any helpfull tips

[megf]

Use the little tabs - full squares are too cumbersome, I have to slice them up with my Leatherman during paper tech - and then you can dispense with color-coding highlighting until after the show is set!

Hmmm... thinking of other ways to save time and trouble... How about blocking notation itself? Any really useful symbols?

And, since my mind is racing after rehearsal, another question... How about rehearsal reports? I never did them in high school, when I had a pro childrens' theatre job over the summer I used them for my own reference, and in university I get to send them out every night to the entire production and artistic staff. What (if anything) do you all do in lieu of reh reports and mass communication?

 

[Nephilim]

What (if anything) do you all do in lieu of reh reports and mass communication?

Most of the production staff is at every rehearsal; it's my responsibility to fill in those who aren't and need to know something by whatever means necessary. The student director is keeping a rehearsal record, but it isn't being distributed - it's more as a reference.

 

[Projectionist]

what would you say is the most efficient way to code Q's? i like the color/shape concept.

 

[Nephilim]

Efficiency depends on the way your mind works (and whether you have white light to read by ).

Personally when I was doing multiple cuing, I used columns and relative spacing from the script to denote who was being cued; but I'm a spatial kind of thinker.

 

[Projectionist]

yeah, true. I'm usually not the kind of person who would do such labeling as colors and shapes, just admire the concept. i'll probably end up just writing everything in the margins in a somewhat organized manner. :wink:

 

[Patches]

I recently SM'd HAMLET, and our student teacher bought me the COOLEST stuff: @ packages of 4 different colored post-it flags, (about .5 inch by 1.5 inch), a highlighter to match each flag, and a fine tip sharpie to write on the flags... our director bought each person who holds onto a script 2 new pencils... it was wonderful.
this was also the frst time any of us had ever seen a shift sheet... with that, and a different color for each tech thing... (yellow=lights, green=sound, pink=anything that happens back stage [internals, fly, set], and blue=actor cues) WONDERFUL!!!

 

[megf]

Speaking of shift sheets...

For the last few shows I've been printing out shift sheet "blanks" along with all the preshow paperwork - so that whenever an actor is directed to enter with a prop, or the director chooses to block actors into a scene change, I can write it directly onto the breakdown. After reh, I just type up the notes from the day, so that by tech I have half the shift sheet already done and (hopefully) all of my prop preset organized so it can be handed over the the deck crew and assigned as necessary.

(Keep in mind, I use this system primarily in shows that have only 20-30 hours of rehearsal, including tech/dress. As a rule, the ASM is the only deck crew member who handles props, while an additional crew member handles all mic and sound-related issues on the stage.)

 

[SMTashi]

If you're going to be calling from backstage definatly have a mini sewing kit with you. I also tend to take an old Altoids tin and put in some small stuff there. Extra mini-post its, a very small pencil, some aspirin. That kind of thing. Bandaids and so on. Just in case something goes on with the actors during a show.
For cues, definatly use the mini-post it's. You can get them in 4 different colors (I think) and they're great. Write on them with a black sharpie and you can't go wrong

 

[Radman]

The SM for Wiz used 1 letter prefixes, like L135.7 for lights cue 135.7, or S35 for sound 35. You can have up to about 26 different cue types!