Apprenticeship
Whether you have yet to begin work on your first apprentice credit or you are already well into it, the Stage Management Committee wants to take a few moments to let you know a little bit about what to expect in your stage management apprenticeship and in your relationship with Equity.
First and foremost, apprenticeship is a learning opportunity, working with Equity stage management professionals. At some point, we hope to see you hired on to stage manage a show by yourself, and it’s important that you have the skills and experience you need in order to do that well.
Apprenticeship is largely self-guided, and every job will teach you different things. This means that you will need to take the initiative to learn all you can during each production, and to ask questions or seek advice to fill in any gaps. We encourage you to seek the greatest breadth of apprentice credit opportunities available to you. Do your best to make your apprenticeship as wide as the career you hope to have.
Resources
Engagers hiring Equity Stage Management Apprentices in the last 24 months
Join the Stage Management Apprentice Availability List
School training can count toward your apprentice credit total
If you have graduated from a postsecondary theatre program at an accredited university, college or conservatory, and have completed your first registered apprentice credit, you may be eligible to apply for a credit in recognition of your stage management training. The same thing goes if you have taken a specified set of core courses from the SMArts training program.
Be proactive!
You will need to seek out apprentice opportunities. Update your resume, polish up your interview skills, and start knocking on some doors. Networking and offering to work casual gigs in a range of jobs at your local theatres is another tried-and-true way to get your name and interest in front of people. Finally, subscribe to eDrive, Equity’s job opportunity email list.
Get feedback
Toward the end of each apprentice credit, we encourage you to ask your supervising SM or ASM for some honest evaluation of your work. We’ve put together a feedback form to help guide that discussion.
Remember, this feedback is for you, to help you shape your apprenticeship. Whatever the results, use the good, the middling, and even the bad as an opportunity to improve your work on the next gig into good, better and best.
Find an Apprentice Advisor
If you’re looking for a little one-on-one advice at any time during your apprenticeship, you can also reach out to our roster of Apprentice Advisors. They are all active stage management professionals working in a variety of live performance settings, and they can help you with a range of questions related to apprenticeships or the work you are doing.
On the path to Equity membership
As an apprentice, you are not an Equity member (yet). Equity doesn’t “represent” you with engagers or set many of your terms of employment. While Equity can assist you with some basic things, you won’t have access to the full range of membership rights or services. You are also not restricted to working only on Equity engagements, and you can (and should!) take whatever opportunities come your way to improve and expand your skills. However, you are on your way to becoming a member, and each apprentice credit is a step in that direction. Remember, we won’t know about your work automatically, so it’s important that you register each apprentice credit with Equity – email membership@caea.com or complete the Apprentice Credit Registration Form in your MyEquity account in order to make sure the credit is in your record.
For each credit, there is a $75 registration fee. In the case of apprentice opportunities under the Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA) or Independent Theatre Agreement (ITA), the engager will pay this. For work under other Equity agreements or engagement policies, you will have to pay the fee yourself, although you may wish to try to negotiate with your engager to cover it. Most of the money is banked toward your joining fee ($62.50 of it), and the remainder covers the cost of administration and basic accident insurance provided by Equity while you are in the course of getting an apprentice credit.
Joining Equity
How will you know when you’re “ready” or when it’s time to join Equity? The minimum standard in most cases is that you must have six apprentice credits (eight if you do them all with one company), and that’s a pretty good guide. Once you’ve reached that point, the best gauge is that an engager who knows your work is willing to hire you and put you in charge of a show. Take that as a vote of confidence in your abilities! There is no magic point at which you will know everything a stage manager needs to know – you are going to be learning for your entire career. When someone offers you an Equity contract and you feel like you might be ready, take a deep breath and then take the leap!