printing actor scripts single or double sided?

[mizi5620]

Im working on a new play so we are printing scripts for actors. Should these be single or double sided?

[Maribeth]

Doing single-sided uses less paper, but doesn't leave much room for actors to make notes for themselves. Double-sided is more environmentally-friendly, but if you have script changes it's harder to do replacement pages.

I tend to think single-sided is better, especially with a play where you're going to have a lot of script changes. If I'm printing extra copies to have in the rehearsal room or backstage, I do those double-sided.

[Tempest]

I typically ask my cast which they prefer. I know some of them want the backside of the sheet blank for taking notes, but some are very environmentally conscious and prefer to save a few trees.
Then there's that one guy who just uses his iPad...

[mizi5620]

How about for staged readings? Is there a standard for that?

[RuthNY]

It really depends on the show. If it's a new script, do it single sided, as rewrites will be much harder to insert if it's double sided. I'm not sure there is one single "standard," otherwise.

How about for staged readings? Is there a standard for that?

[JustinJanke]

Unless requested otherwise I'll give the entire cast double sided. I'll always accommodate a request for single sided, but I don't want to go through all that paper unless necessary.

[emilymdykhouse]

I'm currently working as an ASM on a devised piece of theatre as part of a rolling premiere across the country, and due to multiple changes being made on multiple occasions, we used single-sided script pages. More and more changes were made, even after our first few stumble-throughs, so we only printed double-sided scripts once it was confirmed that we had the final version of our script. I definitely felt guilty about the amount of paper we went through, but a new script was necessary, seeing as the scripts the other ASMs and I had were both out-of-date and covered in out-of-date line notes.

[Mac Calder]

I tend to use booklet printing, double sided, but leaving odd pages blank.

 Alternatively, I print to PDF and then shrink the page to 70% and position the page top-left - leaving large right and bottom margins for notes.

I generally work corporate shows though - so these scripts are being used for 1 or 2 shows, so saving paper is worth it.

[patrickcunnington2]

I believe you should ask the actors what they prefer. This will make the decision easier and have less complaints.