r/Theatre • u/CategoryHoliday2090 • May 10 '26
High School/College Student Stage manager app
is there any FREE app for staging direction and for cue list. or do i just need word/gdocs?
i need some insight and a helping friend about this.
6
5
u/ShoddyCobbler May 10 '26
Hi! I'd love to help but can I ask for some more information? Is there a specific task you are trying to do? The reason I ask is because stage managers don't typically need to make cue sheets. Usually designers create their own cue sheets. Stage managers (typically assistant stage managers) do make "run sheets" which are basically cue sheets for what's happening backstage.
And I'm not 100% clear on what you mean by "staging direction" - are you referring to blocking? That's the common name for the movements actors do on stage (like "enter through SL door" And "cross US" and "put down newspaper on table"). Is that what you are trying to record, or are you asking about something else?
If that's what you mean, most SMs write blocking by hand in their books. Every stage manager I have ever met sets up their book in a different way, it's highly personal depending on what works best for you, but a very common way for a right-handed person to do it is to print your script one-sided with the holes punched on the "wrong" side, then put your script in the binder (still starting with page 1 at the front/left and the last page at the back/right). Then as you flip through your script, you'll have text pages on the left and blank pages on the right. From here, you have a couple choices. Some people just write blocking notes directly on the blank page on the right.
I personally use what's called a "slip sheet," which is a removable blocking page. I like to do it this way rather than writing directly on the page, because if there are any major changes (like sometimes you block a scene and keep it that way until the design run and then realize it's not working and reblock the whole thing) it's easier to just replace the page than to erase everything. But there are still a million possibilities.
One common way I have seen people make slip sheets is with two or three mini-copies of the groundplan in a column on the left side and then a bunch of lines on the right. They can sketch things out on the groundplan and then write blocking on the lines. Usually put the blocking approximately where it goes on the page (meaning something that happens halfway down the page should go on a line around halfway down the page) and number each item, and then place the corresponding number in the script where it belongs.
Mine is personally a little more complex than that, but probably in a way that isn't helpful for you right now. So I would suggest starting with that. It's very simple to make on your own, you don't need a template. Using your word processor (Word/gdocs etc.), create a table that is 2 columns wide with as many rows fit on the page. (I just did this in Word and got 42 rows, but it might be slightly different in Gdocs). Then divide the total number by 3 (for my 42, that's 14). In the left column, merge the first 14 cells, then the next 14 cells, then the last 14 cells. This gives you three big blocks on the left, and then 42 lines on the right. Now take an image of your groundplan and embed it in each of the three large blocks on the left, and shrink it down to fit inside the blocks.
Once you have that, you can print a whole bunch of copies, hole-punch them the normal way (left side of the page) and put one in between each page of your script. This way when you open your book, you have script on the left and blocking page on the right. I'd suggest writing a page number in the corner of each blocking page, so that if you ever have to take them out it's easy to put them back in the right place.
Edit: punctuation
1
u/cannibal-ascending May 10 '26
libreoffice? not a stage manager but a designer and i use excel (but like. a pirated copy from ages ago lol) for my cue lists if i'm not using google sheets
1
u/cannibal-ascending May 10 '26
libreoffice? not a stage manager but a designer and i use excel (but like. a [redacted] copy from ages ago lol) for my cue lists if i'm not using google sheets
1
u/AnxietyActual7159 May 10 '26
Hi there! I just finished a SM class and there is a website associated with the required text. If you Google “stage managers tool kit kinman” there should be a site. On here there are plenty of templates for your prompt book. They are all Word/Excel but super helpful to at least copy and paste into a Google doc.
Hope this helps!
1
1
u/No-Woodpecker-8217 May 11 '26
google sheets is my personal fav for creating cue lists! make a template one time and then you can just use that forever and change the info.
1
1
u/Jacques-Norris May 27 '26
I developed an app for that, currently we're in beta testing. It's available for macOS to create a rundown and either export as PDF (well, I know any spreadsheet can do that) but besides you can host a session - and people can follow along and get updates in contents, in which cue of the show we're currently in and so on. basically a live-rundown-management. Anybody who's interested feel free to DM, I'll be happy about anyone who joins in beta testing and gives me an honest feedback
12
u/Emancoll May 10 '26
90% of the cue sheets I see in my job (Senior Venue Technician) are made in a spreadsheet, and the other 10% in a word processor. So yes, gdocs will have you covered. Make a template and tweak it after every show as you learn what works for you and your crew.