event-run-of-show

Event Run of Show

On the day, the planner becomes a bottleneck the moment anyone has to ask a question. The run of show exists to make the answers findable without you: every cue timed, every cue owned by a named person, and the recovery written for the three things most likely to slip. It is also the document nobody reads in full — so it ships in extracts, one per supplier.

What This Skill Produces

• The master timeline — cue by cue, with clock time, duration, owner, and the trigger that starts it
• Load-in and load-out schedule — sequenced by dependency, which is where most overruns are actually born
• Supplier extracts — the same timeline filtered to what each supplier needs, because nobody reads 14 pages
• Contingency triggers — the three or four most likely slips, with the decision rule and who makes the call
• The contact sheet — every supplier's on-the-day person and number, not the account manager
• The cut list — what gets dropped, in order, if the schedule runs long

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The event — type, date, venue, headcount, and the format
• The fixed points — what cannot move: doors, speeches, a broadcast slot, a licence end time, sunset
• The suppliers — who is involved, when they need access, and how long they need
• The venue constraints — access times, noise curfew, lift capacity, licence hours, security requirements
• Who decides on the day — the single person who makes the call when something slips

Framework: Fixed Points, Dependencies, Then Everything Else

1. Place the immovable points first. Doors, the broadcast window, the ceremony, the curfew. Everything else is scheduled around them, not the reverse.
2. Build load-in backwards from the first fixed point. Rig before lighting focus, focus before sound check, sound check before doors. Sequencing by dependency, not by supplier convenience.
3. Give every cue an owner and a trigger. Not 'music starts' but 'DJ starts walk-in music on Sarah's cue from the back of house'. A cue with no named owner does not happen.
4. Build in float where it is cheap. Ten minutes before a fixed point is worth an hour anywhere else.
5. Write the contingencies before the day. Speaker late, rain, AV failure, over-running speeches — decision rule and decider, agreed in advance.
6. Publish extracts. Each supplier gets their own rows plus the fixed points. The full document is for the core team only.
7. Name one decider. Two people empowered to make calls on the day is worse than none.

Output Format

Run of show: [event] · [date] · [venue] · v[n]

Fixed points: [time — what] · [time — what] · Curfew: [time] · Decider on the day: [name, number]

Load-in

| Time | Activity | Supplier | Owner | Depends on | Done |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|

Show

| Time | Dur | Cue | Trigger | Owner | Notes |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| [18:30] | [30m] | Doors, walk-in music | [Venue confirms room clear] | [name] | |

Load-out

| Time | Activity | Supplier | Owner | Depends on |

|---|---|---|---|---|

Contingencies

| If this happens | Trigger point | We do this | Decider |

|---|---|---|---|

| [speaker late] | [5 min before slot] | [swap to next segment] | [name] |

Cut list — if running long, drop in this order: 1. [item] 2. [item] 3. [item]

Contacts — [role · name · mobile], on-the-day people only

Supplier extracts issued: [supplier — rows — sent date]

> Venue licensing, capacity, curfew and safety requirements are set by the venue and local authority — confirm them directly rather than relying on a schedule. Where an event involves crowd safety, temporary structures, or licensed activity, competent safety advice is required.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Fixed and immovable points are placed before anything else
• [ ] Load-in is sequenced by dependency, not by supplier preference
• [ ] Every cue has a named owner and an explicit trigger
• [ ] Float exists immediately before each fixed point
• [ ] Contingencies name the decision rule and the decider in advance
• [ ] Supplier extracts have been issued, not just the master document
• [ ] Exactly one person is empowered to make calls on the day

Anti-Patterns

• Cues with no owner. 'The music starts' describes a hope.
• Scheduling load-in by supplier convenience. Produces four vans and one lift at 8am.
• Sending 14 pages to every supplier. Nobody reads it, so nobody follows it.
• No float before fixed points. One small slip cascades into the ceremony.
• Inventing contingencies on the day. The worst decisions are made under time pressure by whoever is nearest.
• Two deciders. Guarantees a stalled decision at the moment one is needed.
• Account-manager numbers on the contact sheet. They are not at the venue on a Saturday.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write a run of show for a 200-person launch event"
• "Build the day-of timeline for this conference"
• "What order should load-in happen in?"
• "Write contingency plans for our outdoor event"
• "Create a production schedule for the gala"