A practical guide to all aspects of the stage manager's job
Interviews with professionals about on-the-job experiences
Both basic and more advanced information is included to provide a single reference for students and beginning professionals

In every theatrical production, a single indispensable person is responsible for ensuring that scenery, lighting, actors, directors, sound artists are in sync. Stage Manager: The Professional Experience takes the reader through all aspects of the craft of stage management, from prompt books and laptops to relationships and people management. It offers an extensive discussion of what makes a good stage manager, and takes the reader through each phase of a production from getting hired, to auditions and rehearsals, to the run and closing of the show.

This design bible completely integrates all the disciplines of design, covering features such as style and composition, color, scenic design and production techniques, tools and materials, scene painting, stage properties, lighting design and production, electrical theory and practice, costume design and construction, makeup, sound design, mechanical drafting, perspective, drawing and rendering. A step-by-step analysis of the design of the play The Kitchen further illustrates the use of all formal elements of design and principles of composition.

Table of Content


Production Organization and Management

The Design Process

Theatre Architecture

The Stage and Its Equipment Style

Composition, and Design Color

Scenic Design Tools and Materials

Scenic Production Techniques

Scene Painting Stage Properties

Lighting Design

Electrical Theory and Practice

Lighting Production Projections

Costume Design

Costume Construction

Makeup

Sound Design and Technology

Mechanical Drafting

Perspective

Drawing and Rendering

In the late 1990s theatre competes with many other forms of entertainment for people's leisure time. So how does theatre attract and maintain the audience it needs? This book explains to the reader the many ways of doing this. It provides information on advertising to motivate ticket buyers, creating attention-grabbing mailouts, using newsletters, numerous successful marketing tips, what keeps audiences away, and much more.


Reviews


It is called by different names in almost every industry. Within the visual and performing arts, marketing means audience development. A compilation of articles from Stage Directions magazine explains for community theater professionals the steps required to attract and retain subscribers. Short chapters encourage readers to adopt different approaches, from drafting market research questionnaires to crafting outreach programs in the schools and churches. A dearth of buzzwords and jargon, and a host of real-life examples from theaters big and small (including Chicago's Goodman and the Rainbow in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) help most plan and visualize how to generate SROs. ----Barbara Jacobs, Booklist


About the author

Stephen Peithman is Editor-in-Chief of Stage Directions magazine, which he cofounded in 1988. Stephen brings to his work decades of journalistic experience and a lifelong love of theatre in all its facets.
Neil Offen served as Editor of Stage Directions magazine for nearly five years, beginning in 1994. Neil brings to his work decades of journalistic experience and a lifelong love of theatre in all its facets.


# Paperback: 160 pages

# Publisher: Greenwood Press (5 May 1999)

The key to getting people into a regional or community theatre is spreading the word. But if the theatre isn't on Broadway and doesn't have an expert press agent (or an extensive ad budget), how does it get attention? The Stage Directions Guide has the answers to the timeless question of how to get the word out about a new show. From photo calls to news releases, from guerrilla marketing to subscriber communications, this book has advice to cover all needs.


About the authors

Stephen Peithman is Editor-in-Chief of Stage Directions magazine, which he cofounded in 1988. Stephen brings to his work decades of journalistic experience and a lifelong love of theatre in all its facets.
Neil Offen served as Editor of Stage Directions magazine for nearly five years, beginning in 1994. Neil brings to his work decades of journalistic experience and a lifelong love of theatre in all its facets.

Now featuring new methods that employ computers, this second edition is a superb guide for both amateur and professional stage managers. All facets of the stage manager's duties are covered: the organizing of rehearsals and performances; the maintenance of the working script, cue sheets, and daily records; and the supervision of technical aspects of the show. The text is supported by sample documents, diagrams, and charts.

A text which examines a challenging area of management, bringing together the research and experience of experts and professionals from a range of perspectives within dance, management and dance education.



Hardcover: 176 pages

Publisher: Northcote House Publishers Ltd (1999)

A practical, accessible reference for one of the most complex jobs in the theatre. Linda Apperson's clear and concise resource leads the reader through the process of stage management from auditions to closing night.

Utilizing their combined 30+ years of experience in arts management and theatre education, Celentano and Marshall created this text for everyone from the first time producer to the experienced professional. Readers will find a straight-talking and concise synopsis of all of the key areas of theatre management: legal, financial, marketing, fundraising, personnel, and house management. Eleven appendices include everything from sample budgets to sample press releases to a manager's rolodex. A must-have resource for the producer and the producing artist.

This expansive guide covers the where, when, and how for every step of school play production, including play selection and adaptation, auditions, casting and dealing with disappointed students, budgeting, coaching actors, setting up a production team, rehearsals, publicity, and promotion.

The first book that applies the full range of forprofit marketing principles to the not-for-profit, institutionally based performing arts. Outlines a clear process for defining an organization's mission, as well as for selecting, analyzing, and implementing relevant marketing initiatives.



Philip Kotler is Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, Illinois)

Hardcover: 560 pages

Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (January 1997)

This text addresses the business skills that are essential to those involved in the performing arts. With increasing emphasis on freelance and small-scale work in the arts, this book provides an introduction to areas such as marketing, finance and fundraising.

Maisel has applied his training and experience as a therapist to the problems encountered by artists and performers. Here, he addresses many of these problems, including the idea of talent, the artist's personality, creative blocks, and aloneness. Most striking are his self-help ameliorative strategies for coping. While his book is not for everyone, it should be required reading for anyone considering a major and/or career in the arts. In fact, Maisel's "artist's ten commandments," a recapitulation of important themes, have a certain universality. Recommended for academic theater or creative arts collections.

Jon P. Cobes, Learning Resources Ctr., Central Wyoming Coll., Riverton

Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.



Paperback: 244 pages

Publisher: Jeremy P. Tarcher (May 1, 1994)

This third edition handbook is an illustrated almanac of technical information and an invaluable resource. Rates as one of the most widely used reference books for theatrical technicians and designers.

Landmark summary of 13 meetings that brought together more than 120 artistic directors from the nations leading not-for-profit professional theatres. Introduction by Lloyd Richards, Foreword by Peter Zeisler


Todd London (Artistic Director) is the former Managing Editor of American Theatre magazine and the author of "The Artistic Home", published by the Theatre Communications Group (TCG). His essays and articles blending arts journalism and advocacy have appeared regularly in publications across the country, including the Village Voice, American Theatre and Theatre Times, and many have been reprinted nationally and in Canada. "The Past is Prologue: On Change and Mourning in the American Theatre" has been translated into Russian and "Gentle Revolutionaries: The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble" into French for publication in North Africa. Todd shared (with Ben Brantley and Elinor Fuchs) the prestigious George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism in 1997 for his article in American Theatre entitled "Mamet on Mamet". In 1995 he was guest literary director of the American Repertory Theatre and visiting lecturer of dramatic arts at Harvard. For two years prior to that he served as senior writer on "Theatre in America", a five-part documentary series in development for Great Performances, WNET/Thirteen in New York. A former chair of the New York State Council on the Arts theatre panel, he spent two seasons at CSC Rep Off Broadway as associate artistic director/dramaturg, a position he also held at New Playwrights Theatre in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York in 1985. London was an assistant professor of drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts from 1990-94. Todd edited Contemporary American Monologues for Women (TCG) and Contemporary American Monologues for Men (TCG) and wrote the afterword for Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble's Letters to the Editor (Simon & Schuster) all published in 1998. His first novel, The World's Room, is due out from Steerforth Press in spring of 2001. He holds an MFA in directing from Boston University and a Ph.D in Literary Studies from the American University.


Further Links


The States of American Playwriting, by Todd London: http://www.nytheatre-wire.com/toddlondon.htm

Theatre Communications Group: http://www.tcg.org