Speakers & Sessions Announced For Broadway Stage Management Symposium

The 10th annual Broadway Stage Management Symposium has announced the Broadway stage managers and session topics for the 10th annual conference for stage managers.

The panel topics are filled with valuable insights, information, and inspiration for stage managers of all levels. Attendees from across the country and around the world can engage with top Broadway professionals, make new connections, and expand their knowledge at this important educational event that is open to everyone with interest in the art and craft of stage management.

BSMS will be hosted at the beautiful Open Jar Studios in the heart of Times Square, where numerous Broadway shows rehearse. As a fully hybrid event, BSMS is also available to participants Online / On-Demand. Attendees can log-on and off, as they need as all sessions are available On-Demand*. No matter your experience, no matter where you are, or what you are working on, all stage managers are welcome to this one-of-a-kind event created by stage managers, for stage managers, featuring Broadways stage managers.

Here's the 2024 BSMS line up:

Authenticity in Stage Management: Jereme Kyle Lewis has been assisting on Broadway for years and with I Need That made his Broadway PSM debut. Madison DeCoske has worked on huge productions like Wicked and Harry Potter.... While classmates, both made a commitment to maintain their unique sense of self. Jereme and Madison share their authentic approach to our art and craft as a great example of how stage managers can be true to ourselves and create a successful career.

Symposium Alumni on Broadway: Alumni of the Symposium, have become Broadway Stage Managers themselves! They are coming back to share their journey from the seats attendees are in today, to working on Broadway shows! Norman Anthony Small (Leopoldstadt, American Buffalo), Lauren Cavanaugh (American Utopia, The New One), Alice M. Pollitt (West Side Story, King Kong), Carolina Arboleda (A Strange Loop), and from the Hamilton Tour, Aldora Neal, and Hamilton Germany, Arcadio Lozano, as well as Ashani Smith from the Jagged Little Pill Tour.

Tech Talk: What is Good Communication: Vinnie Macri from Clear-Com and other tech partners share the technology and techniques that help us communicate better. We will learn about available tools as well as their features and how they work! 

Big Plays & Bigger Stars! Broadway Production Stage Manager, Jill Cordle reflects on her career working on some of the biggest plays with some of the brightest stars. Her insights into the challenges and joys of celebrity filled plays will take us on an incredible journey from last season's American Buffalo with Darren Criss, Laurence Fishburne, and Sam Rockwell, through The Inheritance, The Ferryman, Six Degrees of Separation, Betrayal (Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz), Death of a Salesman (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Andrew Garfield), God of Carnage (Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis), and more.

Health & Wellness for Stage Managers: Our health and wellness are vital to our lives and careers. In this session Lynnell Herzer (The Entertainment Community Fund), Claudia Hodgson (UK stage manager & Fitness Coach), and Kenton Yeager (Lighting designer & Meditation Educator) will share specific techniques for the maintenance and care for your mind and body. This will be followed by breakout sessions with these certified professionals, to further explore the techniques in together.

Assistants, The Sequel: So much attention is put on the role of the Production Stage Manager, yet there are specific challenges to being an assistant. Last year, this session was a huge hit, so we're digging deeper into the role of the assistant with Brandon Allmon-Jackon (Back to the Future, A Doll's House, Music Man) and Tiffany N. Robinson (MJ The Musical, The Cher Show, Motown The Musical) to continue exploring the unique aspects of assistant stage managing.

Calling Session: We always have a session exploring the calling of a big Broadway show. Past shows have included: Phantom of the Opera, Jagged Little Pill, The Lion King, Moulin Rouge, King Kong, and others. This year Karen Moore and Matthew Kurtis Lutz share the cueing and tech behind the award winning Some Like It Hot! This is going to be one smokin' session!

Management Roundtable: Collaboration: The collaboration stage managers have with other managers is vital. We work together and support each other throughout the production process. Join Hillary Blanken, president of Juniper Street, providing production management for literally hundreds of Broadway shows, along with Kate Egan, general manager from Bespoke Theatricals, Kim Shaw, Broadway company manager, and Lisa Schwartz, Broadway Guardian discussing and answering questions about the cross collaboration among theatrical managers.

Around the World and Back Again: Doc Zorthian has literally traveled the world mounting one of the most successful Broadway shows ever, The Lion King. Now he is back in New York City on the next chapter of his career. This is going to be an insightful interview about overcoming challenges, cross cultural communications, travel, and more as Doc shares his unique perspective on theater, our profession, and the world.

The Power of Stage Managers: In the latest edition of their book, Narda E. Alcorn and Lisa Porter expand on the power stage managers have. In each phase of production, we can practice equity, inclusion, and compassion. By utilizing powerful collaborative tools related to ideas around perfectionism, tension, agency, fear, intentions, values, language, and more, stage managers can exercise our authority to promote a more transparent and caring environment, which in turn can have a meaningful impact on the people and the process. It's a perfect way to wrap up the 10th anniversary Symposium!

*All sessions are available on-demand to all attendees until July 1st to watch or re-watch any or all of the great sessions above!

The full schedule and session topics are available at https://www.broadwaysymposium.com/schedule

All sessions have Q&A time for participants to engage with the panelists. The hybrid platform will allow online attendees to have a similar experience as well as special breakout rooms with presenters. Meanwhile, online attendees have fully functional chat and networking features to engage with each other. The online and in person Expo also provides opportunities for attendees to learn about technology and services for stage managers.

The jam-packed weekend of stage management is an educational intensive, open to the public.

See the website for full details, including schedule, registration, and payment plans.

About Broadway Stage Management Symposium

The BSMS brings together the most experienced and highly-regarded Stage Management professionals on Broadway for an immersive two-day program that offers practical insights, instruction and inspiration for anyone interested in stage management. This one-of-a-kind program offers the kind of practical career advice and deep insights, that only come with the benefits of decades on Broadway.  BSMS is also a great networking opportunity, helping attendees exponentially increase their professional network and opportunities for employment. 

BSMS was founded by seasoned Broadway stage manager and educator, Matthew Stern who has worked on over twenty Broadway productions. Stern is on the faculty of SUNY Purchase. Inspired by his students' enthusiasm to learn what it really takes to manage a Broadway show, he brings together his colleagues and fellow Broadway stage managers for this intensive weekend of panels, seminars and lectures, the Broadway Stage Management Symposium.

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