Good advice for learning about stage management

[revbobuk]

Folks - I've got a young friend who is really keen to progress towards Stage Management as a career. She's senior school age, and already involved with a fairly serious amdram group. What advice would you guys give? Any mistakes that she can avoid making? Any groups she can join? Any experience she should pursue? Any training she should go for / avoid like the plague?

[ImagineerTom]

Generally speaking the "big name" london stage schools technical theatre training courses should be avoided like the plague no matter how glossy their promotional material is and the promises they make about employability. In your neck of the woods the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is one with a fine reputation and every member of production/technical staff I've ever met who came from there has been a valuable and practical team member so steering her towards that as a long term qualification option would be sensible. Also the usual advice for all elements of theatre apply here - no-one ever got discovered whilst being unemployed so getting out there and doing as many shows with different companies as possible will give her a good grasp of the range of the industry and plenty of contacts who will help her get contracts in future. Above all SM requires calm & dependable people so make sure she is the sort of person who will colour code the index of a script and arrange props by size order but who also won't freak out when an actor charges in to the wings and knocks everything over.

[Junior8]

I wouldn't entirely agree with Tom's statement on the London schools but I would stress to this young person the whole employability issue and the initial investment. At Bristol, for example, it will cost her £9250 a year just for tuition and my experience of dealing with technical students elsewhere is that she'll need at least £1000 to set herself up for the first year and pay for materials thereafter. Call it £30000 for a three year course. Also get her to be real about the whole career thing. Sitting where I am now, and I am not in the sticks by any means (though admittedly everything to the south of me is sea), I calculate that there are maybe six/eight venues with a fifty mile radius where full time positions might be available purely for an SM. All the others take in the usual tours and such like and where the top whack for a, sorry in most cases the, permanent technician might be £25,000 for all the hours God made. This might suit her but she has, repeat has , to be real about it...

[ImagineerTom]

I had forgotten about the cost aspect. It is worth stressing to your friend that as junior notes qualification doesn’t equal career and that the biggest names in the business are all people with no formal SM qualifications. Emphasising the importance of real world experience and networking now could mean that she gets jobs that position her in the industry and circumvents the need for formal qualifications completely.

[J Pearce]

As you’ve asked it would be odd for me not to mention BA Stage Management at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where I work. A hands on course, with the backup of being part of a large university.

 

I’d echo suggestions to make sure this is what she really wants to do, and getting in to it with open eyes as to the typical conditions and remuneration.

[revbobuk]

Guys - this is all really helpful. Much appreciated to get real-world insights.