Take Stage! is the first comprehensive "how-to" book for lesbians wanting to produce or direct lesbian theatre. Controversial and anecdotal, Take Stage! is written for the lesbian with no previous experience with theatre or lesbian organization. In addition to chapters on auditioning, rehearsals, selecting the script, booking space, and assembling a staff, the book includes chapters on issues of special interest to lesbians. Take Stage! includes information on how to challenge the "isms"—lookism, racism, classism, ageism, and other prejudices with which lesbian culture is currently engaged. It also looks at problems of accountability in non-hierarchal structures, boundary-setting among all-volunteer staffs, sabotage via hidden agendas or disassociative behaviors, horizontal hostility, and internalized homophobia. The appendix contains sample contracts, audition forms, light plots, budgets, and schedules. From the decision to produce the play to opening night and touring, Take Stage! covers all the bases and provides a healthy dose of moral support.

"...a practical, hands-on guide for anyone directing and producing a play by, with, for or about lesbians by a woman who has been involved in every aspect of lesbian theater." - Feminist Bookstore News

"Geared to the fledgling lesbian director and producer, Gage's handbook is chock-full of new ideas and common sense about choosing, mounting, publicizing, and surviving the live theatre experience...crack's open the mysteries of the successful theatrical venture. Most important, the book addresses the complex underpinnings of accountability, leadership, and collaboration in the differently structured world of women-run groups...two chapters on victims and leadership deliver such savvy and sage advice that they should be required reading for all women who work in organizations...even while preoccupied with basics, Gage doesn't neglect the artistic/spiritual aspects of why we do theatre in the first place... Take Stage! really does deliver what it promises: to take the inexperienced director and producer through all stages of production...rejoice that a real resource guide is available, one that is concise, readable, and inspiring." - The Lesbian Review Of Books