Make the document useful backstage
An audience programme tells guests what they will see. A run of show tells the working team how the event moves from one segment to the next. Include the event name, date, venue, version and person maintaining the document. For events in Pakistan, make the time zone clear when artists or organisers are coordinating from abroad. Keep the layout simple enough to read quickly on a phone or on a printed page.
Give each segment an owner
For every segment, record its planned start, approximate duration, the person appearing and the person responsible for getting it ready. Add the relevant microphone, playback, lighting or stage-change notes. Separate a scheduled time from a live trigger: an entrance may follow a spoken announcement rather than the exact minute printed beside it. The operator needs to know who calls that trigger and what should happen if the segment is not ready.
Write transitions, not just performances
The interval between two items often contains the most coordination. List who removes a lectern, brings on chairs, hands over microphones or confirms the next artist’s setup. Ask the crew to check whether the proposed transition time is realistic. For a campus show or mehndi, include the movement of performers waiting to go onstage as well as the music cue. Keep equipment and audience movement under the responsible teams’ agreed arrangements.
Decide how changes reach the crew
Choose one show contact who can approve running-order changes and one route for passing those changes to the operators. Agree how a delayed speaker, skipped dance or extended set affects what follows. Avoid silently editing a shared document while a show is running; tell the people executing the next cue what changed. Mark cancelled items clearly so an old cue is not mistaken for the next instruction.
Rehearse the document and keep a record
Before doors, walk through the opening, the important handovers and the ending with the people responsible. Check names, track versions and speaker order, then distribute the final working version. Keep the venue’s agreed finish time visible and confirm who makes decisions if the programme runs late. After the event, record actual timings and a few useful lessons. The next event can then start with tested information rather than a blank schedule.
Example: an entrance cue
Illustrative cue: Entrance 02 — start “Family entrance v3” only when the family coordinator confirms the group is at the agreed waiting point. The playback operator starts the approved file; the lighting operator follows the agreed entrance look. If the group is delayed, hold the cue and tell the host. Record the caller, file name, trigger and fallback together, so a printed time is not mistaken for permission to start.
Sources & further reading
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