See, that was sort of my take on it as well, but since I've worked both positions, I thought the view might be a be askewed. Since we call from the booth, (mere steps from the lobby), I always let the HM know when we're prepared to run, wait for the lobby to clear and then start the show. Rarely have we started with folks still standing and never when an actor is doing a
house entrance.
SM is not always the easiest to work with, but neither is the House manager, so I could easily see a power struggle between the two.
Thanks for reverifying what I felt was common sense.
Charlie