Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991 - 46

productions. However, Managemenr by
Tao indicates that the best approach ro
managing the stage is the abiliry (Q be
flexible, (Q be consistenr with employees
as well as employers, and (Q balance
management decisions based on
information and resources.
Managemenr by Tao means preparation. The ability to foresee contingencies gives the stage manager
opporrunities [Q get out of a crisis
siruation. When pro pet preparation is
observed, the principle of wu-wei can be
applied; no-action is required if all goes
according (Q whar is narural-according
(Q plan. Managemenr by Tao also means
rhat working wirh personnel involves
balance. This balance can be described in
tenTIS of )Iill and yang. The Taoist stage
manager musr be able ro see and idenrify
rhe yill, as the one side, the yallg as the
other, and the rwo as the Tao.
Ulrimately, Management by Tao
means a view of what thearre is. The ebb
and flow of the exchange that makes up
the thearrical experience is similar ro the
ebb and flow of the yill and yallg. The
ephemeral momenr of the thearre and
the desire ro preserve the natural course
of the production is the essence of WI/wei. Therefore, the objective of the stage
manager is [Q seek out these Taoist

MANAGEMENT
BY TAO
INDICATES THAT
THE BEST
APPROACH TO
MANAGING THE
STAGE IS THE
ABILITY TO BE
FLEXIBLE, TO BE
CONSISTENT AND
TO BALANCE
DECISIONS BASED
ON INFORMATION
AND
RESOURCES.

If the thearrical evenr can be viewed
as a Taoist experience, then a model of
management based upon the Taoist
philosophy can be a useful guideline
roward successful stage management.

Mark Heiser is the stage mallager jOr UC
Davis Presents at the University of
California, Davis.

Endnotes
l. J.e. Cooper. Taoism, Tht \nlJ of (IJ( 1\f)'Hic
(0!onhamptonshire. England: The Aquarian Press. 19-2)
9.

"}
AJI translations of the hlo 7( Ching are from the text
translation by Ellen Chen (New York: PHagan House,
1989).
3.

Lester Bittel, .\ftllltlgt'111rllt kl
1964) 5.

E\"C(Pliol1

(:\ew York:

~IcGraw-HiJl.

4.
Eric Bentley, Wlhll is Thftl1Tt': (Bo5mn: Beacon Press.
1956) 2·13.
5.
Peter Goffin, The' An tlnd SCi01Cf of Slage
Mal/ag'IlI'1II (London: J. Garnet I'-liJler. Ltd., 1953) 22.

6.
Roben Tannenbaum and \'\'arren Schmidt, ~How (0
Choose a Leadership Panern" HtlTl'tlrd BmiurH Rfl,jfU'.
I'-Iar.-Apr. (1958): 95-101.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt. 101.

relationships and (Q examine problems in
terms of a Taoist approach.

8. Paul Hersey and Kennelll Blanchard, J\ftlllagemem of
Organi=.ariol1al Bthat1ior (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall. Inc.).

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44

1991 SPRING

TD&T

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991