PROMPT BOOK: Gratuitious Paperwork

[Sarah]

Yeah, I'd like to see a version of that paperwork, too, Erin, please. I use two documents that serve those purposes. Combining them may be a really great idea.

[echayes12]

Personally, I like making lots of paperwork (although I am definitely "one of those young stage managers") - it helps me get a better grip on everything I need to know for the show by breaking the information down, even if I have it all already. 

Totally and completely agree. It helps me know the show better when I have to write everything out myself. It's also nice to have everything in my hand, in ways that I understand it.

[Cedes]

The big thing for me (being a child of the "computer age") is that I like to create a form, use it, then clear it and edit it as necessary for each show that I work.  I have a HUGE file on my laptop of forms I have created, stolen, edited, etc. and cleared for my own personal use. I like having them on-hand, but, if I can, I only create/use paperwork that I find useful for the show I am currently working on.  Yes, I like to showcase what I have created/edited to show my ability, but if a company really wants to see, i'll show them a portfolio, not a prompt book.

[ErgoCue]

Rehearsal run sheets/scene by scene tracking documents are the only paperwork  that I really debate with myself about.  You need clear information to do run throughs in the rehearsal space, and in a complex show carrying your binder, or flipping back and forth between scribbled notebook pages as you move props/costumes SL/SR isn’t always possible.  Plus, if others are helping to do rehearsal run throughs, but they’ve been on book or something else the rest of the time, a printed guide is certainly helpful.  On the other hand, spending time formatting and updating docs that will quickly become obsolete when you move to the stage doesn’t  make a lot of sense, so lately I’ve been trying to simplify these things as much as possible.

I've found having rehearsal run sheets to be invaluable for me.  I agree that it's cumbersome to carry it around with you during quick changes, but it's a great cheat sheet to keep next to the script, especially in prop or furniture heavy shows.  I'll usually study it for a minute before a big scene change and leave it at the table.  In some instances I've gone so far as to create mock shift plots for rehearsal run-throughs.  These of course are for the larger shows, with multiple people moving scenery and props, just in the rehearsal space.  But like most people here have said, it depends on the show.  I'm certainly not going to make a rehearsal run sheet for a two-person play with a five props and a park bench.

[TheSingingSM]

I actually learned the "Don't do it if you don't need it" from this website. As a student stage manager, I've made most of the forms needed and seen other for examples of "This is how it would look if you are doing this". Thank goodness that we don't have to do EVERY single piece of paperwork (that was a great relief to my ears...or eyes since I'm reading this). I also found it interesting that one director that I work with will actually do the preliminary scene breakdowns, proplists and schedules himself. When I asked him if I was supposed to do it, his reply was, "Oh I never ask my stage managers to do that. That's just rude."

[Cedes]

I think that I use as much as I need.  I have an excel document that I created about two years ago that has every permutation of a piece of paperwork I could need for a show, including the performance items (cue lists, shift charts, etc) so that I can have it open for each show and just have to swipe through a couple tabs to make it work. 

[MarcieA]

I think that I use as much as I need.  I have an excel document that I created about two years ago that has every permutation of a piece of paperwork I could need for a show, including the performance items (cue lists, shift charts, etc) so that I can have it open for each show and just have to swipe through a couple tabs to make it work.

Would you be open to sharing a version of that document? I keep something similar, but I'd love to compare tabs.

[loebtmc]

TheSingingSM - even on a show where the director knows it so much better than I do at the get-go, like this one, because he's directed it twice already, I always do my own paperwork. It helps me learn the show quickly, regroup things like props that will shift and change w each version of a given piece, solve various prop and set placement issues ahead of time - and helps me catch holes he might have forgotten or overlooked given the current space.

[TheSingingSM]

TheSingingSM - even on a show where the director knows it so much better than I do at the get-go, like this one, because he's directed it twice already, I always do my own paperwork. It helps me learn the show quickly, regroup things like props that will shift and change w each version of a given piece, solve various prop and set placement issues ahead of time - and helps me catch holes he might have forgotten or overlooked given the current space.

After the show, I learned that lesson. I think that prior thinking was a prioritizing of time issue on my part being a student. I wanted to do what I thought "had to be done because the director didn't already do it". Suffice it to say, lesson learned because there came times when it did come back to nip me. But after all, thank you for telling me this because it makes so much sense. Now to put it into practice!