On of my favorite sections to teach. Dance counts! Why dance counts? Well, frankly, when you get to a section of the script that looks like this:
(THEY Dance)
This could be five minutes or longer with multiple cues inserted into the "they dance" section. Therefore dance counts.
There will be those who will argue with me and say to just use the score. And to this I say, "Sure. How well do you read music?" Remember a dance can move pretty fast and the pages can fly by. It is easy to get lost inside those dances when you are calling from a score. If at all possible I prefer to use dance counts as they are easy, compact, and I can use what I call 'markers' to get in and out of the dance rapidly should my attention need to shift from the stage to some other problem while still maintaining my place in the calling script.
It is live theatre and while you want every performance to be perfect people get sick or injured, machinery breaks down, stuff happens. Plus you want to be able to watch the show and not just call cues. If you are not watching the show then you don't really understand all of your responsibilities as the stage manager. I will say it again when I get to cueing but calling the cue is just one part of the equation. Knowing what the cue is supposed to do is another part. So you 'call' the cue then you 'watch' it happen.
Your blocking responsibilities end when the choreographer gets up and starts to work. But your stage managing responsibilities don't. You, or someone on your team, must notate the dance for cueing in the future. Therefore I always have printed blank dance 8's that I can then fill. A blank set of 8's looks like this.
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_____ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
and so on until it fills an 8 1/2 sheet of paper. Note how the 1 is left out and the sequence fills four eights and then has a space and then four more lines of 8. Most musical theatre, especially the older musicals, are written in either 4/4 time or 3/4 time. This every four 8's fills that structure rather nicely. In working in 3/4 time I simply cross out the 7 and the 8 and just go through 6. The other reason to use 8's is that is how dancers and choreographers count the music for the dance. Recall the intro to A Chorus Line where the choreographer yells, ".. a 5, 6, 7, 8! More modern musicals have more variety and opera really loves to mix it up. Indeed, I would never suggest calling an opera from anything other than the score but for musical theatre I prefer to use counts.
As the dancers and the choreographer work through a number I fill in the blank spot with numbers; 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. So that it would begin to take shape like this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
and so forth until I have worked my way through the number. Also, dances have sections just like songs so I may have a whole section that gets to:
28 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
and start again with
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The point is it is not an exact science. Simply make yourself a road map that you can understand. You are going to have to teach it to your assistants anyway so you might as well make sure it makes sense to you.
While you and the dancers are making your way through the choreography you can start adding 'markers' that will help you define the dance and the shape of the dance so you can quickly find your place when you need to. These markers go underneath the count, therefore it might look something like this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(Drums)
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(Drums)
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(Bounce)
4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(Bounce)
Where on the 5th count of each 8 you hear two drum cadences and two visual bounces by the dancers. You should have a marker that begins and ends each section and then markers throughout that define the movements inside that section. Some will be aural and some will be visual. It is important to remember that these marker choices are at significant changes in the action taking place on the stage or in significant changes in the music. What you call the marker is subjective to you.
A few years ago, my student (Patty Grabb) had a very clever idea and started adding important measures in superscript with the dance count. It's much faster when you can tell a conductor to pick it up from measure 24 than having them try to remember which verse you talking about when you go back and refine a cue during the sequence. Remember they have to get everyone in the orchestra to start in the same place so the exact measure is a much better method of communicating with your musical conductor. I am reminded of working with James Levine one year at a sitzprobe when the colorotura stopped and said to him, "Maestro, I like to sing this section this way so you may have to follow me." To which he replied, "Madam, there are 85 musicians following my baton, I think it best if you follow me." He won the argument.
Here is an example from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular that I stage managed.
Transition
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Marching Band
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
box brigade
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Lids off boxes.........
4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
5 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
spins
Toy Band
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
kazoos
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
end kazoos
4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Note how the markers are set to sections. Toy Band, kazooa, end kazoos all happen in specific places. Toy Band is the section, kazoos start the section and on the "6" of the third 8 the section is over and they move towards the Dancing Puppets section.
Dancing Puppets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Cheers.............................
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
^ ^
5 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
^ ^
Note the accents on "4" and "8". They indicate stressed beats.
6 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Cheers.............................
7 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
8 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
La la's
10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
La la's
11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
La la's
12 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS NOW....and now we are back to lyrics with no need to continue counting.
Sections are put above the count with markers below the count. So considering the lay out above the "Cheers" and the "La la's" are markers (yes I know how silly this sounds as I type it but it should make your reading more enjoyable and your day a little brighter. The song and the music are both copyright materials so I have not included them here.
Here is another counted out sequence from A Chorus Line. This is taken straight from the original cast album. You should be able to
(Music)
1 2 3 4
again, step kick kick feet kick touch
again, step kick kick feet kick touch
again, step kick kick feet kick touch
again, step kick kick feet kick touch
right that connects with
turn turn out in touch step
step kick kick feet kick touch, got it?
Going on, and turn turn touch down
Back step pivot step walk walk walk,
right
Let’s do the whole combination facing away from the mirror,
From the top, a 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
(Theme)
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(Drums) (Music)
GOD I HOPE I GET IT
I HOPE I GET IT
HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES HE NEED?
HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES HE NEED?
GOD I HOPE I GET IT
I HOPE I GET IT
HOW MANY BOYS HOW MANY GIRLS
HOW MANY BOYS HOW MANY GIRLS
LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE
AT ALL THE PEOPLE
HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES HE NEED
HOW MANY BOYS HOW MANY GIRLS
HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES HE
I REALLY NEED THIS JOB
PLEASE GOD I NEED THIS JOB
I’VE GOT TO GET THIS
JOB 2 3 4
Alright, stage left boys, let’s do the ballet combination
First group of girls, second group follow
A one, two, three, four, five, six
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
8 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
(repeat theme)
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
8 2 3 4 5 6
GOD I REALLY BLEW IT
I REALLY BLEW IT
HOW COULD I DO A THING LIKE THAT
HOW COULD I DO A THING LIKE THAT
NOW I’LL NEVER MAKE IT
I’LL NEVER MAKE IT
HE DOESN’T LIKE THE WAY I LOOK
HE DOESN’T LIKE THE WAY I DANCE
HE DOESN’T LIKE THE WAY I
1 2 3 4 5 6
(funky)
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
(build with horns)
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
(back to theme)
2 2 3 4 5 6
Alright, let me see the boys, the whole group
A 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6
(funky)
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
(build with horns)
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
(back to theme)
2 2 3 4 5 6
Okay, girls a 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6
(funky)
2 2 3 4 5 6
3 2 3 4 5 6
4 2 3 4 5 6
5 2 3 4 5 6
(build with horns)
6 2 3 4 5 6
7 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
(back to theme)
1 2 3 4
GOD I THINK I GOT IT
I THINK I GOT IT
I KNEW HE LIKED ME ALL THE TIME
I KNEW HE LIKED ME ALL THE TIME