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Collaborative Connections

Collaborative Connections

Our Mentoring Program

Members at any level can request to be paired with an experienced member for a one time or lengthier mentoring experience to explore stage management in a particular artistic genre or geographic location.

Select “Request a Mentor” (make sure to log in to see this option) if you wish to be paired with a professional stage manager or to request a more tailored experience. (i.e. request to meet or speak about touring stage management).

Want to give back to our community? Select “Serve as a Mentor” to begin helping others reach their stage management potential.

1. Make sure that the email address you use is the one where you would like a member of the SMA to contact you about potential mentor matches. There may be a lot of requests. If you decide to use an alternate email address to keep the mentee requests separate from your personal life, check that email address regularly.

2. If they are contacting you for a school project, do not spend your time composing a long wonderful essay answering their questions(s). Your long wonderful answer will be copied and pasted right into their work. If you really want to help them, arrange for them to interview you via Skype or phone. It is their job to generate questions and write down your answers, and then compose THEIR homework. Be helpful, but don’t do their work for them.

3. Mentoring can, in some cases, be a long-term project. This can be a range of time from a few emails/meetings to a long relationship. It’s one of the most rewarding experiences you can have!

4. You don’t have to solve ALL the mentee’s problems for them or answer all their questions. Mentoring is an opportunity to help them find the resources, external or internal, to assist them in solving their own problems and answering their own questions. Give them options and choices.

5. If you are not the right match for the person you’ve been paired with, please write to the Collaborative Connections committee via the
website, and we can pair the person with someone else.