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Erin Joy Swank - Stage Manager
Putting the puzzle pieces of productions together
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Tag: Stage Management Paperwork

Hands Free Cue Sheets

February 24, 2024 cue2go
6 people have their arms in a circle, fists to center, showing off paperwork inside the type of sleeves used for quarterbacks

Have you had a scene shift or cueing sequence where it really wasn’t ideal to hold your cue sheet? Or…

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Filed under: Assistant Stage Manager, Calling Cues, Real Life SM Stories, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management

Printing a True-Scale PDF Groundplan on Regular Size Paper

January 5, 2024 cue2go
screenshot from Adobe Reader printing options

Okay, first things first….yes, I would normally hope that a technical director or someone else would print me off the…

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Filed under: Going as Green as Possible, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Taping the Set, Technology in Stage Management

Some Tips from Touring Educational Opera Outdoors

August 20, 2022 cue2go
The view from the stage manager’s position during an outdoor opera tech rehearsal. The score is sitting in front, covered in post-it notes. On stage, five actors hold up picture frames in front of colorful drops and lighting equipment.

This week I’ve had the pleasure to rejoin my Central City Opera Touring Artist friends for a couple of outdoor…

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Filed under: Opera, Real Life SM Stories, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork

Cleaning Up Scanned Scripts

August 14, 2022 cue2go
Screenshot of a scanned script that has been partially edited through Adobe Acrobat. Text boxes appear around the dialogue and image boundaries for the copying shadows.

Face it, we’ve all been there. The script you’re given to use isn’t clean. Even if the person who copied…

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Filed under: SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management

Prepping for a Musical

December 30, 2021 cue2go 3 Comments
Sample Music Breakdown document

I don’t know whether I’m jinxing myself by working on prep for a show yet, given the state of our industry, but I finally started to do so this week.

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Filed under: AEA, Musical Theatre, Real Life SM Stories, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management

Zoom Tip: Using Virtual Background to Share Slides

November 19, 2021 cue2go
Screenshot of a Zoom meeting showing equal sized boxes of a woman and closing credits thanking people for coming

This week we decided to switch virtual platforms for our WSHU Public Radio online events, using Zoom Webinars now. For…

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Filed under: Real Life SM Stories, Recorded Events, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management, Virtual Events

Opera Stage Management 101: Part Five – During Rehearsal

September 24, 2018 cue2go

[This blog series was started for the Stage Managers’ Association.] The previous blog posts (start here if this is your…

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Filed under: Opera Stage Management 101, Real Life SM Stories, Stage Management Paperwork

Opera Stage Management 101 – Part Four: Timing the Score

July 9, 2018 cue2go

[This blog series was started for the Stage Managers’ Association. Part Four has been a bit delayed due to my…

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Filed under: Opera Stage Management 101, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management

Opera Stage Management 101 – Part Three: Setting Up Your Score

June 11, 2018 cue2go 8 Comments

This blog series was published first on the Stage Managers’ Association website. At the time of writing, I am a Director-at-Large…

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Filed under: Opera Stage Management 101, SM Tips, Stage Management Paperwork

Getting your application to the top of the pile

February 17, 2018 cue2go

by Erin Joy Swank Jeffrey Salzberg originally asked me to contribute this article for his Stage Lighting for Students website…

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Filed under: Stage Management Paperwork, Technology in Stage Management

Tagged Topics

Adventures with Eeyore AEA AGMA Assistant Stage Manager Calling Cues Care and Feeding of Stage Managers Cirque COVID Return to Work Guidelines Dance Eeyore and Erin Finances for SMs Going as Green as Possible Helpful Links Musical Theatre My Philosophy (or two) Navigating Unemployment Nutcracker Opera Opera Stage Management 101 Pop Culture References Production Publicity Production Reviews Real Life SM Stories Recorded Events Shindig - Virtual Platform SM Tips Stage Combat Stage Management Books Stage Management History Stage Management Humor Stage Management Paperwork Taping the Set Technology in Stage Management Thoughts on Articles Read Training/Certifications/Courses Virtual Events

Recent Posts

  • Using a scale rule to measure points
    Using an Architect’s Scale RulerMarch 16, 2025
  • Two-tape triangulation theory is shown, using a 3-4-5 right triangle on graph paper
    Two-Tape Triangulation Tape Out Method – Part One: Measuring the PointsMarch 2, 2025
  • White gaff tape is layered around a plastic hotel key for storage. The end of the tape is loose in someone's hand, and a roll of the same gaff sits in the background, all on a green velvet background.
    Portable Gaff Tape HackFebruary 28, 2025
  • A spike stick is pictured, with 19 colors of spike tape rolled around a dowel. The dowel has a hole drilled towards one end, with black tieline laced through and tied in a knot as a loop. Above and to the left is a single roll of yellow spike tape.
    For the Love of Spike SticksOctober 30, 2024
  • Two theatrical groundplans are shown with a transparent overlay of the rehearsal hall dimensions, giving alternate layouts
    Taping Out the Set: How to Decide Orientation in the Rehearsal HallSeptember 25, 2024
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