SO MUCH PAPERWORK

[BWEEVEED]

It's only the second day of rehearsal for my current show and I am SWAMPED with paperwork and emails and the like.

What are some suggestions you folks have to keep everything organized and happy?

[damjamkato]

It's only the second day of rehearsal for my current show and I am SWAMPED with paperwork and emails and the like.

What are some suggestions you folks have to keep everything organized and happy?

One thing that helps me is to make to-do lists.  But instead of one big list with everything on it, I break down my tasks into different categories, and then put the things to do under that category.  This keeps me from being overwhelmed with one huge list.
(ipod touch apps are very handy for making lists...)

[Libby]

I use a regular composition book and write EVERYTHING down. I also use either a highlighter or a starring system next to my notes. When something is dealt with I check it off or cross it out. The good thing about a composition book is that the pages stay in pretty well (unlike legal pads which I seem to constantly lose pages off of). At the end of each day I will look through my pages from the day starting with the highlighter/starred pieces and work my way down.  Yes, one long list is intimidating t some points, but I find it really handy to have everything in one place.

I also will start from the back of the book with to-do lists/shopping lists and the front for actual notes.

Anal retentive, but effective.

[Maribeth]

If you have a lot of papers to keep track of that don't fit well in your book (updated script or score pages, extra dramaturgy packets, etc) I find that an accordion file can be really useful for keeping track of things.

Clear sheet protectors in the front of my book hold things that I am referencing constantly (contact sheets, schedules and calendars, etc) so that they are easy to access and/or grab out of the book quickly. I also know stage managers who have used a clear plastic clipboard for keeping track of papers, with a cast list clipped face down at the back of it (so that it shows through the clipboard for easy reference.)

I print out a copy of rehearsal reports, store them in a section of my book, and look through them each day, highlighting notes that have been taken care of. I find it a good way to see which notes haven't yet been addressed.

I also try and get rid of any paperwork that is out of date or no longer useful as soon as possible. It's so easy for things to accumulate- I keep a recycling container near wherever I'm sitting.

[BLee]

I am personally a legal pad fanatic. Everything that is said to me, that needs to get done, or I might need to remember gets written down on the page (each labeled with a date, one day per page). As I complete them I check it off. At the end of rehearsal while I make up reports I go through and check what things were not completed (often they belong on the report anyways). Then I write those neatly at the top of the next day's page to remind me the next morning stuff I should try to get done when I get a moment. I've survived some hectic shows with the pencil and legal pad which never leave my site during the day.

[PSMKay]

For emails, I sort as I go so that my inbox only contains items that still need attention.  Gmail is a lovely way to do this.

Folders/labels that I would use would be:

Inbox (items that still need replies)

Show #1 - Resolved
Show #1 - Reference (emails that require no reply)
Show #1 - To do (You've replied but still have stuff to do)

Show #2 - Resolved
Show #2 - Reference
Show #2 - To do

Personal

As soon as you respond to an email, file & archive the entire thread so that your inbox ONLY ever contains things that need a reply.  Likewise, as soon as you finish a to-do item, file and archive that as well.  It's much less daunting to open up your inbox and see just a short little list.  This way, things that you need to do are filed neatly.  Gmail makes this all really easy - you can label as you go.  If you turn on keyboard shortcuts you can even label quickly by hitting . while you're viewing a message.  Personal stuff gets filed separately from the work stuff - this is especially important if you're using one email account for everything.

If you keep a laptop handy in the rehearsal room you can email yourself to-dos as you go, provided that you're consistent with it.  Every to do, send yourself an email using the item as the subject line.  If you're handy with filters, you can set up your email so that if the subject line starts with "to-do" it will get filtered over to your to-do list automatically.  (Alternately, using Gmail you can set it up so that emails sent to yourusername.showname_todo@gmail.com get labelled & archived automatically.)

[planetmike]

When sending emails, I prefer one email per task. As opposed to some of the emails I have received, where there are ten tasks in the message, several of which weren't for me, but were to someone else that was merely a CC:.

I like the clear clipboard idea. And the idea of getting rid of/not carrying with me all of the old/completed paperwork.

[nmno]

Something I picked up from another SM: I use a steno pad and have separate pages labeled w/ post it flags for Director, Choreo, ASM, PA, Sets, Props, Costumes, LX, Sound, etc...  So that as I come across and issue for a department I write it on "their" page.  Then when I run to them I can ask them the ? and have the question sorted when it comes to writing reports.

[Amie]

Something I picked up from another SM: I use a steno pad and have separate pages labeled w/ post it flags for Director, Choreo, ASM, PA, Sets, Props, Costumes, LX, Sound, etc...  So that as I come across and issue for a department I write it on "their" page.  Then when I run to them I can ask them the ? and have the question sorted when it comes to writing reports.

I like this! It reminds me of an itemized rehearsal report, but not.
I think I might employ this idea............................hm

ALSO, PSMKay's idea about email folders/labels is great. I use both yahoo and gmail.  For yahoo, I've learned to use email filters so show emails automatically are filtered into their individual "SHOW TITLE" folders.  But with gmail, you can break it down even further, as she described.  I haven't tried utilizing it in quite the same way...but also an idea I  might employ.

[madiobrien]

I have a master binder, that is with me at all times in and out of the theatre litterally if i'm in the grocery store its in the cart lol. I keep all my paperwork in here seperated with tabs like.

Cast Contacts
Notes
Sound
Lights
Costumes
Props
Reports
Scripts

Sometimes these change depending on the show and what i need specifically as for emails, i create multiple folders like Late/Absent (for when people email me and tell me they will be late/absent), or Production Meeting, or with the show name for just general stuff.  And especially if I have a topic that corresponds a lot of emails then i create a folder for it.

~Mad Dog~

[Rebbe]

Since you’re still early in the rehearsal process, pay attention to priorities.  It’s possible that some of what’s on your plate doesn’t need to happen immediately, so just keep it on your radar for when you have more time.  If you have a laptop, and the director is spending a few days on table work, that may be a good time for you or an assistant to generate paperwork.  Also, if your finding that some of what you’re swamped with could have been created before rehearsals started (templates for reports or daily calls, for instance), make a note now, while it’s fresh in your mind, so you can try to accomplish more in prep for your next show.

[Libby]

I have a master binder, that is with me at all times in and out of the theatre litterally if i'm in the grocery store its in the cart lol. Smiley I keep all my paperwork in here seperated with tabs like.

This reminds me of a log book. (I think that it comes from Yale SMs?) Though instead of a binder, it is a spiral bound packet (usually with cardstock or clear sheet protector covers). When you first open the book it has contact sheets/calendars/scene breakdown/etc. Then a divider. Then it a two page spread for each day, where there are spaces for every type of note you may get (including a misc. for those random silly things to remember. So each day is opened to one section. Every day for rehearsal/tech already has a pre-made page. Then there is another division and then regular notebook paper. It's really handy and the fact that it has a soft cover means that it's easy to travel (I've seen a PSM at a bar with it in her purse.)

The other plus side is that since you are the one making it, it can have whatever you want. I've attached what the log pages I've used look like.

[sasquatch_223]

I have a master binder, that is with me at all times in and out of the theatre litterally if i'm in the grocery store its in the cart lol. I keep all my paperwork in here seperated with tabs like.

Cast Contacts
Notes
Sound
Lights
Costumes
Props
Reports
Scripts

Sometimes these change depending on the show and what i need specifically as for emails, i create multiple folders like Late/Absent (for when people email me and tell me they will be late/absent), or Production Meeting, or with the show name for just general stuff.  And especially if I have a topic that corresponds a lot of emails then i create a folder for it.

~Mad Dog~

That is how I do it too!  Only the master binder isn't quite big enough for everything, so I have a small separate binder for the script.  Back to the master: I also have tabs for Accounting, and a tab with selected paperwork from previous musicals staged at my school (for reference purposes). 

I have three things that I keep at the very front, not behind any dividers.  They are: the attendance, a big checklist (updated as often as I am able to keep up) for things like schedules, and a complete cast list.  My binder is the kind where you have slide-out paper tabs inside clear colored plastic dividers, so if I need to change the name of a section I just flip the paper over and rewrite it.