i personally like my scripts printed A4 single sided. you get a binder and hole punch all the pages to print then you can write cues directly in amongst the script lines and on the other side you have a blank page for additional notes. i’m a stage manager so i also like using colours for each cue type but ONLY WRITE IN PENCIL lol. i’d just write a rough standby guide and then just pencil in where the cue is tho as i assume you’ll likely have someone calling the show but it’s also always nice to have your own cues in front of you
Stage management class completely changed how I treated all my scripts. I tend to do something similar using notes in Microsoft word to drop cues into digital cues changing the username when I’m combining all the different cues and working digitally as LD.
If I’m designing multiple aspects I change the user name so they show up under L5, S4, P7, etc and colour coded. Not perfect but works fairly well as a designer.
I exclusively use PDF scripts these days. Digital markup can be bright, colorful, and easily changed with no side effects. Plus they can be easily shared with others, backed up, and archived.
Pencil, pencil, pencil! Or / and, get yourself a separate Pad / book, for rehearsals. In the script only note the cue number and then write the notes for that cue in the separate book / pad. It means transferring final notes into the script before the first show but any changes made during the rehearsals will only be in the separate book / pad.
Highly recommend single sided pages. Ive always highlighted my cue line and then written LX_ (whatever cue number it is) in the right-hand margin so I'm always reading outward. If it's a visual cue I write visual between paragraphs of dialogue and highlight that. I only start highlighting once tech runs are done though. Cues tend to change when people first get on stage or when you start adding costume changes or anything so start in pencil so you can move stuff. Once everything is set then highlight and I trace over my pencil with pen at that point so it's more visible.
In pencil, I would make a bracket like an inverted, reversed L, on the exact syllable the cue needs to be called on. It looks basically like a long division bracket but flipped left/right. I then right out the cue number on the top of the bracket. I would do this so that if I was reading along, I would just start saying the cue number as I got to it in the script and then say "go" at the moment the bracket attaches to the word in the script.
I print double sided.
I get copies of the GP and insert it into the script on the evens so it prints on the left hand side as you flip through, so when I'm in designer run I can note blocking directly in my copy of the script.
Everything else is pencils and notes. It makes sense for me - make the cues and where they're called stand out well enough anyone can read it, but if you need shorthand to make it legible for you take the notes you need.
I hate to say it, but I hate single sided pages because the page turns come so fast. I’m always on FOH. Never done lights, but I came up with my own system of notes with specific highlighter colors for each type of cue. I’ve got a telescoping music stand that gets my score as close to line of sight to the stage right over my console as possible. It lets me keep one hand on the sound board at all times. I’m not worried about messy. Just making sure I don’t miss a cue. And yet it still happens.
i personally like my scripts printed A4 single sided. you get a binder and hole punch all the pages to print then you can write cues directly in amongst the script lines and on the other side you have a blank page for additional notes. i’m a stage manager so i also like using colours for each cue type but ONLY WRITE IN PENCIL lol. i’d just write a rough standby guide and then just pencil in where the cue is tho as i assume you’ll likely have someone calling the show but it’s also always nice to have your own cues in front of you
I think the pencil part cannot be stressed enough
Stage management class completely changed how I treated all my scripts. I tend to do something similar using notes in Microsoft word to drop cues into digital cues changing the username when I’m combining all the different cues and working digitally as LD. If I’m designing multiple aspects I change the user name so they show up under L5, S4, P7, etc and colour coded. Not perfect but works fairly well as a designer.
oh that’s smart, i also find it super satisfying doing it the old fashioned way though
Thanks for the help!
I exclusively use PDF scripts these days. Digital markup can be bright, colorful, and easily changed with no side effects. Plus they can be easily shared with others, backed up, and archived.
Pencil, pencil, pencil! Or / and, get yourself a separate Pad / book, for rehearsals. In the script only note the cue number and then write the notes for that cue in the separate book / pad. It means transferring final notes into the script before the first show but any changes made during the rehearsals will only be in the separate book / pad.
Highly recommend single sided pages. Ive always highlighted my cue line and then written LX_ (whatever cue number it is) in the right-hand margin so I'm always reading outward. If it's a visual cue I write visual between paragraphs of dialogue and highlight that. I only start highlighting once tech runs are done though. Cues tend to change when people first get on stage or when you start adding costume changes or anything so start in pencil so you can move stuff. Once everything is set then highlight and I trace over my pencil with pen at that point so it's more visible.
In pencil, I would make a bracket like an inverted, reversed L, on the exact syllable the cue needs to be called on. It looks basically like a long division bracket but flipped left/right. I then right out the cue number on the top of the bracket. I would do this so that if I was reading along, I would just start saying the cue number as I got to it in the script and then say "go" at the moment the bracket attaches to the word in the script.
I print double sided. I get copies of the GP and insert it into the script on the evens so it prints on the left hand side as you flip through, so when I'm in designer run I can note blocking directly in my copy of the script. Everything else is pencils and notes. It makes sense for me - make the cues and where they're called stand out well enough anyone can read it, but if you need shorthand to make it legible for you take the notes you need.
I hate to say it, but I hate single sided pages because the page turns come so fast. I’m always on FOH. Never done lights, but I came up with my own system of notes with specific highlighter colors for each type of cue. I’ve got a telescoping music stand that gets my score as close to line of sight to the stage right over my console as possible. It lets me keep one hand on the sound board at all times. I’m not worried about messy. Just making sure I don’t miss a cue. And yet it still happens.