I wanted to talk a bit about automation and to do this I first have to define what it is I am talking about. First of all there is more than one kind of automation. There is automating winches and travel units that are used in tracking scenery on and off stage. That is one kind of automation. There is also any time we automate a cue where for example we use QLab to control both a sound and a light board. There is also time code. Time code is like a big second hand that swings around and at pivotal points along the time path fire a multitude of effects. This is not all new technology either. Time code has been used in firework displays for at least a decade or better. Light and sound boards have been talking to each other for a while (not all happily at times). Tracking winches and revolves also have been around for a while. There was even a brief wave of electrically controlled fly systems which, at least for my two cents, did not sweep the country and invade backstage. One of my personal favorites is the contour curtain at radio city that allows you to "select" the shape of the curtain and then send the motors whirring in the direction you've selected until it reaches it's stop and voila! a new curtain shape for your scene! It is somewhat ironic that an old fashioned grease pencil was often the choice used to outline the shapes you've selected!
No matter what your show uses the way automation affects the work and efforts of the stage manager is significant and bears a bit of a discussion here so you can be better prepared to 1) prepare yourself and your team for the time differentials there are when dealing with automation vs a traditional theatre schedule that most in non-automated productions face, and 2) create a more manageable schedule heading in to heavily automated shows. The more experience you have at the helm, the more skilled the stage hands, the more preparation you have, the better off you have in meeting a rigorous schedule. But you must go in informed to the new reality that automation brings and prepare your self and your team for this reality.
Let's take a simple example with a single motorized winch complete with show control software that allows you to set ramp up and ramp down speeds vs four stage hands hidden upstage that move the scenic piece on and then off the stage. With some practice your human team will move it once or twice out to spike to get a feel for the handling of the piece. They'll work with the deck stage managers and the tech team to perfect the time to get from point A to point B smoothly without upsetting anyone riding on the scenic piece or throwing any of the properties on the scenic unit cantering across the stage. If for any reason an actor is late getting set or some other unforeseen action happens on the stage to impeded the action of the scenic unit, the human team can react as humans can react. They can pick up their speed, they can slow down, they can alter their route, and they can make split decisions as new data and information inserts itself.
Now let's look at the Show Control winch. There will have to be a programmer who understands the show control software. Once you figure out the time necessary to travel from point A to point B they should be able to factor in ramp up and ramp down speeds to move the scenic unit comfortably up and comfortably down for our living and non-living riders. This activity can take significant programming time that is independent of the other activities going on around it. The general rule of thumb is that it takes longer to set the cue but once it is set it should run precisely the same for each performance. That doesn't mean that other people are idle while the programmer is working on this activity. The lighting designer can be working on the light cues around the effect, sound designers can continue to run their cues while waiting for the programmer to finish. However, once the programmer, director, and designer are happy with the overall length of the travel and up and down ramp speeds you also have to make sure the all the other departments are equally prepared for the execution of the cue. And then after all of that, if you are using show control to control all the boards and activities of the shift you then have to tie them all together in the software. This adds considerable time to the tech of a show.
For the stage manager managing the schedule this means that you should allow longer for creating cues than in executing cues. It means you have to take your calendar back apart and rebuild it with cue building in mind and not just oh, we'll tech Act I tonight." It may be that for a heavily automated show you have to schedule more time for the building of cues than for the coming together of the cues. This affects the stage manager in multiple areas: