How-to

School, community, pro and UK: what changes

Same play, five different rooms. Who calls it, how long you get, and what everything is called.

If you're new

The same show runs differently depending on who is making it. A school, a volunteer company and a union house each have their own rules and their own words.
Pick your column and read down it. The glossary flags terms that change between the US and the UK.

If you're a pro

Six rows: who does what, who calls the show, hours, rehearsal length, safety rules and paperwork, across five kinds of company.Equity (US)Equity (UK)Theatrecrafts
The three differences that trip people up most when they cross over are at the bottom.

Practice compared across five kinds of theatre company
Topic	School and university	Community theatre	Professional, non-union (US)	Actors' Equity (US union)	UK professional
Who does the work	In schools, often one teacher directs, designs and runs the booth. At university, faculty and staff supervise student stage managers and crews.EdTAKent State	Mostly volunteers and a volunteer board. Actors often help build, sew and find props, and most people do more than one job.Pull-Tight Langham Court	Small teams, blurry edges. The stage manager might also run the desk or hand out pay. Artists often produce their own work.SMA	Separate unions for separate crafts: actors and stage managers in Equity, stagehands and designers in IATSE, directors in SDC, musicians in AFM.Equity (US)IATSE	Three stage management jobs: the SM runs backstage, the DSM keeps the book, ASMs prop and run the stage. A company manager handles contracts and the company.SMA Theatrecrafts
Who calls the show	A student stage manager, usually with a faculty mentor nearby.Kent StateDavidson	The stage manager. Music cues are sometimes taken by the music director or operator directly.Langham Court	The stage manager, sometimes while also running the desk. Corporate and live events call it a showcaller.SMA	The production stage manager calls from the book, and after opening also rehearses understudies and gives notes to keep the show as directed.Equity (US)	The DSM, from the prompt corner. The SM stays free to handle problems, and stage management does not give acting notes.Theatrecrafts SMA
Hours	Weeknight caps (often about 4 hours) and building curfews around 11pm. Long tech days are rare.Kent StateUNI	Evenings and weekends around day jobs. Tech often lands on a single weekend.Langham Court	No union limits. Some companies copy Equity rules; one-off event days can run 12 hours or more.SMA	Set by contract: week length, breaks, meal breaks, overnight rest, days off and a cap on long tech days.Equity (US)	Set by Equity and Bectu agreements plus the law on working time. Extra hours are often repaid as time off.Equity (UK)Bectu
How long you rehearse	University shows commonly rehearse 4 to 6 weeks, with building happening at the same time.EMU thesisKent State	Often about 6 weeks of evenings and weekends, off-book a few weeks in, then a run of one to three weekends.Pull-Tight	Anything from three weeks to almost nothing for a one-off event.SMA	A paid prep week for stage managers, around three weeks of rehearsal, several days of tech, then previews before the show is frozen.Equity (US)	Producing and rep theatres often rehearse 3 to 4 weeks. Touring companies can fit up, light and open on the same Monday.SMA Equity (UK)
Safety rules	Campus rules: no working alone, closed shoes, protective gear in the shop, curfews.Kent StateUCF	Venue and fire rules (often no open flame), and safeguarding rules whenever children are in the company.Langham Court	No union rep to back you up. Stopping an unsafe moment rests on the stage manager's judgement.SMA	Equity rules on things like haze, raised platforms and daily fight calls, with deputies and inspections to enforce them.Equity (US)	National health and safety law, enforced by the HSE, covering lifting, chemicals, set building and injury reporting, plus a written risk assessment.HSE LOLER HSE COSHH HSE CDM HSE RIDDOR ADC Cambridge
Paperwork	Full prompt books and reports, often graded. Student venues may require signed risk assessments before tech.Kent StateADC Cambridge	An amateur licence with billing, no-recording and no-changes rules, plus budgets and expense forms.AACT Pull-Tight	Light and flexible, but you still need the licence, and a proper contract for a new play.Dramatists Guild	The prompt book, daily calls, and attendance and hours records the contract requires.Equity (US)	The prompt copy, rehearsal notes and show reports, plus risk assessments and accident records the law requires.Theatrecrafts HSE RIDDOR

Who does the work

School: In schools, often one teacher directs, designs and runs the booth. At university, faculty and staff supervise student stage managers and crews.EdTAKent State
Community: Mostly volunteers and a volunteer board. Actors often help build, sew and find props, and most people do more than one job.Pull-Tight Langham Court
Non-union: Small teams, blurry edges. The stage manager might also run the desk or hand out pay. Artists often produce their own work.SMA
US union: Separate unions for separate crafts: actors and stage managers in Equity, stagehands and designers in IATSE, directors in SDC, musicians in AFM.Equity (US)IATSE
UK pro: Three stage management jobs: the SM runs backstage, the DSM keeps the book, ASMs prop and run the stage. A company manager handles contracts and the company.SMA Theatrecrafts

Who calls the show

School: A student stage manager, usually with a faculty mentor nearby.Kent StateDavidson
Community: The stage manager. Music cues are sometimes taken by the music director or operator directly.Langham Court
Non-union: The stage manager, sometimes while also running the desk. Corporate and live events call it a showcaller.SMA
US union: The production stage manager calls from the book, and after opening also rehearses understudies and gives notes to keep the show as directed.Equity (US)
UK pro: The DSM, from the prompt corner. The SM stays free to handle problems, and stage management does not give acting notes.Theatrecrafts SMA

Hours

School: Weeknight caps (often about 4 hours) and building curfews around 11pm. Long tech days are rare.Kent StateUNI
Community: Evenings and weekends around day jobs. Tech often lands on a single weekend.Langham Court
Non-union: No union limits. Some companies copy Equity rules; one-off event days can run 12 hours or more.SMA
US union: Set by contract: week length, breaks, meal breaks, overnight rest, days off and a cap on long tech days.Equity (US)
UK pro: Set by Equity and Bectu agreements plus the law on working time. Extra hours are often repaid as time off.Equity (UK)Bectu

How long you rehearse

School: University shows commonly rehearse 4 to 6 weeks, with building happening at the same time.EMU thesisKent State
Community: Often about 6 weeks of evenings and weekends, off-book a few weeks in, then a run of one to three weekends.Pull-Tight
Non-union: Anything from three weeks to almost nothing for a one-off event.SMA
US union: A paid prep week for stage managers, around three weeks of rehearsal, several days of tech, then previews before the show is frozen.Equity (US)
UK pro: Producing and rep theatres often rehearse 3 to 4 weeks. Touring companies can fit up, light and open on the same Monday.SMA Equity (UK)

Safety rules

School: Campus rules: no working alone, closed shoes, protective gear in the shop, curfews.Kent StateUCF
Community: Venue and fire rules (often no open flame), and safeguarding rules whenever children are in the company.Langham Court
Non-union: No union rep to back you up. Stopping an unsafe moment rests on the stage manager's judgement.SMA
US union: Equity rules on things like haze, raised platforms and daily fight calls, with deputies and inspections to enforce them.Equity (US)
UK pro: National health and safety law, enforced by the HSE, covering lifting, chemicals, set building and injury reporting, plus a written risk assessment.HSE LOLER HSE COSHH HSE CDM HSE RIDDOR ADC Cambridge

Paperwork

School: Full prompt books and reports, often graded. Student venues may require signed risk assessments before tech.Kent StateADC Cambridge
Community: An amateur licence with billing, no-recording and no-changes rules, plus budgets and expense forms.AACT Pull-Tight
Non-union: Light and flexible, but you still need the licence, and a proper contract for a new play.Dramatists Guild
US union: The prompt book, daily calls, and attendance and hours records the contract requires.Equity (US)
UK pro: The prompt copy, rehearsal notes and show reports, plus risk assessments and accident records the law requires.Theatrecrafts HSE RIDDOR

Same thing, different word

The swaps that confuse people most when a US and a UK crew share a headset.

🇺🇸 USCue-to-cue🇬🇧 UKTopping and tailingTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USLoad-in / load-out🇬🇧 UKGet-in, fit-up / get-outTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USIntermission🇬🇧 UKIntervalTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USWarning, then standby🇬🇧 UKStandbyTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USPlaces🇬🇧 UKBeginnersTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USStage left / right🇬🇧 UKPrompt side / opposite promptTheatrecrafts
🇺🇸 USStrike🇬🇧 UKGet-outTheatrecrafts

The UK half is 35 minutes

In the US the half-hour call comes 30 minutes before places. UK calls count down to beginners, five minutes before curtain, so every call is five minutes earlier than its name.Theatrecrafts

35min to curtainThe half
20min to curtainThe quarter
10min to curtainFive
5min to curtainBeginners

Three things that trip people up

Who keeps the show artistically. In US Equity houses the stage manager rehearses understudies and gives acting notes after opening. In the UK that is the company manager's or associate director's job, never stage management's.Equity (US)SMA
One job or five. Union houses keep crafts strictly separate. School, community and non-union shows routinely fold stage management, company management, props and even design into one or two people.Equity (US)IATSE
Contract or law. US professional rules come mostly from union agreements. UK theatre has union agreements too, plus national health and safety law that applies to every workplace.Equity (US)HSE CDM

Keep going

Tech week, hour by hourPaper tech to previews: who comes, what gets done, how long, and when to move on.Build a prompt bookWhat goes in the book, in what order, and how it runs tech and every show.Your first week, by roleCheat sheets for stage managers, ASMs, directors and more.

Sources

Written in my own words from handbooks, guides and rulebooks I read for this suite. Tags beside each point show where it comes from.

👥Who does the work

🎧Who calls the show

⏰Hours

📆How long you rehearse

🦺Safety rules

📋Paperwork