Stage management drill questions and answers
A practice tool for stage management students and teachers: a director's blocking note is read aloud, you put the actor on a ground plan and write the shorthand, and the drill marks the result.
For the notation itself, start with the guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cuedrill?
A practice tool for stage management students and teachers. A director's blocking note is read aloud, you put the actor on a ground plan and write the shorthand, and the drill marks the actor, the area, the move and the notation. A second drill reads a scene while you call warn, standby and go.
Is it free?
The daily blocking drill, every Trifles scene untimed, the notation key, the guides, the blank prompt book pages, one saved cue sheet and your totals are free forever with no account. Premium adds the other scripts, the calling drill, timed runs, projection, the history and the certificate.
Where do the scenes come from?
14 scenes from 4 public domain plays on Project Gutenberg: Trifles by Susan Glaspell (ebook 10623), A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen in R. Farquharson Sharp's translation (ebook 2542), and The Proposal and The Bear by Anton Chekhov in Julius West's translation (ebook 7986). The staging, ground plans and cues are invented for practice: 137 blocking notes and 56 cues.
Whose blocking notation does it use?
Yours. There is no single standard, so you set your own tokens in the notation key before a drill, and the grader reads your shorthand against it. A starter key with common choices is set to begin with.
Does it need a microphone or speakers?
No microphone. The notes and scenes are spoken by your browser's own voice. With no voice available, each note is shown as text and the calling drill runs on a caption clock instead.
How is calling timed?
Each line is spoken as one piece, and the drill records when it starts and ends. Every go point sits at the start or end of a line, and your warn, standby and go are timed against those points.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Any name you type, for a certificate, a class or a cue sheet, stays in this browser. Nothing is uploaded. Progress, cue sheets and your key live in this browser; export them as files to keep a copy.
Can a teacher use it with a class?
Yes. Projection mode puts a large ground plan on the classroom screen, reads each note to the room, and reveals the answer on the teacher's cue. It prints an answer key.
Is it a qualification?
Cuedrill is a practice tool, not a substitute for a stage management course or for the conventions of your own production.
Who runs Cuedrill?
An independent site. Cuedrill is not affiliated with any performers' or stage managers' union or association, any play publisher or licensing house, or any school or theatre.
Did Cuedrill have another name?
Cuedrill was called Spikemark until October 2026. Same tool, same maker, your saved work and Premium are unchanged.