context of the specifics of your season, expose students to as many directing styles, theatre spaces, and play or musical choices as you can. Of course, a student should work as an assistant stage manager before their first turn as SM, but remember that the SM and ASM have complementary roles on a production, meaning students are best served by a mix of assignments throughout their college career. Working as an ASM as a junior or senior is not a “step back.”

In order to preview the experience of signing a contract and because practicum assignments do not have typical syllabi, I have created contracts for the stage management teams on each of our productions. I meet with each group prior to the start of the production to review dates and details.