First Assistant Director vs Stage Manager
Daniel Schaumann
My name is Daniel and I am currently studying third year Theatre
Production at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. I was
just wondering if I could receive some assistance in a research
project that I am currently undetaking.
Basically, what I have to do is compare the role of the stage manager
in the organisation of a theatrical performance with the roles
required to organise the production of a short film. To date, I have
only had experience in the theatrical side of things, hence the
posting to this newsgroup to try and find out more...
I am interested to find out if there is a role in the film industry
that equates to that of the theatrical stage manager. The stage
manager is the person that oversees the logistics and organisation of
a production in a practical sense - he organises the audition process,
organises and runs rehearsals, during rehearsals he acts as a liaison
between the director and members of the production crew (set / props /
lighting / sound / costume designers, etc.), he distributes the
director's technical notes to the production crew, he runs technical
rehearsals and finally he calls cues during the performance.
Based on emails received so far from filmmakers that I have contacted,
I am led to believe that the First Assistant Director is the closest
match to the role of the stage manager. I would greatly appreciate it
if anyone could provide me with more information on the role of the
Assistant Director, or with any other suggestions as to what role
would compare with the SM. I am hoping for a few more definitions of
the Assistant, because from what I can gather, their tasks seem to
vary from production crew to production crew.
Any help will be valued, and it will definitely be interesting to
report in my essay that I had contact with filmmakers both locally and
internationally.
I look forward to hearing from some of you!!
Thanks in advance,
Daniel Schaumann
Robert Morein
There are just too many complicated liasons in the film business.
The assistant director is responsible for all of the administrative activity
related to actually rolling film.
He also schedules the shooting.
On the other hand, there is a title known as "line producer", who is in
general responsible for maintaining the overall environment and availability
of resources on the set.
The distinction between the two is best seen in the fact that the assistant
director is constantly present on the set during shooting, and is in the
chain of command by which actual messages are relayed between the crew
elements and the director.
The line producer stands a little further back, but is far more involved in
the logistics.
Thus, the responsibilities of the stage manager overlap these two
categories.
Furthermore, there is an unspoken but frequently extremely important
function of the assistant director.
Frequently, the director is not completely trusted with autonomy by the
executive producers. The assistant director frequently functions as the
producers' on-set monitor. It is not unheard of for the assistant director,
acting as their representative, to take a hard line against the director,
forcing him to keep pace with a schedule in order to comply with budgetary
requirements.
Some European film makers, discovering what an American assistant director
actualy does, have nicknamed this position as "the KGB".
It is also noteworthy that the position of assistant director is not, in the
U.S., considered to be a steppingstone toward the position of director,
although this occasionally has happened.
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