Phone a Friend

"It is so worth it to take the time to really get to know your team and train them. You need to uplift them and give them something to do – I assigned my team roles as Cast Lead, ASM Lead, ASM Shadow, and ASM Intern and it really helped them feel invested in their position. Stage management needs to stick together and really support each other, so you can't possibly invest too much in your ASMs.

Don't be afraid to ask for help either! You will burn out so fast if you try to take on too much. Delegate, delegate, delegate – and don't be afraid to not having something be perfect. Your health and happiness is far more important than having that magical document for every situation. Let go of the little things.

I would also say to really take the time to make your paperwork and process your own. What makes YOU different from any other stage manager? How do you showcase your style and design your documents? How do you connect and engage with the cast and set up fun traditions for them? How do you run announcements? What songs do you dance to when you call cues? The show process is too long and too stressful to not have fun with it and dig deep into why you love it. Don't lose sight of why you're here, and don't second guess yourself.

The rest is in my little handbook – but the best advice I can give you is not to get too attached to it. I hope this continues to be a living and growing resource as new stage managers add their expertise. If you ever want to talk about SMing at Boone, feel free to reach out! (407) 446-7190."

"You want to establish a relationship with your cast members - if they don’t like you or you don’t like them, your job will be 100% harder! Enjoy your time as SM because it’ll be over before you know it!"

"Be flexible—let whatever happens roll over you and be prepared for anything."

"Be in constant communication with Dimino and Pollard. Do things ahead of time."

"As a stage manager, you need to learn to delegate and foster a good relationship with your ASMs.

Make a weekly or daily plan for yourself and for your team. Be sure to understand that it’s a team effort––don’t blame just one person; work together.

Practice calling the music with counts––Luu likes to design lights with the beats of the song, so learning to count beats will help. You can also ask Luu to record the runs so you can practice calling with a video.

Blocking only needs to make sense to you, so draw, write paragraphs, do little doodles, whatever works.

Have at least one person that you can communicate with and who helps you organize your life... there will be times where you need to rant and it's helpful to have that person you can trust to make sure you are on the right track."

"Make sure that you are always in your director's mind and stay on top of everything."

"Communication between you and Dimino and Luu is the thing that will save you."

"For your relationship with the cast, you don't have to be rude to them in order to get their respect. Talk to them as people, because the actors will want to listen more if you talk to them as a human being, not as an object.

Tip during Cue to Cue: if you have any questions about cues, ask then, because the director will not want to stop after Cue to Cue to go over it. So if you have any questions, redo it.

Make sure you command a room. When you're supposed to be in charge, don't let other people take over because it'll make everything hard. With your ASMs, make sure you communicate exactly what you want them to do and they understand their place and know their job.

With paperwork, make sure it's as detailed as possible. Make sure there's a table of contents in your binder; that way you know exactly where you're going when you're looking for it. Make sure your cues are exactly where they should be, because who knows if someone's going to need to take over your position?

Make sure that everything in your prompt book is as clean, and as clearly labeled, and as precise as possible, because it'll help the current SM be prepared for rehearsals, and it will help in case of an emergency."