Stage Manager

Book excerpt: 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.