A run of show is the minute-by-minute script for an event: every segment in order, when it starts and how long it runs, where it happens, who owns it, and the sound, lighting and video cues that go with it. Below is a run of show example for a three-hour corporate evening, then a free run of show template you can copy and tick off.
Planners write it, but the people who use it most are on shift. The event coordinator runs the floor from it, the stage manager calls cues from it, and every bar, service and crew lead checks their lines against it before doors.
Run of show vs agenda, timeline and BEO
These four documents get mixed up because they all have times on them. The difference is who reads them and how much detail they carry. The agenda is for guests. The run of show is for the team, and it is the only one with cues and owners on every line.
| Run of show | Agenda | Event timeline | BEO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who reads it | Crew, AV, stage manager, floor leads | Guests and speakers | Planner, client, vendors | Venue catering and banquet teams, the client |
| What it covers | The day itself, from load-in to load-out | The program guests see | Weeks or months of planning milestones | Food, beverage, room setup and equipment the venue provides |
| Detail | Every segment with a start time, length, owner and cues | Session titles and rough times | Deadlines and who signs off | Menus, counts, room layout, setup and service times |
| Who keeps it | Producer, planner or stage manager | Planner or marketing team | Planner | The venue, signed by the client |
A BEO (banquet event order) is the venue's contract for an event: menus, setup, equipment and an order of events for the catering team. Your run of show should match the BEO's service times. When the two disagree, the kitchen follows the BEO, so fix the mismatch before the day, not at the pass.
What columns does a run of show need?
Keep it to the columns people actually read in the moment. Seven is enough for most events:
- Time: the clock time the segment starts, not "after dinner".
- Duration: how long it runs. Durations should add up to the next start time; if they don't, you have found a gap or an overlap.
- Segment: what happens, in a few words ("Awards: categories 1 to 6").
- Location: the room, stage or bar, so runners and crew know where to be.
- Owner: one named person per line. "Catering" is not an owner; the banquet captain is.
- Cues: what changes in sound, lighting and screens (house to half, walk-in music out, mic 2 live, slide 14).
- Notes: what the floor needs to know: hold service, open the side doors, VIP arrives.
Run of show example: a 3-hour corporate evening
This is an illustrative corporate event: a 6:00 to 9:00 pm awards dinner in a hotel ballroom, with a reception, a welcome, a plated dinner and an awards segment. The times are an example of how the lines fit together, not a standard. Time and duration share one column to keep the table readable on a phone.
| Time (length) | Segment | Location | Owner | Cues | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:30 pm (3 h) | Load-in | Loading dock, ballroom | Stage manager, AV lead | Stage, screens and uplights in; sound check | Dock window booked; vendors check in with the coordinator |
| 3:30 pm (60 min) | Tech rehearsal | Ballroom stage | Stage manager | Walk every cue in order; host and presenter mics; lighting looks | Presenters rehearse their walk-on once |
| 4:45 pm (30 min) | Staff call and briefing | Back of house | Event coordinator | None | Uniform check, sections, radio channels, final run of show handed out |
| 5:30 pm (30 min) | Final walk-through, places | Whole venue | Event coordinator | Walk-in playlist on; house lights full | Bars stocked and staffed; registration open |
| 6:00 pm (45 min) | Doors and reception | Foyer | Coordinator, bar lead | Walk-in playlist | Bars open at doors; passed appetizers start |
| 6:45 pm (15 min) | Welcome | Stage | Host, stage manager | Music out, house to half, host mic live, logo on screens | Servers hold service; guests seated by 6:45 |
| 7:00 pm (60 min) | Dinner service | Ballroom | Banquet captain | Dinner playlist; house at dinner level | Salad on tables at 7:00, entrée fires 7:20, dessert down by 7:55 |
| 8:00 pm (40 min) | Awards | Stage | Stage manager | Stinger per category, spot on presenter, winner slides | No clearing during speeches; bars stay open quietly |
| 8:40 pm (20 min) | Closing remarks and last call | Stage, bars | Host, bar lead | Closing music under remarks | Last call announced at 8:40; bars close at 9:00 |
| 9:00 pm (15 min) | Bar close and guest exit | Ballroom, foyer | Coordinator | House lights full, exit music | Coat check and valet at full staff |
| 9:15 pm (2 h) | Load-out | Ballroom, loading dock | Stage manager, AV lead | Power down in order | Strike only after the room is clear of guests |
Notice what the example does: every line has one owner, cue changes sit on the same line as the segment that triggers them, and service notes (hold, fire, clear) are written where servers will look for them. The call time for floor staff is its own line, so nobody has to work it out from the start of the event.
Free run of show template to copy
Use this run of show template as the checklist that sits alongside your timed table. Tick items as you go; your ticks stay in this browser, and the toolbar lets you copy or print the list for the production binder.
Before the day
Load-in and rehearsal
Doors to close
Load-out
How staff on shift use the run of show
Nobody on the floor reads the whole document during service. Each role watches a few lines and the cue that comes just before them. If you are working a shift with a run of show, ask your lead which lines are yours at the briefing. For what each role does more broadly, see what event staff do.
- Bartenders
Bar open, any hold during speeches, last call and bar close. Those times set when you restock, when you start breaking down and when you stop pouring.
- Banquet servers
Course timing: when each course goes down, when the entrée fires, when to clear, and every hold during the program. You move on the banquet captain's cue, not the clock on the wall.
- Stagehands
Load-in and load-out windows, set changes, and any line where something moves on stage. The stage manager calls the cue; you are standing by before it.
- AV technicians
The cues column: mics live, music in and out, house to half, slide changes. You run the show from it line by line, usually with the stage manager on headset.
- Production assistants
Talent and presenter moves, green room times and whatever the stage manager sends you to fetch or check before a segment.
- Event coordinator
Everything. The coordinator tracks the whole sheet, spots when a segment runs over, and tells each lead which of their lines have moved.
Who calls the show, and how to keep one version
"Calling the show" means one person, usually the stage manager or producer, gives the standby and go for every cue over headset or radio: "Stand by lights 4, stand by music out… lights 4, go." Crew act on that call, not on the printed time. That way, if dinner runs ten minutes late, the cues stay in order and only one person decides when to go.
Version control matters more than the format. A spreadsheet works; so does a dedicated rundown app. Whatever you use:
- Keep one master file, edited by one person. Everyone else sends changes to that person.
- Number every version and print the time it was last changed in the header.
- Freeze the run of show at staff call. After that, changes go out by voice from the caller and get marked on the printed copies.
- Keep a short change log at the bottom: what moved, by how much, who asked.
Common run of show mistakes
- No owner on a line
Every line gets a named person. If two teams share it, name the one who says it is done.
- Durations that don't add up
Add each start time and duration and check it lands on the next line. Gaps are where guests stand around; overlaps are where cues collide.
- Food times that don't match the BEO
Walk the run of show with the catering manager before the day. The kitchen works from the BEO, so one of the two has to change.
- Three versions in circulation
One master, one editor, a version number on every page, and a freeze at staff call.
- No buffer for the program
Speeches and awards run long. Plan which later segment gives up time, and write it in the notes, before the day.
- Staff never see it
Brief the floor at call time and give leads a printed copy. A run of show that lives only on the planner's laptop doesn't help the bar.
If the bar or the floor is where your event usually falls behind, the staffing numbers may be the real problem; see how many bartenders per guest. If you work events and want shifts where a good run of show is part of the job, browse event jobs.