Paper Tech

Big thank you to Meryl, stage manager extraordinaire, for essentially doing all the rest of paper tech for all crews!

What is paper tech? This is a meeting where the director, designers, and stage manager go through the show page by page to place cues and talk through the technical aspects of the show. Here's an example from the end of Scene 5:

• Track 12 Ends
  
• LQ31 - blackout
• XQ11 - greys close, set to portrait hall
• XQ12 - Actors pre-set with frames
• LQ32 - Inside Look 2
• LQ33 - Smalls on Morticia and Alice

Translation: As soon as Fester is done singing "But Love Reprise 1" at the end of Scene 5, stage lights are turned off and the grey curtains close. Stage crew sets the scene for the portrait hall, including giving picture frames to the actors who take their place on stage in the dark. The lights go up with a particular mood  called "Inside Look 2" with the small spotlight (nicknamed Smalls to differentiate it from our big spotlight called Biggie) following the actors portraying Morticia and Alice.

Paper tech is tedious and takes forever, but is crucial to a smoothly running production. ​