Who is the Stage Manager?

Day in the Life

Check out this video featuring stage manager Martha Donaldson.

Martha is a member of Actor's Equity Association (union for actors and stage managers) and has been the stage manager for Broadway shows like Next to Normal, You Can't Take it with You, [Title of Show], and The Glass Menagerie (2017), along with many regional theatre and off-Broadway productions.

Stage Manager Links to an external site.

(Length 6:45) from the American Theatre Wing on YouTube

Who is the Stage Manager?

The Stage Manager is the master link of contact and information for a given show. It is their job to use all forms and methods of communication available to effectively and efficiently disseminate the necessary information to the proper people in a production.

Stage Managers are in the unique position of working with everyone on a production in one form or another. They organize and facilitate rehearsals with the director and actors. They work with the designers, director, and backstage crew to combine all of the various departments and elements together into a cohesive end product. They work with the front of house staff including the house manager and the box office to facilitate each performance for the audience.

Stage Managers create paperwork and records in order to maintain the show during performances, so that the show on a Thursday evening is essentially the same as a show on a Saturday afternoon.

And the stage manager maintains the show's continuity and the artistic intentions of the director, producer, and designers after opening and for the entire run of the production. They oversee correctional rehearsals for the actors if necessary, help prepare understudies or replacement actors, organize and facilitate the structure of each performance, call cues during the show for the crew, and help solve issues on-the-fly if any occur.

They are organized, decisive, calm during pressure, problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and have an eye for directing, acting, and design. The stage manager is an essential part of both the artistic, administrative, and operational teams.