In pairs discuss the role of the stage manager. 1 What time does the stage manager live in? Find evidence in the text.

1 Не may be living in the future in relation to the action (1901), (\"Doc Gibbs died in 1930. The new hospital’s named after him.”) But the way he switches from the past to the present and uses the present continuous or speaks about the future using the past (\"Mrs Gibbs died first - long time ago, in fact.”; \"First automobile’s going to come along in about five years”; \"In those days our newspapers come out twice a week - The Grover’s Corners Sentinel - and this is editor Webb’s house”) suggests that he is not related to any particular time. That is why, perhaps, this character is called the STAGE MANAGER.

2 His place in the town is defined quite clearly \"Here’s the grocery store and here’s Me. Morgan’s drugstore.”

3 No. See the examples: \"mount’in”, \"The morning star always gets wonderful bright the minute before it has to go - doesn’t it?” \"First automobile’s going to come along in about five years - belonged to Banker Cartwright, our richest citizen...lives in the big white house up on the hill.” \"Nice town, y’know what I mean?” \"’s far as we know.” \"Way back there is the railway station; tracks got that w\'ay...” \"Naturally, out in the country - all around - there’ve been lights on for some time, what with milkin’s and so on”. Etc.

4 This is not typical, but this helps to keep the manager \"inside” the story, as one of the characters.