Welcome to The Prompt Corner!

October 15, 1999

Proud Recepient of

StudyWeb Award

Awarded October 15, 1999


Carissa's Stage Management Handbook

My own thoughts, opinions and the lessons I've learned that made me who I am today. The handbook will be growing almost daily, so drop by often to check it out! Coming soon...more examples of forms and paperwork.

Please Help!

Please help this woman out. She is a doctor doing research in the area of injuries occurring in theater performers and stage crew. There has been very little research done in this area and you would be contributing to a small but expanding and challenging field of information. Fill out the survey.

Some Great Books for Stage Managers

The Backstage Guide to Stage Management by Thomas A. Kelly
My Bible! This is the best book I have found on stage management. The book covers the entire production process and includes some great examples and advice. A good text for beginners or for more experienced stage managers looking for new ideas or motivation. I find that re-reading a chapter every now and then inspires me to get my butt in gear and do my best work. Mr. Kelly has been a professional stage manager for over 20 years and currently teaches stage management at Rutgers University. (Not to mention the fact that he stage managed Madonna in Speed the Plow and lived to tell about it! He must be doing something right!)

Stage Management by Lawrence Stern
Also a good read, though a little dry compared to Kelly. I also feel that it's directed at people with a little less practical experience. I really like the examples of situations he includes from his students and people who have read the book. Mr. Stern has worked as a professional director and stage manager and holds a master's degree in theatre from case Western Reserve University.

The Stage Management Handbook by Daniel A. Ionazzi
A good book for beginners. It includes one of my favorite definitions of who a stage manager is. The book also includes lots of definitions of terms and samples of some stage management forms. Mr. Ionazzi is Director of Productions at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. He has worked as ATD for the Juilliard School and stage managed for regional theatres across the country.

The Contact Sheet


Actor's Equity Association
They finally have a web page! It includes all kind of helpful information for members or people who want to learn about AEA.


          NATIONAL OFFICE                     CHICAGO OFFICE
          165 West 46th Street                203 N. Wabash Avenue
          New York, NY 10036                  Chicago, IL 60601
          (212) 869-8530                      (312) 641-0393
          Fax (212) 719-9815                  Fax (312) 641-6365


          LOS ANGELES OFFICE                  SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE
          6430 Sunset Blvd.                   235 Pine Street, Suite 1100
          Los Angeles, CA 90028               San Francisco, CA 94104
          (213) 462-2334                      (415) 391-3838
          Fax (213) 962-9788                  Fax (415) 391-1108

Stage Managers' Association

P.O. Box 2234
Times Square Station
New York, NY 10108-2020
(212) 543-9567
They are currently building a web page...watch this space for a link!



Some Quotes For Stage Managers

"We just put a man on the moon. If you miss a cue, no one will die." -- submitted by Shelli Aderman, SMA.

"Your job is to facilitate." -- submitted by Shelli Aderman, SMA.

"There are no problems, there are only solutions." -- submitted by Shelli Aderman, SMA.

"On a day no different than the one now dawning, Shakespeare sat down and started Hamlet, Leonardo stepped to an easel and made the first strokes of the Mona Lisa, and Beethoven took out a sketch book and began the Ninth Symphony." -- adapted from Robert Richardson, Emerson: The Mind on Fire

"The two happiest days in a theatre person's life: The day you start on a new show and the day the damned thing closes." -- Unknown.

"Any smoothly functioning technology will have the appearance of magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke.

"Improvement is achieved when performance is tested." -- Unknown.

"Create an atmosphere in which anything is possible." -- Thomas Kelly.

"You were put on Earth for me to abuse." -- Madonna to Thomas Kelly.

"Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you." -- Rudyard Kipling.

"All things are not of equal importance." -- Bob Currie, mentor to Thomas Kelly.

"Perhaps, therefore, ideal stage managers not only need to be calm and meticulous professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above impossible odds." -- Sir Peter Hall, director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain.

"A stage manager is as creative as any other member of the production." -- Daniel Ionazzi.

Preshow Warm-Up Exercises

(Not just for actors! I sometimes do these when I'm prompting, especially Shakespeare!)

Inventory of my Stage Manager's Kit

Visit the Green Room and Read Advice From SM's All Over the Globe

Sign Guestbook

View Guestbook

Leave Your Mark on the Callboard
Message board for stage managers to discuss problems and offer advice to each other.


The Prompt Corner Headcount:



The Three Dollar's Theatre.
Keithen's Scrapbook * Carissa's Pregnancy Page * Our Birthplan * Keithen's Birthstory
Control Booth * Carissa's Resume * Prompt Corner * Stage Mgr's Handbook * Theatre Jokes
Matt's Scene Shop * Dice & Jake's Doghouse
� 1999 [email protected]


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