<p>I’m interested in being a tech major (somewhere in the realm of tech, preferably Directing or Stage Management). The question is does the school that you go to really matter when you are looking for tech-related theatre jobs? Thanks!</p>
<p>This is a great question and I am eager to see the responses that others who have better experience with college theater tech programs (and the after-life).</p>
<p>Directing and Stage Management are quite different kettles of fish. Directing is considered more “Artistic”, it really isn’t considered a tech subject.</p>
<p>The impression I get is that tech degrees, including Stage Management, are usually in high demand. And also, there are very few colleges and universities that even HAVE undergraduate programs in Stage Management.</p>
<p>Directing is always going to be an extrememly competitive field, like acting. There are always going to be many many more people who want to be directors or actors than there is paid directing or acting work available. And again, there are few colleges and universities that have undergraduate programs in Theatre Directing.</p>
<p>The job of a director and a stage manager are really quite different. I would suggest you learn more about the difference between these, and really think about which you are more interested in. You have probably been in a lot of educational theatre where the director is the teacher, and ends up doing everything, including a lot of what in the professional theatre is done by the stage manager. Which can happen in the professional theatre as well, but in Equity theatre the stage manager’s job is clearly defined by the union (Stage Managers are members of Equity, like actors.)</p>
<p>Then I would make my usual suggestion of researching people who right now have your “dream job”. The people who are doing the kind of work you hope to someday do. You may find out that a lot of Directors and Stage Managers do NOT have degrees in directing or stage management (But I suspect these kinds of degrees are becoming more common).</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Most theater conservatories have degree programs in Stage Management. Others teach it as part of a Theater Arts degree. </p>
<p>It matters where you go for two reasons. One is that you make contacts in school. The stage managers a year or two ahead of you choose their assistant stage managers from your class and one or more will choose you as their go-to assistant. The same is true of the directing students who can choose you as their go-to stage manager. KEVP is right that directors and stage managers are different but a stage manager runs a show after a director leaves so you need directors who like your work. Once the people ahead of you graduate, they become your way into the industry when you graduate. Most conservatories offer ways for you to meet alumni who can help you out as well. There is a tendency for techies to favor those from their school if only because they know exactly how you were trained and they can rely on that knowledge.</p>
<p>The other way in which it matters is that people will make assumptions about you based on your education. This is partly a matter of prestige but also partly a matter of knowing, again, that people from a certain school were all trained in a certain way. Conservatories are fairly rigid institutions. They include a core curriculum designed to prepare you to do a job. </p>
<p>This is not to say that you cannot enter the industry in a variety of ways. It’s just easier, faster, some ways than others.</p>
<p>Stage managers work in a variety of venues. These include touring companies, music festivals, regional theaters, big name shows in big cities, and others. Some of these venues offer permanent jobs but others hire on a show-by-show basis so some stage managers are always looking for work. Making contacts is crucial when looking for work is an important part of your job.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding! I am aware of the difference between stage management and directing, but those two are the ones I’ve narrowed it down too, and still trying to decide which one I want to pursue.</p>
<p>One school you might want to look at is UArts because they include stage management and directing in the same department with playwriting. It’s an unusual approach but ideal for those who want to create and produce their own shows. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I’ve been an AEA stage manager for 16 years. I’ve got an MFA in stage management from Yale and have taught undergraduate stage management at SMU in Dallas while serving as resident PSM for the Meadows school of the Arts. As far as I’m concerned, a person’s basic personality type and aptitude for management far outweigh the their technical training when looking at potentially successful students.</p>
<p>I tend to think that a very good SM will have their eyes wide open to all facets of theatre. Being able to embrace training in acting, directing, technical theatre, movement and even playwriting are crucial. Being a stellar director isn’t what makes a good SM, understanding what a director goes through during their process certainly is. They don’t have to be a good actor, but it is vital that they understand the physical and psychological hurdles their actors must overcome in their journey to find their character. In my experience, the best SMs are those who understand the psychology of every individual player in the collaborative process in order to best scale the communication to each person differently. I call this “taking the temperature” of a person or room of people. If I can find a person smart enough to get this concept and can pull off the diplomacy of it all I know I can teach them how to do paperwork and communicate well.</p>
<p>If a student cannot decide between directing and stage managing, they should not embrace stage management. Being an SM is not a technical position, nor is it creative. It is facilitative, involving a deep knowledge of both sides in order to join the two during technical rehearsals. In my educated opinion, lots of smart kids can stage manage, but great SMs are born to do it. I know that sounds corny, but I’ve known and worked with hundreds of SMs and the good ones have no aspiration to do anything else. It’s a tough, thankless, low-paying job (for most) and narcissists need not apply. </p>
<p>I encourage students and parents (especially the latter) to avoid getting hung up on undergrad majors in stage management. Instead, I would focus on a technical production major, but not design. I see young SMs who think technical work is somehow “beneath” them. This is an old holdover from high school, where the kids not talented in acting or singing work on the physical production. They quickly find out that technical production is very high on the list of things which are important to a director and to their theatre department. When an SM cannot “speak the language” of technical theatre they lose credibility, which is vital to maintaining control of a production. Because of this I encourage young people to find schools with a well funded, well staffed technical program with excellent facilities and high production value. I won’t bother listing them, as there are plenty of others on this forum who are probably more in tune with the specific schools.</p>
<p>More importantly than just an undergrad education is a student’s internship. Summer stock won’t cut it. The top regionals are where they want to focus.</p>
<p>What a great answer, kyndcookie!</p>
<p>Thanks, I appreciate that :)</p>
<p>As you can tell, I’m pretty opinionated on the subject of student SMs. I have worked with so many that I can’t help but have very specific ideas about their education. The hardest part about working with aspiring young theatre practitioners is getting them to focus on what best for themselves individually. They are so hung up on comparing themselves to their peers. This is partly due to their age, and partly due to their parents. Parents naturally want the best for their kids. No judgement there. The problem is that unless the parents are actual practitioners themselves they really have no clue to the subtle nuances of stage management. This leads them to lump SMs in with technicians instead of designers, directors and actors. In reality SMs need to be fluent in all of the above. These incorrect notions of the job create conversations between parents and kids which may point them in a direction they are ill-fitted will ultimately find unsatisfying.</p>
<p>My desire is to help students and parents make much more informed decisions about what goes into being an SM. I’ve reached out in the past, but I don’t frequent this forum often as my kids are still pretty young. I do check in once in a while. Anyone interested is free to PM me with questions.</p>
<p>^^Wonderful posts–I echo glassharmonica’s comment–articulate, experienced, credible observations. Thank you!</p>
<p>I’ve been in technical theatre for…well…a long time now. I’ve been a (below average) SM at one time in my career, but am now a set designer. I’m also the chair of a theatre program. And there is no way that I could have put it any better than kyndcookie. Excellent answer, excellent viewpoint. In terms of the last word on undergraduate SM training, kyndcookie is dead on.</p>
<p>Well, I agree with everyone about kyndcookie’s post EXCEPT I don’t think it’s realistic to expect every college freshman to know what he or she is born to do. In fact, I think it’s a lucky exception to the rule. Waiting for lightening to strike to determine a vocation is not a winning strategy. For many, it’s a case of trial and error. Maybe you’re right that this means that those people will not be the very best SMs, but maybe it’s a good choice anyway. So I would not say anyone should rule SM out because they’re not sure yet that it’s what they want.</p>
<p>I think that’s a valid point. My comment was based on the assumption that the OP may have wanted to find a school with an SM major. Obviously there’s no way a person would be able to know if a particular craft was suitable unless they gave it a try. I know at SMU all sophomores have to take one semester of stage management, including serving as a primary or assistant on at least one show. In that setting it was fairly easy for me to discern who possessed the aptitude for the work. The hard part was then convincing them to make the commitment to stage management as a focus for their studies. </p>
<p>I would go further with theatre mom’s comment and suggest that if an 18 year old absolutely KNEW they wanted to pursue stage management as a freshman I would be skeptical. I think there are precious few young people who have the exposure to professional SMs prior to undergrad that would allow them to make an informed decision</p>
<p>kyndcookie, that is a wonderful explanation, and so clear. Thank you!!!</p>