show management
General session show management, cue by cue: show callers and stage managers who run rehearsals, prep your speakers, call graphics and walk-ins, and protect the moments that can't slip.
why it matters
A general session is a live broadcast with an audience in the room. Every walk-on, slide, video and mic has a cue, and every cue has someone waiting on it.
The show caller is the one voice everyone listens to. When the call is calm and early, presenters look prepared and the room never sees the work. We prep your executives like it's our name on the stage: rehearsals, notes and a calm voice on headset.
what a show caller does
The show caller works from a cue sheet like this, calling every department on headset so the transitions land on time.
| Cue | Moment | Audio | Video / graphics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | Walk-in loop playing | House to half, walk-in music under | Loop out, opener video ready |
| Sample | Voice of God | Announce; music out | Logo hold |
| Sample | Opener video | Video audio up | Roll opener |
| Sample | CEO walk-on | Walk-on music, lav live | IMAG, title slide |
in the room
For a global software company’s customer conference, we produced the pre-show voice-over and every stage announcement, each one timed cue by cue to the run of show.
See all our work →the job
Tech rehearsals and speaker run-throughs on the real stage, with notes on timing, mics and confidence monitors.
One caller on headset cueing audio, video, lighting, graphics and stage.
Walk-ins, walk-offs, props, presenter handoffs and the backstage clock.
Slides, lower thirds and video playback, called to the beat of the show.
We write and keep the run of show, so every department works from the same document.
One call for the room and the stream, so remote viewers get the same show.
the desk
At the show desk sit the show caller, the producer and the department leads. Everything the audience sees and hears is decided there.
When production, show and AV management run from the same desk, there is no translation between vendors. The person who planned the cue is the person who calls it.
room and stream
On a hybrid show the caller runs two shows at once: the room and the stream. We call camera cuts, remote presenters and Q&A from the same cue sheet as the stage.
More on how that works: hybrid event production, or see how we run a sales kickoff.
green light review · a free consultation with a producer
Show management is the part of the budget that gets cut, or forgotten until rehearsal day, when someone asks who's calling the show. Send your RFP, scope or AV quote. A producer checks whether show calling, stage management and rehearsal time are really in it, and staffed by the right people, then tells you honestly what's missing. Every show is different, and if yours is already covered, we'll say so.
what can we help you solve?
Tell us about the show. A producer who calls shows will get back to you.
Every note goes to a producer, not a sales queue.
p.s. the best shows feel effortless. Let's make yours one of them.
A show caller is the person who calls every cue in a live show over headset: audio, video, lighting, graphics and stage. Working from the run of show, they tell each department exactly when to go, a beat before it needs to happen. When the calls are calm and early, presenters look prepared and the audience never sees the work.
For a general session, usually yes. The show caller runs the show from the desk, cueing every department. The stage manager runs backstage: presenters, walk-ons, props and the backstage clock. On a smaller show, one experienced person can do both. We'll tell you which your program needs when we scope it.
A run of show is the minute-by-minute script of the event, with every cue for audio, video, lighting, graphics and stage. It's the one document every department works from. We write it with you, rehearse it with everyone who touches it, and keep it current right up to the last change before doors open.
Yes. We often provide show management on its own, with the venue's in-house team or another AV company supplying the gear and crew. We join the technical rehearsal, learn the system and call the show on their comms. You get one calm voice running the program, whoever owns the equipment.
We rehearse them on the real stage whenever we can, with the same mics, clicker and confidence monitors they'll use live. We give notes on timing, walk-ons and where to look, and run any handoffs and video cues until they feel easy. The goal is simple: your leaders walk out looking like they've done it a hundred times.
The show caller sees it coming on the run of show clock and adjusts before it becomes a problem. That might mean a time cue on the confidence monitor, a shorter transition, or moving a video. Because the caller knows the whole program, the show still ends on time and the audience never notices the fix.
Yes. We're based in New York and produce coast to coast and on four continents, with the same producer and the same desk wherever the project lands. See where we produce. Calling the same show in several cities? See show management on tour.
free tool · event production rfp template
Our RFP template and bid-comparison sheet for your next general session: room-by-room AV specs, labor, power and rigging, so every vendor prices the same show.
the spectrum of production, one partner
Want a calm voice on headset for your next show?
