How to Write a Run of Show (With a Template)
Running the show12 min read
A run of show is the minute-by-minute script of your event: every segment in order, with its start time, length, who is on stage and what the crew has to do. A good one does three jobs. It proves the schedule fits the room booking before the day, it tells every crew member what happens next, and it tells you what to cut when things run late.
The difference between a run of show that works and one that doesn't is almost always the same: the weak one lists talks, the strong one lists everything that takes time, including the walk to the lectern, the mic swap and the buffer.
What goes in a run of show?
Guidebook describes it as a minute-by-minute document with start and end times, a named owner for each task, technical cues, and backup plans. In practice that means one row per segment and these columns:
- Start time in clock time (09:51, not "+51").
- Duration in minutes, so you can see where an overrun lands.
- End time, calculated, never typed by hand.
- Segment: what happens, written as an action ("Panel takes seats, moderator opens").
- On stage: names, and which mic each person uses.
- Cues: audio, video and slides, lights. Name the exact file or preset ("Walk-up music track 3", "Slides: Ortiz_v4").
- Owner: who calls or runs it. Initials or roles are fine (SM, A1, Host).
- If late: what this row gives up if you need time back.
A small workshop needs only the first five. A conference with a lighting rig and a stream needs all of them.
The rows people forget
Most schedules that overrun didn't go wrong on stage. They were wrong on paper, because they treated these as zero minutes:
- Changeovers. The previous speaker leaves, the next one walks up, a laptop or clicker changes hands, the host introduces them. Allow at least two to three minutes; a panel set (chairs, extra mics) takes longer unless you do it during a break.
- Q&A as its own row. If Q&A sits inside the talk's slot, speakers treat it as overflow and it disappears, or it doesn't and the next talk starts late.
- Housekeeping. Fire exits, wifi, where lunch is. It takes longer than anyone allows.
- Back from break. People return slowly. If you need them seated at 11:00, end the break at 11:00 and expect to start a minute or two after.
- Buffer. Unscheduled minutes you don't plan to use. Put them before something that cannot move.
How to do the timing maths
Work from the fixed points. Most events have one or two times that cannot move: the room booking ends, lunch is served, a livestream slot finishes, a coach leaves. Those are your hard outs.
- Write down the first start time and every hard out.
- List every row with its duration, including changeovers and Q&A.
- Add the durations. Compare the total with the time between start and hard out.
- The difference is your buffer. If it is close to zero, the schedule doesn't fit yet, whatever it looks like.
- Calculate each start time from the one before (start + duration = next start). Use a spreadsheet formula so one change ripples through.
How much buffer? There is no industry standard figure. As a rule of thumb (our advice, not a published standard), allow around 10 minutes per half day with one tight speaker, and more if you have panels, live demos or speakers you haven't worked with. Less than five minutes before a hard out means the first overrun becomes your problem.
Worked example: a half-day conference morning
Here are the inputs, so you can check every number:
- First item at 09:00. Hard out at 12:30, when lunch is served in another room and catering can't move.
- Host welcome and housekeeping: 5 minutes. Closing and lunch directions: 5 minutes.
- Keynote: 30 minutes plus 10 minutes of Q&A.
- Three talks: 20 minutes each, plus 5 minutes of Q&A each.
- One panel (four panellists and a moderator), audience questions included.
- One coffee break. The panel chairs and mics get set on stage during the break.
- Changeovers: 3 minutes between speakers, 5 minutes to strike the panel set.
First draft. With a 45-minute panel and a 25-minute break, the rows add up to 209 minutes. From 09:00 to 12:30 is 210 minutes. That leaves 1 minute of buffer: on paper it fits, in practice it won't.
The fix. Cut the panel to 40 minutes and the break to 20. That frees 10 minutes, so the buffer becomes 11, placed just before closing so lunch stays on time.
| Start | Min | End | Segment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 5 | 09:05 | Welcome and housekeeping (host) |
| 09:05 | 3 | 09:08 | Changeover, host introduces keynote |
| 09:08 | 30 | 09:38 | Keynote |
| 09:38 | 10 | 09:48 | Keynote Q&A |
| 09:48 | 3 | 09:51 | Changeover |
| 09:51 | 20 | 10:11 | Talk 1 |
| 10:11 | 5 | 10:16 | Talk 1 Q&A |
| 10:16 | 3 | 10:19 | Changeover |
| 10:19 | 20 | 10:39 | Talk 2 |
| 10:39 | 5 | 10:44 | Talk 2 Q&A |
| 10:44 | 20 | 11:04 | Coffee break (panel set on stage) |
| 11:04 | 40 | 11:44 | Panel, including audience questions |
| 11:44 | 5 | 11:49 | Changeover, strike panel |
| 11:49 | 20 | 12:09 | Talk 3 |
| 12:09 | 5 | 12:14 | Talk 3 Q&A |
| 12:14 | 11 | 12:25 | Buffer (unscheduled) |
| 12:25 | 5 | 12:30 | Closing and lunch directions |
Check the total by type: speaking content 130 minutes (keynote 30, talks 60, panel 40), Q&A 25, host 10, changeovers 14, break 20, buffer 11. That is 210 minutes, exactly 09:00 to 12:30.
Two things this example shows. First, 14 minutes of changeovers is more than half a 20-minute talk; leave them out and the morning is 14 minutes behind before anyone speaks. Second, the closing is anchored to the hard out rather than to the talk before it. If the morning runs 8 minutes late, the buffer absorbs it and the closing still starts at 12:25. If it runs 15 late, you know in advance which rows give up time, which is what the "If late" column is for. The playbook for that moment is in what to do when an event runs late.
A run of show template you can copy
Copy this into a spreadsheet or document. The first two rows are filled in to show the level of detail that helps crew; the rest are blank.
| Start | Min | End | Segment | On stage and mics | Audio | Video and slides | Lights | Owner | If late |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:05 | 3 | 09:08 | Changeover, keynote intro | Host on HH1; keynote waits stage left with lapel 1 | Walk-up music on intro end | Keynote title slide | Lectern special up | SM | Host shortens intro |
| 09:08 | 30 | 09:38 | Keynote | Keynote on lapel 1 | Lapel 1 open | Slides: Keynote_final | Stage wash | Show caller | Q&A shortened, never the talk |
Keep the version you hand to speakers simpler: their slot, their Q&A, when to arrive backstage, who will give them time signals, and how. Crew get the full grid. Everyone works from the same timings, so when the times change, both versions change together.
Who calls what
A run of show only works if everyone knows who is allowed to act on it. Rundown Studio's guide to event production roles describes the producer as the person ultimately responsible for the show, the show caller as the voice that issues cues, and the stage manager as the show caller's counterpart on the floor. On a small event one person often covers all three, which is fine as long as the run of show says so.
Decide these before the day and write them on the document:
- Who calls cues (lights, music, video, slides, mics).
- Who runs the speaker clock and gives time signals.
- Who briefs each speaker and brings them to the stage.
- Who can change the schedule live, such as cutting Q&A or shortening a break. Usually only one person.
How those calls sound over headset or radio is covered in show caller and crew communication.
How to rehearse it
Theatre has useful names for this. A technical rehearsal focuses on the technical side of the performance; a cue-to-cue skips the content and runs only the moments around each cue; a dry tech runs the cues with no performers at all.
For most events, a cue-to-cue is the rehearsal that pays off:
- Walk every transition in order: each walk-up, mic handover, video roll, slide switch and lighting change. Skip the middle of talks.
- Time each changeover with a stopwatch. If your 3-minute changeover takes 5, change the document now.
- Run the panel set and strike with the real chairs and mics.
- Check that the speaker can see the clock from where they actually stand, not from the control desk.
- Run the first and last 30 seconds of any video with sound.
If you have speakers in the room, a short line-up with each one beats a full run: where to enter, where to stand, where the clock is, what the time signals look like. The guide to keeping speakers to time covers the briefing itself.
Putting your run of show on a timer
A run of show tells people what should happen; a visible countdown tells the person on stage what is happening. If you build your segments in StageClock, the Run of Show editor takes each row as a segment ("+ Add Segment") with a title, an optional speaker, a Duration in MM:SS, an Auto-advance switch and operator notes that speakers and the audience don't see. The footer shows "N segments · Total: …", which is a quick check against your spreadsheet total.
StageClock holds durations, not clock times: it is countdown-only, with no time-of-day display and no scheduled start times. Keep the clock times in your own run of show, and enter changeovers and buffer as segments only if you want them on the timer. Auto-advance suits tightly scripted sequences; leave it off before Q&A or anything that depends on a person. The producer signs in with Google, and editing segments needs a plan beyond the demo event; check the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a run of show the same as an agenda?
No. The agenda is for attendees: session titles and rough times. The run of show is for the crew and includes changeovers, cues, mic assignments, owners and buffer that attendees never see. Write the run of show first and generate the agenda from it, so the two can't disagree.
How far ahead should the run of show be locked?
Lock the order and timings once speakers have confirmed, and send a final version before the cue-to-cue rehearsal. After that, treat changes as versions: put a version number and time on the document, and make sure the show caller, stage manager and host all hold the same one.
Should I print it?
Yes, at least for the show caller and stage manager. Screens die, wifi drops and tablets lock. Print a large-type copy, and mark changes in pen during the day.
Key takeaways
- Give every changeover, Q&A, housekeeping block and the buffer its own row. They are where schedules really overrun.
- Work from your hard outs: add every duration, compare with the time available, and treat the difference as your buffer.
- Place the buffer before something that cannot move, and anchor the last item to the hard out.
- Add an "If late" column so the decision about what to cut is made calmly in advance.
- Rehearse the transitions, not the talks: a cue-to-cue with a stopwatch fixes most timing errors before the day.
Sources
- What is a run of show? (Guidebook)
- Event production roles explained (Rundown Studio, June 2026)
- Technical rehearsal (Wikipedia)