Show Calling & Stage Management for Live Events

Session details:

Whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid, the show caller or stage manager is responsible for directing an audio-visual multimedia experience that can have dozens or even hundreds of moving parts. From managing the onstage talent to the technical know-how, you’ll learn how to engage in the best possible way with your onsite AV Team from the engineers, show producers, stage managers, and even the audience, to design and execute the perfect experiential live event. 

This session will use real and relevant examples from recent events including presidential summits, major televised sporting events, as well as more intimate, but highly produced audience experiences.  By working together, we will talk through how to build a show flow, anticipate challenges, manage timelines, and learn how to bring together your team behind the scenes. This is the perfect session for a seasoned event manager or team lead looking to better understand or even take on some stage management responsibilities, or someone interested in production and looking for a path to design, and direct their own events.

Learning Objective #1

Upon completion, attendees will define the THREE types of equipment and operation going into any production. Source, processing, and output and generate or formulate a client technology master plan for a successful event and design concept.  We’ll review AV Project Documentation during site surveys and facility reviews.  By coordinating with allied trades we’ll learn best practices to review benchmarks, client expectations, and program reports before coordinating with the site/project professionals and allied trades, including decorator, general services contractor, venue (rigging, IT, AV) and verify system performance including solutions and modifications to any potential system failures.

Learning Objective #2

As event designers and production leads, we need to keep focused on TWO things.... communication and timing. Through demonstration and group discussion we'll review our technology master plan, confirm equipment compatibility, generate reports or show flows/production schedules, and coordinate with our teams to mitigate risk and confirm compatibility across the entire installed production and demonstrate to the client a ready and completed install.

Learning Objective #3

The ONE mission critical piece of the live project is having active redundancies in place and ready to go. Hot backups and rehearsed "what-ifs" mean you'll be set up for success even when challenges arise.  Upon completion of the event project we’ll review close-out activities such as record and script hand-off/chain-of-command and all other final project documentation.