Stage Management:
Students have the opportunity to serve as a stage manager or assistant stage manager for Theater, Dance, and Opera productions. Stage managers have many responsibilities, including ensuring that a production runs smoothly from start to finish. Their tasks can vary, but they generally include:
Scheduling and running rehearsals, including coordinating scene shifts, technical, and dress rehearsals. Stage managers also record the director's blocking decisions and notes for actors, and communicate schedule information to the cast.
Calling technical cues during performances, such as lighting, sound, special effects, and scene changes. Stage managers also supervise the "get in" and "get out", which is when the set, lighting, and sound are installed and removed.
Creating a production plan for sound, lighting, scenery, and costumes.
Facilitate communication across all creative and technical departments, and liaise with the Managing Director and Technical Production Director regarding budgets. They also take notes and write reports, such as when actors go off script or costumes need to be repaired.
Ensure that everyone involved in the production is safe, both physically and emotionally. This may include sweeping rehearsal spaces, educating people about potential hazards, and creating space to discuss consent and boundaries.
Oberlin alums, Alex Howell '21 and Cass Gutterman-Johns '22, created a stage management resource website. Check it out for more information, policies, procedures, etc and feel free to use it as a guide to all things stage management!