Stage Management
It's a bit difficult to write about stage management in general terms. The job that a stage manager does varies widely from person to person, show to show, venue to venue, director to director, and so on. I'll try to give a basic summary of the job, followed by specifics of shows at Bedlam.
Stage management can be divided roughly into two parts: preparation before the show goes up, and backstage management during the show. Before the show goes up a stage manager is responsible for gathering props, dealing with costumes, building the set, and in general doing anything that is not covered by the producer, technician or director. In some theatres this may include organising rehearsal space, contacting actors about changes and other administrative duties. Depending on the size of the production, there can be people who work with the stage manager to do these pre-show jobs. One might have a props mistress (or master), a costumer, a team for set design/building, etc. Obviously this changes show to show- a realistic modern drama will have very little need for costume as the actors can wear their own clothes, for example. The important thing to remember is that the stage manager is in charge of the crew and as such needs to make sure the jobs are done, everything is on time and under budget, and all who are helping understand their tasks and conditions.
Having a crew is lovely and a luxury, but at the end of the day the SM is responsible for making sure things are done. Therefore, it is important for a stage manager to be competent at all aspects of backstage work. Part of stage managing, especially at a student theatre, is learning, so don't worry if you've never used a drill in your life or have no idea where one would go to find a box of tonic waters. The important thing isn't that you know how to do it, but that you're willing to make sure it gets done by asking for help, learning through experience and knowing your own limitations. You'll soon build up a support network of people- people who are good at painting, building set, sewing, decoration, carpentry, plumbing- whatever you might possibly need! and can ask for their advice and help.
A director "runs" a show, but his or her job effectively stops when the show begins. A director should never be backstage during a show- once he has warmed up his cast and given last-minute notes, the stage manager takes over. During the show, the SM is responsible for everything that happens backstage- if needed, cueing actors to go on, keeping track of props and costume, doing any scene changes or set moving, and most importantly dealing with any emergency that might occur. This part of the job can be very simple. If all of the actors know and can hear their cues, props are minimal and set changing can be done easily during the interval, all the SM need do is sit backstage and relax.
Or perhaps, not so simple. Imagine a worst case scenario: actors don't know their cues and have to be told when to go on stage every few minutes by the SM, someone gets a rip in her costume and needs to be onstage in thirty seconds, someone else has lost his very essential prop somewhere in the dressing room, the set needs to be completely turned around in the ten-minute interval and one of the flats has come loose at the brace and is leaning dangerously, an actress misses a line and bursts into tears backstage, an actor has cut his leg on a piece of set and is bleeding in the wings, and meanwhile six people in the ten-person ensemble cast have exactly forty-five seconds to completely change their costumes in the dressing room. It's at this point that a stage manager has to be level-headed, rational and quick-thinking - able to hand out plasters and comfort crying actresses while simultaneously sewing a seam in a dress, drilling a flat back into place, making or repairing a prop that can't be found, directing stagehands to move set and helping the cast get into costume and on stage for their lines.
It's (hopefully) unlikely that all of these emergencies will occur during your show, but you must be prepared for the possibilities. It's (hopefully) unlikely that you'll have to do all of the before-show preparation by yourself, but you must be prepared for that possibility. Stage managing a show is a lot of work and a LOT of fun- everything you do pays off tenfold in the end. It's a great chance to do a bit of absolutely everything and learn about many aspects of theatre, and the satisfaction that comes from running a perfect show with no mistakes is amazing.
NOTE: In progress, next I'll write a bit about SMing at the Bedlam specifically.
