3. Calendars

Planning Processes:

In addition to traditional calendars there are several other concepts and planning tools I use in preparing for a show or a season. Most of them are modifications of the original idea but tailored to theatrical purposes and actions.

I use a modified Gantt chart whenever I start the planning process. It allows me to lay out a snap shot view of an entire season as I start to piece together the

The overall rehearsal schedule is generally set by the general manager or production manager and list when rehearsals begin, how long they last (in weeks), the technical rehearsal dates, dress rehearsals, previews, and the run of the show. The production manager usually assigns design deadlines so that the physical production can make it through the various shops.

At first glance the calendar is merely a process of gathering information and laying out in order for all to see. In reality it is much more than that. Daily maintenance of the production calendar is an essential ingredient to good stage management. The calendar should be updated on a regular basis.

On a single show the production calendar is much easier to manage. The stage manager should include the overall rehearsal schedule and hours, design deadlines, important technical dates (light hang, load in, light focus, etc), technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, previews, performance dates, and strike dates.

Don't forget holidays and special events! Getting a truck across town in New York City on St. Patrick's day during the St. Patrick's day parade might take considerably longer that a day before or a day after. Holiday's like Black Friday can have significant effects on the calendar so be sure to canvas the town you're in and the holidays and traditions of the town and add them to your calendar for clarifying what and how much you can get done on any given day.

The rehearsal schedule is fine tuned in your meetings with the director. With the director, you will determine both the outside and inside rehearsal hours. (See Outside and Inside Hours below) You will determine what day the show and tell will take place. At this time you may schedule run-throughs of the different acts of the show for the designers (Referred to as Designer Runs in some places). Designers (and other important guests) should be invited to watch the progress of the production and compare their design plans to the work being done in rehearsal.

You will advise the director when it comes to regulations within your organization. If you are operating under a union contract you are expected to know the work related rules that govern the contract and advise the director on the best method to accomplish their goals.

With the production manager or technical director you need to gather the schedule for light hang, scenic load in, and light focus. You will include this in your production calendar. Remember theatre follows established patterns. Generally speaking, you must hang the lights before you install the scenery. You have to install the scenery before you can focus the lights. There are exceptions to every rule but variations often cause unforeseen consequences. These consequences can cause your technicians considerably longer working hours than anticipated. You should think through every variation carefully with each department before embarking on “a new plan.” No one wants a crabby crew when they are trying to recover from someone “reinventing the wheel”.

If possible, at this time you can gather information for truck arrival and departures if known. You certainly will want to determine when costumes are being loaded into the building prior to your dress rehearsals. If you have an orchestra you will want to schedule time for the orchestra to load in. Remember Orchestra's generally cross departmental lines. Stands would fall to properties while stand lights would be an electrics department responsibility. It is best to include the orchestra pit load in to your production meeting agendas early on so there are as few surprises as possible. Make sure to discuss and schedule when you are dropping the pit. With most theatres once the pit is lowered to the playing level and all the instruments, chairs, stands, microphones, speakers, lights, etc are loaded in most theatres don't want to move the pit again. Once the pit is lowered reaching anything in the air above the pit becomes a challenge. It is very important you identify when the pit is being lowered, add it to the calendar, and remind everyone when you approach the date that it is happening. Some theaters have band cars that allow you to set everything up on on the car and the run into onto the pit elevator. In theatres such as this it can be loaded and unloaded and the pit elevator is still accessible.

Outside Hours – I refer to the span of the day as the outside hours. Some times the outside hours are determined for you. In some cases the span of the day is dictated to you by the contract you are working on. In any case, the outside hours are generally predetermined and you want to cover the outside hours with the director so they understand how much time they have to rehearse each day. For example, in my School, rehearsals begin at 6:30 p.m. and must end by 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturday’s we generally rehearse 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. I say generally because we are Penn State. If there is a football game on a Saturday we often move our rehearsal and performance schedules to reflect the influx of 100,000+ fans that show up for a game. Sunday’s are pretty much free of all rehearsals to allow the students to be just that – students. We never rehearse on Sunday’s unless there is mitigating circumstances. That four hour span six days a week make up the outside hours the director can call and rehearse his or her cast.

For Example: Rehearsal Schedule Beaux Stratagem:

Day: Call: Who: What:

Monday 6:30 -- 10:30 Full Cast Read Through Play

6:30 to 10:30 Refer to the Outside Hours.

In other companies not hampered by academic responsibilities the span of day is likely to be longer. There is a tradition in theatre that rehearsals never start before 10:00 a.m. I don’t know the genus of the tradition but I do know I support it whole-heartedly. Plus I think it is silly to think someone can roll out of bed and pop off high A’s and double air tours without the opportunity to warm their voices and bodies first. Generally 10:00-6:00 would be an average expectation when rehearsing shows without academic restraints. Again, you should refer to the work related rules of either the contract or the company before establishing your rehearsal schedule and advising your director of the rules.

Inside Hours - What is done inside that 6:30-10:30 or 10:00-2:00 time frame I refer to as the Inside Hours. The director has control over the inside hours. He/She determines what work will be done during the outside hours.

For Example: Rehearsal Call Sheet Beaux Stratagem

Day: Call: Who: What:

Monday 6:30-6:45 Full Company Stage Manager meeting with Cast

6:30-7:45 Full Company Discussion with Director regarding Play

7:30-7:40 BREAK

7:40-8:30 Full Company Designer Show and Tell

8:30-8:40 BREAK

8:40-10:30 Full Company Read through Play

10:30 END OF DAY

These refer to the inside hours.

With some directors you will receive a detailed breakdown of the inside rehearsal hours and the work they hope to accomplish well in advance. You should include this in your calendar. Other directors like to work more freely and often don’t determine the day’s schedule until the night before. Most likely you will encounter directors who employ a variation of the two. It is a good idea to provide your company with a daily report and the next day’s rehearsal schedule. After all, things change and theatre is not immune to that rule. I find it useful in the overall production calendar to just list the outside hours leaving the inside hour rehearsal schedule for the daily report. With some directors you may be able to post the weekly rehearsal schedule of the inside hours. In any case, it is very important that create the mechanism that allows the entire production team to understand not only the outside but the inside hours.

There are other dates you should include in the calendar. Some you may be able to include from the beginning but others may develop as you work through the production. Some of the other calendar considerations you may have:

The Break schedule will be determined by the historical practices of the theatre you are working with or the work related rules of the contract you are working on. These are covered in a later section.

Soft Goods Hang - The Soft Goods Hang is pretty much how it sounds. Soft goods mean the velour’s and drops involved with a production. The scenic crew comes into the theatre and hangs legs, borders, painted drops, etc, in advance to get them out of the way of other departments needing fly space. Lighting instruments have sharp edges and as such can tear the soft goods. The best thing to do is to get them out of the way of the sharp edges. The scenic crew will want to get them up in the air and out of the way of so that a minimal opportunity for damage can occur. The soft goods hang generally takes up the entire stage so no one else can work while the soft goods are being loaded into the theatre. You should check with your technical director about a soft goods hang. In the normal order of things the soft goods are hung prior to the lights being hung but this is not always the case.

Light Hang - Light Hang is also just as it sounds. It is that time when the lights that illuminate the stage are hung. Lighting positions include over the stage and over the house. This is generally an all day event. The Master Electrician has spent hours preparing for this day. Each light is plugged into a circuit and each circuit is patched into a dimmer. After all the lights have been hung the Master Electrician will check to see that each dimmer and circuit match the plot layout as designed by the lighting designer. This can be very complicated so plan for at least an entire day in the theatre for the Master Electrician to work out all the bugs. Remember, if they aren’t worked out now then it will take time away from your technical rehearsals. The stage manager has little paper work that can assist the Master Electrician in their jobs. The best you can do is to insure that they have plenty of quiet time in the theatre to do their job.

Load In Continuing on in the names that sound like they mean the load in is just that; the physical loading in of the scenery for the production. This can be simple in the case of unit sets or complicated in the sense of multiple sets or automated scenery. In days prior to the digital/automated revolution it was fairly easy to determine the amount of time it took to load in a set. Scenery times the number of stage hands available usually gave you an equation that told you how long the whole process would take. In today’s automated age you need to double the front side and halve the back side; in other words it will take twice as long to set up and debug, but once done will take half the time to tech. Once limits are set and ramp speeds are figured out then they will operate the same over and over again. Stage managers should become very savy about this revolution in the theatre.

Coordinated efforts should be set aside between the scenic department and sound department to load in both their aspects of the production. Speakers have to be placed, hung and cabled just the same as the lighting instruments. In many cases the speakers that are flown can borrow some of the expertise of the scenic department in hanging and safety cabling the sound equipment. You should facilitate this joint effort and include that in the overall production calendar. Likewise, batons assigned as electrics may include monitor speakers. Be sure all this is covered in production meetings so no one is surprised and everyone has the time they need to accomplish the tasks they have been assigned.

Spiking - No, this is not referring to volleyball. Spiking refers to putting all the scenic elements on their respective marks and putting spike tape down so that the crew can put it in the same place night after night. This would include setting the trims on all the flying scenery, spiking wagons that move on and off the stage, and placing and spiking all the furniture on the stage. Depending on the kind of show you are working on this can take an hour or half a day. You should plan a spiking session during load in and generally once everything is in and loaded. Even setting the furniture can affect the light focus. You should discuss this during a production meeting. If the furniture has been loaded into the rehearsal room then it has to be moved from rehearsal to the stage. This is an important discussion as once the furniture moves out of rehearsal it would be a hardship on all the crews to move it back. In most cases it is possible to take measurements of where the furniture sits in the rehearsal room and transfer those measurements to the stage. This allows the lighting designer to do at least a rough focus on the area where the furniture will sit. You can do a touch up call with the electricians once the furniture is loaded into the theatre to complete the actual focus in those areas. The designer and director must be there for the spiking call. If not then the odds you will be doing this twice are far greater.

Dressing - Time should be set aside for the set to be dressed. The Props Master and the Scenic Designer will need a good afternoon set aside to come in and dress the stage. This would include pictures, wall hangings, draperies, knick-knacks, etc; all those things that “dress” the stage that are not considered hand props. A simple rule I like to keep is that if it is dressing it doesn’t move. This includes screwing pictures to the walls and not just hanging them. There is a product called More-tite. It is a kind of sticky silly putty. It is used to give some stability to dressing pieces that could really stop the show if someone knocked them over on stage. Glass vases, mirrors, glasses, etc. are all examples of products that if they fell on stage could cause difficulties for the production. Whenever there is a question do what ever you can to fasten the dressing props to the set. If the actor handles it in any way it is a prop. Dressing only refers to those things on stage the actors do not handle, sit on, fetch, tow, toss, eat, bat, or in any other way mess with.

Light Focus - With the lights hung and the scenery loaded in it is time again for the electricians to come into the theatre and focus the lights on the scenery. If you have transferred the measurements from rehearsal to the stage then the designer can rough focus these lighting areas and hard focus all the other areas. If it is a multi-set production you may need a partial scenic crew and TD on hand to place all the scenery on its marks. Borders are usually flown out for the over stage focus to get the general look on the lighting area and then flown back in to spike so the lights can be shuttered off the drapes. Again, light focus is generally an all day event and time in your calendar should be set aside for this.

Sound Levels - Not to be confused with setting the cue levels for the show, the sound levels I am referring to is the time set aside for the sound designer to test the audio and speaker systems for the show. Time during load in is always at a maximum and it is easy to overlook the time in the house necessary for the sound designer to set up their part of the production. They need quiet time where there is no sawing and hammering, no yelling and loading, so that they can hear their system operating. You can ask a sound technician to explain to you the difference between pink noise and white noise. I can’t ever seem to remember. All I can tell you is that they have to work through both before they can balance the sound in the house for the production. They can’t be competing with other noises in the theatre during this time.

It is important to point out that the latest revolution in the theatre is in the sound world. More emphasis is being placed on the audio side of the production than ever has in the past. Audiences are getting much more savvy to the “sound” of the show. They have home surround systems and expect everything to sound like the movies. This pressure puts more demand and expense on sound in the theatre. Stage Managers should take this into account in building their schedules especially if the soundscape of the production is more than just support. Make sure to schedule time for them and it will save you valuable time in the technical rehearsal side of the show.

The above paragraph was written back in the 90's when indeed that was the case. I would be sorely missing to not point out that in today's world it is the intersection of digital media and live theatre that is at the forefront of the revolution. Indeed, I am very much looking forward to it.

Paints - In most productions the scenic artists are going to want time in the theatre once the set is loaded in to touch up the paint on the stage, touch up any floor paint, and give the entire scenic element a once over before technical rehearsals begin. You should coordinate this paint time at a production meeting so that they can have the stage unfettered with other departments. Remember paint has to have time to dry as well so make sure there is time following the paint call that no one will need access to the painted areas.

Technical Rehearsals - Technical rehearsals are the blending of the artistic elements from rehearsals with the physical elements from the shops. There is no magic formula for scheduling technical rehearsal time. The more complicated the show the more time you will need. I have done productions where I have been able to tech Act I in two hours, Act II in two hours, and be ready for a technical run of the whole show immediately after. Conversely, I have done productions where it took four hours to tech one musical number. An experienced stage manager will be able to look at the schedule and make a recommendation on how long he/she will take to tech the show. Some theatres set aside an entire weekend to tech their shows. At my school we usually look at about sixteen hours on average to tech a normal production. We have varied that rule for large productions such as Ragtime and Brigadoon and for smaller productions such as Much Ado and A Comedy of Errors. It is always best to err on the side of too much time than not enough. Depending on the theatre schedule, the experience of the cast and crew, the regulations of the contract, the complexity of the designs, etc. you will adjust your calendar to provide enough tech time to get all the way through the show at least twice. Ideally it is nice to have two full technical runs before adding costumes to the show. On a musical remember at some point you have to add the orchestra as well. It is a disservice to the musical director and the sound department to skimp on the tech/dress time prior to first paid public performance so do as much as you can to balance out everyone’s needs. In an ideal world you would have one full orchestra run without costumes.

Sitzprobe - A Sitzprobe is a term borrowed from opera. It is a rough rehearsal where the cast and musicians first work together. This sometimes can take place in the rehearsal hall or if there is time and it makes sense, in the theatre space itself. Regardless of where it takes place the concentration is on putting those two elements together. The singers have been rehearsing to a piano for a number of weeks now. This is their time to hear what the show sounds like with the instruments that will be playing the show. A piccolo on a piano sounds incredibly different than an actual piccolo. You should schedule the sitzprobe at your initial calendaring meeting so that everyone can plan around that time. Obviously, if your show has no music or singers then this step can be ignored.

The Pit Load In/Pit Drop - As mentioned before, this aspect of the production is often overlooked or put on the back burner in a lot of calendars but should be considered from the very first calendaring meeting especially since it takes the coordinated efforts of several departments. Most orchestra pits sit at the furthest point downstage of the theatre housing. Not unusually speaking this can be an ideal lighting location. However, once the orchestra pit is lowered into its show configuration reaching lighting positions over the top of the pit can be difficult. Additionally, if there are heavy instruments, i.e. acoustic pianos, then the equipment needs to be on the pit before it is lowered unless you have an alternative loading location. You should schedule a time in your calendar for the pit to be lowered so as to cause minimal interference with the rest of the show. You should also schedule a time when the orchestra will be loaded into the orchestra pit. Prior to the orchestra showing up there needs to time for any acoustical equipment to be loaded into the pit, orchestra stands and lights placed, chairs, sound equipment, and more than likely a conductors podium, stand, monitors, and stool. Make sure you cover all aspects of the pit prior to load in of the show. It is very difficult to go back once the pit goes down and leaves a large hole in the floor.

Dress Rehearsals - Dress rehearsals add the final element of the production. Time should be set aside at the top of the very first dress rehearsal for the cast and the dressers to deal with costume changes and issues. If the show is simple you might be able to avoid this step. But if you don’t deal with costume changes in advance you will most certainly be dealing with them during your dress rehearsal.

On one production of The Mystery of Irma Vep, a show with two actors playing multiple characters, we set and entire rehearsal aside to do nothing but deal with the costume changes. It is the kind of show that, if the actors can’t make their changes, the show stops dead in the water. They beauty is in watching and actor exit one side of the stage as one character and enter the other side of the stage as another… seconds later! Without that dedicated time to do nothing but costume changes the dress rehearsal would have been one disaster followed by another.

You should check with your director and/or producer on policies around guests at dress rehearsals. Some theatres and directors like having an audience to build the momentum of the actors into previews and opening night. Others abhor it. You should check on any theatre policies in existence and the traditions of that theatre and director.

Previews - Previews are generally scheduled when the stage manager gets the dates for the calendar. It is not their general purview to schedule them. That being said and as the saying goes, “once you enter tech you never really leave it.” Most contracts provide for rehearsals during what is considered the first paid public performance. Even if the director doesn’t have anything in particular in mind when you are scheduling the calendar you should reserve the maximum available time of rehearsal for each day of preview. Once the director sees how the audience reacts to the performance this is their only time to make adjustments. In some school situations I have seen them schedule previews a day apart giving the director and the cast time to react outside of their class responsibilities.

Performances - The entire performance schedule should be laid out in your calendar. Most shows we do are going to be limited runs. By that I mean they have a defined beginning and ending. On road shows the calendar is an ever developing process as cities are added and in some cases subtracted. Do your best to keep the company informed of all changes. Post all changes in large print on your callboard. If you keep an online callboard be sure to keep it up to date and include an announcement section. List the performances and not the calls. In every theatre I have worked at it is understood that that technicians and actors will be there at the very latest 1/2 hour prior to the performance time.

The Mantra! - there is a simple mantra that I insist each student memorize as it has to do with planning for the technical aspects of your show. It goes as follows:

You have to hang it before you load it. You have to load it before you focus it. You have to focus it before you level it. You have to level it before you cue it. You have to cue it before you tech it. You have to tech it before you dress it. And, you have to dress it before you open it.

Of course there are variations. There are always variations. For example; if you are doing Irma Vep, you'd best schedule a costume rehearsal before even bothering with tech. If you can't make the costume changes in that production all the tech time in the world won't help you master that show.

Example:

Take a look at the following calendar roughed in below. This is an example of a fictional production of Sweeney Todd used as an exam example in class. Here you'll see the first four weeks of rehearsal. This example was created in Google Calendars. Each entry, though you only see the start time on the calendar below, GC allows you to hover over the event and more data pops up. In this case I've included the start and stop times and the location of the rehearsal so that when you do hover your cursor over the google calendar all that information pops up. For Penn State, this exam was intentionally created to "span spring break". If you remember above, I stated that you must know the holidays and traditions of the location you're producing your show. For academics, football and breaks are part of the deal. Students were to think of the permutations and how it would affect the calendar.

Note also that because of spring break we're losing two Saturday rehearsals. I've tried to compensate that loss of time schedule by lengtheing the Saturday's we do rehearse to try and make up the time. You can see that the Mantra begins on the 25th with Light Hand and follows a logical sequence through opening. I've added in a Sitzprobe probably earlier than it will actually take place but it was an obvious suggestion based on the Saturday schedule I've already mentioned. Hang to Load In to Focus

The second half of the calendar looks as follows. Note, I've included a production day off so that they can have an evening of rest before we launch into technical rehearsals. Sweeney Todd is a complicated show so I've tried to add as much tech time as I could. Being an academic calendar we rehearse after classes and on weekends. Note, we have a work day in between previews to fix anything that 'didn't work' in the performance of the play that needs addressing. Tech to Dress to Preview to Open to Run to Strike...