Focal Press Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career

Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career from Focal Press is a collection of chapters containing essays by a richly diverse group of stage management professionals and educators covering the challenges stage managers face on the job, in their lives, and in their careers.The book starts with the intersectional history of stage managers and the actors' union. In Part 1: Work, the contributors share a wide range of experiences, from regional theatre and Broadway to operas and cruises-and even running with the circus. The essays in Part 2: Life explore the relevance of stage managers claiming their identity, their resilience, and practicing self-care. Finally, in Part 3: Career, readers receive aspirational and business advice for life in the real world: leadership, networking, unemployment, managing demanding calendars, and career planning.