FORMS: Remount forms?

[Dart]

I've just found myself in a fantastically insightful situation: I closed a kiddie show that will most likely be remounted next year just as I started rehearsing for a remount I hadn't seen or SMd before. I had no remount experience before this, so after the first week of rehearsing for the remount I sat down and redid the binder for the closed show - both in case I've forgotten it all by next year and in case someone else is SMing it.

This comes out of my frustrations with the limited notes the original SM left me which have at times complicated rehearsals - blocking is only noted when a LQ or SQ is called off it (we've had to use the actors' old scripts), and there's no complete props or costume list. I've also found a couple of spots where I definitely wish the old SM had left me some guidance - "actor 1 should ready prop A when they're offstage here," for example - and started typing up a list of hints/advice for the future SM of my closed show over this. Both of these are small, 1-hr shows with 4-people casts, mind you.

What do you, as SMs with more remount experience than me, find helpful info for remounts? Of course there will be things specific to the show itself - you don't need a trap cue list if there's no trap - but what about in general? Is a list of hints a good and helpful idea, or a bad and condescending one?

Edited to add topic tag. - Maribeth

[BayAreaSM]

With ballet, we are constantly remounting the original. When I first started, I found that archives of the paperwork were generally incomplete and rarely updated. To make life easier for myself these past 11 seasons, here is what I do:

A HARDCOPY (and Electronic) folder for every ballet which contains the following:

• Schedules: The actual tech/performance schedule with my notes indicating what REALLY happened during those blocks of time. Any other schedules pertaining to the program (massage, Physical therapy, dry ice delivery, etc)   
• Casting: A copy of the program, casting insert(s), the actual crew member names, backstage list showing who was all on staff/volunteering at the time.
• Production: Updated* copies of the line set schedule, prop preset, "ground plans", deck activities for each department, ASM/PA run sheets, rail cue sheet, spot cue sheets, PSM calling script, sections of the score (if available), and performance reports.
• Students/Supers: If there are students in our professional productions or supernumeraries, I save all of their audition packets/offer letters, casting, contact information, sign in sheets and theater packets for future reference.

Updating the Production Paperwork is a MUST*

• My team and I set aside a few days after each production to make sure all of our notes match and update paperwork accordingly.
• It is my job as PSM to update the spot cue sheets and my calling script.
• My ASM works with the PA to update all deck paperwork and rail cue sheets (incorporating notes from our department heads).
• There are even times where I will write notes into the calling script that state "For the next production, discuss moving this cue here" or "It would be better for this set piece to come out of SR 2 then exit in SR 1".

A Written Team Debrief File is created for the larger shows

• Besides the notes I write myself in my cue sheets, I sit with my team and discuss what worked and what didn't. This is very important for our larger story ballets which involve students from our school, supernumeraries from the public and lots of parent volunteers. We discuss what our optimal SM staffing would be for future productions of this piece, what the volunteers should really do and how many there should be, and what we learned about communication with the students/supers. We may also include a more detailed breakdown of what happened in tech, if there were any hazard pay situations that could be avoided in the future, etc. This file is also included in the Hardcopy and Electronic folders for the archive.

     
Review the Archive before Remounting

• Once our season is announced, I pull all of the hardcopy archive folders for those shows we've done before, and I find the electronic files as well. I read through everything to see what information I have and what I need to find. I also remember to bear in mind that while we did perform this production in 20XX with all of these notes this specific way, there is a possibility for change, and I need to be open to that.

For me, any information is helpful information. When we perform a company premiere, I like to get as much information from the trust/estate of the choreographer as possible. I've even reached out to other ballet PSMs asking if they have a calling script for a particular piece in their rep that they are willing to share with me. Every time I've asked, the PSM has willingly emailed it to me. I've even been requested to email my calling script to designers and choreographers, so that they have something to go with their pieces.

We are remounting Petit's Carmen this season, and I did so much research, translation from the French notes, and updating after our 2011 production, that it was easy to answer my Artistic Director's questions regarding scheduling for tech. I pulled my archive folder, got the old tech schedule (with my post-show notes) and was able to tell him what we did back in 2011, how long things took, and we were able to make a more educated schedule for tech this season. The files will not only help you (or another SM) run the show, but can help your company make more educated decisions when remounting.

EDIT: Formatting - PSMKay

[bex]

This is super helpful. I'm turning over a show for a remount/tour (the production is traveling to another theater, but I am not) right now, and I've never done this before!

I'll have some more insight in a few weeks once I actually hand over the reins to the other SM, but right now she has come down for the weekend to shadow me & my ASM and get to know the show. Obviously this is not always possible when remounting a show, but it's super helpful! We sent her run sheets, preset lists, my calling script, and photos of all of the presets before she got here, and she is spending a lot of time with us just asking questions, taking her own pictures, and soaking up as much as possible before they tech the show in the new space next month.

I'll check back in once we close & let you know how the changeover went.

[dance stage manager]

Not in any order of importance ...

Spike list: X/Y co-ordinate measurements (or triangulate if you must) from a clearly established reference point.  Notes about relational spacing (ie. The spike should be in line with the #3 show leg)

Scene-by-scene prop tracking: Helps if rehearsals for the remount do not work chronologically through the material.

Scene/Character breakdown:  With entrances and exits, timings, etc.

Photographs:  Seriously.  A photo or two of prop presets goes a long way in conveying a range of detail.

Followspot tracks:  I realize that this is not a universal need, but in ballet and opera, followspot tracks help me understand the flow of the show, and on a more subtle level, understand how the spots are used to tell the story by highlighting specific characters in a narrative.

Department running notes:  I usually generate running notes for carpenters and fly crew.  I try to get them to return their copies at the end of a run of performances, so that I can scan them and capture additional information that I can use to update for the next time.