Stage Management: Communication Design as Scenography

This book explores the historical and social contexts of stage management, arguing for a broader conception that lies at the intersections of administration, management, and artistry. It places stage management practice within key theories from performance studies, semiotics, phenomenology, distributed cognition, management, and scenography, championing the creative agency of stage management and offering a view of stage management that is not bound by cultural differences.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 25 January 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Drawing on extensive interview material from over 20 prominent stage managers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, this book situates the contemporary practice of stage management within its historical and social contexts. Questioning the notions of the invisible stage manager and a linear production process, it argues for a broader conception of stage management lying at the intersections of administration, management, and artistry. This volume places stage management practice within key theories drawn from the diverse fields of performance studies, semiotics, phenomenology, distributed cognition, management, and scenography. It champions the creative agency of stage management and details the properties of communication that stage managers manipulate and the objectives they set out to achieve as a guide for decision-making. While it considers the different approaches necessitated by productions from different cultures, genres, and so on, it offers a view of stage management that is not bound by these differences.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 156 x 235 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350360549