Stage Management
Western Michigan University's stage management major is a pre-professional program designed to provide the student with a general overview of all aspects of theatre production as well as advanced coursework in stage management. The program will prepare the student for an entry-level position in theatre or further education at the graduate level.
Focused training with faculty and master classes with professional guest artists maximize your opportunity to learn in our state-of-the-art facilities. These include three theatres with advanced lighting systems, infrared and color monitor systems, cue light systems, and digital audio and projection systems. Design and stage management classes are held in the Design Studio with 24 CADD workstations for an individualized learning experience.
As a stage management student at WMU, you will be required to stage manage, assistant stage manage and/or production assist on a minimum of two of the nine shows per academic year with progressively increasing responsibility. You will also have a required skills building semester once per year in each area of technical theatre and production. The intense production-oriented program provides one-on-one mentorship with the University's resident Actors' Equity Association stage manager and faculty.
You may also have opportunities to job shadow professionals on and off Broadway. Past stage management students have participated in shadowing Actors' Equity Association stage managers calling “Hamilton,” "Jersey Boys," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Mamma Mia," "Cats" and "Rent" on Broadway and numerous national tours including “Les Misérables,” “A Bronx Tale,” and “Wicked.” Stage Management students have also spent a full production day with the Blue Man Group and earned student internships at several acclaimed theatres, including the Guthrie, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare and the Royal Court in London.
Recent WMU graduates with degrees in stage management are working as:
- Stage managers
- Company managers
- Production managers
- Directors
- Producers
They work for:
- Broadway productions
- Films
- Television shows
- Major regional theaters
- Touring productions
- Kalamazoo