Chapter Seven
Meetings
Concept Meetings
The initial concept meeting is the time when the director expresses the concept for the production. Sometimes the director will send a concept statement prior to the meeting for everyone to review and consider. Then, at the meeting, all of the designers can share their vision for the production and discuss ways of bringing their ideas to life. If the director’s concept isn’t introduced until the first meeting, then typically the design team will chat about their initial thoughts and feelings related to their research after hearing the director’s concept. Sometimes this will happen during the meeting or in follow-up e-mails after the designers have had some time to digest it. Following those discussions another meeting will be scheduled for the designers to present their ideas to the director. Depending on the director, there may be many concept meetings, or perhaps only a few. Some directors like to have everyone meet once a week, while others like one-on-one meetings with each designer. Once the concept meetings have been concluded, it will be time to schedule regular production meetings. It is helpful to schedule a time for a weekly meeting even if it is not always going to be used; that way the time exists in everyone’s schedule and, if it is needed, it is easy to have the meeting.
In many theaters not all of the design team may be local and will need to be phone or video conferenced in for meetings. Make sure to plan what method and technology will be used to do this and always test it before meeting time. Technology is a fickle beast; don’t expect it to function properly.
Production Meetings
Production meetings serve as a regularly scheduled (typically weekly) check-in with all members of the production team. They will involve the sharing of sketches, progress reports, delays, challenges, problems, etc. The stage manager’s attendance is mandatory. During the production meetings, it is the stage manager’s responsibility to take detailed notes on everything discussed and to create a production meeting report. This is also the stage manager’s chance to follow up on anything that has not been addressed from rehearsal reports.
Scheduling Meetings
Coordinating meetings typically falls to the stage manager. During the first meeting, it is usually best to arrange for a scheduled block of time each week to meet as needed. In the event a regular meeting time cannot be set, or if the director requires additional separate meetings, find a time that works with the schedules of all involved.
First, determine exactly who will need to attend the meetings. This is your production staff and usually includes the producer, artistic director, director, designers (scenic, costumes, lights, sound, projection), the props master/mistress, and the technical director. Assistant designers and assistant stage managers need not be present at meetings unless the designer expresses a desire for their attendance. For shows that involve music and/or dance/movement, these meetings will also include the music director and the choreographer. Depending on the company, they may also include the scenic charge, master carpenter, and/or the master electrician.
Some great online resources exist to help schedule meetings and find open times in people’s schedules. Refer to the Online Resources section for more information.
Next, e-mail your production staff asking for their weekly schedules. Compile their responses and find an open hour. Assign the determined hour as your weekly production meeting time. Announce this time to your production staff as soon as possible.
Sometimes you will have to leave one or more people out due to conflicts. Determine this on a case-by-case basis. In these cases, find out if it is possible to include missing team members via conference call or video. If they are unable to participate at all, ask for any items that need to be discussed regarding their department. During the meeting, carefully record any information pertinent to them, as well as any questions that need their immediate attention. (This is one of the reasons why taking good notes is so important.)
When reaching out to the production team about their schedules, also request their preferred contact information. If you already have their contact information, confirm this. You will want to have a contact sheet put together before your first concept/production meeting so it can be distributed. Additionally, make a point to input all contact information into your phone or other readily available location. As the communication center of the production, you will frequently be called upon to contact the other members of the team, so having this information easily accessible is a must.
For those working in an academic setting, preferred e-mails and contact information may be non-university/college e-mails, as academic systems have a habit of being unreliable. It is not a bad idea as a stage manager to set up a “work” or “professional” (something other than ilovepandas@ example.com) Gmail, Yahoo, or other mail account to insure communication stays flowing. Always remember to check and keep up with your inbox.
Prior to Meetings
Send out an e-mail reminder twenty-four hours prior to the meeting including the time, date, and location of the meeting. Many calendar programs allow for invites to be sent to all parties, which will add the event to their calendars and push reminders to those who have push notifications on.
Create an agenda for each meeting. These should have a section for each department (i.e., scenic, costumes, props, etc.) and include discussion points and questions. If you don’t have anything specific for a department, you should still give them a chance to voice questions and/or concerns. If an item pertains to only one department, you may decide to arrange a meeting between the director and that department in order to keep production meetings productive for all involved. Although many times, it is helpful for all of the departments to share in the discussions. Have copies of the agenda on hand for all involved parties, including yourself.
When compiling the agenda, also look back at previous rehearsal and production meeting reports for any unanswered questions that may have come up or items or discussion points that were tabled from previous meetings.
Time estimates are beneficial to help judge if a meeting is on track. This is optional, but a good skill to work on. After a while, it will become second nature to you, but it is a skill that takes time and practice. By estimating prior to meetings, you can keep meetings on track and also learn by trial and error how long meetings and certain discussions will last. Including a time estimate for each department will also allow for a total meeting time to be calculated. These time estimates should be for your use only—don’t include them on the distributed copy of the agenda (see Appendix G).
Running a Meeting
Your use of this section should be based upon your previous conversation with the director (if they are running the meeting or you are).
If possible, arrive at least ten minutes early to allow time to set up and get everyone assembled. If any team members are missing or late, it will be the stage manager’s responsibility to call them and find out where they are. Begin the meeting on time and start by asking the director if they have any general comments or questions to bring to the table. Go department by department and give each designer time to talk and ask questions regarding their aspect of the show. Follow the agenda; it is a great tool to keep meetings on track and on time. If people begin to go off topic, it is your job to gently bring the conversation back to where it needs to be. At the end of each department’s discussion, make sure that all agenda items have been answered (or at least addressed and, if necessary, tabled for later discussion) and ask if there is anything else for that department. If everything has been discussed, move promptly on to the next department.
If a topic requires extensive discussion and only involves one or two departments, consider tabling the conversation and scheduling a separate meeting. It is courteous to the other members of the production team and will help keep focus within meetings. These meetings should always include the stage manager, the director, and all relevant departments. However, use discretion when deciding to schedule a separate meeting. Often a topic that only seems relevant to one department may in fact affect the whole production team.
It is a nice gesture to rotate the order meeting to meeting, so the same department isn’t always waiting their turn and potentially being short-changed each meeting by coming at the end when everyone is ready to go or time is cut short. When possible utilize a round table—it promotes equality and collaboration.
At the end of the meeting, ask once more if there are any other items of business that need to be addressed (particularly in areas that may not have representatives, i.e., front of house). End the meeting with a reminder of the time, date, and location of the next meeting. As soon as possible after the meeting, send out production meeting notes. These should go out no later than the following morning. The sooner, the better!
“Only if you want to attend,” is a phrase often used. Always attend if you are able and come prepared to take notes. Many people claim to take good notes and that they will distribute them, but it is better if they come from a centralized person, namely, the stage manager.
Occasionally, it will be beneficial and/or necessary to hold a department-specific meeting (e.g., props meeting, costume check-in). Typically stage management will coordinate these. Depending on the nature of the meeting, the stage manager’s presence may or may not be required. Check with everyone involved, especially the director, to see if they would like the stage manager there and schedule the meeting accordingly. It is advisable to attend all meetings if possible.
Meeting Notes and Reports
After the meeting, use the aforementioned detailed notes you have taken and generate a report. Create a meeting report template during prep week for this purpose and use consistent formatting with each distributed report for easy reading.
Information to Include in Every Report
Every report should contain basic identifiers including show title, name of stage manager, time and date of meeting, time and date of next meeting, people present, and a distribution list. The body of the report should contain detailed notes on anything and everything discussed. It is extremely important to take thorough notes at every meeting. The notes need to be comprehensible, clear, and formatted for easy reading. They will be referenced throughout the production process as a reminder of what and how decisions were made, which decisions were tabled, as well as to inform anyone not present at the meeting of what was discussed. Separate notes by department (e.g., scenic notes under a scenic section, props under props, etc.). Include notes that affect multiple departments in each of those sections (this should also be a practice used when writing rehearsal reports), e.g., a note about a cane or hat may fall under costumes and props.
Be precise and concise in the distributed report. Take more elaborate notes for yourself during the meeting and then distill them down for the distributed report. Keep an original copy of your detailed notes for reference. If a department or field does not have a note or any information it is important to place text in that field to the effect of “There are no notes at this time” to insure that the field was not accidently left blank. It is to your advantage to take notes on all items discussed, even ideas that are decided against. Should a problem arise with the decision, there is a record of the other ideas that were thrown around so you don’t have to re-brainstorm. When in doubt, write it down! (See Appendix H.)
General note about paperwork: whenever you distribute any paperwork electronically, it is good practice to send it in PDF form. This helps prevent any format changes or accidental editing on the part of the recipient. Only send editable versions of things when you intend them to be edited. Additionally, copy and paste paperwork contents into the body of your e-mail as well as attaching a PDF version. Your co-workers are more likely to read it if they don’t have to open an attachment and there is less possibility of faulty documents impeding the process. Be sure to always double-check formatting and accuracy of information before distributing.