ABSTRACT
In theory every performance should be the same and it is the responsibility of stage management to make sure that this is the case; in fact this is of course impossible and arguably not always even desirable. In order to minimise the risk of preventable mistakes occurring, however, each performance should be approached in exactly the same way. The stage has to be re-set for every performance. On a large-scale production involving multiple settings this can be time-consuming and complex, sometimes involving as much of a shuffle backstage as on-stage. For stage management the pre-set involves setting all the props and furniture in the right place both on and off-stage. As props are sometimes fragile or valuable the stage management pre-set is normally done close to the performance time. The stage setting and props should be checked before the ‘half-hour’ and again just before the house is opened, in case anything has been moved or is missing.
