www.broadwayworld.com: Theater folks are not necessarily the first to embrace change or technology. So it's not surprising when you walk into a rehearsal room and see creatives sitting with giant binders of paper. But certain companies are trying to change that.
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This article describes a new program that would make notetaking on paper and writing out blocking superfluous. I think this program is pretty interesting but I do not think it should be assumed that everyone will like it. There is value in taking notes on paper; I find that writing things out manually helps me understand them better. There are, however, probably times when writing out blocking manually does more harm than good. If a set of blocking is particularly complicated, it may actually be more beneficial to have this program that can accurately track the path of the actors without having to depict a bunch of complicated pathways. In musicals, especially, I think it must be incredibly helpful to have this program to decipher the choreography and organize this information in a comprehensive way. While I do not think that this program will necessarily be loved by everyone, I think it is valuable and could be incredibly useful in the industry.
My first reaction to this is that it is absolute genius. I’m surprised that this type of technology hasn’t become more popular within the theater setting. As most things are, the transition to a “new” method will be long and slow, but I think that it’s crucial that we, as artists, keep moving forward and embracing new methods and technology. From what I can tell, Stage Write and ProductionPro are incredibly innovative and are exactly what the entertainment world needs. I’m surprised there aren’t more programs and I’m curious to see when these programs will be implemented on a large scale and become the standard in the entertainment world. Nowadays, the business moves so fast and there are hundreds of people involved in the process. Instead of constantly printing and sending emails, these programs are streamlining communications between actors, designers, directors, managers, producers, and writers. The ability to instantly view a changed script in real times saves hours if not days and, as they say, time is money.
This program makes me feel baffled. This invention is so extremely useful, yet so simple. The article even states that this isn’t groundbreaking technology, yet it’s what so many productions need. I don’t know why it’s not more commonly used. I agree paper is nice, but having the communication between all production members is much more important than liking the feeling of a pencil and paper. I see how useful this software is, but I also wish it was more readily available to the general public, and not cost so much money. I feel as if this can even be useful in low level productions, but can see how having a price tag will put off many small-time productions. I would love to play around on it, the fact that you can tie so much into the script; the blocking, lighting cues, images and more is so good for seeing the big picture for a show. Maybe someday this program will be compatible with sound boards to help make sure that anyone not in a scenes mics are turned down. There are so many useful tools in this for actors, directors, and designers alike, I hope to get a chance to fiddle with the program before I am handed it on a job.
Though I am about as far away from a stage manager as you can get and still be in the realm of design and production, this application appears to be an extremely useful and powerful tool, at least at first glance. This app tracks blocking, movement, and cues in an extremely effective and easy to understand way. It seems that many theatres and productions would be reluctant to use a program such as this, as especially the industry of theatre is often slow to adopt new technologies. However, it does appear that Broadway is beginning to use this program very effectively, despite its first development in 2012. This article mentions that both Hamilton and Book of Mormon utilize StageWrite for blocking movement in their shows. It will be interesting to see if the regional and local theatre scene will be just as eager to adopt this program, or a similar development.
I do not know why I am so surprised to learn about this technology, but I am. It is pretty exciting to think about the repercussions of Stage Write, in particular. Lighting designers could take blocking and choreography mapped out from early stages of rehearsal and use them to generate plots--and then update their plots by checking the file as changes happen in the rehearsal room. Stage managers could have a clear and accurate representation of what exactly the director’s plan is for a scene. All kinds of rehearsal leaders could communicate blocking or choreography information to multilingual casts by simply showing them an image representing the goals. It seems like a fairly simple piece of software, but it is a total game-changer. And best yet, it is relatively affordable.
At CMU, we are trained to use technology as little as possible. Laptops are strongly discouraged in the rehearsal room, and we are told to take paper notes in meetings. To have a digital script would mean that you are unprepared. This summer, my stage manager worked exclusively digitally. Her call script was entirely on Microsoft Word, and she would record blocking in small text boxes in Word as well. I don't necessarily agree with this method, since I didn't feel like it was very effective in recording big picture blocking, but this software sounds like it might be very useful. Stage Write is something that I have never heard of, which makes me automatically skeptical of its usefulness, but I am always excited by the idea of reducing wasted paper products in theatre, which is a huge problem. Given how slow theatre is to make changes, this will probably take a while to become the norm, but I certainly hope that it will begin to make waves soon.
It’s about time! ProductionPro seems like it may revolutionize the world and I am all for it, but personally if i ever work with it I’ll be getting an Ipad. Working on a computer is great for most things, but when it comes to reading, moving my eyes down the text as i read just cannot be replicated on a computer, especially when trying to interact with the text and take useful notes and losing that capability would dramatically reduce my understanding and depth of the text. I am curious to know how quickly this program will take off, It seems like a no-brainer all new shows (with the budget) could just use it immediately, but obviously that's not the case. I wonder what keeping CMU from using it. In the long run as we transition to more paperless solutions, I believe online apps like ProductionPro are the key to tomorrow.
Personally, it is amusing to imagine all the stage managers sitting behind their iPads, trying to figure out the new technology while not missing a thing going on in the room. But, it’s not that different from being buried in binders and papers anyways. New technologies are great when adapted appropriately. What really caught my eye in the article was the video by ProductionPro. At the end of the video, Alexander Libby said that ProductionPro partnered with Music Theatre International and Disney and will be providing their program to 60,000 school productions a year. It is a brilliant idea that will automatically breed many loyal users in the future from ProductionPro’s point of view. But what I worry is the gap between the upcoming generation and the relatively older generations. Some of the stage managers I worked with struggle with Microsoft Office products, and were fine using Windows 98. I wish we could come up with a method for rather graceful and accommodating period of transition.
This is something that I find to be really cool! Due to the fact that this is targeted towards one of our departments that consumes the most significant amount of paper. Many of those misgivings that people have about it should all be put to rest due to the fact that such a large number of big Broadway names have used and still use this program. I spent some more time digging around on their website for the product and found this, "With our unique digital method the user only needs to enter the stage dimensions ONE TIME, create an actor icon ONE TIME, and then easily drag the icons into the desired positions. The Stage Write method saves you time to focus on what really matters in the rehearsal room. The final product is clean, clear and easy-to-share. It lives on your device for easy reference and collaboration." which then cause the reality of this beautiful product to truly start to set in. Not only does it makes the department green but it also allows for more consistent and standardized communication across the department or season as a whole. Knowing what it's going to look like before you get the information is extremely helpful in fast paces environments.
So I know one of our faculty uses stage write for blocking and tracking. On the one hand, this software sounds great, "The software, which was originally released in 2012 as an iPad App, tracks movement and traffic patterns of actors, props and scenery," which is all great information to have. The article is clearly in favor of this technological advancement, and I have to admit that there are certain benefits. I do know too though that the professor here that uses it asks for the software information to be printed out, and he uses that as the bible, and stage management modifies the print out. I know that many stage managers are wary of electronic books for calling cues and blocking because technology always has a chance of failing, while my printed script with cues never has to worry about battery power or god forbid internet connection. I love the idea that we are modernizing and bracing out into creative solutions for tracking, but wonder too what the cost is for this software is and how much upkeep and management it needs. How easy is it to make change? Is it faster than me erasing and rewriting something?
This article begins weirdly by saying that people in theatre are usually the last to embrace a change in technology. I disagree with that entirely, I think a theatre is a great place for innovation both on stage and behind the scenes. As for the new software, I find it very interesting and potentially effective. It is no secret that theatre uses a lot of paper from scripts to a stage managers binder but Stage Write could help in at least one of those situations. By replacing a designer or managers “bible” with an electronic version using Stage Write, the reliability and the ability to share a file amongst other designers could be the productivity theatre has been lacking. Personally, I am all for trying out new online productivity and organizational software that could help me become more organized with my designs and streamline how design ideas are shared with other members of a creative team.
I think theatre as a whole is still torn about whether or not to go paperless in the rehearsal room. I do think, like any big technological change, it is going to take time not matter what, so I think it is unrealistic to expect that all theaters and rehearsal rooms should go paperless immediately. I know people who have recently worked with companies that still call actors over the phone to inform them of the next day's rehearsal schedule, so I think expecting those companies to switch to digital everything might be a little unrealistic. I do think that the more green we can make the theatre industry the better, so I think if these digital tools are something that works for you and your company then I am all for using them to their fullest extent. I think this could be a great part of the growing green initiative movement in theatre.
I would say this headline is definitely a little misleading. When I hear about paperless rehearsal rooms, I usually think about the rehearsal experience holistically, not just one part. And sadly, this article only really talked about eliminating one piece of the paper-filled puzzle that is rehearsals. But putting that expectation aside, this article was a very good introduction to stagwrite, which is a software gaining some traction in the theatrical community right now. I know here at CMU, Tome often uses the software when he’s blocking shows. It’s been helpful to the team, although I know that often the managers on those shows don’t use the software and are often printing his notes to mark up anyway. The only way I could see a software like this really reducing environmental impact is if there was a commitment from every member of the team to use it consistently. Regardless, this is certainly a step in the right direction.
This program seems like it is something that a lot of theaters could really benefit from. So often I see scripts printed single sided so the other side can have blocking notes on this. This is a huge waste of paper. In high school, I started using my iPad Pro to take notes in all of my classes. I think this is something that could easily be implemented into the rehearsal space for blocking notes and even more. Things like excel notebooks and word documents can easily be edited on the new iPads and would allow for a huge reduction in paper use. While this app may be a small step, it is a step towards going paperless. I think the next step, and this is something that could easily be done by the School of Drama, is to get a couple iPad Pros and work with them for a little and see if we like it.
After reading this article I both see how this technology would be useful, and also understand why someone would prefer pencil and paper. The arguments in favor of apps like this are great- it saves paper and streamlines the process by eliminating the need to draw out complex movement patterns or choreography, and allows for easy sharing and collaboration on documents. From experience, I know that collaborative technology can be insanely helpful- google drive, for example, was an integral part of my high school drama experience due to how it let everyone access and edit live-updated copies of various spreadsheets and documents. But technology can also get in the way of simple tasks, sometimes by forcing everyone to work within the same unfamiliar organizational system, or just making things more complex than they need to be. For small and simple notes, for me, nothing beats just grabbing a pencil and paper. The only other obstacle for me would be the cost, which could be prohibitive to many and is probably why usage of these programs is not extremely widespread. Overall I think programs like these could be incredibly useful in certain contexts, especially in large shows and musicals with complex blocking or choreography, but I’m not sure they would be a perfect fit in every theater with every show.
I go back and forth a lot about whether technology in a rehearsal room or in a booth is useful or not, and I always come back to the idea that it is if it doesn't break. I just don't think that technology will ever be as consistent as a pencil and paper and part of what makes a good stage manager good is consistency. I can think of nothing more tragic than forgetting an ipad charger and losing a whole show half way through because it is dead, or dropping your laptop and not having anything saved outside of it. I see the environmentalism that comes from using technology and I respect the need to save the environment but there are other ways than replacing full scripts. I think technology is a great tool for stage managers and information sharing is essential to what we do but it should be used to help support pencil and paper and not replace it because at the end of the day pencil and paper will always be there, and your tablet just might break.
I love how there are so many green tools for stage managers out there. Tools which keep the professions goals and overall concerns accounted for. However I do not love the prices of this products, if we look at the target audience those prices are really high. For the average stage manager out there, trying to acquire a tool that would make their job easy but it’s a significant investment. Don’t get me wrong am not asking for them to be free, everyone should get paid for the things they create. But I think we should take a look at who supplies this for stage managers, would this expense go to the production budget? Should companies own the apps and pass on the log in information to the managers as they come? I really don’t think stage managers should be the ones purchasing this even if it is for their own ease of work.
This is a interesting article about apps or softwares that are helping pull back on the amount of waste that we experience in the paper work. As the article states “None of this is groundbreaking technology. It all seems fairly standard in 2018. But there just isn't that much of it for the theater. There aren't many options out there. It is a niche market that doesn't attract a ton of developers.” that is honestly the biggest determining factor I feel for theater to possibly go reasonably paper less, there just aren’t enough of us in the theater industry to really help drive a investment into try to produce more software for theater in mind. There is also the fact that most of the softwares that are available to make things more paperless generally do not do a great job in communicating with each but there is hope for the future with more and more developers out there.
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