The Working Relationships of a Student Stage Manager (thesis)

Abstract

This honors thesis aims to explain the working relationship between student stage managers at Washington and Lee and others working on the production in order to best prepare you for your stage management endeavors. Stage managing can be extremely fun, rewarding, and special. With the tools presented in this thesis combined with the practical guides provided by your stage management professor, any student stage manager can become successful. The goal of this thesis is to introduce you to five relationships you will form as a stage manager, focusing on the unique dynamics of being a student in that role. The highlighted relationships are between you and your stage management mentor/advisor, the director(s), actors, designers, and assistant stage manager or others on the stage management team. The best advice I can provide is to have confidence. Speaking to peers in a supervisory context or to faculty/staff as a peer requires some tact and may be difficult to navigate, but it can be done! [From introductory section]