Notes From The Stage Manager

Hello Readers :) It is I, April, stage manager extraordinaire. Kristin and I thought it would also be fun to get you the inside scoop on more members of the production team for Macbeth. In this case, as stage manager, I get to talk about stage manager things. What would I like to talk about today? The best friend, confidant, colleague and first mate of the stage manager: The Kit.


All of you well seasoned stage managers know well the awesome power of The Kit. Me? It was a brand new concept for me, as this is my first time stage managing ever. Do not fear, my natural organizational skill/crazy minute attention to detail makes me a prime candidate for this position. I love post it notes, they love me, the world is a brighter place.

What is in this Kit? Pretty much anything you could possibly think of randomly needing throughout a show run. I have got paperclips, highlighters, matches, sunblock (yay outdoor theater!), flashlight, gadget knife/corkscrew magical thing, stopwatch, first aid kit, 'other needs' kit, tape, pencils, pencil sharpeners, a rain poncho........I have to do a shout out to post-it notes, because they are my favorite part of the Kit.

( source )

I have noticed throughout my work with the show thus far, the usual things of use from the Kit are pencils, pens and highlighters. I expect the other bits like safety pins and makeup remover wipes to happen later in the run. Some actors might not even need the Kit at all. What is nice though, that in that time of crisis when the leading lady needs a bobby pin, or the king needs a make up remover napkin to wipe the sweat off of his severed head, I will have reprieve for them.

The Kit is not difficult to maintain either. I plan to take an inventory at the end of the run to see what I need to replace/replenish. I am also sure to think of a few brand new things that can be added for future shows to come. Sunblock was the first new item that I added at the beginning.

All fun aside, there have been two online websites that helped me tremendously with preparing myself to be stage manager (thank you Josh!). Keeping in mind community theater and equity are two different worlds, I still found these very helpful in knowing what to expect and what was expected of me. Theatrecrafts has some great resources available for all there is to know regarding stage management and Upstage Review has a good bank of task lists, checklists and reports available for download!

For all of you novice stage managers out there, this is all really good stuff. For you veterans, maybe it is a good refresher course. Either way, this Kit concept is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Also, do not blame me for munching on those mentos in the Kit....stage managers need icy cool breath to, ya know.

( source )