Stage Manager

In a professional production the stage manager is responsible for many aspects of the production. Important duties include coordinating the director’s wishes with the technical director, and creating a "prompt book" to "call" the show. In addition, after a show opens the director leaves, and the stage manager keeps the production running. In high school productions the main purpose of the stage manager is basically the same, to create a "prompt book" and use it to "call" the show. The more trivial duties of the stage manager are making sure that the ground plan of the set is taped or chalked on the floor, arranging rehearsal furniture, and setting tables and chairs for the director and other production personnel. Since these duties, however, can alter from school to school they are not mentioned here.

Prompt Book

The main job of a stage manager is to create a "prompt book". A prompt book is a copy of the script with notes on blocking, as well as light, sound, follow spot (spotlight), and deck cue's. A prompt book should be legible so that if the stage manager is unable to call the show, due to illness or other causes, his/her notes can be followed by anyone. Also as the prompt book is subject to frequent change during the process of creating blocking, only pencil should be used in writing notes.

Blocking

In a prompt book in addition to cue's, which will be discussed later, a stage manager must write blocking information. These are notes about where actors move on the stage. In professional performances they are used to maintain the performance as the director created after they leave. So the stage manager can maintain the show as the director created it, by correction actors if they do not move to the right place at the right time. In high school productions with the director usually present. during the performances blocking notes are used to remind the director during rehearsals of his/her previous instructions to actors, most importantly the location of entrances and exits. Blocking notes are taken using abbreviations for an actor’s movement. For example XUR would indicate that the actor in question crossed up stage right. Exit DL would indicate that the actor in question exited down stage left. These notes are important because both the actors, and the director will probably not be able to remember the blocking to a scene that they last rehearsed several days ago.

Cue’s

Cue’s signify when certain things should happen. During the performance a stage manager will follow the production line by line (or through blocking) in their prompt book and "call" the show. Calling the show means giving signal of when to go for lighting changes, sound changes, spotlight changes, as well as changes that take place on stage. Each change is given a number, or letter and the respective technicians know what they must do for each cue the stage manager simply tells the crew when they must execute these cue’s. By telling a technician to GO the stage manager tells him/her to execute that particular cue. In addition the stage manager would have previously given the technicians the signal of warning and standby. The stage manager will call warning normally 1/2 page before the go for that particular cue. Saying "Warning light cue 21" tells the light board operator to be aware that light cue 21 will be coming soon. Saying "Standby light cue 21" tells the technician that light cue 21 will happen in a matter of seconds. The most important signal of all is the GO. "Light cue 21 GO" , on the word go, the technician should execute the respective cue. The same set of terms is used for sound, follow spot, and deck cue's.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the technicians will not be following the action happening on stage or know when their cue’s will go when they hear the word go they will blindly execute the cue in question. Therefore the word go must not be used under any circumstances when talking to the crew to avoid confusion and mistakes in the execution of cue’s. All of this must be written in the prompt book where the stage manager indicates the type and number of the cue in a column on the right page with a line leading over to the line in the dialogue or blocking where the cue occurs with a double underline placed on the word where the command is given.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -