# Missed Cue Calls



## GoboMan (Jun 12, 2013)

What is the protocol for a light and/or sound board operator when the stage manager happens to miss a call that you know should be there? If you have run the same show over and over again, you start to memorize where all the cues are. If the stage manager misses a call that you know should be there, do you push "GO" anyway or wait for the stage manager to make the call? 

If you take the call on your own, you keep the show running correctly, but at the same time you are not respecting the stage manager's superiority. If you know the call was missed and decide to wait until the SM catches it, then the show is off cue and it could confuse the performers. 

What is the right thing to do?


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## dbaxter (Jun 12, 2013)

You'd like to think the stage manager would thank you for running the cue on your own. The audience experience is what puts folks in the seats.


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## Grog12 (Jun 12, 2013)

In theory you don't push the button unless you're told too.

In actuallity it depends on a whole mess of variables, how critical is the cue? Whats your relationship with the SM? Are the actors waiting on stage for a blackout/phone to ring/doorbell?


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## DuckJordan (Jun 12, 2013)

In the pro world you dont take the cue your job as a board op is to push go when told. End of story, now this varies out of theater but i find it helps the chain of command.

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## AlecIrwin (Jun 12, 2013)

Whenever I serve stage-management roles I thank technicians hugely for thinking on their feet. At the same time, if I give an "order" specifically I expect it will be followed.

For example, if I was just totally silent or the board op could tell I was dealing with a situation over headset, I would greatly appreciate the ability to make assumptions.

However, (and this has happened to me), giving an order and hearing "No, it doesn't go there!" or saying "Standby..." and having the technician go anyway is really not ok. Of course, mistakes happen all over the board, (no pun intended), but that is the ideal order of things.

I wrote it in first person because it was easiest, but I am sure I am not alone in my feelings!


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## CrazyTechie (Jun 12, 2013)

As has been mentioned thus far, this would depend on many variables as to whether or not you would take the cue on your own. What it really boils down to is there is no definitive all across the board answer as it would depend entirely on the situation, and even then it may be hard to determine as the Stage Manager may know something that you don't and that is why they didn't call your cue. Hopefully by the point that the show opens for an audience the SM knows the show well enough not to miss a cue but remember, we're all human and we all make mistakes. 

For me personally when I am running a board for a show, whether it be in a professional or academic setting, I will not press "Go" unless told to do so. One reason is simply because the Stage Manager understands the whole picture of where all the cues for all the operators go and I may or may not have that knowledge.

If this is indeed an issue that has come up with your show, and this may not even be a bad idea to do before working a show, have a chat with the Stage Manager to see how they feel about it. Should you take a cue if it isn't called or should you wait for the Stage Manager to cal it? I'm sure every Stage Manager out there has a different opinion on it.


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## LavaASU (Jun 12, 2013)

I would suggest asking your stage manager what they would prefer. I try to tell my ops which cues I'm ok with them taking as a visual and which they need to wait for me (ones that need to be simultaneous between departments or that there is a reason I could be holding it). Honestly, I always try to be ready to call every single cue, but I will often tell my board ops to take certain cues as visuals (I do give a standby and reminder that they are visuals), this frees me up to deal with problems that may arise and to focus on the cues that actually need calling (does the sound guy really need to be told to play the buzzer when the actor pushes the door bell?).

There are some very high level professional shows that the stage managers do not call some or all of the lighting/sound cues (the operators know their cues).


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## themuzicman (Jun 15, 2013)

As sound I always try to take my own cues so I can focus on the mix and never be on a headset. I have had Lx ops who will fly solo when the SM needs to attend to other issues during shows, and Lx ops who will purposefully not take cues when the SM isn't calling them to teach the SM a lesson (just saying what I've seen from experience, but when an SM is missing between 40% and 60% of their cues the Lx department not taking cues is probably the first way that management will see there is an issue).


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## techietim (Jun 25, 2013)

GoboMan said:


> What is the protocol for a light and/or sound board operator when the stage manager happens to miss a call that you know should be there? If you have run the same show over and over again, you start to memorize where all the cues are. If the stage manager misses a call that you know should be there, do you push "GO" anyway or wait for the stage manager to make the call?
> 
> If you take the call on your own, you keep the show running correctly, but at the same time you are not respecting the stage manager's superiority. If you know the call was missed and decide to wait until the SM catches it, then the show is off cue and it could confuse the performers.
> 
> What is the right thing to do?



In our theatre the operator never does their cue unless the SM team have called "Go", if they do, they usually get moaned at (not by me)!
We only ever do a weeks run of normal shows and about 6 weeks of Pantomime at Christmas.
We have had people run their own cues when missed on Panto though...

Generally though, the SM team/cue caller should be competent enough not to miss any/many cues.


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## artable (Mar 7, 2015)

I am a high school SM. I miss cues sometimes because I'm still learning my craft. (Staring at a book until the bars are there is surprisingly hard.) If I miss a cue, and one of my techs picks up my slack, I thank them! They saved the show to a degree. But if I give an order (I.E. A standby, or a no-go on a cue (actors, you see... they screw up sometimes...) and a board op goes before my cue, there will be a terse reminder to wait for my go. No more mention of it than that though. What happens in the past stays in my prompt book, to be used at my discretion.


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## de27192 (Mar 8, 2015)

For me...

_Right thing to do: _Do the cue.

_What to do in my dream theatre: _Do the cue.

_What to do in my current theatre: _Don't do the cue and blame it on SM.


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## artable (Mar 8, 2015)

Really it might depend on your SM? Maybe asking them what they want you to do is a good idea. Also, were you following along in your own book?

EDIT: If you have a question about the way a show is running, asking the SM is the first thing you should do. If you're worried that the SM is going to miss a cue again, it's totally reasonable to talk to him/her about it.


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## rbalewski (Mar 8, 2015)

For me, it depends on the cue. If it's a cue coming out of a blackout, for example, where the board op doesn't know what's going on, we'll wait for the SM no matter what. If it's a sight cue in the middle of a scene, the SM is almost more of a safety net. My board op has a script and will take the cue where it belongs no matter what.


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## artable (Mar 8, 2015)

I have to disagree that an SM is a safety net in cue calling. They know the show better than anyone else. Your board op won't die of a heart attack if a cue goes .2 seconds before or after he/she wanted it to. The SM will.


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## rbalewski (Mar 8, 2015)

artable said:


> I have to disagree that an SM is a safety net in cue calling. They know the show better than anyone else. Your board op won't die of a heart attack if a cue goes .2 seconds before or after he/she wanted it to. The SM will.



LOL No, the board op may not die of a heart attack, but I will if the cue isn't on time!  And my poor board op is the guy who hears about it! As for knowing the show, if it's a show where board ops come and go, you're totally correct. But I always have someone I totally trust on the board for the entire run of the show - and as far as lighting goes, that guy knows the show FAR better than the SM does. For better or worse, that's just how we've always worked.


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## artable (Mar 8, 2015)

rbalewski said:


> LOL No, the board op may not die of a heart attack, but I will if the cue isn't on time!  And my poor board op is the guy who hears about it! As for knowing the show, if it's a show where board ops come and go, you're totally correct. But I always have someone I totally trust on the board for the entire run of the show - and as far as lighting goes, that guy knows the show FAR better than the SM does. For better or worse, that's just how we've always worked.


I can't see how that's possible. Your board op hasn't been with the show since pre-production! Your op doesn't hear the slight changes in the speed of an actor's speech from show to show that sometimes cause me to call long fading cues early or late. Maybe your op knows the exact perimeters of your hang and patch better than the SM, but the show as a whole? Not a chance.


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## rbalewski (Mar 8, 2015)

artable said:


> Maybe your op knows the exact perimeters of your hang and patch better than the SM, but the show as a whole? Not a chance.



For whatever reason, my op DOES know what I want a lot more than the SM does. So having the op take sight cues where he KNOWS they belong just works for us.

Oh, I have worked with the occasional tyrannical SM that insists their call is right, even if it's wrong. But they soon learn not to interfere!


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## artable (Mar 8, 2015)

If all these SMs are truly that bad, well... That sucks! I'm sorry! However, it is the SMs job to meld the designs of the production team into one show, and sometimes that definitely requires altering a couple cues, according to the wishes of all directors and designers involved.


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## rbalewski (Mar 8, 2015)

OK, when you start talking about the SM altering cues (any cues) on his own, I have to flat-out disagree with you. I can certainly see how there could be timing conflicts or whatever. But IMHO the SM needs to bring that to the attention of the designers and / or directors who will decide how to best re-cue things. You're absolutely correct when you said according to the wishes of the directors and designers. And as the designer, the re-cueing goes directly to my board op who now also knows exactly what to do.

The way my board ops and I work may not be everyone's cup of tea, as they say, but it has worked for us for many years.

I do have to point out that the board ops I'm referring to are a very small group that I've done countless shows with over the years. We quite literally know how each other thinks.


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## artable (Mar 8, 2015)

Yeah, an SM should really never make an artistic decision independently. artistic descisions aren't our job! I mean, maybe your setup does work for you, but the person you trust to cue at the right time should be the SM. It's a shame that that isn't the case. What works works I suppose.


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## DuckJordan (Mar 8, 2015)

So you are saying to disregard the am completely? No in pro theater no one takes a call without the sm calling go. No its and or buts you as a designer should never interact with the board op on a show to show basis other than for programing. Its the SMs job to record cues, when to take them and ultimate take the brunt of any timing issues. No board op should ever take their own cue.

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## Robert (Mar 9, 2015)

I have never worked a show where the SM (professional) missed a call. That being said, I would take the cue if I new the show depended on it. 
Say I'm on an FX and the safety of a cast member depends on my action. Wait for the SM to do nothing and FU, or do the right thing and save a life? Suddenly there is a difference, yes? 
For me, the show is the thing.


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## DuckJordan (Mar 9, 2015)

I've never seen a single instance where a cue not taken could harm anyone. Ever

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## Robert (Mar 9, 2015)

Fly cue, set change, pit move, pyro, seen some.


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## Robert (Mar 9, 2015)

When I'm blind to the move, wait for the call. 
So now comes if the SM is wrong do you take the call and hurt/kill someone?


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## Les (Mar 9, 2015)

DuckJordan said:


> I've never seen a single instance where a cue not taken could harm anyone. Ever
> 
> Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk



I haven't either (personally) but I could imagine there being some cases where it could happen. Usually in a life safety circumstance, you have more than one set of eyes (error checking). That kind of weight usually doesn't come down to a single person who may blink or sneeze at the wrong time. 

As a pyrotechnic operator, I could see it happening the other way around. We are the final say and will not take a cue, even if called by an SM, if we feel that doing so could create an unsafe condition. Even the Fire Marshal cannot legally instruct us to fire a cue. It's our license and our decision. Likewise, we have the right to halt any pyro cues in progress should we feel the need to (the SM has that right as well). But that is a different ballgame altogether, much like stage flight. 

We won't, however, assume to take our own cues in a heavily choreographed show unless instructed to do so (which isn't unheard of - it just depends on the type of production). Normally a GO is given, at which point we go when it's safe. Usually it's immediate, but not always.


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## Robert (Mar 9, 2015)

Missed cue, cue called wrong, all starts to feel the same to me. Training is everything. So perhaps a previous comment as to actions acceptable when a called cue is missed is better than guessing what to do. My world had many instances where a missed call would hurt someone. Mainly in blackout. As Les says, they have final control over the safe calling of a cue, not the SM.


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## Robert (Mar 9, 2015)

If I was waiting to take a cue that I knew was going to be missed, might be time to say on headset,"standing by on LX 21." Just to let the SM know.


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## Les (Mar 9, 2015)

Robert said:


> If I was waiting to take a cue that I knew was going to be missed, might be time to say on headset,"standing by on LX 21." Just to let the SM know.



I find that this is the best way to be proactive without stepping on toes.


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## RileyChilds (Mar 25, 2015)

Generally I will take a cue if I was put in a stand-by and I knew that it was supposed to go AND the SM is dealing with something, if I am not in a standby I will ask "Am I in a standby" and 50% of the time I hear "Oh S**t Go Cue X" and the other 50% I hear "No, but you should be".
EDIT: Of Course I am Electrics...


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## Goatman (Apr 18, 2015)

It really depends on what level of theater is and what the experience the SM/board op have. If a SM has never called a show before or is dealing with some other crisis (I've seen set pieces fall onto actors, the ASM storm out of the theater, ushers leave mid-show and then audience members talking on phones in the middle of a show, the com system breaking mid-show, etc.), then the board op should take their own cues until the SM can return to the call station.

When I operate the board, I try to not take cues independently unless I'm told specifically that I have permission to do so. And if I want to change where a cue is, I communicate that before the next performance.

(Proof-reading that list, I think the best solution is to find more seasoned people and invest in a new com system.)


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## themuzicman (Apr 19, 2015)

I have worked on a show where the SM would miss 30-40% of called cues - this wasn't a small show either, it was an IATSE touring Broadway musical. The SM lasted 13 performances before they had a replacement out to us. We noticed she was bad fairly quickly and we would all take the cues ourself -- including our flyman who had the potential to deck actors if he didn't watch out really good. The entire crew held a meeting to see what we should do about it - we had run the show 100+ times and could do it ourselves by then. We decided to give her a week to see if she improved, and after the first week we told her we were taking cues where she called them. 4 actors were decked, the light cues got almost a full song off at one moment - we had a ton of midi linked cues where LX would fire sounds, it was a disaster. 

Long story short: I almost always take the cue if SM forgets because my cues are not safety dependent most of the time (sound here...). If my cues have the ability to hurt other people I'll skip it - usually there isn't enough time to ask for clarification. I'm the sound engineer on a Local 1/AEA show at the moment and I have had SM's miss the 2 called cues they give me (I take about a hundred others myself) once in a while - they have to call 800 other cues an act, and when we have an SM who hasn't called in a few weeks mistakes can happen. I take those missed cues every time because I know they don't impact the safety of the scene but do further the story (1 of them will not cause the entire scene to progress...) and without them we wouldn't have a viable show. 

to wrap it up: time and place, if it's appropriate take it.


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## Fountain Of Euph (Apr 19, 2015)

I also would add that location makes a diffrence. In both the theaters where I have been the house board op the stage manager is backstage. That's fine for the first one that was a procenum (sp?) But not ok for my current house, a half- thrust. My SM cant see very well, so sometimes I will take a cue. I will never take us out of a blackout or scene change without somthing from the stage though. I also am on book all the time, and read music (a plus for a opera LD) so sometimes i have a better perspective on the show. 

So in short: i will take a cue in my own house if it is critcal for the show, but I will not overreach and take another departments cues.

Shows cam run by cue lights, the reason we have headsets is for questions...


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## gafftaper (Apr 21, 2015)

DuckJordan said:


> I've never seen a single instance where a cue not taken could harm anyone. Ever




Robert said:


> Fly cue, set change, pit move, pyro, seen some.



It's a hijack but...
I would argue that if there are potential dangers of someone being harmed if a cue is not taken at the correct time, there are serious safety issues with the show that should be addressed. Anything dangerous should be cued to happen only if the people are already safe. It should never be the other way around.


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## robartsd (Apr 23, 2015)

gafftaper said:


> I would argue that if there are potential dangers of someone being harmed if a cue is not taken at the correct time, there are serious safety issues with the show that should be addressed. Anything dangerous should be cued to happen only if the people are already safe. It should never be the other way around.


I agree with @gafftaper, however, it may be that a cue not taken means it is not safe to proceed with a later cue. For instance missing a cue to move a set piece might leave an obstacle in in the path of an actor who is moving fast later in the show. Technically the cue that started the actor's movement whas not safe to take, but missing the cue to move the obstacle might be viewed by some as causing the unsafe condition.


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