Stage management: the facilitation of creative development

Taylor Leigh Jackson came to the University of Iowa with a strong background in stage management and nonprofit administration. While diving deeper into her stage management craft, specifically focusing on opera and dance, she also gave attention to developing her work in nonprofit administration. Through these focuses, she connected with Professor Kenneth G. Brown, Ph.D., and Production Manager Briana Maxwell from whom she developed further knowledge and skills in their respective fields. Concurrently, Jackson also personally questioned the intersection of her work in stage management and nonprofit administration, reflecting on the skills required and values that could be applied to her work overall. In her thesis, Jackson presents the stage management and nonprofit administration experience that she brought into her graduate program, knowledge and experience built with mentors during her program, and reflections made on the intersection of these two fields that ultimately led to the development of her management style. Providing examples from productions she stage managed at the University of Iowa during her Graduate Stage Management Program, Jackson shares the development of a values-based style focused on empathy and respect that practiced and applied to her post-graduate career.