Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career

Rafael Jaen (sounds HA-EN), Associate Professor of Theatre and Performing Arts Chair, UMass Boston. Jaen is an award-winning costume designer, educator, and author. He is a USITT Fellow, the USITT VP for Communications (2019–2022), and a past National KCACTF DTM Chair. He is the author of SHOWCASE (2011) and Digital Costume Design and Collaboration (2017) by Focal Press/Routledge, and the Series Editor for the USITT/Focal Press Backstage series. Christopher Sadler, Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma’s (OU) Helmerich School of Drama. Sadler heads the stage management emphasis and teaches multiple courses in stage and theatre management and dramatic literature at OU. He has degrees from Ithaca College and UC San Diego and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Sadler has a successful freelancing career having been on stage management teams for over 100 productions at theatres nationwide.

• PrefaceRafael Jaen and Christopher SadlerIntroduction. Intersectional History: Stage Managers’ in the Actors’ UnionJennifer Leigh Sears ScheierPart 1: Work1. The Big PictureJoseph Drummond2. Maximum FlexibilityTom Humes3. The Journey of a Thousand Steps Starts With a DreamMatthew Stern4. The "Smusedays" of Touring a Broadway Show!Kristi Ross-Clausen5. Running Away with Cirque du SoleilAlana Clapp6. Opera Stage Management 101Erin Joy Swank7. Off Headset at SeaCharlotte Sachetti8. A Mutualistic Symbiotic Model: Stage Manager and Designers’ Strong Ties and Participative IntentionsRafael Jaen9. The Art of ManagementJoanna Obuzor10. Stage Management is Only Just BeginningDavid McGraw11. Hold, Please: Addressing Urgency and Other White Supremacist Standards in Stage Management (HowlRound)Miguel Flores, R. Christopher Maxwell, John Meredith, Alexander Murphy, Quinn O’Connor, Phyllis Y. Smith, and Chris WatersPart 2: Life12. Stage Managing a Beautifully Complicated HistoryNikki Hyde13. Already Calm, I’m the Stage ManagerMichele Kay14. Life in the Real WorldAmanda Spooner15. "Was That a Go?" Lessons on Perseverance & ResilienceJay Sheehan16. A Multiplicity of Identities, On Headset and OffNarda E. Alcorn with Copy Editor and Proofreader Sam Tirrell17. The Fallacy of Figuring It All Out: Finding Grace in the Imperfect Attempts at BalanceJonathan D. AllsupPart 3: Career18. A Matter of PerspectiveRamón Valdez19. Maxwell, Brown, and Co.: Learning from Corporate ManagementChristopher Sadler20. On Networking and Making Connections: A New, Empty RolodexElynmarie Kazle21. From Stage Management to Production Management: One PathCary Gillett22. Unemployment: The Other Side of Being a Freelance Stage ManagerErin Joy Swank23. These Skills Are Made for WalkingTina ShacklefordAfterword. Moment of Pause—Tech, 09.26.20Evangeline Rose Whitlock

"Off Headset is a powerful collection of stories—a gift to fellow stage managers and the job we all love. The volume showcases a welcome range of voices to reflect on professional highlights and career arcs, to pose important questions about the industry in today’s world, and to consider our role as people and artists at the same time. It will be on my 'highly recommended' list as soon as it hits the shelves."Laurie Kincman, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, author of The Stage Manager’s Toolkit