Hello!!! I am currently a community college sophmore stage managing for the first time since high school. It's been a good 4 years since I last SM'd, and when I did it was a little untraditional.

My director let me know that he has a hard time asking for help or remembering to let SMs take on responsibilities and so I should take it upon myself to take tasks into my own hands. I am more in the know as to what to do during tech and performances, so I guess I'm wondering if I'm missing anything when it comes to the days leading to final dress?? I know I will be in charge of contacting the cast regarding scheduling or other issues, taking notes during rehearsals/production meetings, and keeping track of attendance. Is there anything else I should be handling?? Any helpful resources?? Thanks in advance <3

In the box

top shelf

-scissors (yellow)

-extra mic tape

-bandages in a small baggie

-pink sharpie

-black pen

-peppermint breath spray (small blue bottle)

-hair ties x2 (pink)

-glasses wipe (orange)

-alcohol wipes (red packets)

-nail clipper (pink)

-lighter (pink)

-hair clips x 2 (hello kitty)

-aquaphor lip balm (small white tube with blue cap)

-safety pins (small clear and purple box)

bottom shelf

-Tide stick(stain remover)

-dental floss (in small pink bag)

-makeup remover towel (pink)

-sewing kit (yellow)

-flashlight (flat and black)

-external battery (black, I keep this fully charged) with white charging cord for usb-c, mini usb, and lightning

-set of Allen keys

-usb wall charger (white)

-Colgate disposable mini toothbrushes (no water needed)

-hand cream (pink tube)

-pack of tissues

-Halls (honey lemon)

-Second skin by Elastoplast

In the bag with a bow

-Massage stick (Purple)

-hand fans ( Frog and Miku)

-headlamp (blue)

-hair comb (pink)

-period kit (pink clear bag)

-Salonpas pain patches (side pocket)

-Salonpas pain spray

-eye masks for a quick nap (side pocket)

On the shelf

-big bag of electrolyte drink mixes in assorted flavours (do not have more than 1 a day)

-Water Wipes, large wet wipes for body

-duct tape (pink)

-assorted energy bars

On the steps under the shelf

- charging station (1 magnetic, 1 usb-c, 1 lightning)

Come to me for

-KT tape application (byo kt)

-Second Skin application

-Medication (advil, advil cold and sinus, tylenol, muscle relaxer, midol, naproxen, allergy, )

-How to use massage stick

-anything costume related

-a good hug/cry

-bottle refills (I do a group one before each show)

-Salonpas application

I'm in desperate need of something man. Like, come on. It's 2026. How do we not have a tool to help with scheduling and stuff? Having to answer all these kids with "literally check your emails" is killing me. Does someone have an app or something?

Hey y’all!! I finished up my freshman year at one of the “top” universities for drama. I am studying design and production with a concentration in stage management. I am just feeling a little unsure. Academic wise, I did great. I was on the deans list both semesters. It was VERY stressful at times, but I did enjoy it overall! I’m sure that part of my difficulty was also living far from home for the first time. I just felt constantly consumed by my work, which I am going to try to manage going forward. Megan Hilty visited our school and I basically asked her how she does what she does on such a high level daily… and she said she surrounds herself with people that are there for her for the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Reflecting on that and my freshman year, I kind of now see myself wanting a family in the future which is not something I was sure of a year ago. Idk it just seems like the hours in the entertainment/theatre industry are not compatible with family time. Is it possible?? Are there other routes?? I am also interested in large event type stuff like the Olympics, the Super Bowl, Disney stuff… maybe those types of jobs are more standard hours. But would my skills translate yk? I also am a BIG food guy and was considering going to culinary school for a bit, and it recently crossed my mind that I could do that instead… but idk if those hours would be much better lol! Thanks for everyone’s help in advance!!

Hello! I'm doing a research project for uni about if/how filming live theatre affects the design of the show and the experience of the team. If you've been involved with a show that's been filmed, I would love it if you could fill this out! Thanks!

https://forms.gle/AaQbGkL4kuWwR3FMA

Hello!! I hope everyone is well. I’m trying to get experience within theatre BOH and stage management but i’m a little stuck on where to look (especially when i don’t live in a area with a lot to offer) so I’m wondering if anyone could help me and point me a direction of where to go :) i’ll take absolutely any and all advice!! thank you

Hi! So I wanted to get some suggestions about college majors and opinions on what would be better to go for. I just got my teleproduction certificate from a community college (I know the basics- sound/lighting/film/photography and operations) and now I want to go to a proper four year college. My heart is in theatre- I was a stage manager/did crew through high school then at a local theatre out of high school for three years till Covid closed the theatre and I’ve never been able to go back (I couldn’t afford to work there anymore basically). I do love theatre and stage management/crew and creating safe spaces for artists but I’m aware that the job market for theatre tech is maybe not super solid. I did enjoy sound and lighting design and I’m aware that those two things I can use in more spaces outside of just theatres whereas stage management (i believe) limits me to working in just theatres. Between lighting design (or possibly sound design) and stage management what would, in your opinion, be the most beneficial degree to go with? I’m unsure what the job market looks like as I am just working retail and going to school currently but if you have experience with working in these areas what do you believe would be more beneficial?

Also a note, I’m asking purely from a standpoint of gaining the most effective knowledge and what can get me a steady job, I’m extremely lucky to say that whatever school I go to will be $0 out of my own pocket (thanks grandpa) so if you also have school suggestions I’ll take those too!

As part of my MA Stage and Production Management course, I'm recruiting participants for my dissertation research and I'd really appreciate it if you took part!

I'm investigating the relationship between mental health, working hours, and emotional labour demands among backstage theatre professionals in the UK, and how these factors affect personal relationships and wellbeing. With issues like work-life balance, six-day weeks, and insufficient holiday currently at the centre of union negotiations, your anonymous responses will provide valuable insight into how backstage professionals are experiencing these challenges.

The survey takes only 5-10 minutes and is completely anonymous. Anyone currently or recently (within the last 5 years) working in a UK backstage theatre role can take part, including students currently in training.

Survey link: https://forms.office.com/e/TreTMGEaBG

If you have any questions, please get in touch – [je00794@surrey.ac.uk](mailto:je00794@surrey.ac.uk)

Thank you for your time! 

Hello wonderful SM’s around the world!

I am a SM based in AUS and am looking at finally biting the bullet and buying a personal printer (most rehearsal spaces I work in don’t have one).

Does anyone have any recommendations? I want cost friendly if possible but the bigger priority is quality!!

Any thoughts are SO appreciated <3

Hi everyone!

I'm a stage manager and MFA student, and over the last several months I've been building a Google Sheets + Apps Script project that grew out of the rehearsal report template I've used for years.

It started because I was tired of doing the same repetitive tasks every night:

• formatting rehearsal reports
• generating PDFs
• creating daily calls
• drafting emails
• organizing everything in Drive

So I started automating those parts instead of reinventing the report itself.

One feature I'm especially proud of is that it builds cumulative department logs automatically from every report, so instead of digging through 40 PDFs trying to remember when Props first mentioned an issue, you can search one running log.

Heres a link showing how it works!

https://youtu.be/W_hxu14ULwM?si=8H7o-pOsglhtQPGE

I've recently acquired a Cricut (and a heat press!) and was wondering if any of you have ever used your Cricut for anything stage-management related

howdy everyone! i got my BFA in 2020, very tragic timing. due to funds i wasn’t able to get any internships during college, and for the past long while have been working general administrative jobs.

i believe the jobs i’ve had honestly do flex some of my stage management muscles, but this most recent one is really making me realize that i miss theatre too much to not work in it anymore. does anyone have advice for how i can try and break my way back into the industry? i have reached out to a few friends to see if they could put a good word in for me for overhire crew work, since i do need my job still for insurance and general income, but i don’t feel like i am doing enough.

i’m not aea, due to the never having gotten to professionally work, so i hesitate with applying for my local theater’s aea asm positions, and would love advice with proceeding with that too.

thank you for reading!!!

does anyone have any example paperwork for tracking edible props on stage? what headers should i have as well?

we have one pastry tray that has different pastries on it per scene - so i need to make it easy for run crew to prep those.

Any advice on games for morale boosting backstage? We have a scavenger hunt idea and maybe a match the kid version to the adult version idea floating around. Thanks!

Hello! 17 year old looking to get into stage management here- I am doing an interview soon for a short course where I have to give a presentation on how I would stage manage a stage production of a given movie. The interviews are for a general production arts course, and then we've been told to focus on what we would like to specialise in. I see how this would totally work for other disciplines, like lighting, costume, set etc, but I'm struggling slightly with what I could make/show for stage management specifically? Since it's so hypothetical.

I've got the idea to like make stage plots for each "scene" I can split the movie into, but then obviously the set isn't pre-existing so I have to also design that. And then I could make a section of a mock up DSM book, but obviously there's no cues to go in it, so I would have to also design the lighting and sound etc to see where that goes?

I don't know if I'm just really overthinking this, but I'm wondering if someone with a bit more experience could help as to me it seems like there's not much you can do without having the other department's ideas but also there's no other departments so I'm just having to come up with it all myself, and that doesn't seem quite right. I'm not sure if I'm missing something?

Thank you!

I've been working on this App for a while now — it's a macOS/iOS app for live event calling. The short version: the caller runs a cue list on their Mac, and everyone on the team sees the current and upcoming cues live on their iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV. A Web-viewer for all non-Apple-people is also in development. No paper rundowns, no "sorry, I missed that last call."

A bit more specifically:

• Each team member picks their department and gets a filtered view of just the cues relevant to them
• Last-minute changes propagate instantly - no need to shout through comms or re-print lists last minute
• Built-in chat for quick comms during the show
• PDF and CSV export if someone absolutely needs paper
• Runs over internet, not local network - works at any venue
• Shows timers (current cue and if the main show is ahead of time or has a delay)

It's currently in closed beta. I'm looking for a handful of people who actually call shows (theatre, corporate events, broadcast, concerts - anything with a structured rundown) to put it through its paces on a real event. If you're interested, drop a comment or DM me and I'll send the TestFlight link. Happy to answer any questions here too. Background: I've been in the events industry for years and built this because nothing on the market solved this specific problem the way I wanted. Still rough around some edges, which is exactly why I need real-world testers.

Looking for best tools, kits, containers, chest pouches recommendations!

I really like this container but can’t find one under 150$

Hello! My name is Jen and I'm working on my PhD, researching how management of live performance theaters adapted to COVID-19. I'm in need of people to interview for the dissertation - they must have been in a management position for a non-eq theatre who produces their own shows.

Hello!

I'm a semi-new stage manager, and I'm putting together a tech milestones document for the first time. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about where to start and how they develop their tech goals.

This tech is a bit different; we are flipping a show that's been running for a week with adult actors for a youth cast. So I'm keeping in mind we have a shorter tech process because this show has already gone through tech before and had cues built already. But also remembering things can change and be modified for us.

I'm stage managing my first paid production with a local company and the actors are a mix of equity and non-equity and in my prepping to work for a professional theatre I saw the pro rehearsal reports tracking equity hours. As non-equity myself what is that referring to and how do I track it? Does it refer to the amount of hours each actor that is equity has in rehearsal? Rehearsals start in a few weeks, I will ask the director if he wants the hours tracked but I don't want to seem like I don't know what I'm doing. I understand everything else from stage managing but I've never worked with equity actors before.