What Does a Stage Manager Do?
A great cast alone isn't likely to save a show if the cues are late, but if everything else is ready, a sharp stage manager can be what holds each performance together night after night. That's because a performance is more than just its actors. Stage managers run rehearsals, keep the prompt book and call every light, sound and scene cue during performances.
Stage Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a stage manager include:
- Run rehearsals, keeping time, tracking blocking and recording every change in the prompt book.
- Call light, sound, fly and scene-shift cues from the booth during each performance.
- Prepare rehearsal schedules, contact sheets and daily reports for the director and production team.
- Coordinate costume fittings, prop needs and technical requests between departments.
- Supervise assistant stage managers and run crew backstage during technical rehearsals and shows.
- Keep the cast on schedule for calls, fittings and publicity, and note any absences.
- Maintain the show after opening, giving notes so performances stay true to the director's staging.
- Plan and walk through emergency procedures with cast and crew before audiences arrive.
- Tape out the set on the rehearsal room floor and set up props for each scene.
- Communicate with the house manager about start times, holds and late seating.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a stage manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Calling cues with precise timing
- Prompt book and paperwork organization
- Reading scripts, scores and ground plans
- Clear, calm communication under pressure
- Scheduling and time management
- Tact with actors, directors and crews
- Basic knowledge of lighting, sound and rigging
- Bachelor's degree in theater or stage management
Education and Training
Actors' Equity Association membership is needed for professional contracts in many cities, and the union represents stage managers as well as actors. Most stage managers hold a bachelor's degree in theater or stage management. Nearly everyone starts as an assistant stage manager, often on community and school productions.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: varies widely for this role, and BLS does not publish pay for it separately. In the wider BLS group it belongs to (Producers and Directors), the middle half of earners made $62,670 to $134,800 a year, and the median was $90,360.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Producers and Directors.
BLS projects employment of producers and directors, the wider group that stage managers are counted in, to grow about 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 12,100 openings a year. Pay for the whole group had a median of about $90,400 in May 2025, and many stage managers earn less, especially in regional and nonprofit theater. Work often runs show to show.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Producers and directors.