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Stage Management Summer Institute

Learn what it takes to create magic for the stage

Develop key production management skills for a career in theater

The UCLA Stage Management Summer Institute is a three-week intensive conservatory-style program for college and high school theater students encompassing the study and application of stage management, theater history, leadership, teamwork, and problem solving. Students will also be introduced to current industry practices through workshops and hands-on activities as it is an essential component to the learning process. Students will spend the morning sessions breaking down stage management at each step of the theatrical process. We will look at not just how to get something done but why it’s done that way, how it was done in the past, who it effects, and how it makes the process better.
Students who participate in Session A will culminate the program by working with an ensemble on a devised theatrical piece and those who enroll in Session B will work on a musical. Both sessions will require student to be an active contributor from preproduction thru performance.
The program is designed for high school students who have a serious interest in stage management and who seek the discipline and training required for participation in a university theater program or a career in the performing arts.

Fees and Payment Info

The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. The program fee also includes the cost of UCLA Housing (for residential programs). In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.

Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM FEES:
The program fees listed in the selection to the right are for the commuter versions only (Sessions A and B.2). The program fee also includes the cost of UCLA Housing. The following are the program fees for the Residential version (Session B.1).

  • High School Student = $5218
  • Incoming UCLA Student = $4794
  • Incoming UC Student = $4794

All other fees listed will remain the same for the Residential version.

Program Fee
$2,950.00
Registration Fee
$350.00
IEI Fee
$61.00
Document Fee (for first-time Summer Sessions students)
$50.00
Total Estimated Fees:
$3,411.00
* Fees only apply for certain student types

Meet Your Instructors

Jessie Vacchiano

Instructor

Jessie Vacchiano is an L.A.-based stage manager. Jessie graduated with B.F.A in Production with an emphasis in stage management from Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2009. In 2010 Jessie joined AEA as a professional stage manager. Jessie has worked as a freelance stage manager on productions large and small, musicals, dramas, environmental pieces, corporate events, outdoor drive-in events, musical concerts, and (thanks to 2020) even virtual productions. Favorite credits include: Three Pianos(A.R.T./New York Theatre Workshop/Ontological Theatre), Our Planet(Japan Society), Breakup Notebook(ReVision Theatre), Soul on Fire(Kennedy Center), Beth Malone…So Far(Tour), Body Awareness(Gulfshore Playhouse), Pal Joey(Arkansas Rep), I Am My Own Wife (Laguna Playhouse), My Life with Men…and Other Animals (U.S. Premier, Peter Schneider Productions), A Room with a View (L.A. TheatreWorks), Measure for Measure (Ensemble Theatre Company), and Sweet Charity (Reprise 2.0), Sing Out! (Austin Arts Project). For many years Jessie found herself recurring her role as PSM at Rubicon Theater.

Favorite credits include: Noises Off, Conviction (co-production with Bay Street Theatre), Heisenberg (Laguna Playhouse),The Last Five Years, Other Desert Cities, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, See Rock City, and Gulf View Drive, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Moonlight and Magnolias, Taking Sides, and Sylvia, Incognito, The Baby Dance: Mixed, , Plaid Tidings, Never Not Once, and Gin Game.  Virtually Jessie has worked on a number of shows. 2020/2021 Virtual credits include: A Song (Rubicon Theatre), Grateful(Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra), Measure for Measure, Richard II and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare by the Sea), A Christmas Carol(Ensemble Theatre Company), The Gin Game and Suppressed Desires (Laguna Playhouse), and The Last Five Years(International City Theatre). Jessie is also a lecturer for the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television.

Morgan Zupanski

Instructor

Morgan Zupanski is a freelance Indigenous Stage Manager. She is a union member of DGA, AEA, and AGMA. She has worked as a stage manager in various genres of entertainment – Everything ranging from an interactive haunted mansion with Neil Patrick Harris to branded immersive experiences at San Diego Comic-Con to mainstage opera productions at LA Opera to commercial venture musicals in 1800 seat roadhouses and the Hollywood Bowl to regional world premiere new musicals like Invincible (featuring the music of Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo) to 99 seat theatre all over the Los Angeles area to competition tv shows like MasterChef, live televised musicals like The Little Mermaid Live!, live televised music events like Amazon Music Live’s second season, various corporate gala’s, award shows, conferences, and special televised events like The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.