Normally when I deal with scripts as a designer, I just copy them two-sided, as I don't need to waste paper and prefer a smaller notebook. When I do prompt books as a SM however, what I normally do is a trick I picked up at one
point or another. You need to be right-handed for this to work though:
1. Photocopy the script onto three-hole punched paper, single sided, with one trick:
2. Before you actually do the copying, turn the paper around so the holes are on the "wrong" side.
It takes a little
bit of experimentation to get it to work right.
Once you've done this, you put the script in backwards in the
binder. What you end up with the script pages on the left side of the
binder, and a blank surface for notes and cues on the right. That way, you can make notes without having to cross your right
hand (your writing
hand) over the script
page, so you can follow the script and write at the same time.
Another thing I like to do is (especially for larger/more complex shows) to make two copies of the script. I put one in my prompt
book and use it for
blocking,
props, and other notes. The other one I keep in the drawer until tech (so I can resist the urge to write on it too) and use that for only the actual cues I will
call during the show. That way, I don't have to look at all the
blocking and notes when I'm trying to
call the show. The only notes I have in front of me are the actual cues I need to focus on.