Tip: you can listen while you read along, or close your screen and treat it as a podcast on the drive home.
Why this is Module 3. Lighting and sound were about reading the people you hire in. Stage management is different: the SM is usually someone you grow — a senior student you train and then trust. So this module isn't a BS-detector against a contractor; it's the language you need to coach your SM, recognise when they've got it, and know when to step back.
Why it matters. Tier 1A told you the student SM is your most important hire. This module gives you the language they speak — so you can train them, recognise when they're handling it well, and step in (rarely) when they're not. Plus the authority chain that lets the SM say "wait" to the director during a run without you needing to be in the room.
The "speak SM" promise. After this module, when your SM says "standby cue 47" you'll know what's about to happen, who they're talking to, and what your role is in that moment (it's: nothing). That distance — knowing without intervening — is the whole skill of trusting your SM.
Stage-management vocabulary is unlike the lighting and sound lists in one way: most of it isn't about money, it's about discipline. These are the words the SM uses to run the floor, and knowing them tells you whether your SM is doing it properly. The card structure is the same — what's said, what it means, what to do — but watch how often the "what to do" line is simply: nothing. That's the point. The SM's authority works only if everyone, including you, stays out of the chain when they're calling.
From Module 1A-3, you'll recall the SM has authority on the stage floor during tech week + run + bump-out. Here's what that actually looks like, in practice, expressed in the language of stage management:
| SM says | Meaning | Your response |
|---|---|---|
| "Hold the cue" | Pausing the sequence — safety, missing actor, equipment issue | Nothing. SM resolves. |
| "Stop work" (during bump-in/tech) | Real safety stop | Everyone stops, including you. Discuss after stop confirmed safe. |
| "Reset to [cue]" | Going back to a previous point in the show — usually for cast/cue issues | Cast resets to position. Operators reset. Wait for "standby". |
| "Open the house" | House manager allowed to seat audience | FOH opens doors. Cast moves to backstage call positions. |
| "Half hour please cast" | 30 minutes to curtain | Cast finishes prep, takes places for top of show within 30 min. |
| "Show's down" | Performance complete, all sequences ended | Cast can break. Operators return to standby for bow / curtain call. |
During the run, the chain is: SM → Operators (LX, Sound, Fly, Crew). YOU sit outside that chain unless the SM specifically pulls you in (which they rarely should). The director sits even further outside — during the run, the director gives notes after, not during.
For most school productions, the SM is a Year 12 student (covered in Tier 1A), and there's no quote to read — just a remit to write and a student to train. But the bigger or higher-stakes the show, the more likely the school contracts a professional SM, and then the BS-detector discipline from lighting and sound applies again: scope the role to its actual phases, and challenge the lines that assume you won't.
A professional SM's billing is reasonable when scoped to:
Typical rate: A$50-90/hr depending on experience. For a 5-show season, expect A$3,500-A$6,500 all-in.
Always allow more prep, not less. A good SM's value is mostly invisible — the show runs smoothly because of hours of admin you didn't watch happen. Under-scope the prep and you either get a worse-run show or an SM quietly working unpaid; neither is the deal you want.
What to challenge: "Pre-production meeting attendance × 12 hours" on the quote = padded if the show is straightforward. Plan with the SM which meetings are essential and bill for those only. (Challenge padded meeting hours — but don't squeeze the real prep + post-rehearsal admin above.)
These phrases do double duty: with a contracted SM they signal you know the craft, and with a student SM they're the questions that prompt your trainee to get organised before tech. Either way, they steer the conversation onto the things that actually decide whether the run goes smoothly — the state of the book, the cue count, the call sheet, talkback discipline, the authority line, and the bump-out plan everyone forgets.
A good SM lives in their paperwork, and EasySM is where that paperwork stops being loose sheets — the prompt copy, the cue list, the running sheet and the show-day call sheet all live in one place, so the post-rehearsal admin (the invisible work above) is faster and survives the show. Around it: EasyScheduler carries the SM's call times into the wider production schedule, EasyOrchestra's PDF export gives the band the layout the SM references during seating, and EasyRisk holds the SWMS the SM signs everyone on at bump-in.
Open EasySM EasyScheduler · Call sheets EasyRisk · Sign-on
Open the sample marked-up prompt copy in the resource pack (a real scene from Mamma Mia! with full cue markings). Read it. Then answer: how many cues are in the scene? Who's standing by for each? What's the rough timing between cues?
Take the accountability framework you built in Tier 1A Module 3. Mark each row with which SM-vocabulary phrase the SM would use to invoke that authority. Save to portfolio.
These are for your own reflection — not graded. Your answers save automatically to this browser.
1. The SM says "standby cue 47, standby band call". Who's listening, and what do they do?
2. "GO cue 47" follows "standby". What's the word "GO" reserved for, and why is the discipline important?
3. The SM calls "half hour please cast". What does this mean for the cast, and what stage of the pre-show timeline is this?
4. The director wants to change the blocking the day before opening. Walk through how the SM and you handle this.
5. A contracted SM quotes 12 hours of pre-production meetings. Is this reasonable for a school musical, and what's your push-back — while still allowing for the invisible post-rehearsal admin?
6. "Reset to top of act 2" is called during dress rehearsal. What happens?
The SM's reference kit. Open each in a new tab, print or save as PDF.
| Resource | What it's for |
|---|---|
| SM Vocabulary Flashcards | 40-term printable deck of the stage-management language from this module. |
| Sample Marked-Up Prompt Copy | A real Mamma Mia! scene, fully cued and annotated — used in Exercise 1B-3.1. |
| Crew Hierarchy + Authority-Chain Chart | Who answers to whom on the floor, and where the SM's authority sits. |
| SM Show-Day Call Sheet Template | Minute-by-minute pre-show, show and post-show — the daily admin made fast. |
| Show Running-Sheet Template | Multi-column live-event cue-by-cue: time / cue / dept / action / status. |
| Tech-Week Jargon Guide | Paper tech vs cue-to-cue vs dry tech vs wet tech vs dress — what each is for. |
| SM Emergency Protocols | Show-stop, medical, fire, power failure, performer injury, audience disruption. |
This module has no graded quiz — completion is marked when you tell us you've worked through the material.