How Are Stage Manager Resumes Different?
While your normal resume lists a few jobs with specific skills and accomplishments for each position, Stage Management resumes have a completely different style. Because responsibilities are fairly standard among freelance SM contracts, the focus is on listing positions rather than skills.
Most corporate jobs are looking for long term candidates who often have experience in a different industry than they are applying for. The job title and responsibilities from company to company often vary greatly.
In theatre, the responsibilities of a Stage Manager are the same from college productions all the way up to broadway. Higher level shows and tours tend to have some extra responsibilities thrown in, but an SM who is successful in regional theatre can usually pick up the skills required for a tour with ease.
What Goes in a Stage Manager’s Resume?
Because Stage Management Resumes focus on positions held, they often look like a list of jobs. The sections should be broken down into:
Header
Name, Phone number, Email address, and the words Stage Manager are all important. If you are local to a city like New York, Chicago, Boston, or another large city, you may want to include that as well.
Stage Management Experience
In this section, all Stage Management roles you have held will get their own row. Each row will contain the position held, the show title, the company name, and the name of the director. It should look something like this:
Some people choose to list the year with each show title, but since space is limited I favor the directors name over the year.
Related Experience
Since most related positions are short term contracts like Stage Management, the same basic principle applies. List the job title, the show title, and the company name. Here is an example:
Relevant Skills
Relevant skills for Stage Managers are a bit less vague than you would list on a corporate Resume. In theatre it’s expected that you know the basics of stage management, so no need to list things like time management, or people skills unless specifically mentioned in the job posting.
This can be a simple list separated by commas. Include the word basic with any skills you only have a basic working knowledge of so you aren’t expected to be an expert at every skill listed.
Certifications (if necessary)
Stage Managers don’t have many career specific certifications which are relevant to the job, so only include this section if you have something relevant to put. Relevant things may include drivers license, passport, scissor lift training, CPR/First Aid Training, and anything else specific to the job.
Education
This can look similar to other corporate resumes. Once you have gotten your first few professional gigs out of school this section mainly serves as a talking point if someone went to the same school.
References
Include 3 references in your resume if you have room. These should be professional references only, no family members. Previous directors, producers, professors, PSM‘s or anyone else who can speak to your professional work ethic is a great choice.
Stage Manager Resume Templates
To Edit These Templates:
Open the documents in Microsoft Word. Each template is built using a table, which allows independent cell sizing. To resize a cell or column, highlight all cells you want to resize, then click and drag the cell border.
When you are done editing, disable cell borders in the table design tab for a clean look. To Export as a PDF, click “Save As” then change the file format to PDF. Always send the document as a PDF to potential employers to preserve formatting.
To download the templates below, just click the button below each.
Resume Template #1
Resume Template #2
