[SML] What is your favorite cue number method?

Fri Mar 2 01:48:14 UTC 2018

Hello all,

Stage manager here. I don't mind calling point cues if needed, but I prefer
solid numbers with skips in them (by twos or fives) over a lot of point
cues. I don't know that I've ever called a point cue with two digits
(though I have called .1, .2....through .9). And I've had my fair share
where there isn't any time to call any number between GOs. I would hate it
if that particular show had a designer who re-numbered by script page
number! That sounds like more of a play/straight show lighting designer
than a musical. It's also a bit strenuous to be calling LQ 800-and-some
when there are only 50 cues in the show by the way. I might in fact switch
to just calling it "42" instead of "842" at that point, especially if you
got to over a thousand.

As for asking what I say before it, warning or standby, I'd lead you all to
read the results of the most recent Stage Manager Survey (2017), which has
been produced roughly every two years since 2006. Visit
http://www.smsurvey.info/ to download the report. Of answer to your
question, it has:

> Other calling technique questions that have appeared on multiple surveys
> have been the name for the announcement prior to calling a cue [Figure 19,
> n=931], whether single or double announcements are used [Figure 20, n=888],
> and whether you expect verbal confirmations of your cue announcements. In
> 2006, 76% of surveyed stage managers called their announcement a Standby;
> this name continues to grow in popularity with each survey cycle: [It then
> shows a graph with this year 84% of those surveyed answering "Standby."

For the record, I use standby for most cues, and occasionally scene shifts
or something that people need to "wake up" for after a long period might
also get a Warning in addition to the Standby. Light and sound people might
get a "Okay, folks, you can wake up..." I've had some sound cues be
letters, but these days I'm back to calling numbered cues again. I just
hate when they're very close in number to the lighting cues at the same
time, which rarely happens. I will often add that to the warning and
perhaps switch to just saying "Lights" and "Sound" in tricky sequences
versus any number.

Erin
*--*
*Erin Joy Swank*
*Stage Manager*
937-308-0366 cell
erinjoyswank at gmail.com
www.erinjoyswank.com
Gender Pronouns: She/her

*Member: Actors' Equity, Stage Managers' Association, and United States
Institute for Theatre Technology*

UPCOMING:

   - Coordinator, Portfolio Reviews & Interview Materials Prep
   <https://www.usittshow.com/portfolio-reviews>, USITT National Conference
   (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 15-17)
   - Assistant Stage Manager, *Don Pasquale*, Fort Worth Opera
   <http://www.fwopera.org/opera/donpasquale/> (performing April 28-May 6)
   - Stage Manager, New Harmony Theatre <http://www.usi.edu/nht>, 2018
   Season: *Born Yesterday, Nunsense* and *Talley's Folly, (*Evansville &
   New Harmony, Indiana, performing June 22-August 5)

On Thu, Mar 1, 2018 at 2:17 PM, Charlie Richmond via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> I originally wasn't going to do this, but since this has dragged on with
> literally dozens of variants, here's one more from the past: http://www.
> richmondsounddesign.com/docs/midi-show-control-specification.pdf
>
> On Thu, Mar 1, 2018 at 1:14 PM, Johnson, Philip via Stagecraft <
> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
>> I start out with whole numbers for each cue and then go to decimal for
>> internal cues and auto follows.
>>
>>
>>
>> Preshow and house cues before the show starts are 0.1 etc
>>
>> First actual cue for the show is #1 and then onwards from there
>>
>>
>>
>> Sound are numbers as well and decimal points if we need
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Philip  Johnson
>>
>> Lighting Designer/Technical Director
>>
>> Department of Theatre and Dance
>>
>> Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> ...Dan Sheehan
>> Fixer of things that break
>>
>> TD Walpole (MA) Footlighters
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> For list information see <http://stagecraft.theprices.net/>
>> Stagecraft mailing list
>> Stagecraft at theatrical.net
>> http://theatrical.net/mailman/listinfo/stagecraft_theatrical.net
>>
>
>
>
> --
> * Charlie Richmond - http://www.RichmondSoundDesign.com
> <http://www.richmondsounddesign.com/>
> * Viber: +16047159441 <(604)%20715-9441> Skype, LinkedIn & Twitter:
> charlierichmond
> * facebook: charlie.richmond
> * facebook.com/pages/Richmond-Sound-Design-Ltd/130195960832
> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Richmond-Sound-Design-Ltd/130195960832>
> * google.com/+CharlieRichmond google.com/+Richmondsounddesign
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> For list information see <http://stagecraft.theprices.net/>
> Stagecraft mailing list
> Stagecraft at theatrical.net
> http://theatrical.net/mailman/listinfo/stagecraft_theatrical.net
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://theatrical.net/pipermail/stagecraft_theatrical.net/attachments/20180301/1656622d/attachment.html>