How to Run Tech

During tech, you'll arrive before your cast and crew. Cast and crew call times will be determined in conversation with Joe, Heather, and Chris (or whoever is in charge of costumes and makeup).

Throughout the tech process, you should be working on your pre-show checklist and run sheet. This document will be a list of each responsibility you have to set up for a dress rehearsal or show. You should order this list based on when each task needs to be completed. As the SM, your list will include tasks your ASMs and crew need to do too, while ASMs will have lists that are more detailed and specific to them. You may need to rearrange your list based on the needs of your show, but the template we've provided gives a pretty good sense of the things you will need to take care of. 

Tech is going to be chaotic. There are a million things you need to figure out during these few days, and it will probably be overwhelming, especially your first time. There will suddenly be tons more people in the room, and though you are still in charge of the show, the power dynamics with them will be very similar to those with the director. In addition to working with the cast, the designers, run crew, and other support staff will be present. 

In tech you will begin to work in the cues you wrote down during paper tech into the actual show. In addition to dealing with the cues, you must also juggle all of the responsibilities you had during rehearsals. It is still your job to manage breaks, communicate with the director, and oversee your ASMs, and, now, the crew. During the first, or possibly first several rehearsals, you will be doing a cue to cue. After that, you will be moving into tech runs. 

Calling Cues

One of your primary jobs as the stage manager is calling cues. There are three parts to calling a cue, and you may need to explain this to your board operators. First, a few lines or ten-ish seconds before a cue appears in your script, you will call a standby. Say "Standby lights 57" or "Standby sound A". If many cues come in close succession, you might say "Standby lights 57 through 62".  Your board operators will respond to this by saying "lights" or "sound" to acknowledge that they have heard you and are standing by. 

When it is time for the cue to happen, say "lights 57, GO". The "GO" should always be at the moment that you want the cue to happen, and the board op should be ready to hit the button as soon as they hear GO. You should always specify which cue you want to go, either numerically or alphabetically (don't just say "lights GO"). However, there may be occasions when two cues come so close together that you do not have time to say "lights 57, GO, lights 58, GO" and have them both happen on time. In this situation, you should say during the standby "standby lights 57 through 62, and a reminder that lights 58 will just be a g.o." (gee-oh, don't say GO unless you want a cue to happen.) Then when you go to call the cues, you will say "lights 57 GO, GO, lights 59 GO..." and so on. 

The last part of calling a cue is confirming that it has happened. If you can see or hear it--yay! it worked! If you can't, for whatever reason, (or just prefer it), ask for verbal confirmation from your board op.

You will mostly be calling cues for your light and sound board operators, but there are many types of cues that you might be responsible for calling. These include lights, sounds, projections, deck/crew, spots, fly, and actor cues.

Headset

People who will be on headset during tech: the stage manager, ASMs, the lighting designer, the sound designer, all board ops, and spotlight operators. Sometimes the director will be on headset as well. If you are doing a MainStage, David will also be on headset in his office (if he isn't on the crew). 

Being on headset is primarily used to call cues for the show. Besides calling cues, you also use your headset to communicate with the designers to stop tech if needed. You also communicate with your ASMs backstage. 

Please be aware everything on headset can be overheard. Even once you get to dress, and only the crew is on headset, the headset feed can still be heard in David and Joe's office, and sometimes in the dressing rooms if someone has messed with the settings. 

Cue to Cue

A cue to cue is usually the first form of tech rehearsal. This is where instead of working through the show, you jump from cue to cue as they come in your script. Generally you will pick a point slightly before the next cue and ask the cast and crew to begin at that point, then run the cue. Sometimes you will run chunks of the show which have lots of cues. After a cue has been run, call a hold. Then check with the director and designers to determine if you need to run it again or can continue on. 

This allows the director and designers to make sure each cue looks and sounds the way the director would like. This is also an opportunity for you as the stage manager to work on the timing of when you call each cue. 

Tech Runs

Tech runs are where actors are not in costume or makeup, but all of the props, set pieces, lights, and sounds are being used as they will be in performance. Tech runs usually occur within your tech period after cue to cue is finished. This is your chance to run the show and practice calling all of the cues. Ideally, you won't have to stop the show, however the director or designers may ask you to call a hold. Tech runs are a great place for you to work on your standbys as well as to begin to feel out exactly where your cues fall. The more tech runs you are able to do the better. 

Training Crew, Assigning Pre and Post-Show roles

When 199 crew members sign up, they will be assigned a role by Dan James (who coordinates the 199s). You will end up with board ops and deck crew. Once the crew arrives you should confirm everyone's role and assign extra duties as needed. For example, deck crew usually sweeps and mops, board ops have to do their preshow checks, and other jobs may be assigned depending on the complexity of the preshow list. You should mark who is assigned what on your preshow checklist and run sheet. 

For a MainStage show: Scott (or the sound designer) will train the sound board op during tech, Jaime (or the lighting designer) will train the light board op, David (or you) will train the deck/run crew on their preshow duties, and you and your ASMs will assign specific jobs, scene change roles, and prop catches for during a run. It is still your job to make sure that everyone is fulfilling their duties backstage. 

For a Kander show: the designers will train all of the board ops and you are responsible for training the deck crew on their duties. You might not have ASMs in the Kander. 

Generally, designers will run 

List of Paperwork to be Completed Pre-Tech

• Run sheet that tracks props, costumes, scene changes, entrances and exits, and all other movement backstage. This may be updated as things change during tech, but you should have a complete and working run sheet before cue to cue and a final draft before the first dress rehearsal. 

• Pre- and post-show checklists

• Prop Preset Checklist

After a tech rehearsal, actors will gather in the audience (or wherever you do notes) for notes from the director. As the SM, you do not give acting notes. Talk with the director about any non-acting notes you have (you may give notes like "stay in your light" and "please enter on time") and ask if you can give those notes, or if the director would rather do it themselves. While this is happening, you and your crew should reset everything for rehearsal the next day. Go through your post-show checklist and return props to the prop table, shut down the boards (make sure your board ops do this) and do anything else you need to do to make the space ready for tomorrow. You and your ASMs should be the last ones out. Close up the theater, turn off the lights, and turn on the ghost light when you go.