Stage Management

Michael Smalley is a theatre-maker, researcher and Senior Lecturer in Theatre Production at the Guildford School of Acting, UK. His professional practice has mainly involved stage managing many productions through the UK, Australia and Canada. He has also lectured in stage management, technical theatre and scenography at universities and presented his research at many academic conferences including the Prague Quadrennial.

• List of FiguresSeries PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionsAssumptionsSynopsisInterviewsPart One: Various Stage Management ApproachesChapter 1 – Developments Over TimeChapter 2 – Cultural DifferencesDifferent Stage Management Approaches in the UK, North America and AustraliaIntercultural Stage ManagementCultural Diversity and Stage ManagementConclusionsChapter 3 – Content-driven DifferencesGenreDifferent Scales of ProductionConclusions.Chapter 4 – Recent DevelopmentsCommunication TechnologyPerformance TechnologyNew Approaches to Maintaining ProductionsDevelopments in Health and Safety ManagementConclusionsChapter 5 – Three Models of Stage Management PracticeThe Administrative ModelFeaturesLimitationsThe Managerial ModelThe Artistic ModelArtistryCommunication DesignAudience ExperienceConclusionsPart Two: Scenographic Stage ManagementChapter 6 – Scenographic Stage ManagementOther Technical Theatre DisciplinesScenographyAnalysing ScenographyThe Coordinates Model of ScenographyConclusionsChapter 7 – Objectives of Stage ManagementSelective Information FlowTargeted Information Flow.Distributed CognitionControlling the Mood and AtmosphereTranslationConclusionsChapter 8 – The Properties of CommunicationMessageModeDistributionUpdatesConclusionsChapter 9 – Rationales, Implications and ConclusionsRationalesImplicationsConclusionsNotesIndex

The rich body of interview material, together with the analysis of that material and the development of an original and substantial theoretical model of stage management practice represent a significant achievement.