I have to say, jumping into the
stage management world, whether it be high school or local
community theatre, it helps to "assist" a
Stage Manager in the job prior to taking on the full
role.
Stage Management is about being a leader. As thatactorguy said, you have to know when is a time to be somebody's friend, and when is a good time to put your
foot down. I'd have to say the hardest thing for me at my high school, is during a rehearsal when the actors not busy at the time all have side-chatter and my director prefers it to be quiet except for what's happening on
stage. Its easy to tell them to be quiet, but incredibly tempting to talk to your best friend sitting next to you. Hypocracy can be difficult to over come.
And when you say pitfalls to avoid, the first thing that comes to mind is: Define exactly what it is you're looking for them to do. For our school's
theatre department, the Director/choreographer wants every step and every dance formation written down and possibly a diagram to go with it. Our winter musical, run by our music department, the choreographer already has it all written down for herself, and wants nobody stepping on her toes.
As thatactorguy said, someone should not just jump into
Stage Management. A good background in
at least tech, if not acting as well will help them do their job more successfully. This past year during our Winter Musical it came to my attention that a girl who was running spotlight left school early because she was sick, and wanted to
return for that night's dress rehearsal. Our school policy did not allow such. Our director said, "I guess I have to let her go then," and I said, "I'll do it, its part of my job." In these situations they have to be able to state the facts in the most genuine way possible. Its difficult to tell one of your good friends they can't participate. You have to decide where the
line is with the students.
I've found that I've gone through shows where a few of the cast may not like me for being strict, but I got hugs during
hell week and "thank you's" from actors I've never spoken a word of conversation to. Its one of those job that's much more satisfying in the end. And its a great feeling when you know you made the show run, and it actually
ran.