Course Description
Summary
At the center of almost every live performance is a single human being who quite literally runs the show: the stage manager. This course will explore the stage manager’s role as both an artist and an administrator, using the SM’s wide-ranging responsibilities as a roadmap to understanding the production process and all the people involved in it. Through readings, discussions, and projects students will learn the basic skills of stage management: scheduling, technical breakdowns, blocking notation, understanding design drawings, managing rehearsals, creating a prompt book, calling cues, and running a show. Special attention will be paid to communication and collaboration, as well as the stage manager’s unique ability to influence the culture of a production in terms of ethics, equity, and inclusion. This course is recommended for anyone interested in understanding all that goes into making a performance happen, and will be especially useful for directors, choreographers, designers, technicians, and managers for dance and theater.
