Stage manager to head of workshop
A stage manager already meets 49% of what the head of workshop role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.5/ 100
1 How much of what a head of workshop is expected to do is already part of a stage manager’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 head of workshop role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A head of workshop role treats 14 of its required skills as things a stage manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to artists' creative demands
- follow safety procedures when working at heights
- negotiate health and safety issues with third parties
- prevent fire in a performance environment
- promote health and safety
- react to emergency situations in a live performance environment
What stands in the way is 14 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A head of workshop role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a stage manager background worth leading with.
- already held negotiate health and safety issues with third parties communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held react to emergency situations in a live performance environment assisting and caring
- already held document safety actions information skills
- already held write risk assessment on performing arts production information skills
- already held support a designer in the developing process communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote health and safety communication, collaboration and creativity
All 19 carried skills, including the 14 the head of workshop role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 develop project schedule required
- still to learn manage teamwork required
- still to learn plan workshop activity required
- still to learn update budget required
- still to learn lead a team required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage schedule of tasks required
- still to learn manage supplies required
- optional, not held manage consumables stock optional
- optional, not held provide technical documentation optional
- still to learn analyse the need for technical resources required
- still to learn calculate design costs required
- still to learn perform quality control of design during a run required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- still to learn commission set construction required
- still to learn consult with design team required
- optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
- still to learn work safely with machines required
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
- optional, not held use specialised design software optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a head of workshop role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 commission set construction practise this
- 02 analyse the need for technical resources practise this
- 03 calculate design costs 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- already held follow safety procedures when working at heights skill
- already held negotiate health and safety issues with third parties skill
- already held prevent fire in a performance environment skill
- already held promote health and safety skill
- already held react to emergency situations in a live performance environment skill
- already held support a designer in the developing process skill
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held use technical documentation skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision skill
- already held work with respect for own safety skill
- already held document safety actions skill
- already held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems skill
- already held perform first fire intervention skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held write risk assessment on performing arts production skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
- optional, not held manage consumables stock optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
- optional, not held provide technical documentation optional
- optional, not held use specialised design software optional
36 held skills the head of workshop role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt artistic plan to location skill
- not needed by the target role analyse a script skill
- not needed by the target role analyse music score skill
- not needed by the target role analyse the artistic concept based on stage actions skill
- not needed by the target role analyse the scenography skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate pre-show checks skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate the running of a performance skill
- not needed by the target role cue a performance skill
- not needed by the target role determine context to present the work skill
- not needed by the target role develop drama production process skill
- not needed by the target role ensure health and safety of visitors skill
- not needed by the target role follow time cues skill
- not needed by the target role identify technical resources for performances skill
- not needed by the target role interpret artistic intentions skill
- not needed by the target role intervene with actions on stage skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with trends skill
- not needed by the target role manage prompt book skill
- not needed by the target role obtain pyrotechnic permits skill
- not needed by the target role obtain stage weapon permits skill
- not needed by the target role operate pyrotechnical control skill
- not needed by the target role organise rehearsals skill
- not needed by the target role organise stage skill
- not needed by the target role plan pyrotechnical effects skill
- not needed by the target role plan weapon use on stage skill
- not needed by the target role prepare stage weapons skill
- not needed by the target role prompt performers skill
- not needed by the target role read musical score skill
- not needed by the target role safeguard artistic quality of performance skill
- not needed by the target role set up pyrotechnical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role store pyrotechnical materials skill
- not needed by the target role store stage weapons skill
- not needed by the target role understand artistic concepts skill
- not needed by the target role use communication equipment skill
- not needed by the target role work safely with pyrotechnical materials in a performance environment skill
- not needed by the target role work safely with stage weapons skill
- not needed by the target role write technical riders skill
Common questions about this move
Can a stage manager become a head of workshop?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A stage manager already covers 49% of what a head of workshop is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 14 of which the head of workshop role treats as required.
What skills does a stage manager need to become a head of workshop?
14 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 commission set construction.
How hard is the move from stage manager to head of workshop?
Its learning distance is 58.5 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.