Stage manager (theater)
The stage manager is the main coordinator of a theater performance .
conditions
The stage manager's workplace is the stage manager's desk , which is usually located on the side stage directly behind the portal. It has several monitors and electronically swiveling cameras, with the help of which he can overlook the stage from the audience's perspective and also see the conductor. From the desk, the stage manager can establish communication with all departments involved in the performance via a call system.
In the rehearsal process, the characters (also called "cues") are determined, which should later ensure that the performance runs smoothly. The stage manager is therefore present at stage rehearsals. However, he does not work independently, but subordinates to the instructions of the director , who bears the main responsibility for the development of a production . All agreed signs ("cues") are recorded in the stage manager's book, which is the binding working basis for all stage managers and is intended to guarantee the stable and constant technical process of the performances.
The term “cue” for the cues is becoming more and more popular in German-speaking countries as well. Technology cues have priority, as they often have to be accurate to the second. During the performance, the stage manager gives the stage technicians the signs for the renovations, the sound technicians the input for recordings and the lighting technicians the light positions, i. H. the time for a change in the lighting mood or video projections. The stage manager calls in employees of the props, the mask and the cloakroom if they need to be used behind the stage. He also gives the commands to pull and lower the curtain , which is often done by the stage manager . The stage manager also calls actors , singers or dancers to their performances; these are the so-called "courtesy calls". A courtesy that is expected, whereby the actors are obliged to independently ensure that they appear on time.
The English way of working: LXQ for light cue (“Electrics Cue”) is also being used more and more in German-speaking countries, as this means that there is less confusion with “light signals” - the fixed or flexible signals from lamps. These are often used when no other communication with a technician and / or artist is possible. Light signals are also used as appearance signs.
The stage manager fills out the introduction report in cooperation with the evening game master , in which all extraordinary incidents are recorded, and he is responsible for serious decisions such as spontaneous interruptions or interruptions of the performance.
In Germany, the activity of theater manager is not a training occupation. Rather, former singers, dancers or actors from the theater industry usually take up this profession.
In the UK, most acting schools and colleges offer Stage Management & Technical Theater as a Bachelor degree. Studying there is like studying an event technician in Germany. The course leads through all areas of theater. The stage manager's functions in France or Anglo-Saxon countries go beyond simply guiding the timing of a performance. In France, for example, the “Régisseur général” or “Régisseur de scène”, in the Anglo-American system the “Stage Manager” is also entrusted with extensive organizational tasks for rehearsals.
In the musical area there is also a stage manager, but there he is referred to as a "caller". A stage management team is common in musicals. There the team members have equal rights and there is no gradation like in England: see also Deputy Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager. This is also common in the American system, but the Stage Manager is generally much more involved in the creative process.
Web links
- Homepage of the theater stage managers in German-speaking countries, inspektiven-netzwerk.de
- Stage manager / in the Berufenet the Federal Employment Agency