THAR 341 Syllabus

THAR 341 – Stage Management/Spring Semester 2016/3 Credit Hours
Fridays, 12:15-2:45
Instructor: Tim Stadler, Aud 752
Tstadler01@roosevelt.edu/(312) 341-2163
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 12:00-1:00 or by appointment.
Course Description:
• Stage Management is a class that aims to give students interested in working backstage
in a management field, the tools and knowledge to become effective stage managers.
Goals & Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of the duties and responsibilities of stage managers including
the role as the center of organization and communication in the production process.
• Discover and utilize tools available to stage managers to aid organization and
paperwork.
Required Textbook:
• The Stage Management Handbook, by Daniel A. Ionazzi
Other Good Resources:

• Stage Manager: The Professional Experience, by Larry Fazio
• The Backstage Guide to Stage Management; Traditional and New Methods for Running
a Show from Frist Rehearsal to Last Performance; 3rd Edition, by Thomas A. Kelly
• Stage Management; Tenth Edition, by Lawrence Stern and Alice R. O’Grady
• The Art and Craft of Stage Management, by Doris Schneider
Classroom Etiquette:
• Theatre is a deadline-oriented business especially for a stage manager. Rehearsals start
on time, meetings start on time, appointments happen as scheduled, shows start on
time and we open on a specific day. Time is an unforgiving limiting factor. You must be
prepared for each day before it begins.
• Punctual attendance is expected. Roll is taken at the top of every class. If you are
absent, it is your responsibility to find out what went on and make up the work, ask for
handouts, etc. You will only be permitted two absences. These include all non-college
approved absences, whether illness, family, or leisure related. If you miss more than
two class periods, 10 points will be deducted from your participation grade for each
subsequent absence. In special circumstances, exceptions can be made to this rule.
• Assignments are due at the end of the class period on the due date. Although late work
will still be accepted, a full letter grade will be deducted for anything that is not turned
in on its assigned day. All assignments must be typed.
• All students are expected to foster respect, communicate with civility, and cultivate the
ideas of others. The instructor and students will act with integrity and strive to engage
in equitable verbal and nonverbal behavior with respect to differences arising from age,
sex, race, disabilities, and religion.
• If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, you should not attend class and if you do, you
will be asked to leave.
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Fridays, 12:15-2:45
Grading Details:
• Participation
o Contribution – Students are expected to participate and contribute in class,
therefore students are expected to come to class. If you are absent from class
for any reason, it is your responsibility to:
 Contact the instructor by email at least one-week ahead of time if your
absence is planned. Conversations in the hall do not qualify as notifying
the instructor.
 Contact the instructor before class starts if the absence is unplanned.
 Contact a class member to determine what material you missed.
o Stage Manage the Class – Each class will be run as a rehearsal. The class will be
divided into groups and these groups will take turns “Stage Managing” the class.
The assigned group will be responsible for calling the start and end of class,
collecting and alphabetizing paperwork due, announcing what is due the next
class period, taking notes, and creating the Rehearsal Report [see below].
o Rehearsal Report – As the daily class Stage Manager, students will type up the
Rehearsal Report using the format provided and used by the Theatre
Conservatory and email it to the entire class before the end of the day. The
Rehearsal Report must include:
 Date
 Location
 Class number
 Start & End time
 Breaks
 Attendance
 Class content
 Lateness/Absent
 General info/Next class info
 Name of Report author
 SM contact information
 SM group number
• Paperwork – Presentation counts! We are in a business in which the style in which we
present ourselves is a fundamental part of our work. Neatness and organization is a
major requirement of stage management. SO DOES CORRECT ENGLISH! One of our
primary tools is use of language. Use your spelling checkers, but not as an excuse not to
proofread. No credit can be given for a dishonest assignment. At the discretion of the
instructor, a student caught engaging in any form of academic dishonesty may be: a)
given a zero for that assignment, b) allowed to rewrite and resubmit the assignment for
credit, c) assigned a reduced grade for the course, d) dropped from the course, and/or
e) failed in the course.
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Fridays, 12:15-2:45
o Final Project Book Paperwork – Assignments and paperwork given throughout

the semester will make up the Final Project Book [see below]. Assignments are
listed on the Daily Schedule. Every piece of paperwork must have the following
information [in your own established order]: Date, Pagination, Paperwork
Author, Paperwork Title, Play Author, Play Title, SM Contact Information, and SM
Group Number. These assignments are due by the end of class on the
established due date and will be critiqued and handed back the next class
period. Students should use the criticisms and corrections to rework the
paperwork before adding it to the Final Project Book [see below]. No late Final
Project Book Paperwork assignments will be accepted. Late paperwork can be
critiqued for the Final Project Book, but no points will be awarded.
o Essay – Each student must find an opportunity outside of class to work closely
with a Stage Manager. This can be a Theatre Conservatory production (O’Malley
productions only) that you are not cast in/crew or another project as approved
by the instructor. Once the experience is decided upon, the student must
discuss it with the instructor for approval. This project cannot occur during crew
assignment hours unless you are assigned as an ASM for a main stage
production.
After observing a rehearsal for a minimum of 4 hours and speaking with the
stage manager, students will write an essay about the experience in relation to
theories and methods discussed in class. This essay [2 page max; double-spaced;
12 pt font; 1” margins] is due April 22 by 3:00 PM.
• Mid-term project
o Stage management teams will tape out the ground plan of your group’s script.
• Final project
o Final project book – Each stage management group will be assigned a production
to Stage Manage for the semester. For the final project, students will create a
prompt book for their play. This Final Project Book [FPB] is due the day the
student gives his/her Final Project Presentation [see below].
The FPB will encompass all paperwork assignments submitted in class [as well as
any other material the student deems necessary or important]. Although
students will be working in groups, each student will be responsible for their
own book. The FPBs are to be submitted in a 3-ring binder, and the binder must
have labeled tabs to organize all paperwork.
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Fridays, 12:15-2:45
Grading Breakdown:
• Participation – 20%
• Mid-term – 20%
• Essay – 10%
• Final project book – 50%
Required supplies:
• Three ring binder – 3”
• Colored 5-tab dividers
• Pencil
• A good eraser
• A straight edge (ruler)
• Stopwatch (not required for the class but is a requirement for being a stage manager)
• A calendar
• Architect’s Scale Ruler (will be supplied for mid-term but good to have as a stage manager)
• Access to Microsoft Word (PC) or Pages (Mac)
• A calendaring program
Web Resources:
• http://actorsequity.org/
• http://smnetwork.org
• http://offstagejobs.com/
• http://leagueofchicagotheatres.org/
• http://www.stagemanagers.org/
• http://www.stagejobspro.com/us/
• http://www.playbill.com/jobs/find/
Academic Intergrity:
Roosevelt University students are responsible for following the Standards of Conduct published in
the Student Handbook. This includes the standard of academic integrity, which refers to honesty and
responsibility in representing your own work and acknowledging the contribution of others.
Academic dishonesty includes cheating and unauthorized material on examinations, recycling of
your own work without acknowledgment (e.g. submitting the same paper for different classes); the
fabrication of information or making up sources; improper collaboration; and plagiarism.
All acts of academic dishonesty violate the very spirit of the university: They undermine the
perpetrator’s own learning; they are unfair to other students who do their own work; they violate
the trust between professor and student; and they diminish the value of the degree for all students.
For these reasons academic dishonesty is taken very seriously at Roosevelt University, with
consequences ranging from failing the assignment or the course to being expelled by the University.
Sign in and read: http://www.roosevelt.edu/plagiarism
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Fridays, 12:15-2:45
Schedule:
January March
22 Introduction 4 MID TERM – Tape out ground plan
Syllabus Review 11 NO CLASS Spring Break
Talk about Essay/select theater 18 GUEST SPEAKER (Nancy Staiger)
Review SM class form/Production book Actors’ Equity Association
SM teams/show assignment 25 NO CLASS
Experience discussion/Questions
SM/ASM job description and April
relationship 1 GUEST SPEAKER (John Tovar)
Assignment: Project Book Safety
Assignment: Read pp. 9-32 Assignment: Read pp. 105-130
29 Researching your script 8 Preparing for Technical and Dress
Review technical break down Rehearsals
Assignment: Read pp. 33-67 Technical and Dress Rehearsals
Assignment: Technical Breakdown Discuss final
Assignment: Read pp. 153-166
February 15 GUEST SPEAKER (Kristi Martens)
5 Review Production Breakdowns Assignment: Read pp. 131-151
Planning and Organization 22 Pre-Performance
Assignment: Rehearsal Schedule Performance Organizational Structure
Assignment: Read pp. 69-74 Human Behavior in Organizations
12 Auditions Problem Solving
Essay: Select theater due Review of class
Assignment: Mock Audition ESSAY Due
19 Hold Mock Audition 29*FINAL – Project Book Presentations
Discuss Mid-term By appointment
Assignment: Read pp. 75-104
26 Rehearsal Rules *Due to the NFL Draft being held between
Managing Rehearsals April 28-30, access to Roosevelt will be
Information Distribution extremely limited. I will take 15 minute
appointments between April 25-27 to
make up for this date lost.
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THAR 341 – Stage Management/Spring Semester 2016/3 Credit Hours

Goals & Objectives:

Other Good Resources:

o Final Project Book Paperwork – Assignments and paperwork given throughout

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