Information for Stage Managers

The following guidelines are intended to provide parameters for MFA stage managers who are assigned to a department production. They are written from the stage managers’ point-of-view. However, because of the collaborative nature of the work (in general), and the Theatre Program requirements (specifically), many of these guidelines intersect with the roles and responsibilities of the student directors, student producers, and Theatre Production staff. The goal of the information which follows is to create a production laboratory that mirrors, as much as possible within an academic environment, what students can expect when they enter the professional arena.

This handbook should be used in conjunction with all other policies and procedures that originate from the Theatre Program, the Theatre Production Department, the School of the Arts, and Columbia University. These guidelines do not supersede any of those regulations and are subject to change and revision as necessary and without notice.

 

Stage Manager Quick Link

REHEARSAL HOURS CALCULATORS AND TEMPLATES

Duties during Rehearsals and Performances

The Stage Manager shall be expected to perform the following duties:

  1. Be the executive in the technical running of each performance, maintaining discipline during rehearsals and performances
  2. Serve as an example in adhering to all school policies and as a leader in accordance with accepted professional standards of conduct
  3. Facilitate communication between all departments; facilitate production meetings as necessary.
  4. Maintain artistic integrity of performance to ensure quality control over the course of the run.
  5. Send Rehearsal Reports, Performance Reports, and Meeting Notes to applicable parties from the Schapiro Distro List

Stage managers are not required to function in areas that impinge upon their primary duties as stage managers. As such, the stage manager shall not be required to perform the following duties unless agreed upon by the stage manager, producer, and/or the Theatre Program Production staff: 


  • Performing the duties which are properly those of stagehands, house management staff, or box office personnel
  • Designing, building, hanging, operating, or shopping for lights, sound, scenery, props or wardrobe, etc.
  • Being responsible for any aspect of laundry or dry cleaning
  • Making or distribution of any payments
  • Doing janitorial, custodial, or building maintenance. This excludes the sweeping and/or mopping of the stage or rehearsal space

As necessary, stage managers will be expected to help ensure all Theatre Program spaces are secured and restored to neutral following rehearsals and performances.

  • There is a printer in the Stage Management Office (B17) on the Lower Level of Schapiro. 
    • Printing needs to be done in the Theatre Office for large quantities
  • The Crew @ Schapiro are responsible for sweeping up their work-related mess, but are not required to sweep and/or mop the full stage before rehearsal. They may be available to help, but not expected to if other projects take priority.
  • Sweeping/mopping before tech/performances are the responsibility of the SM  with assistance from the Schapiro Site Supervisor.
  • Any items on loan to a project must be signed in on the Project Manifest Form and needs to be approved by the Schapiro PM and APM.  These items will then be signed out by The Staff @ Schapiro representative before leaving the building.
  • Audience chairs & seating risers are limited. In preliminary meeting with PM, please know the number of risers and seats that will be needed for the production
  • Use only spike tape on floors. Spike tape can be found in B13, B15b & B17 in Schapiro.
  • At the end of the performance week, the room must be restored to neutral,

    • Furniture, Costumes and Props signed out from Nash will be stored in Room 106/107

  • Refer to Production Strike Checklist
  • Strike is not complete until the Schapiro Crew Member on duty signs off on it.
  • All Schapiro spaces will be locked at 11p. Rehearsals will end at 10:45p to allow for cleaning up, gathering belongings, and exiting the space
  • Failure to abide by these policies may result in loss of scheduled use.

 

  • In case of an injury, make sure to follow the following protocols:
    • Alert a member of the Theatre Columbia Production Team immediately.
    • Complete a Columbia University Accident Report and submit it to the Director of Production, Production Manager, and Assistant Production Manager as soon as possible after the incident.
    • if any injury requires medical attention, please alert Production Management and the Director of Production immediately.

The Theatre @ Schapiro 

  • All lights (house, work, dressing room, back room, running) should be turned off before leaving
  • The ghost light needs to be turned on at the end of the day. The switch is located on the wall behind the audience near the booth.
  • The light and sound boards, monitors, amps and computer cannot leave the Booth.

 

The Studio @ Schapiro 

  • The room must be restored to neutral after rehearsal Monday-Wednesday, unless given permission by Production Management to leave set up.
    • All scenery, props, costumes, etc. must be struck to the back room, dressing room, and electrics room
  • At load-in, the PSM will be given keys to the Studio and Dressing Rooms (B20/B22). They must be returned at strike
  • The front, back doors, and the storage room by the booth needs to be locked and lights turned off when leaving
General
  • All Columbia University holidays are observed during the rehearsal and performance process. Please plan around these dates.
  • All 1st and 2nd year students are prohibited from attending any rehearsal before 6:00P on weekdays.
  • Please schedule runs for the designers in the production calendar, with the understanding they are subject to change.

 

  • All Columbia University holidays are observed during the rehearsal and performance process. Please plan accordingly around these dates. (inclusive, but not limited to: Labor Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, MLK Day, Memorial Day, July 4th)
  • Rehearsal Processes must be paused for the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend (Wednesday-Sunday)
  • The SM and Director will collaborate to create the scheduling.
  • Please pre-schedule the designer runs into the production calendar (even if tentative).
  • Please reference the SOA Primary Calendar for official rehearsal start date.
  • The maximum weekly rehearsal time is 28 hours/week and 124 hours total (inclusive of tech & dress rehearsals). A day-off must be given after 6 consecutive days of rehearsal.
  • Pre-tech rehearsals may not exceed 4 hours.
  • Tech Rehearsals lasting more than 5 hours require a 1-hour meal break.
  • Please refer to the EMS scheduling guidelines for any Theatre Program protocols, based on the production's placement in the season.
  • Production Management will send the Production Stage Manager available times for rehearsal once the production has moved into their Schapiro space.

 

The following minimum guidelines apply to all Columbia productions. Note: in no case should a stage manager be required to perform stage management functions past 11:59pm. The director, producer, and Theatre Program staff are also obligated to enforce those rules and support the stage manager in this effort.

Hours of Rehearsal

After opening, rehearsals may not be called after the first public performance without the consent of the actors involved. Such rehearsals will be scheduled at the actors’ availability.

  • On a performance day, the rehearsal shall terminate at least one (1) hour before the half-hour of the scheduled performance. The combined rehearsal and performance time shall not exceed six (6) hours.

Musical productions may use five (5) additional hours for learning music during the first or second week of rehearsal.

Breaks/Days Off
  • There shall be a five (5)-minute break after 55 minutes of rehearsal or a 10-minute break at the conclusion of 80 minutes of rehearsal.
  • Actors and stage managers shall not rehearse more than five (5) consecutive hours without a meal break of at least one (1) hour.
  • There shall be a 12-hour rest period between the end of rehearsal or performance on one day and the beginning of rehearsal or performance on the next day, except for the rest period preceding the day of the first paid public performance, when the rest period may be 10 hours.
  • There shall be one full day off after every six days of rehearsal and/or performance.

 

Class schedules are not included in the rest period calculation. Students are expected to attend all classes regardless of any production schedules, unless they have received prior written permission from the instructor(s), and/or the concentration head.

Fight Choreography and Weapon Usage

  • The Gun and Weapon Release form must be filled out and submitted before a weapon is used in the rehearsal room.
  • Weapons are required to be locked up when not in use. This can be inside the SM office that cannot be accessed without a code.
  • Adjunct Professor Jacqueline Holloway serves as the Staged Violence Advisor for Schapiro productions. Early in the production process, contact Jacqueline to assess the production's staged violence needs and, schedule permitting, consult with the creative team on how choreography will be approached. She can help determine whether the production would benefit from or require the engagement of a dedicated fight director or choreographer.
    • Please note that Jacqueline's schedule does not permit her to serve as the fight director in the rehearsal room if one is needed.
    • If a production does not have a fight director or choreographer and additional staged violence support appears necessary or would improve the safety of the rehearsal process, notify the PM, APM, and Stage Management Faculty immediately. The stage manager plays a critical role in identifying potential safety concerns, and that assessment is an important part of ensuring that rehearsals are conducted safely for everyone involved.

Intimacy in Productions

  • If the production has intimacy or nudity, please be sure to thoroughly read the wiki page on Intimacy as there is a large amount of information and policies that are important for the Stage Manager to understand. You must also be in compliance with the process detailed on the CU Production Requests For Intimacy & Fight Processes.
  • Adjunct Professor Jacqueline Holloway serves as the Intimacy Advisor for Schapiro productions. Early in the production process, contact Jacqueline to assess the production's intimacy needs and, schedule permitting, consult with the creative team on how moments of intimacy will be approached. She can help determine whether the production would benefit from or require the engagement of a dedicated intimacy director.
    • Please note that Jacqueline's schedule does not permit her to serve as the intimacy director in the rehearsal room if one is needed.
    • If a production does not have an intimacy director and any member of the production team believes one is necessary or would improve the safety and comfort of the rehearsal process, notify the PM, APM, and Stage Management Faculty immediately so that an intimacy director can be engaged if appropriate.
  • If nudity, sexual content, consensual sexual touching, or sexual assault will be a part of the production, ensure all members of the productions have read the Protocols for Rehearsing and Performing Materials Containing Sexual Content, Consensual Sexual Touching, and/or Depicting Sexual Assault and signed the Nudity Release Form. If a role requires nudity, that must be disclosed before the actor begins rehearsals in the production. If the production has nudity, the nudity release form must be filed before any nudity happens in rehearsals. 
  • The stage manager and intimacy director (if used) are the co-facilitators for all protocols relating to scenes with nudity and/or sexual content (including consensual sexual touching and sexual assault). At the first rehearsal, the stage manager will highlight the protocols to the company, and confirm that all members of the company have read, understood, and consented to this policy. In preproduction, the stage manager will enumerate the scenes with any potential nudity, sexual content, consensual sexual touching and/or sexual assault, and in the rehearsal room will work with the Intimacy Director to take down the choreography to ensure the choreography is repeated. Stage Management is responsible for letting the company know of nudity/sexual content in the rehearsal room at least 24 hours prior.
  • As facilitator for these protocols, stage managers who meet with any resistance from any member of the production team (students, staff, faculty, administration, and any outside colleagues hired for the production), should immediately report such instances to their Concentration Head and the Director of Academic Administration for further counsel.

 

If needed, An intimacy Director must be onboarded and in rehearsals minimally 3 weeks before opening.

Any staged fights (including, but not limited to, slaps, kicks, punches, faints, falls, or any use of weaponry), in addition to scenes requiring the use of weaponry requires the participation of a qualified fight coordinator. Stage managers should discuss these needs with the director, and then inform the Program Production department if a fight coordinator is suggested. If so, there must be a fight rehearsal with all actors involved, including the stage manager and fight captain, immediately prior to the half-hour of each performance.

All members of the cast and creative team who are working on scenes containing nudity or sexual content must adhere to the Protocols for Rehearsing & Performing Materials Containing Sexual Content, sign the form attesting to this fact and submit the form to the PM before the first rehearsal with said content.

If needed, contact:

Jacqueline A. Holloway, Faculty Intimacy and Fight Director ([email protected]). She is available to advise all Schapiro Projects on Intimacy and Fight Choreography when needed. If needed, she will require a script and a meeting with Director and Stage Management.