This page contains affiliate links to products. While the price you pay will not be affected, I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
Paperwork is a vital tool in any stage manager’s process and a necessity to run theatrical performances. There is no doubt that a stage manager’s paperwork reflects how smoothly the process will run, which is why it is imperative that every new stage manager masters the art of creating readable, useful, and efficient paperwork. In this post, I talk about the 5 pieces of paperwork every stage manager should learn how to create and how to use them throughout their process. If you haven’t already, check out Laurie Kincman’s book, The Stage Manager’s Toolkit (buy from Bookshop.org or Amazon), which is where a lot of my inspiration comes from. Read to the end of the article for bonus material!
1) the rehearsal report
This is the singular most important communication tool for the stage manager. It is the most efficient way to get a large amount of information to a diverse audience. It is also considered an official record for the production, and can be used for insurance and legal purposes. As an official document, the report should maintain a professional tone while tactfully delivering notes from the day’s rehearsal. Notes should be specific and detailed, and they should be directed to all relevant staff. The rehearsal report should also be designed in a way that makes it easy for each person to access the notes relevant to their department; we usually do this by designating a specific section of the report to each different department.
tips for crafting the rehearsal report
- The report should be distributed via email to the director, SM team, production manger, designers and assistants, shop heads, and in the case of academic settings, faculty advisors.
- You should include a section to summarize the day’s events, including breaks.
- Record any absences, latecomers, and guests.
- Notate any accidents or injuries that occurred during the day and include any follow up information.
- There should be a section for general notes for everyone to read.
- Record any questions to individual departments, or any discoveries about design elements under the appropriate sections of the rehearsal report.
- If a department doesn’t have any notes for the day, write “No notes” or “None today, thank you” so the designer or department head can be sure their notes weren’t overlooked.
- Notes should be written in complete sentences and they should be as specific as possible so as not to waste the time of others. For example, if one of the props gets damaged, a note like “a prop broke during rehearsal” would force the props staff to look through all rehearsal props in order to find the broken one. Stating that “the yellow book came apart at the binding” will save the the staff a lot of time by telling them exactly what needs to be repaired or replaced.
- Always use “please” when requesting additions. I also like to use all caps for those notes so they stand out in the report; for example, if we decide we want a pocket-watch for one of the characters, I will write “please ADD a pocket-watch for Joseph in Act. II scene 3.” The same goes for the words “CUT” and “STRIKE”.
- Number your notes. It makes conversations about notes in the report much easier if designers and directors can refer to them as “costume note #3 ” instead of “that note from last night’s report”.
- Remember that it is not the stage manager’s job to offer solutions to problems or make artistic decisions. The rehearsal report should simply restate what was discussed in rehearsal and should not reflect the preferences of the stage manager.
- I personally like to include a section in the rehearsal report for stage management to act as an extra reminder or a to-do list for the next morning, especially when I’m working with assistants.
2) the daily call
A good daily call is the foundation for running a smooth rehearsal. This document helps keep the rehearsal process moving forward in the finite, and often too-short amount of time before opening. The daily call is different from the general rehearsal calendar because it should detail all activities for the next day’s rehearsal and who needs to be present. The document should include the start and end time for each section of rehearsal, the work being done, the actors who need to be present, and where the rehearsal is taking place. It also should list any costume, hair, and makeup appointments for actors, as well as any schedule conflicts for quick reference.
tips for crafting the daily call
- The nexts day’s schedule is usually finalized at the end of rehearsal. You should check in with the director to get the time frames and the work being done (i.e. which acts they would like to rehearse). Once this information is gleaned, it is up to you to make sure the right performers are called to rehearsal at the right time.
- I like to use the actors’ names in the daily call as opposed to character names; I feel that it streamlines the paperwork and reduces confusion. I also list names in alphabetical order for uniformity.
- Fittings need to be listed on the daily call, as those appointments factor into the actors’ work day. It is also helpful for the costume staff to get a reminder of who they are seeing the next day so they can prepare accordingly.
- Make good use of the “merge cells” feature for tables. Merged cells make time blocks cleaner and easier to read.
- I like to keep a copy of the daily call on hand in order keep track of who’s supposed to be in the room. I cross off names when actors sign in so I can easily find out who we can start working with and who needs to get a phone call.
3) the character-scene breakdown
This is one of the most detailed and important pieces of paperwork you will create during your pre-production. The character-scene breakdown should be treated with care and attention because it will not only be used by you throughout the rehearsal process, but also by other members of the production team such as the director, the costume and wardrobe staff, and the sound department when working on musicals. Accuracy and efficiency is important in this instance, and you will need to have a conversation with the director when creating this piece of paperwork, especially in cases where there are many ensemble performers. The character-scene breakdown should show who is onstage at every moment of the play, as well as which actor is playing which character(s) and at which moment in the play. It is best to use a graph layout for this piece of paperwork. I personally like to use a French-scene inspired layout for every production, with a row for each scene and a column for each character; I also use shading to group together characters who are played by the same actor. You can see what I’m talking about by downloading my FREE templates at the end of this post!
tips for crafting the charactre-scene breakdown
- Use a layout that works best for your production. I will admit, sometimes a French-scene style isn’t always necessary and they take a long time to do. Use your best judgement and create a document that will continually be useful to you and other members of the design and production team.
- In order to make the scene breakdown more useful, you’ll want to break scenes down into their smallest parts; for example, if your play only organizes itself in Acts I & II, you’ll want to go through the play and see how you can separate the acts into smaller parts. I can guarantee your director will not want to rehearse an entire act until later in the rehearsal process. In cases like this, you should contact your director to see if they have a preference for how you organize the scenes within the play. Usually, marking each entrance and exit (the French-scene style I was talking about) will create workable scenes and provide enough detail to make the piece of paperwork useful to everyone on the team.
- Utilize shading to make your scene breakdown more legible; shading is especially helpful when having to read across multiple rows or columns without getting lost.
- The scene breakdown should tell you who is on stage for every page of the play; thus, the breakdown will become instrumental in writing daily calls. Use it as an easy reference for who should be called to each rehearsal depending on what part of the play your director wants to rehearse.
4) the props list
This is a piece of paperwork that you create during pre-production, but doesn’t get finalized until after previews. Thus, it is important that the props list is well organized and optimized for editing across several departments. The props list is a great tool for communication between stage management and the props department. A good list will include page numbers, characters who use the prop, whether or not the prop is consumable (meaning it gets used up for each performance; this doesn’t always mean edible), whether a rehearsal prop has been obtained, and whether the actual prop has been obtained. There should also be a column for notes about the script requirement as well as details that pertain to the specific production. You should meet with the director and relevant designers to discuss the contents of the list before sending it out. The props list will ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and that all props necessary for a production have been given to stage management by opening night.
tips for crafting the props list
- Check with the theatre to see if they have a preferred format for the props list.
- The props list should be made and distributed in an editable format. A Google Doc or Dropbox file would be best since these apps automatically make updates for everyone sharing the document when edits are made.
- As mentioned above, at the very least, your props list should contain a column for page numbers, the prop item, which character uses it, a column to indicate consumables, a notes column, and two columns to check off when a rehearsal prop is received and when an actual props is received.
- It may also be helpful to include a heading for each location in the play to give the props list more organization and specificity. I create headings by merging all cells across a row and shading it so it disrupts the flow of the table.
- The props list should be constantly updated as rehearsals take place.
- The props list is also a great jumping off point for the next piece of paperwork: the shift plot. If done with attention to detail, you can make a copy of the props list, add a few more columns, and you’ve got a preliminary draft for the shift plot.
- You can also create your props preset directly from the props list. All it takes is some strategic editing of columns.
5) the shift plot
The shift plot is started in rehearsals and becomes instrumental in running the backstage action during performances. This document catalogues every action taken by the crew. An accurate and detailed shift plot will allow tech rehearsals to run as smoothly as possible, ensure uniformity for every performance, and ease the stress of replacing and training any new crew members should one get sick during the run of the show. This is a detailed document, but it is important to remember that this document will be read quickly and in the low light of backstage areas.
tips for crafting the shift plot
- At the very least, you need to have columns denoting when the action takes place, who performs the action, what the action is, and where the action takes place/where the object ends up. You should also include additional information such as spike mark colors, lineset number, and general notes depending on your production.
- While you may use page numbers while creating the shift plot during rehearsals, they are essentially useless for the crew during a show. They need cues that are easily identifiable during the run of a performance. I like to include a “cue” column in my shift plots. You can even use headings in the shift plot to indicate when the shift move is taking place.
- It is also a good idea to number shift moves in the plot to help keep the crew in sync. You can also include a column for timestamps, which are especially helpful in music-based performances.
- When subdividing the shift plot with headings, you should use scene nicknames derived from easily identifiable plot points.
- The shift plot should be updated throughout the tech process to incorporate discoveries made throughout the day. Crew members should be encouraged to take notes and make written updates to their shift plots as the tech process unfolds. Those notes will go into the updated shift plot and new copies will be distributed the next day.
- I like to combine my preset and shift plots together just to keep everything on one document that I carry in my back pocket throughout the show. I also post copies of the shift plot in all backstage areas for quick reference.
