stage manager

American

noun

a person responsible for the technical details of a theatrical production, assisting the director during rehearsal, supervising the lighting, costuming, setting, prompting, etc., and assuming full responsibility for the stage during a performance of a play.

stage manager British

noun

a person who supervises the stage arrangements of a theatrical production

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

stage managership noun

Etymology

Origin of stage manager

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He’s been a studio sound engineer, a studio manager, a stage manager, a drum tech and a crew chief.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

By the 1980s, he had moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his children and found steady work in daytime television as a stage manager.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2025

Birmingham-born stage manager Kevin Rowe shows us around the dark corridors beneath the stage, where the crew have stashed secret reserves of Gatorade and iced coffee to help them survive the sticky Miami heat.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2025

At DanceAfrica, N’Goma is a stage manager; Normadien is assistant stage manager.

From New York Times • May 23, 2024

As they walked, she wondered which of the theaters was the one where Simon’s stage manager acquaintance would have let them in to watch a rehearsal.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023