Dive Deep into Creativity: Discover, Share, Inspire
As a past Assistant Stage Manager and now full-on Stage Manager for my high school theatre company, here's some things to know: (some of them aren't really ASM but these will be important once you're a full-on SM!)
The actors may think they are better than you. Do with that what you will.
As early as you can, type up (or find an already-typed document) of the script, so you can add all the cues and notes straight on and not have to messily scribble cues on a piece of paper. I colour-code mine, but you can do whatever you want.
Remember, communication is key! Make sure to stay in touch with other departments.
Once you have your typed document (or 'masterscript' as I call it) share it with EVERYONE. The director, the actors, all the other Stage Crew people, and ESPECIALLY your other SM(s).
Stay in contact with your director, and if they have plans for the actors, make sure to let them know as soon as possible.
You will need to come up with a lot of plans on the fly, so know as much as you can! You don't want to be in the dark about anything.
Prepare to wear a lot of hats and do a lot of jobs. As my theatre department has 24 members (cast+crew) I have to do multiple jobs, such as: Scriptwriter, Head of Set, Head of Props, Head (and only member :/ ) of Costumes, and of course, Stage Manager. On top of all that, I am also the only run crew so yay!
Although, if your theatre department is big enough, you will also be responsible for delegating responsibility. Before every rehearsal, go through a shape of the day with your director, and make sure everyone knows what they're doing and when.
Also, drink a lot of water and make sure to keep your voice healthy! The cast for my show is very rowdy, and I've strained my voice on multiple occasions trying to yell over them to get them to quiet down :,)
Anyways, have fun! The only way you can truly make a show good is if you are passionate about it! Being a Stage Manager, and all the responsibilities that come from it are usually overlooked, but at the end, you're helping run an incredible show! Good luck!
Hi! more of a question i have about theatre stuff!!
I just got picked to be the assistant stage manager for my schools show (the addams family) !! im a sophomore in high school and this will be my 2nd year doing theatre at my school; and i hope to apply/get stage manager next year !!
any advice? thank youu !!
Hi!! That's so exciting! (In fair warning, I've not personally worked in stage management, I've only done a course on it, so I've outsourced a lot of this from @manicpixiemonster)
"Enjoy paperwork."
More seriously, the SM team is the centerpoint of information in a production so Be Organized. (Personally I'm a color-coder, but the Best method is whatever one works best for you.) People will be coming to you for questions so be prepared (even if it's about the thing that you really did send three emails and four text messages about already)
This doesn't mean that you have to know everything automatically. If there's something you're wondering about, ask. Especially since you're still in school and (I am assuming here) fairly new to this, take it as a learning opportunity and get involved and ask questions rather than trying to blend into the background.
Be focused because you're a model of behavior for the cast and crew. You want to be approachable but also an authority figure in the room. (This can be tricky, especially in HS since theater tends to be a very social experience)
Confidence is key! And remember you've got a whole team (and production) working with you to make this show successful.
stay hydrated :) also if you've got one, wear a watch.
Since I'm the only stagehand backstage, I have to run props and costumes to actors. No big deal, all the actors double-triple check their costumes and props.
Well, for our third show, which was this morning, an actor forgot one of their costume pieces! Since there's another room with extra costumes that haven't been used, another actor and I looked until we could find something similar.
That was on stage left. I had to cross over to stage right for a set change, then had to go BACK to stage left to grab that costume for the actor, then back to stage right. All in a day's work, I guess.
Just as i thought i was done painting something, another wild set piece appears! it's Tech Week next week, I don't have time to paint! I need to do all the set transitions by myself!
(But hey at least i got a black shirt and some wonderful black cargo pants and i'll update you all about what i can carry on my belt that's needed for the show)
Yeah, I had to unlock the prop room but they wouldn't give me the key so one of the actors going with me literally tried to pick the lock with a toothpick lol
So today in rehearsal, I was working with the lighting crew to re-adjust some lights. (I held the ladder, so helpful) We weren't sure where the ladder was so we had to ask the director for their keys to open various rooms, but here's the catch: They wanted their keys back IMMEDIATELY. So we had to ask them multiple times for their keys, but they were chatting with some actors and whenever we went into the other room to get the keys, they were always mad at us for some reason because we interrupted them? Like what else are we supposed to do, lockpick the doors?
Bought a tape measure and a carabiner on the weekend so I didn't have to borrow the director's. This one is even better, and lighter. Why did I not think of this sooner.
At rehearsal, the Stage Manager, the Sound Designer, a few actors that volunteered and I all painted set pieces for about 2 hours. We had to do it outside because the director claimed, "It's a beautiful day!"
I mean it didn't rain but still! Anyways, I got paint on my pants so now I have a trophy to show anyone who asks. Will also have to paint next week, just doing the sides of some flats and a few touchups. The director only told me once I started panicking that 2 of the vertical flats I thought we were painting we actually aren't using. Good going, director!
Anyways, rehearsals are actually going better than expected, so hopefully the actors should get off-book soon.
Today at rehearsal, we did a full-cast line run, with a good 5 minutes spent trying to figure out how to number the pages, and a few rearranges.
After that, while people practiced, I stole the director's tape measure to measure a very tall flat that we're (me) gonna paint.
Although, because I am not the tallest, I asked the tallest actor we have (who was conveniently near where I was measuring) if they could help me measure the flat.
It worked, and I kept that tape measure on my belt for the rest of rehearsal, as well as a Sharpie if I needed it. My stage manager, upon seeing my ingenuity, wanted to try, but it didn't work as their pants had no belt loops for some reason.
Anyways, for the rest of rehearsal, because us on tech had nothing to do, the sound designer, the stage manager and I all played Hangman.
Anyways, only 6 weeks left and we've only just started actually rehearsing!!!
During rehearsal last week, we got our projectionist, and this is their first show, so I was kinda giving them a rundown of how stage crew works, since they're also going to help with set construction.
Well, since our director wants the actors to do *exercises* while stage & tech DOES NOTHING I had a lot of time to explain that we don't usually sit around, just this show is taking longer than usual.
(I am actually genuinely concerned for this show as we haven't even started rehearsals yet and we're a month and a half in. The show is in late May.)
lololololololol so my director decided that the stage manager for our upcoming production is gonna be acting in a scene???? like wHAT??? it's only me backstage, because high school theatre budget, so what if it all goes to heck?????? and that scene is actually going to be cut and carried through the entire show????
Directoral Whimsy is a serious concern.
I'm part of my high school theatre company's set crew (im the only one on set, the only other person on stage crew is the stage manager) and I just went into storage to measure some of the set from last year's show and got hit with memories.