Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1995 - 41

* SPECIFIC FIELDS OF CUE SHEETS
There are eight fields of information that are required in me
preliminary cue sheets. They are the CUE UMBER of the cue,
the unique label or SOUND arrached ro each cue, me CUE mat
causes me change in the sonic environment, the SPEAKER (or
speaker presets) involved in me change of sound, me DECK
that is involved in the sound change, a DESCRIPTION or message area for communicating imporram information abour
the cue, the anticipated TIME of the cue, and the PAGE number from the script on which me change occurs.
CUE U lBER: Ir is imporrant ro assign a unique number or
lerrer ro each occurrence of a change in me sound in me production (excluding me spoken script). Sound cues tend ro be
developed much earlier and change much more orren during
me production process man lighting or omer cues. In a small
show wim less man 20 cues, it may be feasible ro use lerrers
instead of numbers so mat me lighting cues and sound cues
don't get confused during me running of me show. This procedure is also useful when me sound board operaror is inexperienced or unfamiliar wim me show and requires me
assistance of me stage manager in executing me sound cues. In
mis siruation, me stage manager calls me sound cues over a
headset system, and it is very easy for me sound and lighting
cues ro become misundersrood if mey are very similar.
However, large shows with experienced sound board
operarors are a very different srory. Ir is usually unnecessary
for me stage manager ro call sound cues as me sound board
operaror is very experienced both wim the show and with
the equipment. 3 In large, complicated shows, me use of
headsets by me sound board operaror is not advisable, not
only because of the way me headsets interfere wim me
sound board operaror hearing the show as the audience hears
it, bur also because of the increased amount of distractions
created by unrelated talking on the headset by the stage
manager, light board operaror, etc.
Large shows are also more likely ro have me sound board
operaror located in the audience ro ensure mat me sound
board operaror hears the show in me same way mat the audience hears it. Conversing on a headset increases the possibility that the sound board operaror will distract the audience
from the performance. Finally, large shows usually have well
over 100 sound cues, and this makes me use of letters
extremely cumbersome, and the inserrion of new cues even
more awkward. A berrer system is ro use sound numbers in
increments of 10: Sound Cue lOis the first cue, Sound Cue
20 is the second cue, etc. This numbering system allows
great flexibility ro inserr cues between two cue numbers.
* ZounDesigner wilL enter the cue numbers automaticaLly for
when you insert a cue. However, you may manuaLly change
them and then use the sort or renumber command to put them
in the proper ordel: The cues start with number 10 and are
incremented by 10 each time you use the "Insert Cue" com-

Y0lt

mand. /fyou insert a cue between two numbers, it wiLL create a
new cue number that is halfway in between the two cues. For
exampLe, ifyou insert a cue between CUE 10 and CUE 20, the
new cue wiLL be CUE 15. /fyou click on the word "Cue #"you
wiLL be prompted for a cue number. Enter a cue number and
click "OK" and the program wiLL take you to the card for that
cue in the stack.

SOUND: Assign a one-word name to each sound ro which the
entire production team can refer. This can be trickier than it
sounds. Ir is exuemely imporrant in complicated shows that
every member of the production team communicates precisely. If members of me production team use different
names for me same cue, confusion and errors can develop.
Listen very carefully ro hear if the direcror has developed a
pet name for a cue. In me event mat the direcror doesn't supply a name for me cue, try ro develop a name that is simple
and catchy, so mat me entire production team will use it.
A special case of assigning names ro cues is me development of memes in a production. In mese occasions, try ro
use a unique one word name for me theme. Assign a unique
number arrer me name (e.g., Dog 3, Hamlet 2, etc.) for each
reoccurrence of the theme. This will help you keep track of
how you are developing your memes over me course of me
production.
* ZounDesigner aLLows you to track themes with similar titles.
When you click on the "Track Theme" button, the program wiLL
dispLay the next occurrence ofthefirst word in thefield "Sound. "
For exampLe, ifyou are viewing the cue cmd for "Hamlet 5, "
clicking on "Track Theme, " wiLL take you to the next occurrence
ofthe theme, e.g. "Hamlet 6," or even back to "HamLet 1. "This
makes it easy to study the aesthetics ofthematic usage in a production. Also, note that you can find any sound in the cue sheets
by clicking on the word, "SOUND." A prompt wiLL ask you to type
in the name of the sound for which you are Looking, and wiLL
take you to the cmdfor that cue.
CUE: Cueing is one of most difficult aspects of a production to predict, as when a sound starrs and srops depends
greatly on the fully staged scenes. As a general rule sound
is best starred and sropped on visual actions rather than on
spoken lines. Sound cues almost always need ro occur on
actor beats (a change in thought or motivation on the parr
of the acror). If sound is thought of as another character in
the play, it is easy ro see why one would not starr a sound
in the middle of an acror's line, unless the sound was
meant ro interrupt the acror. The same rule of thumb
holds uue for a sound fading Out. A sudden silence in the
middle of a speech can cause the audience ro not be able ro
hear the last parr of the speech! Any change in the audirory environment will tend to distract from the action of
the stage. To prevent this, it is extremely important ro find
moments in the scene in which the major action is the
starr or end of a sound cue.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1995