Book description
Stage Manager:The Professional Experience–Refreshed takes the reader on a journey through all aspects of the craft of stage management in theatre, including the technological advancements that have come to theatre and the stage manger’s job.
Chapters are laid out to reflect the order in which stage managers experience and perform their work: what makes a good stage manager, seeking the job, building a resume, interviewing for the job, and getting the job (or not getting the job). Included are chapters on the chain of command, working relationships, tool and supplies, creating charts, plots, plans and lists, the rehearsal period, creating the prompt book, calling cues, and the run of the show. These are just some of the many topics covered in this book. In addition, the author uses interviews with stage management professionals in various stages of production, providing another view of how the stage manager is perceived and what is expected form the work of the stage manager.
Fifteen years after the original publication of Stage Manager: The Professional Experience, this new and refreshed edition is now in color to help clarify and illustrate points in the text. It is fully updated to reflect the the world of computerized technology: smart phones, thinly designed laptops, tablets, use of email and text messaging, storing and sharing files and information in cloud-based apps. Then there are the innovations of automation–electronically moving scenery, scenic projections–casting images and patterns on the stage; moving lights; LED luminaires; lasers; and greater use of fog and haze machines.
In addition, the extensive glossary of more than 600 terms and phrases had been extend to well over 700, providing and excellent professional vocabulary for anyone hoping to be a theatre stage manager or already working in the field.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Dedication to the Reader
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface to the Second Edition
-
1. Introduction
- The Professional Gap
- Learning the Hard Way
- The Human and Psychological Side of SMing
- Objective and Intention of This Book
- A Glossary of Words, Terms, Expressions, and Phrases
- A Definition of Professional
- Equity: The Distinguishing Line between Professional and Nonprofessional
- The Most Important Work
- The Musical Play
- Standard SM Titles and Their Abbreviations
- The ASM
- Women SMs
- The History of the SM
- The Professional Experience of the Author
- Interviews
- 2. The Anatomy of a Good SM
- 3. The SM’s Chain-of-Command List
- 4. Stage Manager for Hire: Seeking Work, Getting the Job, Being Hired Again and Again
- 5. The Electronic SM: Tools, Supplies, and Equipment
-
6. Hard Copy: Transitioning to Electronic Files—Charts, Plots, Plans, Lists, Schedules, Signs, and Reports
- Create an Identifying Heading—a Letterhead
- Forms Defined
- The Scene/Character Tracking Chart
- The Character/Actor–Actor/Character List
- The Rehearsal Sign-in Sheet
- The Performance Sign-in Sheet
- The Cast, Technical Heads, and Production Staff Address Lists
- Schedules
- The SM’s Daily Report
-
The SM’s Personal Floor Plans
- Scenic Drawings/Blueprints
- Scenic Drawings—Visual Orientation, Easy Read
- The SM’s Knowledge of the Set
- The SM’s Floor Plans
- The SM’s Floor Plans for Annie Get Your Gun
- Return to the Archive Heading
- Noting the Acts and Scenes
- Personal Floor Plans Void of Measurements
- Personal Floor Plans Void of Scale Measurement
- A More Involved and Complicated Personal-Sized Floor Plan
- Personal Floor Plans for the One-Set Comedy John and Mary
- Lists
- Sound
- Dressing Room Assignments List
- Show Rundown or Running Order
- Performance Running-Time Chart
- Show Reports
- Changes and Revisions
- In Closing
-
7. Profiles and Working Relationships
- First and Foremost—You!
- The Three Parts of the Inner Self
- Personal Belief Systems
- The Spiritual Self
- Anger and Fear
- Ego
- The Issue of Control and Perfection
- Dealing with Disagreement
-
Setting Limits, Boundaries, and Expectations
- The Power of an SM
- Profiles: Superiors, Peers, and Associates Producer
- Founder, General Manager, Executive Producer
- Associate Producer
- Production Manager
- Company Manager
- Producer’s Production Assistant
- Casting Director
- Publicity: Press, Programs, and Photography
- Office Staff
- Author, Composer, and Lyricist
- Director
- Assistant Director
- Music Director
- Choreographer
- Performers
- Star Performers
- Children Performers
- Actors’ Equity
- Designers
- Technicians
- Technical Director
- Head Carpenter and Automation Department
- TD/Head Carpenter Positions Combined
- Head Flyman or Head of the Rail
- Head of Props (Propman, Prop Master, or Property Master)
- Electrical Department (Lighting) and Projection
- Sound Department—Designer and Technical Head
- IATSE: The Stagehand’s Union
- Costume/Wardrobe Department
- Hair Department
- Shops and Vendors
- The Performance Site and Their Personnel
- In Closing
- The Professional Experience
-
8. Running Equity Auditions
- The Equity Representative
- The Auditioning Staff
- Types of Audition Calls
- Star and Lead Role Auditions
- The Performers’ Representatives
- Auditions for the Non-Equity Actor
- Preparing for the Auditions
- Office Supplies
- The Producer’s Information Cards/Sheets
- Signs
- Choosing Scenes for the Audition—aka “Sides”
- The Audition Space
- Setting up the Reception Area
- Setting up the Audition Area
- The Setup in an Audition Room
- Art and Craft in Working the Audition Room
- Serving the Performers
- Reading Scenes with Performers
- Bringing Closure to the Audition
- The SM as a Timekeeper
- Callback Auditions
- You Got the Job!
- The SM Expressing an Opinion
- In Closing
- The Professional Experience
-
9. The SM’s Pre-Production Time
- Homework
- Beginning Stages of the Charts, Plots, and Lists
- At the Production Office
- The Block Calendar
- Production Meeting
- Cast Business: First Contact, General Information, Instructions
- The Contact Sheet
- Contacting the Equity Representative
- Settling into a Calmer Pace
- Character/Actor–Actor/Character List
- The SM’s Personal Floor Plans
- Completing the List of Hard-Copy Work
- Assembling and Distributing Packets of Information
- Revisions Made on Information Already Distributed
- Scripts and Scores
- By the End of the SM’s Pre-Production Time
- Taping the Floor Plans on to the Rehearsal Room Floor
- Rehearsal Props and Furniture
- The Equity Callboard
- Finishing Touches and Checklist on the Rehearsal Room
- In Closing
- The Professional Experience
-
10. Rehearsals
- The First Day of Rehearsals
- The First-Day Rehearsal Hall Setup
- Arrival of the Cast
- The SM’s Welcoming and Down-to-Business Speech
- Costume Measurements
- The Correct-Spelling-of-Names List
- Enter the Producer, Director, and Star
- The Reading of the Play or Table Read
- Breaks for the Cast
- The Director and Breaks
- The Stopwatch
- The Midday Meal Break
- After Midday Break
- More on the Director and SM’s Working Relationship
- The SM’s Notepad
- Making the Daily Schedule
- Dealing with People Being Late
- The Equity Rulebook
- The Day’s End
- Production Meetings
- The SM’s Work—Continuing and Endless
- Sound Bite—Barbara Beckley
-
11. The Rehearsal/Blocking Script
- Learning the Show and Gathering Information
- Enter the Rehearsal/Blocking Script
- A Definition of Blocking
- The SM’s Responsibility for Noting Blocking
- The Speed Required for Making Blocking Notes
- Knowing Your Right from Your Left
-
The Stage Breakdown
- The Basic Parts
- The Center Stage Line
- Different Symbols Used for Center Stage
- Creating Up Stage and Down Stage
- Stage Divided Horizontally and Vertically
- The Apron
- Greater Division of the Stage—Cutting the Stage Horizontally
- Cutting the Stage Vertically
- New Center Point
- Full-View Drawing—Blocking Areas and Center Points
- Arena Staging—Theatre in the Round
- Arena Staging—Theatre in the Square
- Additional Areas and Abbreviations for Noting Blocking
- Abbreviations for Character Names
- Noting the Actor’s Moves/Crosses
- Some General SM Abbreviations
- Noting Blocking for Busy Scenes
- The Absence of Some Blocking Details
- Neat Blocking Notes
- The Numerical Way to Note Blocking
- The Publisher’s Stage Directions and Technical Effects
- Organizing the Rehearsal/Blocking Script
- Following Script
- Calling Technical Cues in Rehearsals
- Timing Scenes, Acts, and the Whole Show
- Props
- In Closing
-
12. The Last Days of Rehearsals
- The Shift in Work
- Meetings
-
Smaller Individual Meetings with the SM
- Lighting and Projections
- The SM’s Second Meeting with the Lighting Designer to Get Light Cues
- Having the Cueing Script/Prompt Book Noted before Techs Begin
- Spotlight Cues
- Set Moves/Scene Changes Meeting (Paper Tech)
- Sound Cues Meeting
- Costumes/Wardrobe and Hair Meetings
- Meeting with the Music Department
- Set Designer/Construction Shop Meetings
- Advice to the SM
- The ASM
- Birth of the Cueing/Prompt or Calling Script
- Run-Thrus of the Show at the Rehearsal Hall
- Preparing the Cast for the Move into the Theatre
- Supplementary Rehearsal Space
- Closing Out the Rehearsal Hall
-
13. The Cueing/Calling/Prompt Script
- Cueing Script: The SM’s Master Plan or Conducting Score
- Preparing the Cueing Script
- Cue Gathering
- A Shorthand for Noting Cues
- Abbreviations for Noting Cues
- Color Coding Cues
- Practical Application of Cues into the Cueing Script
- Marking the Spot Where the Cue Is to Be Called: The Caret
- A Group of Cues
- Noting Spotlight Cues
- Building Sequences of Cues for a Transition—Easy to Complicated
- Noting WARN: Cues
- Half-Hour before the Show
- The Craft of Calling Cues
- Feeling at Home at the SM’S Console
-
Calling Cues for the Performance
- The WARN:
- The STAND BY
- The GO!
- Calling Spotlight Cues
- QUICK, Turn Page, More Cues
- Calling Cues with Clarity
- Pattern and Rhythm
- Vocal Inflection
- Night Vision
- Calling a “Tight” Show and Keeping the Cues “Flowing”
- Visualizing Scene Changes and Transitions
- Hand Cues
- The SM’s Sacred Space while Calling Cues
- In Closing
- The Professional Experience
-
14. Technological Advancements: Moving Lights, Light Emitting Diodes, Lasers, Haze Makers, Scenic Projections, and Automated Scenery
- Moving Lights
- Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
- Lasers
- Haze Makers and Smoke Machines (CO2Machines)
- Scenic Projections
- Computer-Driven Automation
- Sound
- So What Should Today’s SM Know about the Latest Technology?
- Automation
- Sliders
- The Lavaliere Microphone: Body Mic, Wireless, Body Pack, or Radio Pack
- Some Basic Knowledge about Moving and Intelligent Lighting
- A Thumbnail Sketch of the History of Lightboards
- Getting Color from the Intelligent Lighting Instruments
- LED Tape
- The LED Panel, Screen, or Video Wall
- Gobo
- Lumen, Luminaire, Luminous Flux
- More on Smoke, Hasers, and Fog Machines
- Aluminium Trusses
- Scenic Projections
- Some Basic Working Terms for Today’s SM
-
15. Technical Rehearsals
- The PSM and ASM
- No Rest for the SM
- The Cast’s Work Schedule
- The Nature of Technical Rehearsals
- The SM Entering Techs
-
The SM’s Work in Techs
- First Business of the Day
- Tour of the Theatre
- Touring the Front of the House
- Walking through the Audience
- Visiting the Box Office and Administrative Office—Meeting the House Manager and Staff
- The SM’s Office
- Cast Dressing Room Assignments
- Consulting Wardrobe and Quick Changes
- Dressing Room Nameplates
- A Schematic Drawing of Dressing Room Assignments
- The Company Callboard
- Directional Signs
- No Let Up for the SM
- The SM’s Second Day of Techs
- The SM’s Psychology of Good Timing
- Gray Responsibilities
- In the Line of Fire, Magnified
- The Crew’s Expectations of the SM
- Cast and Crew Coming Together
- The Daily Tech Schedule
- Division of Labor
- The Working Relationships of Techs
- Let the Techs Begin
- The Heart of Techs
- Laying in Spike Marks
- Changes and Cleaning up the Cueing Script
- Moving into the Next Phase of Techs
- Actors’ Entrances
- Timing the Show, or the Running Time
- The SM Moves from out Front to the Backstage
- Show Rundown Sheets
- Dry Techs
- Scenery Plot and Fly Plot
- Checking Sight Lines
- The Blue Work Lights
- Crucial Cues to the Show
- Costumes, Hair, and Makeup
- Musicals: The Orchestra
- Before the Arrival of the Fire Marshal
- The Final Phase of Techs
- The Director Giving Notes
- Performance Show Reports
- Production Photos or Videos
- Piano Tuning
- More on the SM’s Working Relationships
- A New Beginning
- The Professional Experience: An SM Overwhelmed
- Interview
-
16. The Opening Performance
- The Event of an Opening Performance
- Hellish Openings
- The Supreme Power and Rights of the SM
- Curtain Bows
- Arrival of Congratulatory Items
-
Working the Backstage Public Address System
- The Dreaded Red Box!
- Communicating to Cast and Crew
- Collecting Valuables
- Use of the Terms Company and Cast
- Repetitive Information
- Giving Notes, Instructions, or Directions to the Cast
- Being Clear and Specific in Delivering Information on the PA
- Half-Hour: The Time of Preparation before the Performance
- The Fifteen-Minute Call
- The PA—for SMs’ Use Only
- The Human Side
- The Five-Minute Call
- Delays in the Starting Time of the Show
- Consequences and Considerations When Starting the Show Late
- Star Courtesy and Consideration
- Late Performers
- Prompt and Consistent
- Applause and Acknowledgment
- Curtain Up!
- The Professional Experience
-
17. Run of the Show
- Reviews and Ticket Sales
- A New Show
- A Shift in Work
- Company Manager and SM Left in Charge
- The SM’s Work and Responsibilities
- The SM’s Logbook
- Actors Making Changes and Improvements in the Show
- The ASM Takes the Stage
- Days Off and Matinee Days
-
Rehearsals during the Run of the Show
- Brush-Up Rehearsals
- Line Rehearsals
- Understudy Rehearsals
- The SM Must Be Prepared
- Restrictive Guidelines
- The Soul of Understudy Work
- An Assortment of Understudies
- The Understudy Who Will Never Go On
- No Performance during Understudy Rehearsals
- The Understudy’s First Performance
- Scheduling Understudy Rehearsals
- Understudies Watching from the Wings
- Understudy Rehearsals for Musicals
- Standby Performers
- Replacement Performers
- Prompting or Feeding Actors’ Lines
- Creating Close Friendships
- The Professional Experience
-
18. The Touring Show
- Types of Touring Shows
- Equity Taking Care of Its Members
- The Company Manager, Touring Manager, and SM
- The Wear and Tear of Touring
- The SMs Anatomy of a Touring Show
- Part One: Closing Out the Show and Packing
- Part Two: Traveling the Show—Cast, Crew, and All Things Technical
- Luggage and Baggage Handling
- Part Three: Settling into the New Town and Venue
- Additional Work for the Touring SM
- An SM Myth
- Living Together
- The Performance on the Road
- The Professional Experience
- 19. Closing the Show
-
20. In the Line of Fire
- Prologue
- Getting the Job
- The Honeymoon
- Enter Miss Darling
- The Honeymoon Is Over
- Technical Rehearsals
- The San Francisco Tryout
- The PSM’s Turn
- Vera’s Madness
- Last Week in San Francisco
- The Los Angeles Run
- Spiraling Downward
- The “Ha!” Cue
- The Curtain Bows
- The Portrait Cue
- The Chicken Caper
- The PSM and I
- The Flood of Blue Lights
- Epilogue to the Blue Lights
- Mechanical Failure
- In Closing
- Glossary: The SM’s Working Vocabulary
- Index
Product information
- Title: Stage Manager, 2nd Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: January 2017
- Publisher(s): Routledge
- ISBN: 9781315405643
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