AI In Action: How Human Intelligence Unlocks Machine Superpowers

Session details:

A Half-Day AI Literacy Workshop for Live Entertainment Professionals

A guided, hands-on introduction to working effectively with AI tools — built for professionals who are already managing complex work.

Prerequisite: None required. A laptop or tablet is recommended for hands-on exercises; smartphones will work in a pinch.

Format: Half-day, single session (approx. 4 hours, with a short break). Workshop style — attendees leave with a working prompt they built themselves, not just notes.

  RATIONALE FOR COURSE

Many professionals across live production, themed entertainment, and touring are already experimenting with AI tools informally — drafting reports, building schedules, troubleshooting problems — without a shared vocabulary or repeatable process to make that work reliable. This mirrors what happens with project management itself: the work happens constantly, but it's rarely named or taught, even at the highest levels of operation. This course is taught by an entertainment operations project manager with experience spanning large-scale entertainment programming — from multi-ship cruise operations to major entertainment mega-projects — coordinating cross-functional leadership teams through unified scheduling, logistics, and production systems, and personally coaching teams and individual leaders through adopting new systems, workflow automation, and now AI tools. This session distills that field-tested approach into a durable framework attendees can apply the moment they leave the room, on whichever AI tool their organization provides.

  WHAT YOU WILL GET

• A working prompt built for the exact kind of document your role actually produces — a grid meeting recap, a port on/off logistics summary, a cross-department status update — not a generic example.

• A personal AI toolkit to take home: your finished prompt, a quick-reference card, and a 30-day practice plan, all ready to reuse the next day.

• A clear-eyed look at what AI can't do and where your judgment stays irreplaceable — this isn't a session about being replaced, it's about what only you can catch.

• Instruction from someone with experience managing entertainment operations across multi-ship cruise programs and major entertainment mega-projects, who has personally coached leaders through adopting these exact tools — not a generic AI consultant.

  TARGET AUDIENCE

• Entertainment leadership across cruise and resort operations (Cruise Directors, Hotel Directors, Production Managers, Technical Directors)

• Facilities managers for any performance or visual arts venue

• Technical Directors and Production Managers

• Stage Managers

• Faculty and students in technical theatre

• Event producers

• Middle managers and team leads

• Rental house team leaders, managers, and owners

• Anyone curious about integrating AI into their workflow, regardless of technical background

  COURSE SCHEDULE

Module 0: Pre-Session Primer (Online, released two weeks prior)

• Orientation and short vocabulary primer — Human Intelligence vs. Machine Intelligence

• Course outline and what to bring

• Overview of the AI tool(s) used in the session

Module 1: Foundations — Why Using AI Well Is a Skill (45 min)

• What AI can and can't do: setting realistic expectations

• Human Intelligence (connecting across domains, judging completeness, spotting gaps) vs. Machine Intelligence (processing scale via probability)

• Live demo: the same request, prompted well vs. poorly

Module 2: A Structured Prompting Framework (60 min)

• Why a repeatable structure beats guesswork — the core elements any good prompt needs

• One possible model: the CRAFT approach (Context, Role, Action, Format, Target, and Shield, a safeguard against fabricated information) — shown as a working example, not the only option

• Hands-on: attendees build their first structured prompt around a real task from their own job

• Instructor feedback on each attendee's draft prompt

Module 3: Practical Application (60 min)

• Crawl → Walk → Run: a personal milestone path for building AI fluency over time, not all at once

• Hands-on: attendees refine their prompt into a finished, reusable work document

• Group share-out: what worked, what didn't, and why

Module 4: An Introduction to Agents (30 min)

• What an agent is, in plain terms: an AI that can take multi-step action on your behalf, not just answer a question

• Where the line sits between using AI well (what this session covers) and using agents (a natural next step, not covered hands-on today)

• A brief live demonstration of an agent completing a simple multi-step task

• Pointers on where and how to start learning about agents on your own

Module 5: Wrap-Up and Next 30 Days (30 min)

• Q&A

• Building a personal 30-day practice plan using the milestone framework

• Takeaway resources: prompting quick-reference card and prompt starter list