Remember Rule #2 for stage managers. "The work in you do in one phase of the production is your preparation for the next phase." You can't skip and you can't jump. You have to prepare yourselves for the technical process of putting the show together. This means you have to put together the information that will allow multiple groups function as efficiently as possible. This is the third phase of production for stage managers if you are counting. As usual this begins with accurate paperwork so that is where we begin.
You know from rehearsal what your show artistically requires. You know from rehearsals how much time you have to transition from one scene to the next. You know from rehearsals about 95% of how your show is going to go into the theatre. Your preparation from those rehearsals is how you get ready for tech. The young stage manager has a habit of thinking they have done enough. They are prepared enough. Then along comes a big show and runs right over them as it hits the stage. You must constantly thing about the realized production on stage and prepare yourself to meet the needs. It's sort of like the old joke where a young hopeful comes up to a man in the streets and says, "How to I get to Carnegie hall?" To which the man replies, "practice, my son. Practice."
I like to talk about 'active engagement' in the rehearsal process. It is that active participation in the preparation for tech that will determine how successful that tech will be for you. When you sit during a run through in the rehearsal hall are you thinking about how that translates to the stage? Are you talking with your assistant stage managers and working your way through the show backstage so that you can create not only the proper paperwork but be mentally prepared for all the changing circumstances that comes with live theatre? If not, then you are not actively involved enough in the rehearsal process. You must constantly examine the show with an eye for the next phase.
Each show is unique so there is no set standard of information you have to pass forward. You need to think about all the players in the theatre and make sure they have the paperwork they need to succeed. For example; I once did a production of Home, the Sam Art Williams play. If I recall correctly there are three actors, one act, they never leave the stage and all the props remain on stage. There is no need for an entrance/exit chart. Compare that to Radio City Music Hall where the Christmas show has over five dozen Rockettes, forty chorus members, four children, seven little people, two donkeys, six sheep, three camels, and a puppy! Where people change their clothes is a big deal. One pair of shoes in the wrong place can reap havoc. The costume shop is on the 8th floor and the stage is one level below street. You can't just run to the costume shop if something isn't set correctly. There are three levels, four elevators and dozens of crew members backstage. There are seven sets. Imagine if we got something in the wrong order. It would be chaos if the stage managers didn't spend a great deal of time and effort getting all the paperwork together for tech.
Some paperwork you should always touch on is of course the calling script, com plots, and, routine sheets. I will cover these in this section. But as I have mentioned you might encounter the need for: