My school's theatre is very weird. Our actor are separate from tech crew which is separate from stage crew. We only communicate if we have questions. For tech week we get a script and do run through. We also don't have a stage manger. How should we go about trying to get a stage manager and what do we need for it?
Stage management
- Thread starterNewChris
- Start date
This is a truly unfortunate arrangement. One of the better parts of theatre is that it is such a collaborative effort. From an educational standpoint, your institution is not emphasizing one of the more important aspects of theatre, that is proper communication and process.
Your starting point should be with the head of your theatre program, whether that be your theatre teacher, club adviser, director, etc. Explain to them your desire, as a group, to improve your contributions to the production and wanting to take things to the next level. Offer some examples of points of concern from previous productions that could be improved with the addition of a stage manager. You will, of course, want to do this at the appropriate time. Do not do it just before tech, in between classes, or in passing. I suggest do it at the beginning of a production cycle so that the stage manager can be incorporated in the rehearsal process, as is standard. Include any other adults in the conversation as well, such as your TD, other director(s), advisors, administration, etc.
Good luck with it!
~Dave
Your starting point should be with the head of your theatre program, whether that be your theatre teacher, club adviser, director, etc. Explain to them your desire, as a group, to improve your contributions to the production and wanting to take things to the next level. Offer some examples of points of concern from previous productions that could be improved with the addition of a stage manager. You will, of course, want to do this at the appropriate time. Do not do it just before tech, in between classes, or in passing. I suggest do it at the beginning of a production cycle so that the stage manager can be incorporated in the rehearsal process, as is standard. Include any other adults in the conversation as well, such as your TD, other director(s), advisors, administration, etc.
Good luck with it!
~Dave
Dave's hit the nail on the head, but I'll add:
Try to find a more experienced SM (one who does college/community theatre rather than professional may actually be best as they will understand well the vagaries of dealing with volunteers and students) and use them as a mentor; ask them *all* the questions you don't know the answers to. It's also worth trying to get your hands on some of the good Stage Management textbooks (Lawrence Stern, Gail Pallin and Peter Maccoy have all written excellent ones) as a bit of a guide. Often they will guide you through the process from start to finish and - when combined with the help of a good mentor - will set you on a good path.
Be warned that often schools will reject a traditional model of stage management: the combination of teachers, confusion, low performance expectations and a fear of change can make it very hard to successfully SM school shows as a student. Please don't be discouraged; school shows need SMs as much (if not more!) than other shows, but just be aware that you will probably not be given the oversight to prepare rehearsal schedules, decide what equipment you will hire or really do anything involving money. Start small and tread lightly - far better to make some small improvements and build up over a few years than to try revolutionise the production and end up curled up in a ball under a table.
Try to find a more experienced SM (one who does college/community theatre rather than professional may actually be best as they will understand well the vagaries of dealing with volunteers and students) and use them as a mentor; ask them *all* the questions you don't know the answers to. It's also worth trying to get your hands on some of the good Stage Management textbooks (Lawrence Stern, Gail Pallin and Peter Maccoy have all written excellent ones) as a bit of a guide. Often they will guide you through the process from start to finish and - when combined with the help of a good mentor - will set you on a good path.
Be warned that often schools will reject a traditional model of stage management: the combination of teachers, confusion, low performance expectations and a fear of change can make it very hard to successfully SM school shows as a student. Please don't be discouraged; school shows need SMs as much (if not more!) than other shows, but just be aware that you will probably not be given the oversight to prepare rehearsal schedules, decide what equipment you will hire or really do anything involving money. Start small and tread lightly - far better to make some small improvements and build up over a few years than to try revolutionise the production and end up curled up in a ball under a table.
