For the first weekend in August, our rehearsal studio hosted two days of seminars on stage management, led by Mark Shayle, who thoroughly engaged and entertained everyone. The biggest challenge of the weekend, apart from Saturday night homework, was the cueing exercise which involved calling the lighting and sound cues for a radio play. The supportive atmosphere, however, enabled everyone to enjoy the learning, even when taken out of their comfort zones. James, who had given up his weekend off to attend, reflected the views of all when he posted that, “It was a great weekend, learnt so much, about the running of a theatre.”
Mark’s two-day course was based on the week long course on Stage Management that he runs biennially at the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) summer school. Mark generously shared access all his teaching materials so that delegates could follow up aspects he didn’t have time to cover.