Assistant stage director to performance production manager
An assistant stage director already meets 15% of what the performance production manager role asks for. The move turns on 28 required skills not yet in the profile.
86.1/ 100
1 How much of what a performance production manager is expected to do is already part of an assistant stage director’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the performance production manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance production manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things an assistant stage director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to artists' creative demands
- coordinate artistic production
- coordinate pre-show checks
- coordinate with creative departments
- develop artistic project budgets
What stands in the way is 28 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance production manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an assistant stage director background worth leading with.
- already held coordinate pre-show checks management skills
- already held assemble an artistic team management skills
- already held coordinate with creative departments communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held coordinate artistic production management skills
- already held develop artistic project budgets information skills
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the performance production manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn organise performance space required
- still to learn assess production needs to plan a production schedule required
- still to learn coordinate rehearsals required
- still to learn manage artistic project required
- still to learn organise cultural events required
- still to learn organise rehearsals required
- still to learn create production schedules required
- still to learn develop cultural activities required
- still to learn establish daily priorities required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage logistics required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn manage supplies required
- still to learn plan artistic production activities required
- still to learn set organisational policies required
- still to learn strive for company growth required
- still to learn supervise daily information operations required
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- still to learn liaise with cultural partners required
- still to learn promote cultural venue events required
- still to learn work with cultural venue specialists required
- still to learn liaise with local authorities required
- still to learn represent the organisation required
- still to learn follow company standards required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- optional, not held ensure health and safety of visitors optional
- still to learn draw up artistic production required
- still to learn estimate needs of artistic production required
- optional, not held document safety actions optional
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- still to learn cultural projects required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance production manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 organise performance space practise this
- 02 assess production needs to plan a production schedule practise this
- 03 coordinate rehearsals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- already held coordinate artistic production skill
- already held coordinate pre-show checks skill
- already held coordinate with creative departments skill
- already held develop artistic project budgets skill
- already held assemble an artistic team skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held document safety actions optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held ensure health and safety of visitors optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
17 held skills the performance production manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse the artistic concept based on stage actions skill
- not needed by the target role art-historical values knowledge
- not needed by the target role define artistic approach skill
- not needed by the target role define artistic vision skill
- not needed by the target role develop an artistic framework skill
- not needed by the target role direct an artistic team skill
- not needed by the target role find a replacement for stage manager skill
- not needed by the target role follow time cues skill
- not needed by the target role liaise between theatre direction and design team skill
- not needed by the target role maintain a production book skill
- not needed by the target role maintain blocking notes skill
- not needed by the target role manage prompt book skill
- not needed by the target role prompt performers skill
- not needed by the target role read scripts skill
- not needed by the target role supervise script preparation skill
- not needed by the target role understand artistic concepts skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn cultural projects required
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
Other moves recorded from assistant stage director
Common questions about this move
Can an assistant stage director become a performance production manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An assistant stage director already covers 15% of what a performance production manager is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the performance production manager role treats as required.
What skills does an assistant stage director need to become a performance production manager?
28 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is organise performance space.
How hard is the move from assistant stage director to performance production manager?
Its learning distance is 86.1 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.