Author Topic: NEW WORKS: Making a prompt book when there is no script at all  (Read 5275 times)

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PSMKay

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I had mentioned in amagelssen's intro thread that I could write a book on making a book when there is no book. It has occurred to me that we've not really addressed this at all, so I figured I'd open it for discussion.

We tend to take for granted that there will be a script involved, or a libretto, from which we can hang our blocking & cues. But what happens if you're working on a show with no script at all? Experimental/collaborative productions will grow and emerge throughout the entire process, and Improv requires tech as well. How do you build your prompt book when the script is being written by the company as part of the rehearsal process?

nick_tochelli

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Re: NEW WORKS: Making a prompt book when there is no script at all
« Reply #1 on: Mar 01, 2012, 01:18 am »
I worked as the SM for an Improv troupe, and the way we settled upon calling cues in the midst of games would be simple: One of three people would be the one who could call "Scene." I was one, the Director was another and the Assistant Director was the third. When we felt a scene had accomplished all it could, and we were ending on a high note: Black out called by me to punch the end of the scene or the D/AD would yell "Scene" and then the blackout. So in this instance, it's easier than an experimental piece. I had to have understanding of improv games, situations, and timing in order to end a scene with the right momentum and I had to be quick on my feet to make the other calls. There is nothing worse than calling a blackout when an improver is still moving forward with the scene and you make a bad call to end the game early. It leaves everyone feeling unsatisfied.

I preached this in a thread elsewhere on this forum saying you need to memorize as much as you can leading into a tech. I'd say the same kind of principle would apply here. If the piece is generally supposed to cover the same information, but isn't tied to a script then memorize the general patterns the cast might take. Maybe there's one actor who does the same thing at the same moment in the progression of the show: Take a cue off that. There may not be a script, but there may very well be patterns you can cue off of.

Same goes for a script being created by an exploration process. If there's a lot of chaos on stage, find the one thing you want to cue off of: Key word, phrase, movement etc.

And I have completely lost my train of thought so I'm going to try to stop rooting around in my brain trying to figure out what else I mean to say.

NomieRae

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Re: NEW WORKS: Making a prompt book when there is no script at all
« Reply #2 on: Mar 01, 2012, 03:34 pm »
When I originally started on my current show (almost 9 months ago! sheesh) all that was given to me was a 4 page double sided 'cliff notes' version of the show and a DVD of a performance. This is how they had trained 4 other casts. Before mounting the NYC production there had never been a SM who called all the light and sound cues, it had been run live in a mish-mash of ways by operators.

So, naturally, our PSM created a script/libretto (entire 4 minute medleys were just listed on the original 'script' as "BOYS MEDLEY") that continued to evolve and change until opening (and sometimes beyond). There was much clarification needed between the cast and creative team on terms for parts of the show/songs - since we had no true script/score it was hard to say where we were going from sometimes... There was also a lot of stress when the lighting designer realized he had to program cues and that our operator wouldn't be running it live each night. Hahaha

A lot of the show is audience participation and that is hard to anticipate how it will go so many moments have benchmarks of which bit is first, and which is last. Some nights it's a grab bag of what we get, but now with several hundred shows under our belt it's found a good groove.

Now that we've created an entire cueing and blocking script - it's everything we can do to keep everyone's hand off of it from the other companies. Ha.
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LCSM

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Re: NEW WORKS: Making a prompt book when there is no script at all
« Reply #3 on: Mar 02, 2012, 04:42 am »
Great topic Kay.

I recently did a show that was almost completely physical, and the movements were developed by the actors and director during the rehearsal process. I was given a storyboard the director had made up, which included a brief summary of the plot covered in each scene, and a sketch of one of the key tableaux involved in each scene.

From there, I blocked it much like a dance piece - just a sequence of movements the actors made. Then I typed those up into a document and treated the movements of the actors as if they were lines, calling cues off them in the same way I would for a regular show.

Personally, I enjoyed the freedom that comes with this type of show: you have a chance to write/format a version of the script that will be the most effective for you to use. I loved being able to build things in as we went, and I loved having a clean, updated version of my script anytime I wanted it.

I've attached a few pages from my final calling script. Ideally, the notes would have been a little more detailed, but it'll give you an idea.
« Last Edit: Mar 02, 2012, 04:45 am by LCSM »

 

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