This popular book describes in detail a stage manager's job. It provides students, those just starting out in the profession and amateurs with a solid grounding in theatre stage management practices and procedures. The disciplines of lighting, set design and sound are discussed but the book's main concern is with the management of these elements and with the processes and scheduling that go together to provide the effective results. The author demonstrates that the methods used are as important as the final result. Chronologically following the production of a play, the book starts with pre-production planning and progresses to the first night.