Run of Show: Meaning and Template

Run of show meaning, and how it differs from an agenda

The term comes from broadcast and live production, where a show is run to the second. At events it means the internal running order: the version of the schedule written for the people delivering the event, not the people attending it.

Three other documents are often confused with it. Keep them separate, because they have different readers and change at different speeds:

What goes in a run of show

Most run of show documents are a table with one row per segment, read from top to bottom. These are the columns worth having:

• Time

  The start time of each segment in the venue's local time. Livestreamed events often add a column for the running clock.

• Duration

  How long the segment lasts. Totals show at a glance whether the day fits.

• Segment

  What happens: doors open, welcome, keynote, panel, break, award, close. Use the same names as the published agenda.

• Location

  The stage, room or area. Essential when several rooms run at once.

• Owner and talent

  The one person responsible for the segment, and who is on stage. Name a person, not a team.

• Audio and video cues

  Microphones live, walk-on music, slides, videos, recording and livestream start and stop.

• Lighting and stage cues

  House lights, stage wash, set changes, lectern in or out, chairs set for a panel.

• Notes

  Script lines, how to pronounce names, sponsor mentions and what to do if something goes wrong.

Run of show template

Below is a sample run of show for the opening of a one-day conference, then a blank template to copy into a document or spreadsheet. The times are an example; replace them with your own.

RUN OF SHOW
Event:
Date:                      Venue:
Version:                   Last updated:            By:
Show caller:               Phone / radio channel:

KEY TIMES
Crew call:
Doors open:
Show start:
Show end:
Venue curfew / load-out:

TIME | LENGTH | SEGMENT | LOCATION | OWNER / ON STAGE | AUDIO-VIDEO CUES | LIGHTING-STAGE CUES | NOTES
     |        |         |          |                  |                  |                     |
     |        |         |          |                  |                  |                     |
     |        |         |          |                  |                  |                     |
     |        |         |          |                  |                  |                     |

CONTACTS
Producer:
Stage manager:
AV lead:
Venue contact:
Registration lead:
Catering contact:

CONTINGENCIES
If a speaker is late:
If a session overruns:
If the livestream or projector fails:
Segments that can be shortened or cut (in order):

How to write a run of show

Write the run of show once the agenda is close to final, and keep refining it until the rehearsal.

1. 1

   Start from the agenda

   Copy the published sessions into the run of show in order. Every public time becomes a fixed point you cannot move without telling attendees.

2. 2

   Add what attendees never see

   Crew call, sound checks, speaker briefings, rehearsals, room resets, sponsor walk-ons and load-out.

3. 3

   Break sessions into moving parts

   Walk-on, introduction, talk, Q&A, thank-you, walk-off. Each change is a point where something can go wrong, so each gets a row or a cue.

4. 4

   Write the cues

   For every change on stage, write what the audience should see and hear, and who triggers it. Ask your AV supplier how they want cues written.

5. 5

   Name one owner per row

   If two people own a segment, neither does. The owner is who the show caller talks to.

6. 6

   Build in buffers

   Leave a few minutes between segments that change speakers or room setup, and mark which segments can shrink if the day runs late.

7. 7

   Version it and send it out

   Put a version number and time on every copy, send it to everyone named in it, and say which version is final. Late changes go out as a new version, not a verbal update.

8. 8

   Rehearse from it

   Walk through the document with the host, speakers and crew, in the room if you can, and correct it as you go.

Running the event from the run of show

On the day, one person, usually called the show caller or stage manager, runs the event from the document and calls each cue. Everyone else works from the same version.

• One voice on comms

  Cues come from the show caller over radio or headset, so the crew never has to guess whether a change is approved.

• Watch actual against planned

  Compare real times with planned times at every segment, and decide early how to recover time: shorten Q&A, trim a break or cut from the contingency list.

• Tell attendees when times move

  If a public time changes, update the schedule attendees see and send a notification, so rooms are full when sessions start.

• Keep a show log

  Note what ran late and why. It is the best starting point for next year's run of show.

Where Eventdex fits

A run of show is a production document, and most teams keep it in a shared spreadsheet or document. Eventdex is not a show-calling or cueing tool. It holds the attendee-facing side of the schedule, and the tools that keep the room in step with it:

• The published schedule

  Each session has a name, start and end time, room, speaker and description. The schedule can be imported from a file, or exported to XLS or CSV as the starting point for your run of show.

  Conference management software

• Tracks, rooms and panelists

  Seminars carry a track, room and panelists, so the sessions in your run of show match what attendees see.

  Conference management software

• Changes pushed to attendees

  Push notifications go to chosen ticket types or tags in the app and the virtual platform, sent now or scheduled for a set time.

  Event mobile app

• Attendance at each session

  Staff scan badges at session doors with the Scan Attendee app, so you know how full each room was.

  Attendee check-in app

• Audience questions

  A live Q&A widget collects questions from the audience for the host to put to the speaker.

  Live event Q&A widget