GENERAL INFORMATION

Teacher: Miss. Schmitke Subject/Grade: Technical Theatre

Unit/Topic: Stage Management Date/Time: Oct. 1, 2019

Related GLO & SLO/Goal(s): (Taken from Alberta Program of Studies)

Stage management
4.1 Demonstrate good communication skills and the ability to work cooperatively with others
4.3 Identify the roles of a stage manager and assistant stage manager
4.5 Create a prompt book and scene shift plot
4.6 Use script notation
4.7 Create cue sheets and prompt book
4.8 Manage a production and call a show
Background information about the students and/or the topic.
Students will be beginning a unit into the actual jobs that happen in a theatre company. The first job that
we are going to be looking at is the stage manager. Students will get a hands-on experience of doing a
mock show, where one student will run the light board, one student will do sound, and a couple students
will be actors, and one will work as a stage manager cuing the different people. Each student will get a
chance to try something and we will rotate through students to complete this exercise.

OBJECTIVE(S)
By the end of the lesson students will be able to:
1) Understand the role and duties of a stage manager.
2) Distinguish the different cues a stage manager calls.

ASSESSMENT
Formative:
 Circulate in the classroom to ensure that students are participation in activities.
 Observe students’ abilities to ensure that lesson activities are appropriate.

Materials & Equipment:

 Light Board, Sound Board, Mics, Script
 Jobs Puzzle

Resources:
 Teacher Resource Manual DRAMA Junior High School. 1989 Alberta Education ISBN 0-773-0078-9

PROCEDURE (Teacher’s script in italics)

Running time: 20 minutes

Introduction/Set
 All Jobs Puzzle
2 minutes  Stage Management Duties
 Calling a Show.
 Activity
 Choosing 1 Act 10-minute play.
Body
All Jobs Puzzle
10 min • Students will get a snap shot into all the different jobs that are
available in a technical theatre setting.
• Chat about how bigger theatre companies will have more
employees therefore more different jobs and smaller theatre
companies will have employees that wear many different hats.
• In groups of 3-4 students will receive and match the job to the job
description. They will then read aloud the ones that they have.

Stage Management Duties

• Manages the cast
• Runs rehearsals
• Maintains prompt scrip with blocking and cues
• Completes daily rehearsal reports
• Completes performance report
• Creates checklists for tasks to be done before, during, and after
performance
• Call the show’s cues

Calling the Show

• Watch the video of a stage manager in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QTlMBAqJ vc
• What was it like seeing a stage manager in action?
• What aspects of the job did you see in the video?

Lesson (Calling the Show)

• The main types of cues are light and sound cues.
• A cue is a signal for something to happen. It could be something
someone says or does.
What are some examples of light and sound cues?
Examples:
- blackouts
- cyc lights changing
- Phones ringing
- Music between scenes
Why does a stage manager have to call the cues?
• The stage manager knows the show the best.
• They attend every rehearsal, they know the pacing, they are
aware of issues that could affect cuing such as an actor going
slower than usual or forgetting a line.
• The stage manager is the overall eye on the stage and controls the
big picture.
• The stage manager calls the cues to keep them uniform and
consistent
• The stage manager will know the length of the cues and what the
cues will look like and do.

Calling a Show Language Protocol

• Language protocols vary from stage manager to stage manager.
All that matters is that everyone is on the same page within a
production and that the language used is consistent.
 • The most important thing is that the cues occur when they should
and the crew is aware of the language protocol.

Language Protocol
• The stage manager needs to ensure that the operators of the
sound board and the light board are ready. For example they
might speak into the mic, “Standby, lights” and the cue number.
• The standby is usually given no earlier than a page.
• To execute the cue, the stage manager uses the word go. “Lights
10 go.”
• If the light board operator has to set up the cue, the stage
manager will give a warning.
• The order for light cue example is:
• Warning, lights cue #
• Standby, lights cue #
• Lights cue #, go.
• After the operator has been given a warning or a standby the
operator should respond by naming their area. The lighting
operator would respond with “lights”.
Sound Cue Language Protocol
• If the sound operator is listening to the mix, they might be unable
to hear the stage mangers standby and go communications. In
cases like this sound cues are executed with a cue light. The cue
light is turned on for standby and turned off for go.

Other Crew
• Cue lights are also used for those who aren’t on headsets, for
example those running the fly systems, or crews doing scene
shifts.
• If everyone has headsets the cue for this are
o Standby, shift
o Shift, go
o The assistant stage manager is then responsible for
replying “Shift” to the Stage Manager.

Writing Cues
• Light cues are almost always numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Sound Cues
are usually lettered A, B, C, etc.
• Every show starts with a pre-show light cue and a pre-show sound
cue.
• The SM writes cues into their prompt script, so they know when
to call them.
How would you write your cues into the script? What information must
be included so that the stage manager is prepared and knows what to
communicate?
 Hand out Cue Notation Sheet – this sheet demonstrates one way
that a SM might write a cue into the script.

Practice Reading the Cue as a Class:

When should the first cue happen?
- They should start speaking the cue at the dot on the script and say
GO at Demetrius.
 1. Sometimes multiple cues are called at the same time when a light
and sound happen simultaneously. How would we speak this
cue? Lights 10 and sound D go.

2. Sometimes cues happen one right after the other. How would this
be spoken? Lights 10 go: sound E go.

3. Sometimes a cue happens because of something an actor says or

does, rather than a line. In this case the SM has to be aware of
what is going on, on stage to call the cue.

4. What is the difference between a standby cue and a follow spot

cue? Standbys only have letters and numbers. Follow spots have
the more information about the who, where, and the when.

Activity Practice Calling Cues Exercise

- Split the class into two groups.
- Students will write different cues into the first few pages of the
play.
- If students feel comfortable they can try using actual sound
effects and the lighting board in the class or they can choose one
sound effect that they create and a flash light to represent cue
changes.
- Show then an example with the play with the cues written in
already so that they know what to do.

Closure As a class we will discuss:

What was the hardest part about the activity? After experiencing what a
SM would do, do you think that this job would be challenging? What
types of qualities do you think that you would need?
Reflection o What went well in the lesson?
o What could be improved in the lesson?
o Was this an appropriate amount of time?