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Crystal Selover
Comm 497
Mr. Robert Alford
29 November 2011
Collaboration of Director and Stage Manager
While researching the collaboration between the director and stage manager, I found it
significant that the experience from collaboration determines individual careers and forms
theatrical talent through continuous generations. First, I will provide a clear explanation of the
terms that will be expressed including the terms collaboration, stage manager, and director.
Second, I will provide examples of individuals that have collaborated in the theatre as director or
stage manager. Many of the directors today began as an assistant stage manager or stage hand in
order to start their careers. It is possible to start in the theatre with a small position and work your
way into the position you most desire. The director of a theatrical production is the individual
that has the task of expressing the writer’s story in a live performance. The stage manager is the
individual who holds a constant communication between the director and the actors, the
backstage crew, the designers, and the production staff. Collaboration exists when a group of
artists discuss a project as a whole, suggesting ideas and possibilities. Collaboration became a
way to advance central ideas of a new cultural aesthetic, including the reestablishment of the
ritual verse drama, the conservation of a national idea, the expression of the historical experience
of a people, and the preservation of the voice of a unified culture (Badenhausen 112). Artists
with a career in the dramatic arts will return repeatedly to collaboration as a solution.
Collaboration creates a pathway toward a variety of ideals (Badenhausen 112). My goal in this
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paper is to successfully explain the importance of a stage manager and the collaboration between
the stage manager and the director.
The term collaboration refers specifically to the communicative process of negotiation
and is successful when individuals and groups respond to one another and negotiate
understandings (Richards 20). It is especially necessary for an individual in the dramatic arts to
be willing to collaborate with an open mind. Collaboration will always involve give and take.
There may be times when all of your ideas are used, and then there may be times when none of
your ideas can be used. During collaboration it is important not to take anything personally. Most
concrete decisions can quickly and easily be made by a mature vote on a suggestion.
Collaboration as an occupation in the theatre is a very visual task. When attempting to find a job
in the theatre it is important to be consistently seen in the theatre community. If a position is
available as a stage manager, it is necessary to be the “invisible organizer” and assist the director
with daily rehearsals and make sure the actors get on and off stage. Stage managers understand
that they will work long irregular hours and are often the first to arrive and the last to leave
(Mauro 35). Although stage managing can be a great way to enter the business, it is not an easy
task. Stage managers keep a prompt book, which is a binder containing a master script with all
details about the play. Inside the prompt book you should have a complete list of every actor’s
movements, entrance, and exit cues, costume details, lighting, and sound plots. The changes are
recorded throughout the production in the master book (Goldberg 141). Stage managers also
maintain personal records on all cast members and backstage workers to include names,
addresses, and phone numbers (Goldberg 141).
I will explain how individuals can begin in the theater by giving examples of several
individuals who succeeded by starting as a stage manager. The main thing to remember is that an
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individual’s attitude and willingness during collaboration will determine their success. Even as a
stage hand or assistant you will have an opinion formed about you by your collaborators. Henrik
Ibsen was born in 1828 into a family suffering from financial difficulties (Ibsen). In 1844, at
sixteen years old he was lonely and miserable, therefore he began writing poetry as a means of
escape. Between 1844 and 1850 he experimented with poetry which extended into writing plays.
In 1850 he published one of his early plays and soon attained a position as an apprentice in the
theater. At first he was trusted as the stage manager; however he soon was recognized as a
playwright by the National Stage in Bergen, Norway. In 1857 he began the position as the theater
director for the Norwegian Theater in Oslo, Norway. His success can be granted due to his
consistent desire for intellectual, artistic, and spiritual growth (Ibsen).
A second prominent individual who began with a small scale job and earned success is
David Belasco. In 1853, David Belasco was born in San Francisco (Sheehy 40). His father
encouraged him to have an interest in the theater. At eleven years old David Belasco was stage
struck. At a young age he began writing plays and worked as a theatre call boy where he was
allowed to run errands. He wanted to be an actor; however he did not pursue his desires because
he believed he was too short at five feet six inches. After gaining experience in the theater he
moved and started working as a stage manager at the Madison Square Theater in New York.
After several years he became a stage manager and playwright for Charles Frohman. By 1895,
Belasco had become well-known in New York as a producer, director, playwright, and talent
creator (Sheehy 40).
Harold “Hal Prince” started with a small position and not only did he succeed by
promotions to higher positions, but he excelled greatly and is known internationally. Harold
Smith Prince, known as Hal Prince, was born in 1928 in New York City (Prince). He graduated
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high school at sixteen years old and attended the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a liberal
arts degree. He graduated college at only nineteen years old and soon served two years in the
army stationed in Germany. After his military service he became interested in the theatre. Hal
Prince first began working in the theatre as an assistant stage manager for George Abbott. After
several years of his distinct dedication he became the co-producer of Pajama Game on
Broadway in 1954. A few of his successful productions include Damn Yankees (1955), West Side
Story (1957), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). He produced and directed collaborations with
composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim including Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973),
and Sweeney Todd (1979). He has served as both the producer and director for many of his plays.
He has directed such plays as Cabaret (1966, 1987), Evita (1979), Company (1970), Pacific
Overtures (1976), Show Boat (1994), and Lovemusik (2007) just to name a few. It has been
stated by many that he has changed and revived the American Musical (Prince). These
individuals are just a few examples of the many people who have collaborated with directors, as
well as continued in the theater to one day be the director and collaborate with their own stage
managers. It is evident that the practice of being a stage manager can prepare someone for a
career in the theater properly.
Professional stage managers are represented by the Actor’s Equity Association which
means they are protected in their professions. However, what I have found during my research is
that for the amount of hard work that stage managers do, they are highly under rated and rarely
recognized. I am sure that a thankful director appreciates their wonderful stage managers, but it
would be nice to hear the directors mention the great work of their stage managers in their
interviews. If discussion of a director’s stage manager were talked about more publicly they
would get more of the credit they are due. One of the most well known Broadway stage
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managers was Beverley Randolph. Mrs. Randolph recently passed away earlier this year, but she
was employed on Broadway as a professional stage manager for over thirty years (Jones). She
worked on over twenty Broadway productions including The Addams Family (2010), Curtains
(2007), Little Women (2005), Into the Woods (2002), The Sound of Music (1998), Cabaret
(1987), Grind (1985), A Doll’s Life (1982), Evita (1979), and many more. Throughout the 1980’s
she stage managed eight Broadway productions for producer-director Hal Prince. Prince stated
“Beverley Randolph was a fabulous stage manager. She worked first as a replacement on Evita,
stayed with me through seven additional Broadway productions, and continued with a succession
of ambitiously demanding shows. I especially recall how the ‘kids’ in the original company of
Merrily We Roll Along respected and admired Beverley. She loved her actors, the crew, everyone
with whom she worked and though she was a taskmaster, she was always warm and cheerful.”
David Hyde Pierce, who worked with Mrs. Randolph on the musical Curtains, said, “Beverley
was the perfect stage manager- tough and tender, disciplined and compassionate, loving and
beloved.” Director Jerry Zaks of The Addams Family stated, “Beverley was indomitable,
meticulously professional and thoroughly dedicated to the show. She did her job as well as
anyone has ever done it- with great heart and spirit, and soul. She was my field general and my
rock.” Director James Lapine, who worked with Randolph on Passion and Into the Woods,
stated, “Beverley was more than just a stage manager. She was the heart and soul of every
production she worked on. Beverley religiously protected the work of writers and directors and
always looked after everyone from the star of a show to the stagehand in the basement. She loved
every aspect of the theatre and her enthusiasm and passion was inspiring to all who had the
pleasure to work with her” (Jones).
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A person should consider a position as a stage manager if they are organized, don’t mind
working backstage, and understand they may not get the recognition they deserve. It is extremely
hard work, but to know that you have a major influence in the outcome of a show can be a very
rewarding feeling. “What all theater people have in common, despite their colossal talent and
sometimes matching egos, is to work with other artists” (Peters 78). The feeling of
accomplishment from the act of collaboration with others is a natural rewarding feeling. “The
essence of drama may be conflict, but the essence of creating drama turns out to be cooperation”
(Peters 78). Some of Broadway’s most talented actors, directors, producers, lighting and make up
technicians, costume and set designers, and choreographers-with four Pulitzer Prizes and dozens
of Tony Awards to their credit often speak about the art of collaboration when discussing their
work (Peters 78). Collaboration is like the glue that keeps everyone together and all people who
love the theater are naturally attracted to the art of collaboration.
During research on the topic of collaboration I found an interesting article arranged with
the permission of the stage manager that realistically expresses what a detailed experience with a
director may be like. By the way that the article reads it seems as though it was written soon after
the experience had taken place. The article features Alan Hall, who is the stage manager for
Marvin Hamlisch’s musical entitled Smile, and one of his duties he tries to describe (Conniff).
From the sound of his tone you can sense the stress or tension that could have been felt at that
time. At only eight weeks before the Broadway opening of his new musical, Hamlisch stands
begging shamelessly in the aisle of Baltimore’s Morris Mechanic theatre. Hamlisch continues to
ask for something that is very difficult to accomplish. For the finale, he wants fifteen chorus girls
to line up inside a fragile, elongated cube called a mirror box, which reflect them to the audience
in glittering rows. Hamlisch believes that the girls will look even more glorious if they are
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standing on a tiered device called the pageant wagon. But, the problem is actually getting the
wagon inside the box. Regardless of the fact that the stage manager is doubtful, the director asks
for what he wants done and the stage manager uses all of the possibilities to get that goal
accomplished. This is of course exactly what a stage manager’s job consists of especially when a
new show is preparing for Broadway. The stage manager is the middleman who takes the latest
great idea from the creative side, determines exactly how impractical it really is, coordinates
many people to work in close quarters to make it happen onstage and then, more often than not,
carries the idea cheerfully to the trashcan. The play titled Smile is about a beauty pageant and the
stage manager must coordinate, dress up and sometimes dress down a cast of thirty-four people,
a crew of thirty-two, and the orchestra of twenty-six. He has to figure out how to run $500,000
worth of scenery safely, even though much of it is stored overhead in between scrims, blackout
drops, lights, and hanging pieces. Not to mention, some of the hanging pieces weigh twothousand pounds. The stage manager conducts or supervises the twenty-eight computer
controlled winches, with as many as fourteen of them running in a single scene change and as
many as nine pieces floating in the air at one given time (Conniff).
Just from this one description not many people would be interested in having this position
due to its amount of responsibility. Throw in the fact that they may not even get recognized or
thanked and many people would turn this position down. It takes a strong person to be a stage
manager especially on Broadway. Being that there are sometimes two shows in one day it leaves
little time for sleep and that would not be an excuse for a bad attitude. To aspiring performers
and theater lovers who are organized and well mannered stage managing can be a great way to
begin a career in the theater. With patience, determination, and a set of specific goals anyone can
be a stage manager and build their resume. If you begin in the theater as an office assistant, stage
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hand, or assistant stage manager you do have the ability to make a positive impression on the rest
of the cast and crew. In the entertainment industry your reputation is what others know you by
and having good contacts can help create a long work filled career. Throughout continuous
generations careers have been formed by close relationships formed in the theater. In conclusion,
through this research you can see a clear explanation of the collaboration between the stage
manager and the director. If you work hard for a director their power in the industry can help
your career expand over several decades.
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Works Cited
Badenhausen, Richard. T.S. Eliot And The Art Of Collaboration. Cambridge University Press,
2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Bloom, Ken. “Broadway: It’s History, People and Places, An Encyclopedia.” 2nd ed. New York:
Routledge, 2004. p.419. Print.
Conniff, Richard. "The Stage Manager: Off-Broadway Or On, The Buck Stops Here."
Smithsonian 17.11 (1987): 92-101. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Goldberg, Jan. Great Jobs For Theater Majors. NTC Contemporary, 1998. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
"Hal Prince." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
"Henrik Ibsen." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
Jones, Kenneth. Playbill.com. News: 1. Web. 2011.
Mauro, Lucia. Careers For The Stagestruck & Other Dramatic Types. McGraw-Hill
Professional, 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Peters, Susan L. "The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science; Essays On Theatre & The Art
Of Collaboration." Library Journal 131.18 (2006): 78. Academic Search Complete. Web.
28 Nov. 2011.
Richards, Merle. Collaboration Uncovered : The Forgotten, The Assumed, And The Unexamined
In Collaborative Education. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Sheehy, Helen. "The Great Belasco." Opera News 75.6 (2010): 40-43. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
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