Improving your cue calling
One of my favorite parts of training new Stage Managers is watching their reaction to their first successfully called cues during tech. The anxiety of running tech calling their first cues makes most SM‘s a bit nervous and when they finally call the opening sequence, everything seems to settle down a bit. Before the end of the day though, there is usually a moment of worry that takes over again as a stressful sequence begins building. These 5 tips for calling cues should help most new SM’s feel prepared to call any sequence.
One of the extreme examples of difficult sequence I have witnessed was 30 cues in 30 seconds. The SM started to grow concerned as the Lighting and sound designers kept piling on cues during the most complex scene shift of the show was taking place. Using these tips, they called the cues with relative ease on their first try, even though they had never stage managed before.
After a few shows, you will instinctively learn where to apply these tips, but in the beginning you may need to try a few of these things out to find when they are necessary. This lesson will look at the best practices for calling complex sequences with ease.
Before we start, if you are very new to calling cues I recommend you read Part 1 of How to Call Cues first, to learn some more of the basics of calling a show. A lot of the basics I covered in that post are necessary to getting the most out of this lesson.
1 – Call Standbys Together
While you normally call standbys about 10-15 seconds prior to the actual cue, there often isn’t enough time between cues for an individual standby for each one. Instead, you should call the standby for both cues together, rather than squeezing the second standby in after the first cue.
Example:
This is a possible top of show sequence (with some poorly organized standby text, please make yours look better). Because these cues happen too close together to give individual standbys, you can simplify by calling the standby for all of the opening cues together. For example here, “Standby House to Half and House Out, Light Cue 0 point 9 and cue 1, Sound Cue 902, and the Mic Cue”.
2 – Drop Cue Numbers or Department Labels
When cues come too close together to call normally, dropping some of the information out of your sequence can be necessary. To be successful here, try to keep as much info as you can with each cue call which staying consistent, and carefully choose what can be cut without risking confusion. There isn’t a blanket rule for knowing what to cut, but use a little common sense to consider what information is necessary in each scenario.
When calling lots of cues back to back from only one department, you can often drop the department name without causing confusion. If, however, you are calling a sequence which involves 4-5 different departments and crews, you should keep the department names as your main cue differentiator, and remove cue numbers instead.
No matter what when you are required to call something out of the ordinary, you should discuss it with your Board Ops so everyone is on the same page. This discussion usually happens in tech rehearsals when it is obvious that cues are happening rapid fire, so don’t be afraid to speak up.
During Tech:
When you get to a sequence you think might be tough to call, try calling it like normal first, but be prepared to drop information on the fly. I typically give a heads up to the Board Op prior to starting the tough section that it might not be perfect today.
Board Ops are usually on their toes during tech, so a last second “Lights GO” when something is suddenly too fast should be fine. Once you call the next hold, confirm with your Board Op how you plan to call the sequence in the future.
When calling standbys for these sequences during the show, I usually include a heads up about the non standard cue calls coming up in the sequence. Some thing like “Standby (departments and cues), and a reminder this is the quick sequence where I will not be calling cue numbers, only departments.”
Example 1:
Three cues in total need to be called 1 second apart. The cues are: one light cue, one sound cue, and one fly cue. In this case, dropping cue numbers would be the best option, since this leaves no confusion between departments. After placing the crews on standby for their respective cues, you would call the sequence as “LX, GO. Sound, GO. Rail, GO”
Example 2:
Three light cues are called in rapid succession, but can not be linked due to differences in timing of the actors each night. In this case, since all of the cues are light cues, we don’t need to specify which department for each cue when limited on time. Here the call may go something like: “Lights 321, GO. 322, GO. 323, GO.”
Here, keeping cue numbers helps ensure the Board Op remains in the right cue through the whole sequence, especially helpful when more than 5 cues are called this way.
3 – Use Point Cues to your Advantage
What is a point cue?
A Point Cue is a cue with a decimal point such as 49.5, or 161.2. The decimal point is said as “point” and these cues typically come about from an extra cue being added during tech.
How can you use point cues to your advantage?
When calling lots of point cues in a row and saying the full long cue number each time, you can drop the whole number off the front. The situation where this is necessary isn’t very common, and should be used with caution. Here is what this might look like in practice.
Example:
If you have cues numbered 213.2, 213.3, 213.4, 213.5, 213.6, and 213.7 which are called quickly, you may want to leave the 213 off of each call. This would leave your calls as “213 point 2, GO. Point 3, GO. Point 4, GO.” And so on. This helps your board up remain in the right cue through the entire sequence.
Just Say “GO”
Inevitably, there will be a time when you will need to call a sequence so tightly packed that there is no time for any information between saying go for each cue. Though these moments are rare, they certainly do happen. These sequences should be worked out in advance with the crew, and you should practice with any new crew members who are unfamiliar if possible.
As with any other cue calls that aren’t normal, give your crew a heads up about the non-standard calling during their standby. If you have multiple departments cues with cues in a sequence that is too fast to call, I recommend requesting from the crew or designers that something be changed for reliability if at all possible. This might mean creating Auto-Follows, linking different departments together with network cues, or relying on a crew member for a “visual” which they will take on their own. Try to limit visuals if you will not have the same board op for the entire run of the show.
4 – Be off book for the tough sequences
Being “off book” for a stage manager calling cues means something different than for actors. In this case, it means following along in the script, but keeping your head up and on the action most of the show. You will still be looking at your book and glancing ahead to verify cues, but you should be able to flip to the next page and glance at it and know where the cues are called, rather than following along word for word. Although I recommend knowing your cue placements for the entire show, you should prioritize learning the complex sequences first.
I find it helps if I think of the prompt book as a tool for calling the show when I have an empty mind. This allows me to move my focus to troubleshooting rather than calling cues when necessary. I can let calling cues happen on autopilot for a moment using the book rather than that being my main focus.
By being off book, you can keep your eyes on the show, and really fine tune cue placements by watching them as they land, rather than watching the book the whole time. This will help you call difficult sequences by letting you focus more on cue placements than the cue numbers. You can stay much more in tune with the show by keeping your head up.
I recommended this video of the San Diego Rep production of Hairspray in part 1 for the follow spot cues, but I recommend watching this when trying to improve your cue calling as well. The SM on this show calls the cues clearly and with perfect form.
5 – Differentiate Cue Numbers
If possible, you may want to work with the designers on your production to set cue numbers in separate ranges. This isn’t always possible or necessary, so you can decide for yourself when to use this.
If every department has cues starting at the number 1, then you can have multiple departments with the same number for a cue happening just seconds apart. I solve this by starting cue numbers in different ranges that way each department can easily hear their cue numbers.
Since lighting usually has the most cues I give them priority to start numbering at 1. Next is sound, which I will usually request starts at 901. I typically set projections in the 700 range, unless the light or sound boards are linked to projections.
I’ve found that scene shifts can often start at 1 since they happen much less frequently than light cues, but if there is a conflict, you can also label them with letters instead. Often the ASM does much of the prep for scene shifts, so calling these cues is more about the “GO” than the label with it.
