Stage Manager’s Kit
Stage Directions’ blog about all things related to Stage Management
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2019 Stage Manager Survey Results!
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s KitTheatre Blogs | April 22, 2020The 2019 Stage Manager Survey Report has just been released! Begun in 2006 by Stage Directions’ Contributing Writer David McGraw, the SM Survey is the largest study of stage managers in the world. The 7th edition of the survey includes responses from 1,746 American stage managers. Comparisons are made with previous editions of the survey: more stage managers […] Read More... -
SM Test Kitchen: CallQ
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | March 4, 2020What better timing than the Year of the Stage Manager to bring back an old feature of this blog: the SM Test Kitchen! We are seeing a new wave of tools and technologies for stage managers—sometimes co-opted from other fields—so let’s run them through some tests and see which types of stage managers are best […] Read More... -
Announcing the SM2030 Project Survey
David J. McGraw | Industry NewsStage Manager’s Kit | February 7, 2020In connection with 2020 as the Year of the Stage Manager, a new study of American stage managers has launched. The SM2030 Project is a ten-year research project designed to better understand how stage managers begin their careers and their initial challenges. It is a longitudinal study that will follow a group of individuals from […] Read More... -
The Hand Off
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | December 21, 2019Today I wrap up a one-week gig where I took over the SM position due to schedule conflicts for the original stage manager. I joined the company on Tuesday and the original SM departed Thursday night. I used my experiences as both a sub and as the SM receiving a co-production to plan for this […] Read More... -
Let Your Voice Be Heard
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | November 12, 2019This year marks the 7th edition of the Stage Manager Survey. If you have not taken the survey yet and you have served in a stage management role in at least 3 American productions, please visit http://smsurvey.info. The 2019 survey runs through Monday, November 25th, but don’t wait to share your thoughts on the profession. Read More... -
Cause for Celebration + Exciting Announcement
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | October 7, 2019 Perfect scores for Stage Managers On October 10th we celebrate International Stage Management Day. We can thank our fellow SMs in the UK for starting this holiday* and festivities are planned quite literally around the world (please free feel to share yours in the Comments). The Stage Managers’ Association of the United States is hosting parties, sharing punny telegrams, and asking folks to post photos of SM teams with the tag #Internationalstagemanagementday2019. Read More... -
Stage Managers Play More Than Drinking Games
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | July 15, 2019Recently the question of how stage managers practice their soft skills was posed in an online forum and my immediate response was GAMES! I will confess that I am life-long fan of games of all kinds but, beyond general enjoyment, I find them to be incredible learning opportunities for stage managers. Games can teach you how to analyze a problem and develop strategies to solve it, read people and their bluffs, cooperate with colleagues, negotiate with those in power, and even learn how to benefit when you know you are going to lose. Read More... -
Making Theatre in South Africa
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | June 2, 2019Three years ago, I used this blog to promote a new Fulbright initiative that supports stage managers and stage management students in cultural exchanges. I didn’t just announce the program; I applied for it myself. Today I finish a two-week residency in Pretoria, South Africa, in what has been an amazing journey. Read More... -
A Robot-Proof Profession
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | March 26, 2019An incendiary blogpost hit the stage management circles last week questioning whether stage managers will be replaced by data transfer and cueing technologies. A number of professions have become rightfully obsolete – as much as an elevator operator sounds quaint, I shudder to think that elevators used to be so unreliable and difficult to operate. Meanwhile, I was also part of a strategic planning process in which we discussed Joseph E. Aoun’s book Robot-Proof. Robot-Proof proposes that, with the rise of artificial intelligence, we need to prepare the next generation for jobs that machines and algorithms cannot complete. Do I believe that stage management is one of those jobs? Absolutely. Aoun defines a new discipline, humanics, by which we can see how stage management cannot be replaced by a robot. Read More... -
Keep Asking Questions, The Answers of Tomorrow May Not Be the Same
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | March 18, 2019Image by Gerd Altmann While stage management doesn’t have its own conference, we are in the heart of conference season for the performing arts. More than any other time of year, this is an opportunity for stage managers of all ages and experience levels to come together to swap stories and to learn from each other. I cannot wait to head to Louisville for this year’s USITT conference, including portfolio reviews coordinated by Erin Joy Swank and the new micro-sessions such as the aptly-named “Lessons I Learned I Wish I Had Known Earlier” session on the Expo floor. Read More... -
New Year Resolutions for a Stage Manager
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | December 31, 2018Whether you are packing up your promptbook to the annual Holiday Cash Cow or putting away the Secret Santa decorations from your long-running show, it is time to consider your resolutions for the New Year. While we may appear “practically perfect in every way,” we know there is room for improvement. As we ring in another year, consider the following: Read More... -
Are You Ready for the 6th Annual International Stage Manager Day?
David J. McGraw | Stage Manager’s Kit | October 2, 2018I was chatting with an Australian colleague and I casually asked if the International Stage Manager’s Day had taken root on her continent. Not only has the holiday “well and truly taken hold” in Australia, but various SM teams are trying to figure out how to top last year’s festivities. The photo for this post is a cake made last year by a QUT Technical Production Stage Management student. And yes, both the stop watch and the pencil are also edible. American readers of this blog, we need to step up our game! Read More...
