Talk:Stage management

Theatre director
Can someone tell me where exactly the theatre director fits into the general scheme of stage management? Does he have a function entirely different from a stage manager? Should the two articles not be linked, if not merged? --Dieter Simon 23:34, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Raccons have laser eyes


 * No, they shouldn't be merged. The Director makes the decisions  about the play, such as the blocking, etc.  and are in charge of the "feel" of the show, and once the show actually opens, the state manager takes over and runs the actual show, putting what the director wanted into motion.  --Dan 10:49, 23 July 2005


 * Ok, Dan, thanks for the gen, have noted. Dieter Simon 22:50, 24 July 2005 (UTC)


 * To expand on that, A *Director* is an artistic post, whereas *stage manager* (and Company SM, Assistant SM, Deputy SM, etc) are all operational posts during each performance. In practice (ime!) very few Directors will watch more than the first couple of actual performances once the show is running. --Vamp:Willow 23:44, 24 July 2005 (UTC) (ex-SM and CSM)


 * That really makes thingsclear. Many thanks. Dieter Simon 23:41, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

To put the roll of the director in easy terms...He/She is the artist, and decides what the feel of the performance should be, and how HE/SHE wants it. And the SM and DSM/ASM is only the tools for him to do this. In Pre-production the director has a roll, from opening night onwards he is just another audience member.(the director only gets paid up to opening night)From here onwards the SM (stage manager)only runs the show, but soes not alter it, he/she only sees to it that the show stays in the same way the director wanted it.be it blocking cues, lighting design and so on. hope this helps you understand it better. Francois(Stellenbosch)

Assistant Stage Manager vs Assistant stage manager
Would someone please change the name to follow the capitalization convention. --48v
 * Done. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 06:21, 24 February 2007 (UTC)
 * You know, I really don't think the page needed to be moved. "Assistant Stage Manager" is a title and from what I've been reading all words in titles can be capitalized. Lekogm 14:15, 24 February 2007 (UTC)
 * But it's not just used as a title — you can say (as Peter Davison does) "...worked as an assistant stage manager". In that usage, it's not a proper noun, and Naming conventions (capitalization) says "Unless the term you wish to create a page for is a proper noun, do not capitalize second and subsequent words."  On the other hand, I can see the argument for it being a title, like Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  I'll ask at Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (capitalization) and see what the thinking is there. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 00:35, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
 * The article isn't about the word's use as a title. It's about assistant stage managers in general and their tasks.  ShadowHalo 00:43, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Okay, it really weirds me out to see Assistant stage manager. In the main article, you have the abbreviation ASM, you talk about how this individual reports to the Stage Manager or the Production Stage Manager.  This article discusses the position of Assistant Stage Manager.  It's a title and should be capitalized.  Peter Davison is just an actor...what does he know ;-)  Karinagw 12:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * While I agree completely with you, the folks over at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (capitalization) feel/felt that it was justified apparently. --Lekogm 14:05, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Cue calls
I believe the cue calls to be inaccurate. I work in a U.S. theatre, and have worked in others, and our calls generally follow the following pattern:

SM: Stand by, lights 34. (Optional) LBO: Standing by. SM: Lights 34, go.

Should we make a change?

What about the rest of the English-speaking world? Does that reflect on them in any way? Dieter Simon 00:05, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

We all have different systems - that's what makes Stage Management so diverse. Eg, here in UK I would say:

DSM: Standby LX 15 Operator: LX standing by DSM: LX 15...GO Tpacw (talk) 09:20, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Equity
Just a note, in the US, not all professional stage managers are represented by Actors' Equity Association and/or the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). There many non-Equity professional companies. This isn't to say that we non-Equity stage managers don't use as guidelines the requirements set forth by Equity, but we are not bound by them. Karinagw 12:43, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Stage Managers' Association
In the US, there is a professional organisation called the Stage Managers' Association. The website is located at: http://www.stagemanagers.org/ and includes a brief history. The organisation was founded in 1982, having begun as social meetings, becoming a formal organisation fairly quickly. That's what happens when you get a group of professional organisers together. It has connections with, but is not a part of, Actors' Equity, and the founding members were also instrumental in creating a Stage Managers Committee in the AEA to help review contracts, formulate policy and offer advice on matters pertaining to stage management.

There is a similar, and older, organisation in the UK called the Stage Management Association (http://www.stagemanagementassociation.co.uk/). Dsthal (talk) 13:36, 22 November 2007 (UTC) dsthal

Crew+Cast
Does anyone know how the cast gets used to the crew (need a quote for LA hw) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.242.114.164 (talk) 02:45, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

Confusion about SM/ASM/DSM and regional differences
First, a disclaimer: I'm not a theatre expert -- just someone who want to help out here. I'm totally confused about SM/ASM/DSM titles and job descriptions. My confusion may be due in part to regional differences between UK/USA theatre, and in part to the ambiguous and overlapping SM/ASM/DSM job descriptions. I've noticed that (1) all references for this article are books from London publishers, and (2) there seems to be a polite edit war in progress resulting from regional differences. Is there a sensible way to sort this out and clean up the article? If the differences are great enough, should this be split into two articles? -- Lambtron (talk) 21:12, 11 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Regional differences are big because I have never heard of the position of DSM. Everything listed there would usually be done by the SM in the US.  Even within the US though tasks are done by different people depending on the theatre or the SM in charge.  It seems to me that it might fall more in line that in the US we have a PSM (Production Stage Manager), SM and ASM and in the UK they have an SM, DSM and ASM.  We tend to have all three levels in larger theatres with seasons of shows where as you would only have a SM/ASM when doing show by show contracts.


 * I don't know if that helps or confuses you more.Chris1834 (talk) 21:47, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

It helps in that you have confirmed the existence of significant regional differences. Now the question is how to resolve those differences and fashion this into a coherent article. Any good ideas out there? -- Lambtron (talk) 13:31, 14 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Whatever solution is implemented should be supported by references. Are there books beyond the London ones? Binksternet (talk) 17:49, 14 June 2010 (UTC)