Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021 - 28

Stage managers are in a unique position
to have an impact on social justice,
inclusivity, health, safety, wellness, and
sustainability. As the stewards of a theatrical
production, stage managers have
always been a significant part of creating
and maintaining a safe and comfortable
working environment, facilitating
communication among numerous collaborators,
and seamlessly running and
maintaining the show. As Lawrence
Stern wrote in Stage Management,
" The person who has responsibility
for making the entire production run
smoothly, on stage and backstage... is
the stage manager " (Stern 2002). Tony
honoree Peter Lawrence describes the
job this way: " The complete welfare of
the backstage [company] and daily interaction
with all the elements of a production
are the jobs of the American stage
manager " (Lawrence 2015). Together,
these definitions demonstrate the great
responsibilities stage managers have to
both the production and the people involved
in making it.
As we return to rehearsals and performances,
stage managers are again
leading companies of actors and stagehands.
The production process that
we manage, however, needs to be equitable,
inclusive,
safe, and sustainable,
reflective of all we've been through and
learned in 2020. What should stage
managers expect to be tasked with?
What should we expect of ourselves?
What do we expect of our employers?
What are the conditions on the ground
in our respective localities?
We can look at this new era of stage
management by addressing the role
of the stage manager in three arenas:
health and safety, race and equity, and
sustainability.
Health and Safety
Stage managers manage the many daily
bumps, bruises, aches, and pains company
members experience, including
Collaborating on COVID Panel, Broadway Stage Management Symposium, 2021 with: Matthew Aaron Stern,
Lane Marsh, Michael Passaro, Kimberly Shaw, Guy Kwan, Charlene Speyerer, Lauren Class Schneider. | Photo
courtesy of Matt Stern.
During the shutdown, programming to keep stage
managers connected and actively discussing
industry developments was sponsored by groups
such as the Stage Managers' Association, Year
of the Stage Manager, and Broadway Stage
Management Symposium.
ensuring basic first aid is on hand.
COVID-19 has cast a harsh spotlight
on health and safety, and it would seem
natural that the stage manager would
be the person to turn to for COVID-19
related issues. However, COVID-19
management requires much more than
basic first aid and CPR training. Instead
of assuming new COVID-19 specific duties,
stage managers overwhelmingly
support the creation of a specialized
COVID-19 safety supervisor, according
to an informal poll on the Year of the
Stage Manager Facebook page a group
with (8,000-plus members). Nearly 80
The term COVID Safety Supervisor (CSS) is one of a few used for the position.
Some other titles that have been used to describe this position include: COVID
Health & Safety Manager (CHSM), COVID Health Manager (CHM), and COVID
Compliance Office (CCO). This last term, although initially quite prevalent, has
some moving away from it due to concerns with its relationship to policing and implied
style of enforcement. In this article, aside from direct quotes, the term COVID
Safety Supervisor (CSS) will be used to define the position.
28 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | FALL 2021
percent of respondents felt it was " an
unreasonable addition to my job as a
stage manager... " or that the responsibility
was " better suited for a compliance
officer. " Stage managers often take on
additional duties, but the additional duties
around COVID-19 (testing, PPE,
social distancing) should be the duties
of a dedicated person outside of stage
management.
" I got my COVID-19 compliance officer
(CCO) training and one of the things
stressed is that the CCO should only be
doing their COVID-19-related work; it
should not be combined with another
position, " says Amy Witherby, a stage
manager who responded to the poll.
" There is plenty for the CCO to be doing
and they need to focus on that-and vice
versa for the stage manager. " Unions
that represent stage managers agree.
As Leslie Sears wrote on the same
Facebook group thread, " Both AEA and
AGMA have said stage managers are not
to be responsible for COVID-19 health
and safety checks. " The stagehands
union, IATSE, does not represent stage
managers, but also sees the necessity
for a distinct position, separate from the
stage manager. The organization's new
COVID-19 safety measures document
calls for establishing a COVID-19 compliance
officer. "
This CCO position shares many wonderful
qualities with stage managers:
organized, efficient, empathetic, diplomatic,
and calm. It's no wonder that

Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021

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