Websites
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Backstage - Casting Calls, News, and Advice
Broadway.com - Broadway News and Ticketing Information
New York Theatre Opening Night Calendar - Listings of NYC Opening Nights (Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway & Special Events)
New York Times - Theater News, Reviews, and Showtimes
Playbill - News, Features, and Performance Listings
TheatreArtLife - Wide variety of Theatre Articles from Professionals around the World
Theatrical Index - Upcoming Productions Announcements, Cast and Crew Listings (Requires Subscription)
TheaterMania - Theater News, Reviews, and More
Variety - Coverage of Daily Show-Business
Message Boards
ControlBooth - Community for Entertainment Technology Professionals
SM Network - A forum for Stage Managers to Discuss their Craft
Job Listings
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Books
A Survival Guide for Stage Managers by Mary Ellen Allison
Allison's book is a step-by-step guide that outlines all major stage management duties. It contains clear explanations and concrete examples, serving as a tool to both teach and reinforce the basics. One of my favorite quotes from her books is: "I recommend that student stage managers take every kind of theatre class (acting, dance, tech, design, directing), as well as, psychology and sociology classes." - Mary Ellen Allison
The Back Stage Guide to Stage Management by Thomas Kelly
Kelly focuses on the technical side of theatre - from maintaining paperwork to dealing with alternate venues to crew communication methods.
Stage Manager: The Professional Experience - Refreshed by Larry Fazio
The intention of Fazio's book is to assist stage management students as they move into the professional world by, as he puts it, "bridging the professional gap." The book contains helpful tips about navigating the working world including communication guides (from stars to stage parents) and interviews with working professionals.
Essentials of Stage Management by Peter Maccoy
Maccoy's book goes over the fascinating (and particularly applicable) Tuckman Management Theory, referring to the stages of group development, as it applies to stage managers. He also gives advice on delegating, prioritizing, and safe practices (i.e. upholding union regulations).
Production Stage Management for Broadway by Peter Lawrence
Lawrence, one of the founders of the SMA and esteemed Broadway PSM, writes a comprehensive guide to stage managing in the Big Leagues of Broadway. The anecdotes and advice are incredibly useful learning tools and the paperwork examples are exemplary.
"This is a guide on how to do a show, as opposed to how to be a stage manager." - Peter Lawrence
The Stage Management Handbook by Daniel Ionazzi
Ionazzi writes a highly detailed book, chronologically describing the job from start to finish. He includes definitions of hundred of theatrical terms in the side bar, so this book serves doubly as a theatrical dictionary.
““A LEADER, who is SELF-MOTIVATED and EVEN-TEMPERED, with the ability to ANTICIPATE & ADAPT to constantly changing conditions. Stage managers are DEDICATED to and RESPONSIBLE for every aspect of their productions without losing their SENSE OF HUMOR. They provide an EFFICIENT & ORGANIZED work environment while remaining EMPATHETIC to the people & the process. And finally, as I started in the opening sentence of this book, stage management is an art. A stage manager is as CREATIVE as any other member of the production.””
The Stage Manager's Toolkit by Laurie Kincman
Kincman displays some truly phenomenal paperwork examples with expert tips (down to the importance of font choice and table shading). She not only explains what a Stage Manager does, but why a Stage Manager does said task and how to perform it optimally.