ABSTRACT
Maintaining the script and all documentation of your production in a single location is not just
a good idea; it is a primary responsibility of the stage manager, and one specifically articu-
lated by Actors’ Equity Association. The following language is excerpted from the Council of
Resident Stock Theatres (CORST) Agreement, but nearly every rule book contains a similar
paragraph within the section outlining the duties of the stage manager:
Assemble and maintain the Prompt Book, which is defined as the accurate playing text
and stage business, together with such cue sheets, plots, daily records, etc., as are
The prompt book contains the official production script along with charts and lists both created
by and distributed to the stage manager-everything necessary to run the show. In a profes-
sional setting, the book is the property of the theatre after the production closes, either as an
archival reference for other shows or as the primary resource for future productions of the play
done at this theatre or by this director.
