Read more about the ShakespeareInstitute Collection
The Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham is an internationally renowned research institution established in 1951 to push the boundaries of knowledge about Shakespeare studies and Renaissance drama.
What is a prompt book?
A prompt book is the working document used by a stage manager (SM) or assistant stage manager (ASM) in order to check that all aspects of a theatrical production run smoothly. Any cuts and/or annotations to the original text are recorded in the prompt copy. Set against this working text are detailed directions for actions, cues for lighting, music and stage effects. These are often linked to specific lines or words in the text. They will often contain stage diagrams, lists of settings, properties, etc. The prompt book is the stage manager's tool for checking that everything that is meant to happen on stage happens when it is supposed to. For theatre researchers they give a detailed picture of what a production was like, how directorial decisions and/or textual cuts influenced the interpretation of a text.
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