CNN: From Elsa's magic in Frozen -- and those gigantic ice shards that rise from the stage -- to social media taking on a nearly principle role in Dear Evan Hansen, the Great White Way produces some of Broadway's most elaborate and technical stage spectacles two times a day.
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I know change is important, and I know it is unavoidable, but there are some things about this that scare me. Blocking and scripts for stage managers can totally be on IPads. I think that's a great way for us to be a little more sustainable. I think it is a good way to distribute script changes once actors are off book, but IPads die, paper does not. IPads crash and crack, paper does not. I would be a little anxious with actors using these onstage instead of paper scripts. I would be extremely anxious using an IPad instead of a calling script. I think tablets can work okay for blocking, I really do, but I simply don't trust them to stay alive and operational at such a crucial time as during a performance. The risks outweigh the decreased environmental impact. I do think it is important to reduce paper waste though, and would be happy to use a tablet for rehearsals, but the added risk of technological difficulties is too much for me to give into this new technology just yet.
I have used my iPad for scripts in the past and I really do love it for blocking and for anything that takes place during rehearsals. Changing blocking notes on an iPad is much easier than by hand in pencil, you don’t need to worry about eraser marks or printing new pages. Also 15 minutes later when the director says they want it back the original way, the undo button is your best friend. I do agree with Kaylie here that using an iPad as my calling script leaves so much room for error and I know that I would just feel more comfortable using a paper calling script. Throughout all of high school I was in the orchestra and all of our music was on our iPads and based on the amount of times someone would be freaking out the day of the concert because their iPad crashed or died or their music just got deleted would definitely steer me away from wanting to use iPads for scripts and cues during shows. Bur for everything that needs to happen during rehearsals I am in full support of using iPads and saving all of that paper and making everyone’s lives easier.
Honestly, the fact that it took this long to start entirely digitizing prompt books and bibles is honestly surprising to me. Even just at CMU a lot of the stuff we do is kept on a google doc, yet we still print everything out and also keep it in a paper bible. Not only does this seem kind of counterintuitive (If you make a tiny change you have to print out an entirely new document) but also as our generation comes into the working theater world, we will have an easier time than ever before getting along with computers and digitized prompt books. This app looks very useful in reducing paper waste, and making sure everyone is on the same page in the process, because with this app the lighting designer can see the costume designers notes, or the director can reference the scenic designers concept while they're blocking. The fact that it took this long is just a testament to this industry's fear of change, and it's something that should be phased in outside of broadway. The only thing I don't like is that the software appears to be 500 dollars per production, and to run it entirely off an ipad would mean that everyone involved has to have one. If it could be made computer or other tablet friendly it would be a lot more doable for regional theater and high schools, who wouldn't be able to buy everyone their own ipad pro. I think that being able to use this program synced to the cloud would really limit the amount of fear that my peers have displayed, because then if the device crashed it's always accessible somewhere else. Also, if you really think about it, an ipad crashing is the least of your technological worries on a large scale production. So many other things are much more likely to go wrong.
I love that the Broadway world is finally updating their technology for the rehearsal space. I remember reading an article about ProductionPro and wondering why it hadn’t taken off in the Broadway world. Finally, they are taking the steps to get rid of giant production books and streamlining communication and instant updates. I think this system is going to work really well in the future and had the potential to completely replace the paper system. However, there are a few things that can be concerning. One of them is the hardware needed to run ProductionPro. While Broadway has plenty of funding to provide management with iPads, it’s unfortunate for those who can’t afford the technology because they won’t have access to the network. Also, often iPads are only good for a few years and then slow down. This can negatively affect the functionality of an iPad and cause problems for production. This means that either the company needs to provide the hardware, or each individual will need to buy an $800 piece of technology to receive basic and necessary information.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about the use of apps in the world of stage management. I think this is a great way to keep record of your show. I think in the moment it will take a team longer to adjust but once they start adjusting to using an Ipad I think things will run even better. Some of the comments above raise a good point about what if it dies or crashes. I think this is not an issue as lighting and sound all use technology that could crash or die and while there are hiccups every once in a while the use of technology defiantly makes their design process and tech go much quicker. I think this is the future of stage management but It will take a bit of time. A lot of the Broadway stage managers are older and might have reservations against using this type of technology. I think if schools start teaching students how to use these apps, they will become the future of stage management.
I think it’s wonderful that Broadway is embracing this new technology. Not only will ProductionPro be fasters and more efficient, but it is greener. I personally would be concerned that during a show something would happen, so I probably would not feel safe without a paper backup for performances. However, during rehearsals and tech, I see this app being greatly beneficial. What surprised me most in this article is the range of institutions that use the product. High School and Community theaters have very different needs than Broadway and Disney, so I’m surprised that they are all able to use the same product. I’d be curious to how the product changes to work for different companies needs. Also, some Equity contracts prohibit recording the actors without notice so we will see how they react to recording the choreography in the app. It will be interesting to see how this app continues to take off or if another app begins to gain popularity.
As a Stage Manager, I think that there are both benefits and drawbacks to this push to digitize paperwork for any given production. The overarching benefit is that this drastically reduces the paper waste we create on a daily basis in Theatre, but specifically in Stage Management alone with script changes, daily reports, etc. that get sent to many people in the company every single day. This is without a doubt something we need to keep striving towards, as Theatre is a very wasteful industry and needs to focus on including green practices into its mission. Additionally, this is a wonderful way to keep all information (especially in a production book) in one place for easy access and retrieval, and I especially like that the videos can be found directly above the scenes, so that they can be quickly pulled up in the moment to show Directors or actors. We were visited last year by two Cirque SMs, who showed us their digital calling scripts. This system works spectacularly for them, as all of the contingency plans for any given movement can be accessed through links on each line. This is necessary in such a high-stakes production setup, where mere seconds can make a difference in a performer's safety.
My main concerns with digital scripts, are the fact that technology is great when it works, but what happens when it crashes or everything gets accidentally lost/deleted? I feel that, even if it is just after the show is set on opening, there needs to be a backup physical script with *everything* in it, just in case it needs to be re-entered into the program again. Even less extreme than this, what happens when there is a glitch during a show and your device has frozen or shut down in the middle of a cue-heavy number? So, I am nervous. But I do think it can work, if we have these backups. On a daily basis, where I worked this summer had everyone on a distribution list, and they could choose to only receive emailed reports/script changes etc. by simply emailing us. This also leaves the door open to members of the team who aren't accustomed to looking at a screen like this, and need the physical copy in order to function efficiently.
I think I am in the same boat as many people when it comes to theatre going digital. While I am excited about things or opportunities that may open up if the technology makes things more efficient or allows people to work in ways that they were not able to previously, I share the same fear that technology is fickle, and that might not bode well for our industry. We have enough predictability to deal with already, so adding more seems like it could do more harm than good, but on the other hand it might just end up being a period of adjustment where, yes, things go wrong, but eventually it makes our industry better as a whole. I am excited about the possible paper it could same, as theatre does tend to be pretty wasteful in that sense, but of course we would have to balance that with the impact of charging the devices and the green costs that are associated with that.
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