ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Broadway Stage Management Symposium is a two day forum featuring a series of panels, lectures and seminars by some of Broadway's most experienced stage managers.
These professionals will discuss stage management skills and challenges, share their expertise and experiences, dive into the art and craft of stage management and impart advice on how to create and maintain a career on Broadway.
Topics may include (but are not limited to): calling large musicals, working with Broadway's unions, relationships with directors, organizational strategies, automation, management skills, technology for stage managers, databases, safety protocols, career advice, managing creative artists, leadership and more…
Q&A sessions allow participants to ask their specific questions and engage with our esteemed line up of veteran stage managers. In addition, coffee, bagels & snacks are provided for noshing and networking before and after sessions and all participants and speakers are invited to a wrap up event following the Symposium.
The Symposium also offers a package that includes a ticket to a current Broadway show with a Q&A following the performance. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how the specific stage management approach affects the production.
The Broadway Stage Management Symposium is an incredible opportunity for those interested in stage management, considering a career in the theatre or anyone interested in how Broadway really works.
There are a variety of registration options to strive to keep the Symposium affordable for students.
See the registration page for more info.
HISTORY
The Symposium was founded by Broadway stage manager, Matthew Aaron Stern, who has stage managed over 20 Broadway productions.
After earning a BA in Theatre from the University of California at San Diego, Matthew followed his dream of working on Broadway by moving to the bright lights of New York City. His work on Broadway includes: Play On!, Grease, The Full Monty, Enchanted April (with Molly Ringwald), The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (with Ellen Burstyn), The Phantom Of The Opera, Fiddler On The Roof (with Alfred Molina and Harvey Fierstein), Wicked, The Little Mermaid, Baby It’s You, An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, Death Of A Salesman (with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield), Hands On A Hardbody, Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, Side Show, Doctor Zhivago, On The Town, Finding Neverland, The Lion King, and Come From Away.
In addition to this long line of credits, Matthew spent three seasons on The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and has worked numerous corporate events around the world. Matthew’s tours include: Grease, Martha Graham Dance Company, Les Miserables, Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays, Stories By Heart (with John Lithgow), An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin and Mandy Patinkin: Dress Casual.
The Symposium is Matthew's vision to bring the rich experience, knowledge, and wisdom of Broadway stage managers to anyone interested in the field. Sharing with students, ambitious young stage managers, educators, and fellow professionals creates and enriching experience for our entire community. Matthew believe stage managers can have a huge impact on the production process, the people we work with, and therefore, the world. By creating a space for the professional development of stage managers, we all learn and grow and can make the world a better place.
Matthew also teaches at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Design and Technology and is a board member of The Stage Managers' Association, USA. His work in the classroom, sharing his Broadway experience and having his students observe his productions, lead to the creation of the Broadway Stage Management Symposium, but it wouldn't be possible without the numerous gracious, kind, and gifted stage management community on Broadway and beyond.