The history of stage management has been a long neglected topic in discussions regarding theatre history. If stage managers are mentioned, it is often very brief. While what we consider today as the stage manager was not fully realized until the mid-20th century, the job itself has existed since the 15th century (Scheier, “Crash Course”). Throughout the 20th century, the title and job of stage manager was undergoing a series of transitions, which can be tracked through its evolving definitions, and the technology that helped solidify it into the position it is today.

Up into the late 19th century, the stage manager’s role was a lot more like today’s director. They would stage the show, and often played the leading role (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 21). The labor considered as stage management today was done by the prompter, who would keep the prompt book updated with cues and blocking. Rehearsals for a show would often be a few hours over the course of several months, and usually consisted of discussing the show itself rather than running it time and time again as seen today.  Additionally, the prompter also would stand on stage with the actors, feeding them lines and telling them where to go (Scheier, “History of Stage Management”). Cueing techniques transitioned multiple times as the technology developed. Going into the 20th century, cue lights were the most popular form. Different lights were installed in different areas backstage, and the prompter had a panel that was able to control the different lights. Generally, the light would be turned on as a warning, and the light turning off would be the go (Scheier, “Cue Lights”).

Between 1870 and 1920, the first major transition in the role of the stage manager occurred. As the role of the director was introduced to the theater scene, the stage manager began to transition to a more technical role, overseeing all technical aspects of a production. Stage management handbooks at the time began to prioritize the need to be incredibly familiar with every technical department (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 45). These handbooks were usually organized by technical department, going over the minute details of how to build a set or sew a costume.

Stage management education underwent an interesting evolution at the time. Before the 20th century, there was no formal education, and many stage managers would learn on the job or by watching a stage manager work. Stage management textbooks were originally marketed for amateurs who wished to produce theatre in their own home (somewhat of a precursor to what we consider community theatre today). “In 1914, Carnegie Institute of Technology offered the first theatre degree and by the 1930s, a new printing trend emerged when stage management handbooks were marketed as educational textbooks or as professional guidebooks.” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 38). Carnegie’s theatre degree interestingly required a course in stage management to earn the degree.

In 1912, Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) formed as a professional organization. Because of their identification as a professional organization and decision to not use strikes and boycotts as a bargaining tactic, their demands were ignored by producers (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 85). The major turning point for AEA as a bargaining power was the 1919 AEA strike, which lasted 30 days across 8 cities, and closed or prevented the opening of 53 plays (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 85). During this strike, there are stories of stage managers trying to stop the strike on behalf of the producer. For example, a stage manager straight up lied to their company about an actor who intended to strike in order to keep the rest of the company from striking (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 56). This could be part of AEA’s future issue with stage managers and trying to keep them from the producer’s side. In AEA’s 1919 constitution, membership was defined as “those that acted in the theatrical profession, those that supported the objectives of the association, and those elected by the council” (Scheier, “Why Stage Managers are Included in the Actors’ Union”). This was likely so that membership could be boosted in its early years, and almost every position that was not a producer was allowed into the union under these rules. Stage managers were able to join AEA due to both these loose membership guidelines, and their dual role as stage manager and actor.

Just months after the strike, the producer Romberg laid off his assistant stage manager Van Ness without a two weeks notice, “directly conflicting with the recently-agreed upon terms of the standard 1919 AEA contract” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 97). Due to this, the AEA began to explicitly include stage managers, and determined that stage managers are a regular member of the company, and mandated that every AEA production have an Equity stage manager employed (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 97, 57). 

Around 1920, the role of technical director was introduced, causing the next major transition in the role of the stage manager. The stage manager transitioned from overseeing the technical elements of a production to taking over the prompter’s labor, getting closer to what we consider the stage manager today. Between the 1920s and 1940s, stage management handbooks transitioned from the holding of the promptbook being under the prompter, to the tasks being under anyone on the stage management team, with the production stage manager at the head (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 46). This era also showed the beginnings of the mistreatment stage managers faced from AEA throughout the 20th century. In the May 1929 volume of Equity magazine, a list of AEA rules were listed, including “Stage managers, because of their close relationship to management, are not considered eligible to serve as deputy” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 101). This started the frustrations of how stage managers were treated as though on the side of the producers, while also maintaining that stage managers were “actors with additional responsibilities” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 2). This frustration fostered in the stage management community for decades, and even continues to this day when it comes to the treatment of stage managers by those outside of the field. 

Around 1929, the telephone switchboard began to be installed in the prompter’s corner (what is now called the stage manager’s booth). This switchboard allowed the prompter to communicate with several areas of the theater through strategically placed telephones. The telephones allowed for seamless two-sided conversations between the stage manager and other backstage members (Scheier, “Telephone Switchboards”). This acted as a step towards today’s headset systems used across professional theaters.

By the 1940s, stage managers had given up acting entirely, and completely took over calling the show (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 25). While they served as technical director, acting took a back burner role, but some stage managers were still active performers. Once the stage manager fully transitioned into the prompter’s labor, acting and stage management had become completely separate fields. This transition pushed the prompter to the assistant stage manager role, and the delegation of tasks was much like what stage management teams look like today. It is also around this time that stage management handbooks began to emphasize the emotional labor performed by the stage manager. Though this is when the emotional labor started being emphasized, the stage manager/prompter always had to consider emotional labor in their duties. “From the earliest handbooks, the stage manager and prompter’s reliance on emotional intelligence was a constant facet of their labor” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 68). The regulation of feelings and need for a certain level of emotional intelligence was always an aspect of the stage manager’s job, even in the earliest iterations, and continues to be a major aspect of the job even today (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 68-70). This applies to many tasks that fall on the stage manager, such as mediating conflicts within the cast and maintaining a certain energy in the rehearsal room.

One of the most notable aspects about stage management history in the 1940s was the almost constant conflict between the stage management community and AEA. In late 1941 and early 1942, a delegation met with the “Committee to Consider Stage Managers’ Memo to Council”, an AEA committee formed to hear out their requests. The stage managers’ primary request was to consider the possibility of a separate contract for stage managers, as they had been working under contracts tailored for actors. This often led to exploitation by producers, such as their work during the week before rehearsals being unpaid. The committee sent a recommendation to the AEA council in February 1942, expressing the stage managers’ desires. This included a list of specific modifications they wanted included in the contracts. The council responded on March 2, 1942. The council’s greatest concern was that this could be the first step to a stage managers’ union. “...the actors’ interest would be jeopardized if the stage managers were not with them” (Scheier, “Stage Management Grievances”). Actors’ Equity Association kept a tight grip on stage managers’ activities due to this fear of a stage managers’ union being formed. They likely believed that if the stage managers left the union, actors’ safety could be in jeopardy due to the stage manager being one of the roles enforcing the following of AEA rules.

After the 1942 memo bore virtually no improvement in the treatment of AEA stage managers, a large group of AEA stage managers met over the course of 5 years about the issues facing stage managers. These meetings ultimately resulted in the 1947 Letter of Stage Management Greivances. This letter, like the 1942 memo, included a list of modifications, eerily similar to the requests from 5 years ago. The stage managers did not wish to separate from Equity due to the protections offered, but wanted to resolve the problems they faced through Equity’s bureaucratic process. “Despite AEA’s claim that stage managers were actors with additional duties, stage managers felt that by denying stage management’s technical role in the production process and by preventing stage managers to act as the deputy, AEA was actually categorizing them as in-line with management goals” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 123). Instead of agreeing to a separate stage manager contract, the council agreed to integrating the stage managers’ concerns into the standard AEA contract. However, this change was not seen until a stage management section was added to the 1952 edition of the AEA Rules Governing Employment (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 131). Something that may have affected AEA’s stance on the stage managers complaints was the recent passing of the Taft-Hartley Act in June 1947. “The act drastically amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 by severely restricting the activities and power of labor unions across the labor sector” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 135). AEA was likely concerned for their bargaining power, and wanted stage managers to remain in the union to retain what power they had. 

A few months after the AEA Council’s response to the 1947 Letter, the stage managers voted to form the first Stage Managers’ Association (SMA). The association aimed to “advance, promote, foster and benefit stage managers and assistant stage managers” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 142). The SMA worked to develop employment opportunities in adjacent industries, like encouraging the fashion industry to hire stage managers, or setting a minimum wage for stage managers working in film and television studios (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 143). AEA leadership, still concerned at the idea of a stage managers’ union, stated that the group was a danger to the entire union and mandated that the SMA dissolve. An investigative committee was sent to meet with the leaders of the SMA on December 23, 1947. “The SMA investigative committee concluded that the Stage Managers’ Association had no other alternative motivation other than the group was determined to better their working conditions and professional standing within Equity” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 146). The committee unanimously agreed that as long as problematic sections of the constitution were reworded to remove any danger to Equity, the SMA could be allowed to continue. This suggestion was sent to the AEA council, but was unconvincing in the end. On January 20, 1948, the AEA Executive Council ordered that the Stage Managers’ Association be dissolved (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 150-151). Since AEA could not interfere with social events, the stage management community was allowed to have a club to continue their workshops (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 151). However, this loss also came with a win: AEA finally admitted that stage management work was separate from actors, and the AEA council appointed a standing committee to bring complaints from stage managers to the council (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 151-152).

In 1952, handbooks specifically for stage managers experienced an organizational shift, where they transitioned from being organized by technical department to being more reflective of the production process (pre-production, rehearsals, tech, performances). “This organizational change represented the completion of historical stage management’s shift from its directorial roots to contemporary stage management” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 48). Once these stage management handbooks focused more on the actual stage management process rather than the general technical knowledge from different departments, stage management had fully transitioned into its own theatrical field.

After years of the telephone switchboard, the intercom headset finally came into use in the late 1960s. “In 1968, Charlie Butten was the first to utilize mic cable for headset communications to manage a live event” (“Clear-Com”). The intercom headset is one of the most useful technological advancements to stage managers. Instead of only having 2 sided conversations, the headset allowed for an entire team to talk to each other at the same time, allowing for collaboration between all parties on headset. The headset continues to be used today in different kinds of theatrical environments.

Another incredibly useful technology advancement was the invention of spreadsheet and word processing software in the late 1970s. In 1979, the first spreadsheet software was released, called the VisiCalc, which was designed for the Apple II computer (“Zablotska”). The spreadsheet allows for easier creation of many different types of paperwork, such as shift plots and character-scene breakdowns. The ability to use formulas to automatically fill out a table is incredibly useful for certain types of paperwork as well, such as sign-in sheets. The first word processing software was released in 1976, called the Electric Pencil, which was developed by Michael Shrayer (“Word Processing Timeline”). Word processing software allows for the creation and manipulation of documents, allowing for stage managers to create and edit templates of paperwork. For example, rehearsal reports can be rewritten every day without the hassle of finding the specific most updated document. Spreadsheets and word processing software have been incredibly helpful in making aspects of the stage manager's job quicker and easier. Instead of handwriting multiple copies of the same rehearsal report or shift plot, they can be made in minutes.

In 1981, the stage management community formed a second Stage Managers’ Association. Its goals were incredibly similar to the first SMA, aiming to develop stage management education and relationships, along with assisting stage managers in finding employment. “Unlike with the 1947 SMA, many of the members suggested leaving AEA to form their own labor union so that stage management concerns would be prioritized…” (Scheier, Quest for Professionalization 154). The new SMA still exists today, using its resources to support both experienced and new stage managers through local meetings, online webinars, and facilitating connections between stage managers. 

The 20th century was an interesting time of change for the role of the stage manager. In just a century, the stage manager went from a director, to a technical director, to what is considered the contemporary stage manager. In this process, Equity took many steps to keep stage managers under their thumb, which continues today as stage managers face exploitation due to loose terms in the contracts they use (which are made for actors, not stage managers). While definitions and technology changed a lot throughout the 20th century, the actual duties that are done by the stage manager have not shifted much through the process.

Works Cited

"Company." Clear-Com, www.clearcom.com/Company.

"History of Stage Management." Lectured by Jennifer Leigh Sears Scheier. Stage Managers' Association, 30 Sept. 2019, www.stagemanagers.org/2019/10/28/sm-history-webinar/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. "A Crash Course in American Stage Management History." Stage Directions, 5 Dec. 2017, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital-publications-2/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. "Historical Calling Technology: Cue Lights." Stage Directions, 21 Aug. 2018, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital-publications-2/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. "Historical Calling Technology: Telephone Switchboards." Stage Directions, 30 Aug. 2018, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital-publications 2/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. "Stage Management Greivances in 1942." Stage Directions, 28 Feb. 2018, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital-publications-2/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. The Quest for Professionalization: A Twentieth Century Cautionary Tale For United States Stage Managers. 2021. University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, PhD dissertation, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital publications-2/.

Scheier, Jennifer Leigh Sears. "Why Stage Managers Are Included in the Actors' Union." Stage Directions, 23 Jan. 2017, stagemanagementhistory.wordpress.com/digital-publications-2/.

"Word Processing Timeline." History.Computer.org, history.computer.org/annals/extras/wp timeline28-4.html. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Zablotska, Yuliia. "History of Spreadsheets: From Past to Present." ApiX-Drive, 8 Feb. 2022, apix-drive.com/en/blog/useful/history-of-spreadsheets.