Event run of show: what it is and how to build one that holds up

A run of show is the operational script of an event, minute by minute: what happens, when it starts, how long it lasts, which team runs it and which cue triggers it. It is not the agenda guests receive. It is the document stage management, AV, catering and hosts work from. A good run of show has chained times, clearly pinned fixed moments, a team on every line and internal lines the client never sees. And on show day you do not print it and forget it: you run it live.

Agenda and run of show are not the same thing

The agenda says “09:00 Welcome”. The run of show says “09:00 voice of God, house lights to 50%, 09:02 opening video, house to black, 09:05 CEO enters stage left on handheld mic 1, slides on the centre screen”.

The way we put it: the agenda is the promise, the run of show is how you keep it.

The columns you actually need

You do not need twenty columns. You need enough for anyone on the crew to know what is theirs without asking.

Column	What it is for
Start time	Calculated automatically if you chain durations
Duration	The value that drives everything else
What happens	Short, readable from a distance
Team	AV, catering, hosts, stage management, security
Cue	What triggers the action: “VID 1”, “mic 2 live”, “house to black”
Notes	Operational details, location, equipment
Internal (yes/no)	Whether the client sees the line or only the crew

For multi-day events, one tab per day: load-in, day 1, day 2, load-out. Each with its date and total duration.

How to build a run of show, step by step

1. Start from the agenda the client signed off

Begin with the approved blocks and key times. If the setup and agenda already live in your budget or a spreadsheet, do not retype them: bring them in and work on top.

2. Break every block into actions

Each agenda block becomes several lines. A 30-minute talk is at least four: speaker intro, walk-on music, the talk itself, exit and applause. What is not written down does not happen, or happens late.

3. Chain the times

This is what separates a living run of show from a dead one. Each line starts when the previous one ends: you write durations, not times. If the CEO goes from 15 to 20 minutes, everything after moves on its own.

4. Pin the moments that cannot move

Some times are not yours to change: doors, coach departures, a live link-up. Those lines are pinned: even if everything before runs late, they stay put, and you see straight away if you will not make it.

5. Colour-code the teams

Every line gets a team. With colours, each department finds its lines at a glance.

6. Write cues the way the booth calls them

“VID 1”, “PPT 2”, “handheld 1”, “award winners walk-on”. The cue is what stage management says on comms, not a sentence.

7. Mark the internal lines

Some information is gold for the crew and a problem if the client sees it: “the CEO usually runs 5 minutes over”, “trophies 3 and 4 swapped”, “if the video fails, go straight to the talk”, the lighting supplier’s mobile. Those lines are marked internal and only the crew sees them.

Sample run of show: annual kick-off for 300 people

An invented example with round numbers: a company’s start-of-year convention, one day, in a hotel plenary room.

Time	Dur.	What happens	Team	Cue	Notes
08:00	60’	Doors, registration and coffee	Hosts, catering	Walk-in music	Pinned
09:00	2’	Voice of God: “Please take your seats”	AV	VO 1, house to 50%
09:02	3’	Opening video	AV	VID 1, house to black
09:05	15’	CEO welcome	Stage mgmt	Handheld 1, PPT 1	Internal: usually runs 5’ over
09:20	30’	Year in review, CFO	Stage mgmt, AV	Headset 2, PPT 2
09:50	25’	2027 strategy, Sales Director	Stage mgmt, AV	Headset 3, PPT 3
10:15	30’	Coffee break	Catering	Music, countdown on screen	Can shrink to 20’
10:45	45’	Client panel, three guests	Stage mgmt	4 handhelds, camera 2	Q&A can shrink
11:30	20’	Annual awards	AV, hosts	Winners walk-on	Internal: trophies 3 and 4 swapped
11:50	10’	Close and afternoon briefing	Stage mgmt	Handheld 1, VID 2
12:00	60’	Lunch in the restaurant	Catering	Background music	Warn kitchen 10’ ahead
13:00	30’	Buffer and free time	Stage mgmt		Absorbs delays
13:30	15’	Coaches leave for team building	Hosts		Pinned with the coach company

Notice three things. Every time from 09:00 to 13:00 comes from adding up durations. There are two pinned moments (doors and coaches). And there is a 30-minute buffer before the last pinned one: that is what saves you when the CEO, as always, runs over.

How to run it live

A paper run of show works until the first change. Live, you need three things:

1. Now and next, in large type, so nobody hunts for the current line.
2. Ticks per cue with the real time and who ticked it. Next day, you have real timings for the report.
3. Ahead or behind, in minutes, without mental maths while wearing a headset.

In Murphy OS Run of show this is Live mode: the crew opens their link on a phone (no account, via a QR code), enters their name and ticks every cue. You always see whether you are on time. The client gets a separate, view-only link with the columns you choose and no internal lines. If you already built the agenda in Planner, you import it as is, times included.

What to do when you are running late

You will run late. The question is by how much and where you get it back.

Before the event: agree the cuts

Decide with the client, in advance, which blocks are compressible and by how much. In the example: coffee from 30 to 20 minutes, panel Q&A from 15 to 5, buffer from 30 to 0. That is up to 50 minutes recoverable without touching content. Write it in each line’s internal notes.

During the event: one voice

• One person decides the cuts (usually the event director, with the client alongside). Stage management executes, it does not negotiate.
• Tell catering and AV at the same time. The classic mistake is cutting the coffee break while the kitchen serves lunch at the original time.
• Pinned moments do not move. If you will miss one, do not find out at 13:25: the delay warning has to show up with time to react.
• Time cards for speakers: 5 minutes, 1 minute, wrap. Agreed with each speaker before they go on.

Common run of show mistakes

• Times typed by hand on every line. After the first change, half of them are wrong.
• Vague cues. “Video” is not a cue; “VID 2, house to black” is.
• No transitions. Between talks you swap mics, slides and lighting. No line, no time.
• Sending the client the internal version.
• No buffer before a pinned moment.

Checklist before you sign it off

• Each day on its own tab, with a date.
• Chained times and pinned moments marked.
• Every line with a team and, where needed, a cue.
• Compressible blocks agreed with the client.
• A buffer before every pinned moment.
• Internal lines marked.
• Crew link tested on the phone of whoever will use it.
• Client link checked: right columns, no internal notes.

What I would check tomorrow

Take the run of show for your next event and stress-test it: add 10 minutes to the first speaker and see what happens. If you have to retype times, do not know which block to cut or catering never hears about it, you know what to fix before the day. If you work in technical production, this profile shows how the run of show fits with setup and the door.