For nearly two decades, McGraw’s Stage Manager Survey has connected a unique community by capturing the experience of stage managers and influencing the field.
For nearly 20 years, Associate Professor of Arts Administration David McGraw has conducted the Stage Manager Survey, an international snapshot that highlights the realities of stage managers worldwide.
Conducted biennially, the survey not only gives voice to an underrecognized profession but also provides data-driven insights to advance industry evolution.
“Stage management is the coordination and management of live events,” McGraw said. “It’s a role that often operates behind the scenes and lacks visibility.”
The survey is the only comprehensive research of its kind. The most recent, conducted in 2023, connected stage managers from 32 countries, offering insights into a profession that often operates behind the scenes. Now supporting Spanish, French, and Mandarin, the survey is a rare resource in an industry that typically lacks formalized data and communication.
This year, the Stage Managers’ Association recognized McGraw’s contributions with the Special Recognition Award at its annual Del Hughes Awards, a prestigious honor acknowledging his impact on the field. The ceremony was held Oct. 28 at the National Opera Center’s Marc A. Scorca Hall in New York City. McGraw was applauded alongside Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Lloyd Davis Jr., Ed De Shae and Denise Yaney.
“It was an incredible experience to look out at the awards audience and see my heroes, the giants of the field,” McGraw said. “It was also wonderful to reconnect with so many colleagues that I had not seen in person since the pandemic.”
The award celebrates his commitment to a profession that depends on precision, dedication and collaboration.
McGraw started the survey in 2006 after conversations with friends and colleagues in stage management. Though working in many different locations across the country, their discussions revealed trends in the field. He saw a critical information gap in an industry that lacks formalized data and communication and aimed to fill it.
“The survey has done so much more to connect the broader stage manager community,” McGraw said. “No one recognizes my face and my name is only vaguely familiar, but people know the survey.”
McGraw’s goal in administering the survey is to show not only leading ideas and practices, but the full range of choices within the stage management field.
“Innovation only happens when we accept alternative ideas,” he said during the award ceremony. “It is great to offer models, but standardization is the enemy of the artist. As much as we may work for large corporations, we are still artists.”
McGraw is celebrated not only as a researcher, but also as a mentor to students who have helped shape the survey over the years. Elon students have played a crucial role in the survey’s growth.
Some of those students joined him at the Oct. 28 awards ceremony.
Brianna Boucher ’24, who was mentored by McGraw and acted as a research assistant on the 2021 and 2023 surveys, praised the work’s importance.
“Stage managers often go unappreciated, but this survey gives them a platform to share their thoughts and experiences,” she said.
Boucher’s responsibilities extended beyond administrative tasks. She helped develop questions, tested beta versions and launched an Instagram account to engage younger stage managers.
Alumni Tara Patterson ’20 and Hanna Brown ’23, who helped conduct previous survey in previous years, also attended the ceremony.
Reflecting on her experience, Boucher said that McGraw is a “phenomenal mentor.”
“Seeing him recognized by industry professionals is so meaningful, especially in a field where stage managers often go unrecognized,” Boucher said.
Now back at Elon as assistant costume shop manager, Boucher often finds that her work with the survey comes up in job interviews, providing a connection with professionals who understand and value the survey’s impact.
For McGraw, the survey is a living document that adapts with each generation of stage managers— and with the contributions of Elon students. Each survey takes more than 300 hours to design. That includes querying stage managers about new topics they would like included in the survey’s next iteration, paying special attention to members and aspects of the profession who may be “unseen,” he said.
McGraw is planning the 2025 survey to include more language translations so that his work can reach a broader audience. He hopes the survey will continue to challenge the ideas of what stage management entails.
“What is a stage manager? This is an extremely important question and one that we should never consider fully answered,” McGraw said. “Like our projects, we are constantly striving to make it a little bit better.”