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! 

[mkristinect]

This is old, but I'm going to chime in anyway.    Paperwork is growing out of my ears right now and I'm full aware that I tend to generate too much for any given show.  But I don't feel it's a total waste.  I'm fairly young without the luxury of any student or intern experience, so this is me giving myself on-the-job training.  I create paperwork so I can learn how it's used, how it's useful, how it's not, and the formats that I like.  By the time I get to the phase of my career that involves higher pay and technical complexity, I'll have done my homework and can run a more efficient, streamlined show.

[BayAreaSM]

Our ballet company has it's own school, and once a year the school puts on two different performances in one day, and we only have the day before to tech 29 different pieces.

For my SM staff that have been working with me during the regular season and know what paperwork is created for a resident ballet company show, the amount of paperwork for this school performance may seem gratuitous to them.

While the school director gives me her idea of how long each piece should be teched and when we need to have warm-up classes, etc, as well as the casting (which can be as long as an 18 page word document - without columns) I have to rebuild this information into a format that other people can understand.

Once I create a character/scene breakdown for 293 students, I may never reference it again, but it has helped point out quick change issues between pieces - and it helped the school director figure out how to re-order the program to prevent lagging. I also create a Quick Ref document that lists every piece, in order, with a running time down the side, that lists the basics of each piece (number of bodies per sex - for dressing rooms, what costumes are used, what the hair and makeup design is, backdrop, spotlight use, special lighting requests, etc). I don't create this kind of paperwork for any other show, but making it is a necessity to get everyone on the same page - and if I didn't, I wouldn't know the show as well.

There are several other bits of paperwork once made for the school show, that may never be referenced again, but help my team learn the show before we ever get our 8 hours in theater, as there is no chance for a do-over when you only get 1 tech per piece, 1 dress and 1 performance.

[Maribeth]

There are some pieces of paperwork that I generate for one purpose but end up modifying it for other purposes.

I add scene timings to my character/scene breakdown, so I don't need a separate document for that, and I mark off which scenes have been rehearsed, so I can tell at a glance what scenes haven't been worked on at all. A prop list can very easily morph into a preset checklist, as can a costume piece list.

[Maggie K]

For me, it's become about having paperwork that is efficient.  I have standard formats that I use that can be easily tweaked as needed.  When I prep for a show one of the first things I look at is what paperwork will be necessary for the production.  The documents I usually use the most are a form that is basically my version of a who/what/where, a scene breakdown, and the calendar.  And I pack a lot of info into those three things.  I like to have as much as I can in one document so that I only have to look at one thing to get an answer.  However, there are times when even my most relied upon documents aren't needed.

I'm currently during a one man show where the actor is onstage the entire time except for intermission and one moment in the second act.  He has exactly two costumes: act one and act two.  There is one prop hand off.  Am I going to spend time doing a who/what/where or a scene breakdown?  Heck, no.  To be honest, I don't even have a sign in sheet for rehearsals, just for performances when it's conceivable that I might not see the actor arrive.

I had one PA a couple of years ago who really enjoyed doing paperwork.  At first I thought it was great until I realized that she was usually so busy creating/perfecting/tweaking paperwork that she wasn't paying attention to other things.  Her first response to something was "I could create a document that..."  I finally had to tell her to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and get her nose out of her laptop.

In short, weigh the time it takes you to put the document together against how frequently you think you will refer to it.  If you are creating something just so you'll have it but will probably never look at it, then don't bother.  If you will refer to it all the time and it makes everything more efficient, then that paperwork is worth every second put into it.