So for my show last night the director decided to add a curtain speech with the music director. We got a sub fader for them to give the speech on the apron and a mic for them. Talked about it beforehand and thought we were all totally clear about how that was going to happen.

Top of show comes, the safety speech happens as planned… And no one comes to the stage for the curtain speech. So I tell the ASM on headset to send the director & music director on. Conversation goes like this:

ASM: They’re waiting for you to fly the main drape out.

Me: We’re not flying the main drape out. That is after the speech.

ASM: Okay, they’re on stage and ready for you to fly the main drape out.

Me: We are not flying the main drape out.

ASM: When are we flying the main drape out?

Me: After the speech. We do not have lights programed for before the speech.

ASM: Oh. How are they getting on?

Me: They can walk out through the curtain or through the backstage right entrance to the apron.

ASM: They don’t know how to do that.

So the ASM shows them where to go and the speech happens.

Exiting from the stage, they could not find the exits and fumbled around backstage for like three minutes cursing. After they found out where they were, they remembered the mic and started freaking out because they didn’t know that it was muted.

Lesson: Rehearse everything. Even if you think you got it.

Stage Manager Coping Strategies

do some paperwork (even if you’re behind! you’ll feel better to even just fill in one bit of information!)
make a spreadsheet of your other coping strategies
make a to do list full of things you already did just to be able to check it off
listen to music from your favorite show
look at some old paperwork that you did really well
check out some paperwork samples on smnetwork
practice calling cues

SM:
There's a lighting cable that blocks a fire door from closing.
LD:
I got permission from the TD to put it there.
SM:
Well, it has to be moved because we're breaking fire regulation.
LD:
Says who?
SM:
Me.

things that happened at final dress:

there were about 10 new light cues in difficult sequences that the lighting designer forgot to give me

the cues for several more lighting cues had changed without my knowledge and the designer would GO these cues since I wasn’t, so I kept looking up after calling something else and being like, “I guess we’re in Lights 183 now”.

there were 3 new projection cues the projection designer forgot to give me

the fire alarm went off and we lost 20 minutes of preshow. We only started 7 minutes late and 2 of those minutes were because someone locked us out of an entry way and we had to wait to be let in.

the monitors in the booth picked up sound cues incredibly well, but not actors speaking, so I couldn’t hear about 45% of my cue lines.

just found someone crying in a dressing room

happy pre-tech y’all

nice things to receive as a stage manager

thank yous for call emails
thank yous for reports
free coffee
things early on a deadline
notice that tricky elements are cut
an actual break when break is called

What is your process for taking blocking notes? How do you lay out a script? What is your basic shorthand? If the director tends to change blocking how do you handle that? Thanks!!

rocky-horror-shit-show

Hi there!

For taking blocking notes, it varies from show to show. For example, when I worked on Stuart Little with a cast aged 7-16, I literally wrote everything down. For opera, I tend to only make note of entrances/exits, the general placement on the stage, and track props. For musicals and plays, I tend to have a mixture of the two.

As for script layout, I generally have a non-scale copy of the ground plan on the blank side of the page. If I can, I write blocking under the ground plan and diagram basic placement. I number these so I can place them on the text side of the page. Currently my ground plan side is usually the left page, but I’m thinking about switching it to the right to make it easier to write blocking quickly.

My shorthand is usually:

One initial per person/character

x - cross

cc - counter cross

-> - to

Δ - quick change

and I normally do some quick drawings of stairs and chairs if they are used

If a director changes the blocking often, I normally just have to do a lot of erasing. It means I have to be more diligent with blocking, because everyone will forget which version of the blocking we’re on. This means my script usually becomes a giant mess and I haven’t found a good way to remedy this yet. I usually will print a new copy for my call script, though.

techblr hive mind

I need some advice. I’m thinking about moving out of my tiny town to finally go back to a big city. What cities do y’all recommend for theatre work?

that rehearsal when you know you have a show

Hello! Love your blog! I was wondering, do house lights coming down at the beginning of the show and coming up at the end count as light cues proper? Should they be included in a cue to cue? (I'm a highschool SM and we're entering in a timed judged festival where everything must be ~very professional~)

rachelhydrogen

Thank you! I call house lights like light cues (even if I do them separately / manually). They should definitely be called in a cue-to-cue, as well.

If the house lights are called separate from the light board (such as if the house lights are in the back of house and you have to ask a house manager to do it or if they are a separate control by / out of the light board), I usually specify that it is a different kind of cue, while still giving it the proper order in the light cues (LxM 1.5 GO - light cue manual one point five GO). If it is a different person from the light board op (like the house manager) that has to do this cue, it is generally good to give a warning 2 pages in advance and a standby shortly before the cue. Specifically call the person by name and make sure you get a response for the warning (and standby if they prove to be unreliable).

I hope this helps! Good luck with your festival – let me know how it goes!