# Software for stage managers/iPad



## Oobleck1441

Does anyone know of and free software that can help me keep myself organized while running a show?
Maybe one with a digital cue sheet?
Or a digital Prompt book?
Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Oobleck1441​


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## Footer

openoffice.org.... thats about it. Most people that do "soft" prompt book have their own way of doing it. There is some software out there for SM's, but from last check it was not that well developed and I cant remember who made it. It cost about 300-1000 for a license if I remember.


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## icewolf08

I have seen script writing software, but I don't know if it could really work for a prompt book, unless you were going to print it after. Cues sheets are easy, could be made in Excel or File Maker Pro, or Microsoft Access. YOu might also look into Google's new MS Office alternative, it is free, though you need to be online to access it.


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## gafftaper

There are a couple of good books out there on Stage management. Some if not all have examples of all the forms you need. I would start with one of those. In my opinion there really isn't that much a software program can do for you. You need to develop a system that works for you while keeping all the needed information organized. So start by finding out what others do and work from there.


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## thorin81

I do not think it is wise to use a "soft" prompt book to begin with. There are too many factors that could cause you major issues mid-show (computer crash, power bump, spilled coffee, etc.). With a hard copy of the prompt you eliminate a lot of the issues that could happen otherwise.


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## thebikingtechie

Also in my opinion it's easier to be able to hand write it in, that way you don't have to worry about where you are and you can walk around with it freely.


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## avkid

thebikingtechie said:


> Also in my opinion it's easier to be able to hand write it in, that way you don't have to worry about where you are and you can walk around with it freely.


Tablet computers my friend.

As for software, there isn't a defining piece of stage management software out there yet.
There is some doubt in our minds that there ever will be, mainly because of the nature of the animal.(SM's are quite particular)


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## kwotipka

The website http://www.thedvshow.com/ has some scriptwriting software and other management software but it is mostly for television. Maybe you can adapt it's use for your needs.

kw


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## avkid

I was just told about something interesting:
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/

I used it today, and it works great.


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## Footer

avkid said:


> I was just told about something interesting:
> http://www.online-stopwatch.com/
> I used it today, and it works great.



Ah yes, the 1200 dollar device doing the action of a 10 dollar device... BRILLIANT!... 

Running the downloadable version would not be a bad idea however, at least to have around.


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## thebikingtechie

avkid said:


> Tablet computers my friend.



I still don't want to be carrying around an expensive piece of electronics in a theatre environment just to take some notes. One stupid actor and there goes a thousand bucks down the drain.


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## avkid

thebikingtechie said:


> I still don't want to be carrying around an expensive piece of electronics in a theatre environment just to take some notes. One stupid actor and there goes a thousand bucks down the drain.


That would be why the screens are made of composite materials similar to Lexan.
You can buy steel cases for the computer also.


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## dvsDave

weight and battery life are a factor that needs to be considered as well.

I do think that typing up your notes is always a good idea. I used to use MS Word and turn on the revisions feature so I could place the cue right where I needed it on the right line of the script. It was extremely handy. It takes a bit of work to make it print with the "prompts" and to color code them, but the advantage is that you have a perfect human-readable text (I'll admit, my handwriting is nothing to ...err... write home about)

(I also make the font a lot larger so it's much easier to read in the dark or find your place if you get distracted for a second)


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## PadawanGeek

Pocket pcs are very handy.... except for that one time wen an actor hit my hand that had the PDA in it and it flew up in the air and hit the ground... it still worked but had a bunch of scratches around the edges...


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## LD4Life

In my experience, MS Excel works as good as any. I use it for my light cue sheets for shows. The nice thing about it is that it can be as simple or as elaborate as you want/need. If you don't have MS Office, OpenOffice is a great alternative.


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## bendersen

dvsDave said:


> weight and battery life are a factor that needs to be considered as well.
> I do think that typing up your notes is always a good idea. I used to use MS Word and turn on the revisions feature so I could place the cue right where I needed it on the right line of the script. It was extremely handy. It takes a bit of work to make it print with the "prompts" and to color code them, but the advantage is that you have a perfect human-readable text (I'll admit, my handwriting is nothing to ...err... write home about)
> (I also make the font a lot larger so it's much easier to read in the dark or find your place if you get distracted for a second)



I used this same format for my most recent show, and it was a ton of work, but well worth it. The end result was a fully-modifiable, fully-legible prompt book that anyone could read (my handwriting is not anything to write home about either) and call from.

Typing up notes has a couple benefits -- one of which for me is that I type faster than I write by hand.

However, I do print my book out, I don't use a soft book. The biggest reason was battery life; something I found out the hard way when I realized I was running out of juice during a dress rehearsal. I didn't have a hard copy with me, and had the battery gone, I would not have been able to call cues for the rest of that rehearsal. Thankfully the director ended the rehearasl early!


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## gafftaper

I'm trying to find this free software that I saw a couple years back. It allowed you to load a script into it and then add a bunch of notes. They had a library of about 50 public domain scripts that you could choose from. Or you could scan and upload your own. If remember right it was more for the film industry and story boarding, but it could be customized to work in theater. It may have been the link that Kwotipka was talking about above... but I don't see it on that site now.


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## cdcarter

gafftaper said:


> I'm trying to find this free software that I saw a couple years back. It allowed you to load a script into it and then add a bunch of notes. They had a library of about 50 public domain scripts that you could choose from. Or you could scan and upload your own. If remember right it was more for the film industry and story boarding, but it could be customized to work in theater. It may have been the link that Kwotipka was talking about above... but I don't see it on that site now.



Perhaps Celtx?


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## gafftaper

Yep Celtx is it. I played around with it for a day or so. It is really more for someone writing their own script, comic, or screen play... and then producing it. 

First you have to have a text copy of the script, which of course has all kinds of potential legal issues. Once you have the script you can go through it, highlight a word and then assign that word to a category. So for example if the script says, "Look out it's a snake!", you can highlight the word snake and assign it to the props list. Or you can take the stage description of what an actor's costume looks like and put it on a costume list. It's useful... but I'm not sure how much more useful than just sitting down with a spreadsheet. 

The biggest disappointment is the Notes feature. You can pick any point in the script and add a note. This at first sounds like a great way to add in cues or blocking. But it just isn't executed in a way that would really help an SM. It's close and could probably be REALLY useful with a few tweaks. But it's also free so who's complaining. 

They have a bunch of little symbol packs they sell which again look like an interesting solution for blocking. They are inexpensive and how they make their money. I didn't buy one, but I don't think they are the right symbols.

So, it's close, but not quite what we are looking for. Hey Celtx, if you're listening we would be glad to tell you how to tweak it to be the ultimate theater tool.


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## EricE

Footer said:


> Ah yes, the 1200 dollar device doing the action of a 10 dollar device... BRILLIANT!...


 
What a difference four years makes - refurbished wifi-only iPads can be routinely had on Apple's web site for $350 - and with 10 hours of battery life, it would be a marathon production to outlast one 

There is one stage manager app with mediocre reviews: ShowTool SM for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

Also, I have seen the Bento database application mentioned in a few other threads - they also have an excellent iOS app and it's pretty easy to move databases between iOS devices and Bento - you can create pretty powerful stuff fairly easily. A cue list manager would be fairly simple - in fact I think I may just finally get Bento and work on one myself...


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## chausman

EricE said:


> What a difference four years makes - refurbished wifi-only iPads can be routinely had on Apple's web site for $350 - and with 10 hours of battery life, it would be a marathon production to outlast one
> 
> There is one stage manager app with mediocre reviews: ShowTool SM for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
> 
> Also, I have seen the Bento database application mentioned in a few other threads - they also have an excellent iOS app and it's pretty easy to move databases between iOS devices and Bento - you can create pretty powerful stuff fairly easily. A cue list manager would be fairly simple - in fact I think I may just finally get Bento and work on one myself...


 
Or...more fun iPad 2's can be had for $499.00 + applicable tax!

I don't think iPads are robust enough for theater yet. Even though I do have one (typing from one right now) an have use it for taking notes


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## shiben

chausman said:


> Or...more fun iPad 2's can be had for $499.00 + applicable tax!
> 
> I don't think iPads are robust enough for theater yet. Even though I do have one (typing from one right now) an have use it for taking notes


 
Because all of us have 500 smacks plus 50 a month for 3G just kicking it... Now if I could find a highly paid job...


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## MarshallPope

chausman said:


> Or...more fun iPad 2's can be had for $499.00 + applicable tax!
> 
> I don't think iPads are robust enough for theater yet. Even though I do have one (typing from one right now) an have use it for taking notes


 
I would disagree. I think they are entirely capable of being used, assuming it isn't in such a critical situation that an app crash will cause disaster in the 15 seconds that it takes to restart it. I have only had reason to use mine for a couple of shows thus far, primarily for sound notes, but it has worked well for me. I like to make sure to back up whatever notes I have on my iPad to my iPhone just in case something goes wrong so I won't be completely stranded, but there have been no problems yet.


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## chausman

shiben said:


> Because all of us have 500 smacks plus 50 a month for 3G just kicking it... Now if I could find a highly paid job...


 
Who needs 3G?

MarshallPope said:


> I would disagree. I think they are entirely capable of being used, assuming it isn't in such a critical situation that an app crash will cause disaster in the 15 seconds that it takes to restart it. I have only had reason to use mine for a couple of shows thus far, primarily for sound notes, but it has worked well for me. I like to make sure to back up whatever notes I have on my iPad to my iPhone just in case something goes wrong so I won't be completely stranded, but there have been no problems yet.


 
I think they are stable enough, but after spending a couple hundred dollars (see above), I'd hate to drop it or get it too scratched.


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## MarshallPope

chausman said:


> I think they are stable enough, but after spending a couple hundred dollars (see above), I'd hate to drop it or get it too scratched.


 
Good point. It depends on environment. If I were in a middle school or even a high school, no way. However, I work (primarily) in a university PAC, where both me and my TD have iPads, and there is a bit more care and respect for equipment than in some venues. Mine also lives in its sleeve wnenever it isn't being used, and i use the sleeve as a padded base on top of a console or a music stand. Though, I have found that they can take some abuse. I was leaving class one day and forgot to zip up the sleeve. I noticed as it started to slide out, but only had time to crouch down some to mitigate damage. It fell a couple of feet and slid across a tile floor on its backside and only received a couple of microscopic scratches in the aluminum.

(And now that this is significantly off topic...)


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## EricE

chausman said:


> I think they are stable enough, but after spending a couple hundred dollars (see above), I'd hate to drop it or get it too scratched.


 
Well, I've dropped mine a couple of times with no ill effects. You can't play frisbee with it, but it's not a delicate piece of china either!

As for scratches - I never understood the fascination and obsession over scratches on portable electronics. Neither my iPhone or iPad are in a case - since it takes away, for me, one of their greatest advantages - their size (mainly the thinness). When I quizz my friends about the reason they obsess over scratches they cite resell value - forget that! If I decide to sell my device, they can take it in the condition its in. If someone buying a used device scratch free they can track down one of the overly obsessive or go get a new one. I bought my portable devices to use and I don't mind if they get scratched in the least.

Indeed, I love my ZaggMate case because it protects the front and doesn't increase the thickness of the iPad that much, while providing a nice real physical keyboard for more intense editing sessions (with two shift keys!). The back of my iPad has gotten scratched up more - if I really was concerned about it I could have put a clear protector on - discount and dollar stores have lots to choose from that are cheap, and of course vendors like Zagg sell them too.

On a related note, I am impressed with the iPhone 4 - in a year of hard use all I have to show for it are two minor scratches on the back, one on the front and a small (small head of pin size) chunk from the bottom near the band where I dropped it out of my car onto a rock. It lives in my jeans pocket and I try to remember to keep metal and other hard objects out of my pocket but I occasionally forget - it handles it all well. My iPad and iPhone 3GS are covered in far more scratches on the back and the iPad has a few dimples in the back (!!) where the soft aluminum deformed. I don't expect them to make the back of a future iPad out of gorilla glass due to weight issues, but I wouldn't mind it from a durability standpoint. The iPhone 4 is a tank!


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## chausman

Now go post that on MacRumors and get attacked!

I don't see the overly cautions point of view, but I do like being able to say mine is unscratched. 

As far as software (the original topic ) I have used the notes app that comes with the iOS devices extensively, and if you are lucky enough (like I was) almost the entire production team has iPhone 4's, so we could email and share calendar events easily. And, there are several attendance apps for keeping track of rehearsals that seem to have good ratings. Their is the iRFR app for Eos+Congo consoles that can be used to take notes in that cue and see the current cue. And, iBooks is nice for reading scripts. Even if you can't add notes to it. But, you could take notes throughout rehearsal and then scan the "noted" script to use for shows. 

Ps, multitasking is very nice!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## EricE

chausman said:


> Now go post that on MacRumors and get attacked!







> As far as software ...



All good uses. Here's another one for replacing sheet music. It has some cool features - especially the ability to change key on the fly. You can use a bluetooth pedal to change pages and you can sync multiple iPads with the app so that when the leader changes the page, they all change together - fun stuff:

OnSong for iOS for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store


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## MarshallPope

While we're talking about useful iPad apps, I'm a big fan of Slingnote. My TD found it and showed it to my design professor and me, and we have all found it very useful. It has a built-in web browser in which you can circle any web content you want to save and drag it over to a notepad-type thing, where you can add notes and return to the site from where you got the snippet. It is terrific for the research phase of design.


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## thomp01d

I recently purchased a NOOK Color for this exact reason. It supports read-only documents, transferable via USB. There is also the QuickOffuce suite via the B&N online store. Also includes web, flash, and email. I work at a large and VERY busy roadhouse during the school year and having all of my production papetwork readily available in one place is invaluable. You can also hack it and run all Android apps. Worried about damage? Get insurance or an extended warranty. Best part? $250.

We have also installed rackmounted computers in the boothes and on deck for this very purpose. Event and personnel management suites such as EMS and EBMS can also reduce a significant amount of SM paperwork.

Still, if you're in a theatre sitiation that is very cue-heavy, for the love of Pete, have a backup.

With a little adjustment to your work practice, you can find a solution. The only thing I print anymore is setup diagrams for crewbs.


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## JVV

I installed Good Reader for my Ipad. I think there is a free version and then a more pro paid version. You can use it to notate PDF scripts. So far I have used it to take Design Notes and I worked with a Sound Op that wrote his cues in it. Im not sure I would instruct my students to use it for an SM call script. Then again, I still prefer to draft by hand...


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## trpullen

I use the iPad all the time for sheet music. Very nice on a dark stage.

The single greatest thing I have found so far is Office2HD and either a Box.net/Dropbox/GoogleDocs account. It syncs all your docs to the cloud allowing you to access them from the iPad or any desktop. Very handy when working stuff out.


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