Legal Aspects - SM

[jaythomas]

What are the legal aspects of a Stage Manager? What are the requirements and constraints?

[themadhippy]

it's beginning to sound alot like christmas homework.

[GridGirl]

What are the legal aspects of a Stage Manager? What are the requirements and constraints?

 

What are your thoughts about this? If you tell us what you think, you're much more likely to get a constructive and useful discussion.

[paulears]

You also need to consider the title. What kind of Stage Manager? The role can encompass standing in the wings doing very little to something amazingly complex, and with a huge amount of paperwork. There can be no responsibility at all or legal responsibilities that can end up in the High Court.

 

Tell us your scenario, imaginary or real and we will be happy to help. If it's homework - keep in mind that we're also extremely proficient at spotting teachers who ask stupid question for their students to answer.

[J Pearce]

Sounds much like the wording for a BTEC grading criterion to me. Maybe BTEC Production Arts Unit 75 GC1, or perhaps Unit 57 GC4.

[gareth]

Surely a BTEC grading criterion would be written and phrased better than that?!

[paulears]

"requirements and constraints" are components required by the criteria, contrasted with the misunderstanding of the first section, which is home grown.

[jaythomas]

What are the legal aspects of a Stage Manager? What are the requirements and constraints?

 

What are your thoughts about this? If you tell us what you think, you're much more likely to get a constructive and useful discussion.

 

Honestly, I have been asked to reach out to a network to gain research, I personally think that a stage manager is one of the most important roles with requirements from first aid all the way to mummying (if you like) all the actors.

[paulears]

Sadly, I think your view of stage managers is distorted from the norm, and sounds like a student project. This is NOT a problem, we get it all the time and are happy to help, but honesty is always best. Research always worries us, because research on the net is amazingly problematic. You'll get data, but how do you quantify it and check it for quality? You don't know if your stage manager providing info has 40 years professional touring experience, 2 months amateur experience in a venue that doesn't follow any industry practices, or stage manager in an organisation that does it very differently for operational purposes.

 

First aid is a good example. I know many Stage Managers who do not have FAW qualifications. First aid being nothing whatsoever to do with their role. The old fashioned notion of the 'mummyling' role also seems to have vanished in many organisations because the Stage Manager role has grown too much to allow time for faffing about.

 

What often happens is that your legal responsibilities are something many people do not wish to take on. Some might argue that the pay does not balance responsibility. Somebody will be responsible, but often they could be responsible for actions and processes way outside their competency, and then things get very tricky when accidents happen.

 

Can I suggest that if this is an educational research quest, you simply give us the details. Copy the question for us. Let its see what you have been asked to do, with the guidelines. Two things will happen. We'll be able to read into the question hidden things that your teacher/lecturer has put in that you may have not picked up on, or sometimes we instantly know your member of staff really has no clue about contemporary practice at all.

 

The clue for us was in the 'legal aspects' of a stage manager. That's not phrased in a way that makes us think it's a proper question. Change aspects into responsibilities and we're heading the right way. We have hundreds of student members here - we were all beginners at one point. We sometimes come across as a bit raspy simply because we want to help, but people try to dress up a sensible question into something non-educational, or maybe they have a 'secret' reason for asking. You could after all be 50, and doing the role for an amateur organisation who have suddenly informed you that you are responsible for licences, rules, safety processes etc that you know nothing about?

 

So - tell us what you've been asked to do (as in the exact wording), what it's for, what you think they want you to talk about and useful background - then we can help. There is also a case that many actors take on stage management because they didn't get the acting role, and know very little about it! As the Stage Manager is in effect the Director's right hand in the process - because they are there all the time, they are in reality the boss. Not that the actors would agree.

[ImagineerTom]

It's also worth repeating myself by pointing out that in this industry job titles / definitions really aren't standardized - I know one producing venue where the person called "stage manager" is a 9-5 admin job literally managing the admin of the stage not actually anything show specific, I know other venues where no one has that exact title but there's a dozen "assistant stage manager" "deputy stage manage" "chief stage manager" and "head of stage" who's jobs vary from tidying a props table to calling the entire show and being the one in charge of safety for stunts and pyros. Then there's the low-budget fringe shows and community theatre tours where someone with the title "stage manager" builds the set, drives the van, calls the show and even has to pop on stage and deliver a few lines. Every one of these people could be called "stage manager" but their jobs & responsibilities are so wildly different as to make a nonsense of any generalizations you might make.

[ClaireL]

Adding to the above, asking your essay question without a 'Please can you help me with...' and a 'Thanks in advance for any help you can offer' never goes down very well.

[ninjadingle]

Also consider the breadth of industries represented on this forum - you may be talking about Stage Managers in a theatrical sense, whereas I may look it from a music festival point of view, or a corporate style event. Again wildly different jobs and wildly different responsibilities before you even get to legalities.

[Brian]

Surely the answer to the question doesn't matter on what type of stage manager. Nor does it matter whether we are talking about a stage manager, a bricklayer, a school cleaner, or someone who serves coffee in Starbucks.

 

There is no law which only applies to stage managers. They apply to all employees equally.

 

And it all starts with the Health and Safety at Work Act.

[Junior8]

Take Brian's advice and start there. If you want to go further you must define 'Stage Manager' before you can answer the question. You might like to also consider the question 'why do educational institutions set such pointless tasks?'.