The paperwork behind every show

Your written permission to perform a copyrighted play or musical, with the dates, house size and rules attached.

Producer or director Once per show

Who owns what, who approves what, and how the money splits when you commission or develop a new piece.

Producer and the writers Once per project

Every department’s spend against expected ticket income, so you know your break-even before you buy a single prop.

Producer, director, treasurer Drafted early, updated as receipts land

Logs each purchase by department so volunteers get paid back and the budget stays honest.

Whoever bought it; producer approves Every batch of receipts

One shared list of what has to be locked (script, budget, space, team) before rehearsals can start.

Producer or stage manager Updated all through pre-production

The show’s spine, tone and look in a page, so designers start from the same picture.

Director Once, before the first design meeting

Every big date, from design deadlines to opening and strike, on one page with a revision date.

Production manager, director, stage manager Made early, revised as needed

Reserves rooms, the stage and any truck you need to move the set.

Stage manager or production manager When planning, and whenever needs change

Decisions, design updates and action items from each production meeting, with owners.

Stage manager After every production meeting

Who on the stage management team owns which paperwork and which backstage job.

Stage manager Once, before rehearsals

Contact details, experience, roles wanted and, most important, every known conflict, before anyone is cast.

Each auditioner Once per auditioner

Time slots for auditions and a record of who came and who was called back.

Stage manager Each audition and callback

Short scenes and character notes so people can prepare something real.

Director Once, before auditions

Announces the cast, asks each actor to accept, and lets everyone else know kindly.

Director and stage manager Once, after casting

The terms everyone signs: pay if any, attendance, conduct and safety.

Producer prepares; company signs Once, at the start

Permission for under-18s to take part, and for their names and photos to be used, or not.

Parents and guardians Once, before the first rehearsal

The one directory everyone uses to reach anyone in the company, plus the numbers for an emergency.

Stage manager; each person checks their line First rehearsal, then whenever someone joins or leaves

Allergies, medications and who to call, kept private and close at hand.

Every company member Once, at the first rehearsal

Every time each person cannot be there, so the rehearsal schedule is built around reality.

Every actor and crew member; stage manager compiles At casting, then only for real emergencies

Names spelled right, bios, headshots and the credits your license requires.

Everyone in the program; stage manager proofs Once, a month or so before opening

Tracks numbered rental scripts so every one goes back at the end.

Actors sign; stage manager collects First rehearsal and strike

Schedule, building rules and what tech week will feel like, before day one.

Stage manager Before rehearsals, and again before tech

The show’s single source of truth: script, blocking, cues, contacts and plots, so anyone could call the show.

Stage manager Updated every day through closing

Who is onstage in every scene, so you only call the people you need.

Stage manager or director Once, from the script

Pages and shorthand for writing down every move, in pencil.

Stage manager or assistant Every blocking rehearsal

Who is called, when, where, and for which scenes.

Stage manager with the director Weekly, with a daily call each night

Shows at a glance who has arrived, without stopping warm-ups to take a register.

Each person initials on arrival Every rehearsal and performance

Tonight’s news for everyone who was not in the room: what got done, what changed, what each department needs.

Stage manager After every rehearsal

Every dropped, swapped or called line once actors are off book, handed back to each actor.

Whoever is on book Every rehearsal after off-book

Approved cuts and changes, so cast and crew work from the same words.

Stage manager Whenever a change is approved

Books fittings around rehearsal so nobody gets pulled from a scene by surprise.

Costume team; actor confirms Weekly during the build

Unlock, set up, tidy, ghost light on, lock up. The same every day.

Stage manager or assistant Every rehearsal

Music, lighting and staging needs for each piece in a dance concert.

Choreographer Once per piece

The set drawn to scale, and where every piece of furniture is marked on the floor.

Set designer; stage manager for spikes Preliminary then final, months out

Every prop in the show, where it comes from, who is finding it, and whether it is back where it belongs.

Stage manager starts it; props lead runs it Before rehearsals, updated weekly, checked every show

Each prop’s journey: who carries it on, from which side, and where it ends up.

Assistant stage manager with props Built in rehearsal, final before tech

Where every prop and piece of furniture starts, checked before every show and at intermission.

Props crew; stage manager checks Every rehearsal and performance

Every stage weapon, where it is locked up, and who checked it before and after.

Stage manager and props lead Every show, before and after

Every garment for every character in every scene, and whether it is pulled, bought or built.

Costume designer From first sketches through dress

The fast costume changes: how long, which side, which dresser.

Stage manager with wardrobe Built before tech, timed in dress

Every entrance and exit, which shows where the quick changes and traffic jams are.

Assistant stage manager Final before tech week

The rig, the patch, the colour and a one-page cheat sheet for checks.

Lighting designer and electrician Final a few weeks before hang

Speakers, signal flow, radio mics and who wears which mic when.

Sound designer and engineer Final a few weeks before tech

Where every headset, cue light and monitor goes, and who signed out which walkie.

Stage manager; crew sign out Once before load-in; walkies nightly

Every light, sound and fly cue in calling order, matched to the prompt book.

Designers supply; stage manager compiles Paper tech, then nightly in tech

Who moves what, in what order, by which route, in every scene change.

Stage manager with the set team Before paper tech, used every show

The whole show, start to finish, as a list of backstage jobs: shifts, handoffs, changes.

Stage manager or assistant Built for tech, posted every show

Who sits where, and the signs that keep the backstage quiet and safe.

Costume team and stage management Once, before tech

Every call, check and break from crew arrival to curtain, so anyone could run it.

Stage manager Two weeks before tech

Nothing missed before curtain, at the break or at lock-up.

Stage manager, crew, front of house Every performance

Running times, late-seating rules and content warnings for ushers and box office.

Stage manager; box office tracks tickets Before opening, confirmed nightly

Each show’s record: timings, house count, what broke and anything that went wrong.

Stage manager After every performance

Who covers whom, and every track, prop and costume that moves when they go on.

Stage manager Built in tech, used when someone is out

The hazards in your set, props and effects, any permits, and the way out.

Production team and stage manager Signed off before tech and before strike

A plain, factual record of any injury or near-miss, written right after care is given.

Stage manager or witness Whenever something happens

What a touring show needs the venue to provide when it arrives.

Touring stage or company manager Once per booking

Who takes down what, and nobody leaves until their job is signed off.

Stage manager and technical director Closing night

What worked, what did not and what to change next time, while memories are fresh.

Stage manager and producer Within a month of closing

Reuse, recycling and where the set and costumes go next.

Designers, production and stage management Set at design, tracked through strike