Monday, February 9, 2009

Stage Managing Again

After talking to a colleague, I learned that I needed to do more things stage managing. So I looked online for info and was surprised. I had a prop list, ordered by scene and which entrance the actor takes, and a scene diagram, cast list, and even had all the blocking notes in the script. However, in my reading I saw that it has to be more formalized: "A prompt book should be legible so that if the stage manager is unable to call the show"--ooooh. So...I went hunting around and found (I'll find my url later) a sample prompt book, and realized I needed to rework my script (translation, lots of hours). So, I am now furiously getting my prompt book up to speed and in the meantime buying The Stage Management Handbook to fill any other possible gaps in my stage management knowledge. Do I hear kudos to stage managers here? You betcha!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Stage Managing

Well, I've been at it for about a month now, and I have to say, stage managing is a lot like the Army. You've got to get it all done. From setting up the rehearsal space to keeping track of the props, from filling in for characters to keeping up with feeding actors lines, I'm enjoying it. I have certainly learned a lot from the rehearsal process, how it's setup from blocking to running through off book. I'm finding it's a more formalized process than when developing solo shows. Same concepts, just formalized. Having a great time, all in all!