About the Book
As a Stage Manager, you are responsible for organizing rehearsals, running performances, and keeping everyone and everything on track and in sync. To do the job well, you need to be a communication wizard—able to collect a wide range of details and share them as effectively as possible. The Stage Manger’s Toolkit is more than another overview book which generalizes how to be a Stage Manager. It presents the day-to-day duties in detail—discussing not only what to do but also why. Focusing on communication best practices, the book explores objectives, paperwork, and the questions that need to be asked in order to ensure a smooth production whether on Broadway, at a university, or somewhere in between.
Introduces strategies for sharing information both in person and in writing
Explores how document design can enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of your reports, charts, and lists
Contains principles for web-based information sharing as well as hard-copy paperwork
Provides customizable paperwork templates on the accompanying website, allowing you to put the ideas to work on your own show
Other features:
Organized based on the chronology of a typical theatre production: pre-production work, rehearsals, the tech period, performances, and post-production duties. In each section, the book outlines the objectives for the stage manager and the communication techniques that will ensure success.
Provides examples of paperwork a stage manager commonly works with, including variations for plays and musicals, shortcuts for shows on an abbreviated time table, and strategies for maintaining consistency and legibility. The book highlights differences the stage manager may encounter when working on professional and academic productions.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Stage Manager as the Communicator
An introduction to the text which outlines how the book is organized and what the reader will learn. The book sequentially introduces each phase of the life of a theatrical production and the stage manager's key tasks during that time. Following that overview, the book explores the key communication techniques at play during that time and demonstrates how and why to use them.
Chapter One: Elements of Document Design
The basics of visual composition are outlined, introducing key concepts and terms that will be used throughout the book.
What Is Document Design and Why Do I Care About It?
Basic Terms and Concepts
Identifying Your Audience
Layout
Fonts and Logos
Color
Accessibility
Continuity
Chapter Two: Avenues of Communication
Encouraging the stage manager to think about how information will be shared, and considerations for both content and format based on delivery methods
Theatre Callboard
Email
On the Web
Face to Face
Chapter Three: Pre-Production
Covering the time from getting the job to the start of rehearsals
THE JOB: investigating the script, meeting the director and design team, organizing the initial details, and participating in the audition process. Discussion includes where to look for information, what to ask, and how to find out about your theatre's procedures.
Calendar
Character/Scene Breakdown
Contact Sheet
Prop List
Production Analysis/Other Cue Sheets
Audition Materials
Chapter Four: The Rehearsal Period
Covering the period from the first rehearsal until the show moves into the theatre
THE JOB: keeping everyone on the same page, facilitating discoveries in the rehearsal hall, and sharing those discoveries with personnel not in attendance. Discussion includes running rehearsals and meetings, taking blocking, creating reports, and following up on questions and details in person.
Organizing Yourself
Actor Packets
Rehearsal Reports
Prompt Script
Blocking Symbols & Key
Calls and Schedules
Fittings
Line Notes
Line Changes
Internal paperwork
Meetings & Agendas
Show-Specific Needs
Chapter Five: Technical Rehearsals
Covering the days or weeks in which the technical elements and crew are integrated into the production
THE JOB: Moving to the theatre, training the crew, adding all the design elements, calling cues. Discussion includes getting everything out of your head and onto paper, preparing for changes, and being in charge.
Preset List
Shift Plot
Costume Plot
Run Sheet
Calling Key
Chapter Six: Performances
Previews, opening and beyond
THE JOB: maintaining the vision of the director and designers after opening and handling problems during the run of the show. Discussion includes giving notes, planning for emergencies, and keeping yourself and everyone else consistent.
Performance Reports
Understudy Chart
Emergency Plots and Information
Chapter Seven: What's Next?
Closing the show or moving to a new location
THE JOB: responsibilities at the end of a production, and how to prepare for a show that may remount or move onto a new venue. Discussion includes revisiting your paperwork to incorporate the "why," and making sure your work passes the bus test.
Appendix
Other information as needed, possibly including AEA definitions and contract excerpts, supplemental lists or examples supporting discussion items, etc
About the Author :
Laurie Kincman is a faculty member in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, heading the undergraduate emphases in stage management and arts administration. Her professional credits as a stage manager and production manager include work with the Old Globe Theatre, Malashock Dance & Company, Shakespeare Festival/LA, Opera Pacific, the California Ballet Company, American Stage Festival, and for choreographers Jessica Iwanson and Donald McKayle. Laurie is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, the Production Managers Forum, the Stage Managers Association, the Association for Arts Administration Educators, and Actors Equity Association.
Review :
"[The Stage Manager's Toolkit] provides an articulate and detailed guide through the stage management of a traditional theatrical production, complete with useful paperwork samples and up-to-date considerations of technology. [It] is a welcome addition to the small cannon of stage-management texts, building on previous works while providing a unique focus on the early career experience and the systematic development of strong communication skills. This book will be beneficial to student stage managers engaged in production work and would make an excellent resource for introductory stage-management courses and early career professionals working without access to a full-time advisor...There is enough information in this book to support a novice through the basics of stage managing a full production. Additionally, The Stage Manager's Toolkit provides a good overview of stage management for interested nonspecialist staff and faculty members who teach or supervise young stage managers. No single book can ever completely encompass the possible permutations and idiosyncrasies of production that a stage manager navigates on a regular basis. Stage-management training requires practical experience working on productions. Theatre will always be a live and collaborative art; we all learn how to do it from one another, face-to-face, and in real time. But a guide such as Kincman's is a particularly accessible and supportive resource for novices to consult along the way." Jenny Slattery, Professional Stage Manager, Theatre Topics "This aptly named "toolkit" is not just a how-to book on stage management. Kincman effectively draws on communication theory and practical experience to address effective organizational and communication strategies in the day-to-day duties of the stage manager in academic and professional venues. The text is concise in its survey of the stage manager's tasks - from preproduction to initial meetings with the director and staff, to auditions, rehearsals, previews, and opening night through to the final performance...Summing Up: Recommended.' R.A. Naversen, CHOICE "Kincman leads you through the process from preproduction to performance, providing examples of challenges you may be presented, forms you can use, and useful insights from her experience as a professional stage manager and educator...One standout strength of Toolkit is its wealth of great examples of forms. High school and college stage managers often create all their paperwork from scratch, so having these templates is very helpful. From rehearsal reports to scene-shift plots, blocking notation guides to run sheets and cue lists, Kincman describes how each works and why each is used...Another highlight is the beginning of this book, where Kincman discusses communication. I love that Toolkit starts with communication. It is the base of everything I do as a stage manager and effective collaborator...this book gives you exactly what you need to better understand the role of a stage manager." Don Corathers, Dramatics "Like an air traffic controller, the stage manager must juggle multiple responsibilities and communicate quickly and clearly. That's the idea behind Laurie Kincman's exceptional book...Kincman covers pre-production work, rehearsals, the tech period, performances and post-production duties. To this she adds strategies for sharing information in person, in writing and online, as well as customizable paperwork templates (via the book's accompanying website), and tips on improving the effectiveness and accessibility of essential reports, charts, and lists." Stephen Peithman, Stage Directions "Stage managing can be an overwhelming job, so all the better to have techniques to tame it. This toolkit not only gives you the tools to do the job, but also illustrates exactly how to use them to become a proficient stage manager." Linda Apperson, Theatre Design & Technology "This toolkit not only gives you the tools to do the job, but also illustrates exactly how to use them to become a proficient stage manager...It would be appropriate for undergraduates who have some experience stage managing and could certainly be useful as a text book. It would also be very helpful for an early career stage manager." - Linda Apperson, Theatre Design & Technology
