Stage Management Basics

Emily Roth is a freelance AEA production stage manager currently living and working in New York City. She holds a BA from Coe College in Theatre with an emphasis in Design and Technology. Her career has taken her through a wide variety of experiences; from early beginnings in her local community theatre to six years of professional summer stock, from educational theatre to Off-Broadway and touring. She has found herself working on productions ranging between musicals, straight plays, new works, and theatre for young audiences. Like many, Emily discovered stage management somewhat by accident and, like many, is largely self-taught. Through this experience, she felt the need for a text that breaks the job down into its bare-bones basics and guides new stage managers step-by-step through a production. Jonathan Allender-Zivic, MFA, is a lifelong educator and theatrical artist who has been teaching and working in the industry for over 18 years primarily as Professor, Lighting, Projection and Sound Designer, as well as Technical Director. Jonathan has been mentoring stage managers as part of his academic responsibilities since 2010. Jonathan is Associate Professor of Theatre heading the lighting, sound, and stage management emphases at the University of South Dakota. He has over 125 professional and academic credits in the past 5 years, keeping an active hand in the professional arena; designing regionally when he is not teaching. Jonathan received his MFA from Western Illinois University. He maintains an active role in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In 2018, he branched out into product development when he invented and patented the Cable Munkey® and founded Cable Munkey LLC. Katy McGlaughlin has been working in and around theatre her whole life; mostly stage managing and a little bit of everything else. She has worked all across the United States on productions ranging from new works to large-scale musicals and dance. Katy holds a BFA from Webster University, where she specialized in stage management and technical direction, as well as an MFA in stage management from the University of Iowa. She is currently the production manager for the theatre department at the University of Northern Iowa. She is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Stage Managers Association, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and USITT.

Introduction, 1. Traits of a Stage Manager, 2. The Theatre, 3. The People, 4. The Stage Management Team, 5. Safety, 6. Pre-Production, 7. Promptbook and Paperwork, 8. Meetings and Communication, 9. Rehearsals, 10. Prior to Tech, 11. Technical and Dress Rehearsals, 12. Performances and Beyond, 13. Unions, 14. Opera, 15. Dance, Conclusion (Standby)