Paperless Prompt Book

As A Number is getting ready to go into tech tomorrow, I am putting the final touches on my prompt script.  When starting this process, there were a few things that were a priority.  The first criterion was the ability to quickly edit the placement content of the cues is one of the most important things during a tech process.  The second factor is the ability to output to a form that can be easily distributed (the “got hit by a bus” contingency”).  Third, I wanted to be able to track the changes that were made during the process (that is lost by not having those marks that never go away after you erase a pencil mark).

In sticking with the same idea of using tools that many people have access to, I decided to use Microsoft Word again.  However, the “comments” function that I used for the blocking script was not agile enough to be edited quick enough in tech.  Instead, I used a combination of lines and text boxes to make a completely editable cue placement system.

In experimenting with possible situations that may come up in tech, I found that this electronic editing system actually proved more efficient in real time than the paper/pencil/erasing version that would be used in a standard prompt script.  Also, it eliminates the sometimes hours of necessary “go back and clean up your book” time and instead allows you to save at the end of tech and deal with the more interesting and important issues that may arise.

The prompt script was one of the things I was most worried about doing without the use of paper.  However, with this system I have in place, I can see the tech process actually being expedited by this paperless solution.  We will see how it goes!

Paperless Blocking Sample

Paperless Blocking Sample

Here is a screenshot of what I am looking at during rehearsal.  See the previous post for an explanation.

Paperless Blocking

One of the things that I worried most about when starting project paperless was how to record blocking without the conventional method of drawing diagrams and writing in blocking notes on the script.  I have found that through the paperless recording method I am using, I am actually taking more usable notes and it is taking me a lot less time to record them.

I am using two programs to record the blocking: Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat (two programs which most people have anyway).  I have a copy of the script (my book) in which I use Word’s comments feature to record blocking.  This is nice because if something moves I can just cut and paste the comment and because they become searchable which has proven to be useful.  The second part is the PDF, which contains a copy of the ground plan for each page of the script.  On each page also is a symbol for each of the actors as well as the major prop and set pieces.  That way all I am doing is copying, cutting, and pasting and drawing lines to show the actors path.

The one true advantage to this is the ability to cut and paste between different pages.  Because of that I am able to create a diagram easily for every page, which allows for easier conversation with the production team as I can literally show them where everything is at any moment in the show.  I think this will also be extremely helpful in tech for holds and re-setting.

Project Abstract

Recently, a goal for many businesses and organizations has been to move traditionally paper-based operations toward paperless ones. This is motivated by the desire to preserve resources, to reduce waste, and to increase efficiency by eliminating less necessary materials.  It is a general practice in theatrical Stage Management to go through a large amount of paper, whether to print multiple scripts, run sheets, or any number of lists, not to mentions reprinting any updates. This paperwork is often collected in a large binder, when in reality it could all be stored electronically. By launching “Project Paperless,” the goal is to ascertain whether a Stage Management team could accomplish all of the required tasks, from the pre-production process to the end of the show, without using any paper at all, severely reducing the paper usage on any given production. Brooke Marrero and David Beller plan on pioneering this process with their own personal computers and the help of several other technological devices on their Spring Semester shows of A Number, and Still Life with Iris.