Stage Managers are typically responsible for creating the contact sheet for each production. The contact sheet becomes the central hub for designers, producers, directors, and the SM team to contact each other. Typically there will be a preliminary contact sheet created for the design process will the designers and production team during the design process. Usually during this initial period the SM hasn’t been contracted yet, and someone from the admin team will create this.
Once SM Prep Week starts, you should immediately work increasing the contact sheet. Because of the busy nature of the entertainment world, responses can take a bit of time to get, so work on things that rely on other’s responses early in the week to allow for this. The first step is to get a complete list of contact information for everyone involved in the production.
1- Collect the Info
Depending on the production level and company, the contact information will come from different places. Typically on professional productions, the SM team won’t need to collect contact info from the cast and designers directly, since the information will already be available from the casting and design process. On Smaller shows, or high school shows, the SM team may be tasked with collecting this information.
2- Create your Template
The template can be designed however you would like, but I will show an example sheet to get you started. The basic layout is a table with spots for the role/position, name, Phone number, and email of each person involved. I typically break the table into sections for easy navigation since there can easily be over 50 people involved on the production. These sections are cast, crew, creative, and admin staff.
Download the Word Document Template Here. Make any changes you would like, these are just the colors I chose for the template.
3- Add the Information
While adding information I recommend sorting each section alphabetically by name. This keeps things easy to find, and keeps people from feeling as though favorites were played. After adding in each member of the production, go back through and check each cell of the table for obvious errors. If there are empty cells where there is missing info, add a dash ( – ) or some other mark to acknowledge that the cell is blank of purpose since you don’t yet know the info, rather than leaving a questions of if it’s an accident. These little details help build authority and trust when people first see the work you have done to create the documents. Should you have a member of the team who has multiple job titles or roles, list them together if in the same category, but create a separate listing if it’s in another section. For example if John Smith is the scenic designer, prop shopper, and is cast in a small role on stage, they should be listed both in the “cast” category with their role, and in the “creative” category as “scenic designer/prop shopper”.
4- Verify the Information
Once you have filled in the information for each member of the team, it’s time to put it to the test. Send each member of the team a quick message to say hello, provide your contact information, and to verify their information is correct. I typically start with an email to each person asking them to verify I have their contact info (phone number), and roles/positions listed properly. If I don’t hear back in 3-4 days, I reach out via text to ask if they received my email, since people are typically quicker to respond to a text. A secret of mine is to ask for their favorite candy in the end of the initial email so I can both ensure they have received the email, and to learn what snacks can be helpful If someone is having a rough day.
5- Distribute the Contact Sheet
Once you have received confirmation from each member of the production, you can move on to printing them. The general rule of thumb for printing contact sheets is to print a copy for each person listed on the sheet. I include the contact sheet with the actor packet for actors, the script for designers, and hand out copies to anyone in admin staff I will see in person. You should also make these available digitally for everyone involved on the production, along with calendars and other information.
Add All Contacts to Your Phone
Although it is up to each individual, I strongly believe you should add everyone on the contact sheet to your contacts in your phone. I also recommend you add a note with their contact that allows you to search for them by character or position as well. It always seems faster to me to just type the name into my contacts and hit call, then to flip to my physical contact sheet, find the correct name, then type that number into my phone. Always keep the contact sheet handy though for when someone asks for the contact info of someone else in the production while you are at your book.
Should You Post the Contact Sheet in the Rehearsal Hall?
If you are rehearsing in a space where you can leave everything on the call board for the entire process then this can be helpful, but if that isn’t an option I don’t think it’s necessary to post the contact sheet after the first day or two. Because it will be available digitally and physically with each script, adding this to the daily setup is one extra step that isn’t necessary after the first couple of days.
Where Should the Contact Sheet go in the Prompt Book?
Especially in the beginning, the contact sheet should be somewhere it is available to quickly flip to at the beginning of rehearsal. It’s typically used the most right before rehearsal starts when calling a missing actor or crew member, so make it accessible when its needs most. In my prompt books, I keep it in the first few sections, usually right behind the scheduling section. This keeps it easy to access, but since I use it less than the scheduling section, I prefer to leave it behind that.
For more info on setting up your book, check out my Guide to Creating a Prompt Book.
Why is the Contact Sheet Important?
For an SM, and especially the Prompt Book, I like to relate everything to how easy it would be for someone else to take over for you if you needed to step away from a show. I believe every document you create should serve that goal as best as it can. The Contact Sheet that the Stage Manager creates is something that would be crucial should someone else need to step into your role. This will also be seen and used by every other member of the company, so make sure it looks and functions well.
