Read my complete Stage Managing series: "Stage Managing 101" --- "Basic SM Duties," --- "Basic SM Tools: Clothes," --- "Basic Stage Manager Tools - Fix-It Shop," --- "Basic Stage Manager Tools - Office Supplies & Extras." Follow me on my daily blog!

Stage Manager duties vary from production to production, as I discussed in Part I of this trilogy, “Stage Managing 101.” Though the Producer and Director may be more hands-on in the early stages of the production, it is the Stage Manager who runs rehearsals and runs the show. The Stage Manager ensures that the Director’s vision is maintained long after the Director has moved on to another show.

Basic Stage Manager (SM) duties:

• Assist the Director in running rehearsals.
  • I once had a Director tell me that I ran the rehearsals so he could be just another artist doing his job. I have approached every SM job that way ever since.

• Set-up/strike rehearsal space.
  • This is hardest when renting space or using a multi-purpose space. The ideal is to rent a theatre or space where you can set-up, tape the floor, and leave it.
  • Setting up can include bringing out tables and chairs before every rehearsal and putting them back in the evening, or even re-taping the floor every morning before rehearsal and pulling it up at the end of the day.
  • Set out a prop table with rehearsal props so the actors get used to getting (and putting back) their props. This will get you accustomed to any necessary pre-sets, plus you can make a list for the Props department of props that need to be repaired or replaced on a regular basis.

• Maintain the schedule.
  • The schedule may be laid out by the Director and/or Producer, but the SM maintains the schedule to notify the Cast of changes in rehearsal times, days, and what will be rehearsed so they know their lines and/or songs.
  • Begin and end rehearsals on time, especially if an Equity actor is involved.
  • Ensure union actors and union techs/stagehands are getting their breaks as required by their contracts.
    • I once had an Equity actor complain to Equity that he (and the other Equity actors) were being shorted on their allotted breaks. The union rep requested my notes, and it showed that their 10-minute breaks were in fact allotted, and the specific break in question had actually been 11 minutes. The actor only did this because he hated the micro-managing producer. But it proved the true value of my anal-retentive note-taking — if it were proven that the union actors had not been getting their required breaks, the producing company can be fined a non-compliance fee and/or suspended from hiring Equity actors for a certain length of time.

• Maintain a central communication bulletin board.
  • A central location, such as the Green Room or the main hallway backstage, should be established for posting the schedule and any communications to the whole Cast. If actors are required to sign in and out, put the sign-in/out clipboard by the central communications bulletin board.
  • A different location might or might not be set for such information for the Tech Crew, such as the Tech Office or House Stage Manager’s Office — each show and set-up are different.

• Keep detailed notes about each rehearsal.
  • Take down blocking for every scene.
    • For musicals, the SM is not usually required to write down choreography. That is the job of the Choreographer, who is usually assisted by a Dance Captain.
  • Keep track of props needed in each scene, especially for pre-sets. Even with a Props person, the SM needs a list of what is used, when.
  • See note above about maintaining the schedule and taking copious notes.

• Create Cue Lists.
  • You can create Master Cue Sheets as well as Cue Sheets for the individual department, i.e., Lights, Sound, Scene Changes, Backstage Left, Backstage Right, etc. It all depends on what is expected of the SM job. I like doing the Cue Sheets, personally, because it makes me check my own notes and cues.
    • For a casino revue, the Lighting guy was using a Hog to operate the fancy, moving stage lights. He didn’t want a Cue Sheet because everything was “saved” in the Hog. Right before dinner break the day before we were supposed to open, the Hog crashed, and all the cues were lost. I quietly handed him his Cue Sheet(s), and he spent his dinner break re-programming the 400+ cues before rehearsal resumed that evening.

• Write up reports for Department heads.
  • As needed: Director — daily; all others: Set Designer, Wardrobe, Props, etc. — as needed to convey information from the Director.
  • Notes from the Producer are usually handled by a Production Manager or Production Assistant.

• Handle complaints.
  • Some shows have a Production Manager or a Company Manager to handle complaints and the general coddling of the Cast.

• Resolve problems before they have a chance to start.
  • Easier said than done sometimes, the problem may not even really be your "department," yet you're the one who has to resolve it.
    • Once, an actor really wanted to have a rehearsal tea set to rehearsal with. I called the Props Mistress, and she said she couldn't make it over to rehearsal that day. So I spent my lunch hour in the toy section of Wal-mart hunting down a tea set so the actor could have it in rehearsal when we came back.

• Oversee the Tech Crew.
  • The SM may oversee Load-In and Load-Out at the theatre. Even if union Techs run Load-In/Load-Out, you might want to be around to start setting up your SM office, the Tech Booth, hanging schedules, notices, etc. — assuming this is not taking place during a rehearsal.

• Run Tech rehearsals on the stage.
  • This process can be slow. Do not feel bad about actors whining that it’s taking too long, or wanting to leave the stage to rehearse in their dressing room. Professionals won’t whine (too much). This is a natural growing pain of actually getting the show on the stage. If you happen to be working with a celebrity or if an actor is ill, a stand-in or understudy may be asked to participate in the tedious Hang and Focus or early Tech run-thrus.
  • Do not be afraid to stop the rehearsal if you need to check something, re-do something, or re-run something a few times to get it right. If you see that you’re spending too much time on one thing, tell the Tech crew over the your headset that you will work with them on it at a later time, and get the rehearsal moving again. But remember, the TECH rehearsal is for the TECH crew. Do what you need to do.

• Ensure the safety of all persons, Cast and Crew.
  • On a union show, one of the union actors and one of the union Techs are chosen to be the Union Rep for the production. Part of their job is to ensure the production is being conducted according to union rules, including safety regulations.

• Call the show.
  • This is when it all comes together. The first couple of shows notwithstanding, calling a show should be like riding a luxury car at high speed on cruise control.
  • You can give "half-hour," "15-minutes," and "places" calls, but that is best done by an Assistant Stage Manager or a Production Assistant. You do not need to run around the backstage area when you could be focusing on any last-minute details with your Crew. For union shows, actors may not be required to be at the theatre until "half-hour." Ideally, your ASM can make the calls, and/or an intercom system will be in place, so no one has to run anywhere.

• Maintain the “Bible.”
  • This is the single most important item a Stage Manager has. The Bible includes the script (or score), blocking, cue sheets, prop lists, assignments of duties for the backstage and Tech Crew, prop list, any and all notes, schedules, copies of notices for the cast, copies of complaints and follow-ups, and detailed reports.

"Extra" duties That May Be Asked of a Stage Manager

This brings us to the point of those little “extras” that are often performed by an SM but are not part of the job.

• Making Coffee — I don’t drink it, so I don’t make it.
  • I am usually the lone female on a production team (occasional exceptions being the Costumer or the Props Mistress, but neither is in rehearsal on a daily basis with me). Therefore, making the coffee brings up all sorts of sexist connotations: me being the subservient maid while the good ol’ boys on the production team make professional decisions regarding the show. Won't do it.

• Buying Doughnuts — I don’t like sugary foods in the rehearsal space:
  
  1. Sticky fingers make for sticky scripts and sticky props.
  2. The sugar rush, then crash, filling up on more doughnuts during break for another rush and crash before lunch, makes for long mornings.
  3. Someone would have to buy them before the 10 a.m. rehearsal, and that would probably be me who has to arrive before 9:00 a.m. to set up the rehearsal space before the director arrives to go over notes at 9:30 a.m., and I have enough to do that actually pertains to my job as SM without adding superfluous errands, so please see my comments above about being a subservient maid.

• Personal Errands — "What part of STAGE Manager did he not understand?!"
  • I don’t get anyone’s dry-cleaning or pick their kids up from school. That is just unprofessional. And female SM’s are more likely to be asked to do these things than a male SM because they figure a female won’t say, “No” (i.e., the assumption that at all females suffer from the “pleaser” syndrome).
    
    • When I started out as SM of a repertory company, I did do these things for the producer — I wanted to keep my SM job — until trying to fit it all in on top of my real SM duties was just too much. Luckily, the director had been an Equity SM, and he taught me the ropes of being a professional Stage Manager.
• Note: With that, my loyalty is with the Director, and if the Director asked me to do something, I would try to do it especially if the Director is from out of town or doesn’t have a vehicle or a driver’s license. I am there to help the Director until he turns the show over to me in "Hell week"... Other Producers and less professional Directors who tried to “talk” me into doing personal errands were sorely disappointed.

If you find you are being asked to do these types of things, especially if you’re a female SM of a non-union show, let the producer know what is happening and inform him that is most definitely not a part of your job. If it is the producer treating you like a gopher, remind him that you were hired to be the Stage Manager, your domain is the Stage, and you must focus on that.

Wrapping Up

If you have the chance to be an Assistant Stage Manager, by all means, get your feet wet before you’re thrown into the deep end of being responsible for the whole show as a full Stage Manager. Believe it or not, Stage Managing is pretty awesome, especially if you are a well-organized, detail-oriented person who can calm the chaos around you. (An experienced Stage Manager won’t let the chaos begin in the first place.)

Differences do exist between union and non-union productions, among the various kinds of professional (paid) shows, and all manner of theatre from legit stage shows, to events, cabaret, and dinner theatre. But knowing what is expected of you from the outset will make for a smoother job down the line.

If you’re new at this, tell your Director you’re new; after all, we all start somewhere. Chances are he will take you under his wing and mentor you while allowing you to find your footing.

TIPS:

• Know your duties.
• Be organized.
• Take copious notes.
• Try to enjoy the process. Calling the show is the “gravy.”

Read my complete Stage Managing series: "Stage Managing 101" --- "Basic SM Duties," --- "Basic SM Tools: Clothes," --- "Basic Stage Manager Tools - Fix-It Shop," --- "Basic Stage Manager Tools - Office Supplies & Extras." Follow me on my daily blog!