Store your marley at room temperature for at least 24 hours. If the vinyl in the marley is cold, it will prove incredibly difficult to unroll. This is particularly applicable if the marley has spent time in cold environments, such as outdoor storage facilities or within a delivery truck.
Clean the stage. Not only will dust and dirt keep the tape from sticking properly, but dancers will be able to feel even small pieces of debris beneath the marley. Keep an eye out for any stray screws or wood splinters, which can injure your dancers and damage the marley. If your stage is particularly dirty or covered with sawdust, mop the floor once the larger debris has been swept up. Let the floor dry fully before laying the marley.
Unroll the marley onto the stage. Allow it to flatten out overnight, if possible. If you have ever unrolled a brand new poster from a shipping tube, then you can imagine how curled up the edges of a huge sheet of vinyl flooring will be.
Stick the edges of the marley to the stage using gaffer's tape. It is best to enlist a few helpers to help hold the marley down during this process. Start at a downstage corner and work your way slowly up. This way, the marley is pressed to the floor as closely as possible. You don't want the marley to bulge or pocket in any place. One method that is helpful in avoiding these "bubbles" is to have somebody walk down the marley as you apply the tape. Smooth the gaffer's tape with the palm of your hand as you work. You want as tight a fit as possible. If you are working with several sheets of marley, as opposed to one large sheet, take extra care to make sure that the edges are as seamless as possible. A gap or ridge between sheets can easily make a dancer trip.
Sweep and lightly mop your floor after every rehearsal and performance. Even if you have no props or liquid onstage, your dancers will appreciate coming off stage with clean feet. If there will be tap dancers using the marley, clean up is especially important, as the tap shoes can cause a build-up of aluminum oxide (a thin, gooey substance). Do not use any abrasive floor cleaners on the marley. Certain chemicals can damage the vinyl, not to mention that if your dancers are barefoot, harsh cleaners are the last thing they will want on their skin.