How to make a cue sheet from a script PDF

A cue sheet is the list an operator works from: each cue's number, the page and line it goes on, and what happens. Most are typed into a spreadsheet by reading down the marked-up script. That works until the first cue moves, and then there are two versions of the truth.

What goes on a cue sheet

Every department wants the cue number, the page, and the line or word it goes on. After that the columns differ:

Lighting: what the cue does and its fade time.
Sound: the content, the action (play, stop, fade, loop) and a level or routing.
Follow spots: pickup, position, size and colour or level.
Flys: the item, the direction, the speed, and the standby and go points.

The DSM also wants a master cue list: every department in running order, which is what the show is called from.

Use the page numbers printed on the page

A script's page 1 is rarely the PDF's page 1: there is a cover, a cast list, inserts. A cue sheet that says "page 47" because that is where the PDF viewer was will send the operator to the wrong place. Use the number printed on the script. Cuemark reads it from the header or footer, checks the sequence really counts up, and uses it everywhere, with the PDF page alongside when the two differ.

Make the sheet from the marks

The sheet should be made from the marks rather than typed beside them, so that moving a cue moves its row. In Cuemark:

Mark each cue on the word it fires on (see marking up a prompt book).
Fill in the department's fields in the cue editor as you go, or later in the tech.
Open Sheets… (Ctrl/Cmd+E) and choose one department, or the master cue list.
Export as PDF to print, or as CSV, text or Markdown for a spreadsheet or an email.

A department's sheet has its own columns. On the master list, each department's details are gathered into one column so the whole show fits across the page.

Keep it current through the tech

Cues move, get cut and get added as point cues. Make those changes in the script, then export the sheet again; there is nothing to keep in step by hand. Date each printed sheet so an old one in the booth is easy to spot.

Give each operator their own book as well

A sheet tells the operator what happens; the script tells them when. Cuemark can export a copy of the script for each department with only their cues on it, and the matching cue sheet beside it, in one go.

Without Cuemark

Use a spreadsheet with one tab per department and one row per cue, with columns for the number, printed page, the line it goes on, and the department's own details. Re-check it against the book after every rehearsal where anything changed. It is slow, but it is the job the software saves you from.