Degree/diploma in stage management

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DD is interested in this. It's not something I know anything about....is there anyone who can give me any hints /tips on what she should look for in a course please?

As a starter have a look at colleges who are affiliated to either FDS or CDMT as they are often the ones with good industry contacts.

Thank you.

My nephew did a degree in stage management at Bristol Old Vic and got a job right out of uni as did all of his fellow students. He loved it

I did a degree in stage management at a well known London drama school and then worked in the profession for 10years.
I would definitely recommend a degree at a well known drama school over a university or arts college as the chance of employment after will be much higher and the facilities and teaching will be better.
Apply to every drama school available and go from there. There will be some courses that work better for your DD then others but they are all pretty much the same and will give her a great leg up into the profession.
It is an amazing job and one I loved so much and only gave it up as I had children.

My current project is having an absolute nightmare trying to find a stage manager. It's definitely an area with work available!

Thank you again. Particularly for the comments on the employment situation as that is one of the things worrying me.

I had a wonderful 15 year career in stage management before having a family. This was before grants/loans were available for drama schools, so I did an English and Drama degree and did work experience every single vacation. Got a job and Equity card straight out of Uni and was never without work.
Top tips:
-Get as much experience now in addition to school shows. Local am drams, NYT, NYMT, volunteer crew at local festivals, follow spot operating at the local venue.
-Learn to read music, if she can’t already. Stage Management for musicals and Opera are highly sought after and the contracts are longer.
-Pick up extra skills - basic lighting rigging and changing batteries in radio mics + wardrobe care.

When she gets an interview all of these will give her stuff to talk/enthuse about.

Good luck!

thank you all from DD. It's good to hear from people who have made a career in this area. Looking into some of the things you've suggested.

How old is she? The earlier she starts to get practical experience the better - both in and out of school.

Pps are right - the drama school / conservatoire route will provide the best experience and professional contacts, but they are very competitive so she may need a strong portfolio. And plenty of resilience. And a willingness to work incredibly long hours. But, from what I've seen, it's a tremendously satisfying and creative occupation.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have undergraduate degrees that your DD may be interested in. They also run summer schools.

Not the same experience of Bristol Old Vic in this house. My ds is very disappointed/furious at the education he received there on the stage management course as are many of his class mates.

That's worrying Roystonv. Was it recently? Hope your ds has managed to develop his career despite his experience. I will start looking at summer schools too ( and hoping they are not all too pricey).

The best courses are the practical ones. A 3 year degree has certain requirements for written work and so on, but students should be spending as much time as possible working on shows. Writing a bunch of essays about the theory of stage management is a lot less use than actually being an ASM/DSM/SM on a show.

I did my foundation degree (2 years) at one of the big London drama schools, and we spend the first term in class and the rest of the first year working on shows in each department - lighting, scenic construction, stage management, sound. The written work we did was related to the show roles, eg props lists, lighting plans. In the second year it was more show roles ('head of department'), and two industry placements.

The number of contact hours/teaching hours is very important - we were doing 50+ hours a week - not all teaching, obviously, but supervised work on our show roles.

I graduated 7 years ago and have been employed in the industry fairly consistently ever since. I would say, it's not an industry to get into unless it's what you really want to do, and even then I'd suggest getting some life experience rather than studying straight out of school. The hours are long, the work is hard, the pay is low, and the thanks and recognition are rare.

The hours are long, the work is hard, the pay is low, and the thanks and recognition are rare.

Thank you for the advice. I will pass it on so she knows at least what to expect.

@TheBeastInMsRooneysRoom Are you advertising on SJP and the SMA website?

Worth applying to the National Youth Theatre - it's not just for actors, they want technical people too and it's great to put on the drama school stage management application forms for experience.

NYT details here: www.nyt.org.uk/courses/backstage

And National Youth Music Theatre too.