It is vital that decisions made by actors, designers and directors during rehearsals are communicated to the relevant departments and staff in the rest of the organisation. This job falls to the Stage Management team. The Deputy Stage Manager has specific responsibility for information coming out of rehearsals. He or she sits in the rehearsal room, making notes of what is required for the production from each department and, very importantly, why it is needed.
Here are some notes from a production of Macbeth directed by Adrian Noble [RSC, 1993] which were sent to 3 departments: Props, Wigs and Make-up and Wardrobe.
A new dagger prop is needed. The Witches will score Macbeth's chestwith a dagger which ideally should produce blood on his chest. This needs to be a double of his other dagger.
Mr. Ravenscroft (Banquo) would like a blood bag to release in his mouth during the banquet scene. He should be very bloody in general, which might mean having a source of blood on set in the previous scene.
Blood bags possible for when the Macduff children are murdered. One is stabbed in the stomach and one has his throat slit.
Mr. Jacobi's shirt for the Apparitions scene [Act 4 scene 1] must be able to open down the front. The Witches will score his chest with a knife (see PROP note above).
The bottom of Mrs Macduff's frock may need to be reinforced. It comes in for some welly when she gets murdered.
The Macduff sons will get bloodied when they get murdered.
The maintenance wardrobe department is responsible for cleaning costumes during the run, so it is particularly important for them to know which costumes will get blood on them on stage.
Here are some of the props needed for a production of Macbeth [RSC, 1996]:
Ribena (low sugar or sugar-free)
We may need burnt sugar for 'blood mix'
Porridge - very important not to be made with milk as one of the kids is allergic to it
For banquet scene - approximately 16 falafel and 2 loaves of Scofa Bread (large round flat soda bread) per show
Witches' goodies - at present we are using dried fruit (raisins, apricots, bananas) and liquorice bootlaces from Woolworths
During a performance, the Assistant Stage Manager ensures the smooth running of the show from the deck alongside the Stage Manager. The ASM is responsible for checking that actors have the props they need and makes sure actors and staff are where they should be, ready for their cues. In Act 2 scenes 2 & 3 of Macbeth, the stage directions ask for the sound of knocking. The following cheat sheet was used by the Assistant Stage Manager [RSC, 1996], who was behind the scenes, knocking on a 1940s dining table with a couple of hammers when the cue light turned green.
See if you can perform the scene using this cheat sheet, getting the right kinds of knocks in the right places!
1st green cue light |
4 x loud and rapid knocks |
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2nd green cue light |
3 x knocks with attitude |
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3rd green cue light |
4 x loud and rapid knocks |
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4th green cue light |
3 x very loud |
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5th green cue light |
8x/9x - on Porter's entrance |
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6th green cue light |
Stop! Porter puts his jacket on |
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7th green cue light |
knock knock - on the word 'wave' |
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8th green cue light |
knock knock - on the word 'key' |
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9th green cue light |
knock knock - on the word 'napkins' |
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10th green cue light |
knock knock - on the word 'equivocator' |
Next knock knock comes after "tailor, hose, goose"
Last long knock is on "bonfire" until you hear the second "anon".
Try creating your own knocking cheat sheet. Discuss how the sound of knocking can create tension in the scene. How frequent, rapid and loud would you like the knocking to be? Would you like your knocking to have "attitude"?!
The following list of cues describes an assistant stage manager's job during the first half of one production of Macbeth [RSC 1996]. Note the precise timings given for each action.
Q1. |
00:00/53 |
Check the actors are standing by for beginners. Take spray bottle to wet them when they come off stage. |
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Q1A |
00:30/53 |
Shine torch for witches to get off stage Down Stage Right. |
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Q2 |
09:00/59 |
Assistant J. Whiteside [Witch 1] down Stage Right Proscenium steps. |
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Q3 |
35:00/74 |
Ring tubular bell once with hammer on green light cue. |
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Q4 |
38:00/77 |
Knocking at Stage Left Assembly: see attached knocking cheat sheet. Go directly to prompt desk area and cue the props staff to light the cigarette (as soon as you get there) and then cue the porter for his entrance. Collect Mr Quast's sword [Banquo] from Opposite Prompt Side wings and bring it to Prompt Side. |
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Q5 |
1:08:00 |
Go to sub stage to assist Mr. Quast [Banquo] down hole under forestage ramp. |
Strike all props except the 3 Witches' swords on forestage
Mop up all liquid and blood
Set blood sponge on back of onstage bench
Set two wooden daggers on the Prompt Side props table
Wash glasses and bottles
After every performance, the stage manager writes a show report, giving details of any incidents that have occurred. Problems can be wide ranging:
Loosing their voices
Being injured on stage or even falling off the stage
Forgetting to wear moustaches!
Understudies going on if another actor has to miss a show through illness
machinery not starting
scenery getting jammed
revolving sets moving too fast
missed cues e.g. for flying in scenery
scene changes being too noisy
blood bags bursting too soon in fight scenes
arriving late and holding up the curtain
noisy audiences, coughing or talking
whistling hearing aids
taking flash photographs
taking too long to return to the auditorium after the interval. At one performance, fights broke out between two schools at a matinee andthe second half was 15 minutes late going up
Here are some extracts from show reports from a production of Macbeth at the RSC in 1996:
In scene 2.2., Mr Allam stopped and asked the audience to try to stop coughing. He said this would help him a lot. Then there was a round of applause.
Mainly schools audience. Polo mints and sugar cubes thrown on stage.
Mr Hesker hit Miss Brennan's head against the wall as he carried her off after she 'fainted'. There was a big laugh from the audience, so big that the company had to stop acting briefly till they settled. Miss Brennan was not hurt.
Mr Quast called an engineer down as he was so disgusted with the smell of fish and chips in the Prompt Side wing. The engineer thought it was fried chicken. In Part Two, other cast members suggested it was garlic bread, toast, cabbage or pizza, but I think weshould be looking for someone cooking Chinese stir fry, heavy on the soy sauce.
A woman in the audience screamed "Oh my God!" when the Macduff child was killed.
One show report from 1993 read, "Miss Campbell hit on the arm by flying bread board in banquet scene."