How to prepare a festival production schedule

What is an event production schedule?

It is the operational programme linking every activity to a day, time and venue, with the information needed to make it happen. The public programme presents talks and shows; the production schedule also includes crew calls, rehearsals, soundchecks, load-in and load-out.

For each session, audio, video and lighting requirements, crew notes, documents and links to other activities should be easy to find. That is why it helps to separate venue information from the details of a particular session.

How to organise a festival production schedule

1. Define the days and venues. Include setup days too. Use consistent names such as “MODENA | Theatre” to distinguish spaces when working across several cities.
2. Add the sessions. Title, category, venue, date and start time are the starting point. Add an end time when known: it helps show when spaces are occupied.
3. Add the technical work. Crew calls and overall load-in and load-out activities have their own timings. Rehearsals and soundchecks can be linked to the main session.
4. Complete the production requirements. Specify microphones, projection, playback, lighting, remote connections and recording needs. Write concrete instructions that can be checked.
5. Flag what is missing. Use items to verify to distinguish open questions from confirmed information. Once a question is resolved, update the relevant field and remove the flag.
6. Check and share. Review the schedule by day and venue, check overlaps and try the technician view before distributing the link.

Two simultaneous activities are not necessarily a problem. Check whether they need the same people or equipment: CronoVent makes overlaps visible, while resource decisions remain with the coordinator.

Venue production scheduling: coordinating several rooms

Venue production scheduling brings together the work needed to get each room ready, run its sessions and clear it afterwards. A public programme shows when a talk or performance starts. A production schedule also needs load-in, setup, rehearsals, soundchecks and the people responsible for them.

1. Map the venue and its rooms. Use names the crew can recognise on site, and keep them consistent across the schedule and technical documents.
2. Separate venue-wide work from room sessions. Vehicle access, unloading and shared setup may affect the whole building. A rehearsal or presentation may only occupy one room.
3. Include preparation and handovers. A session starting at 10 am does not mean the crew starts at 10 am. Add the technical work that must happen beforehand.
4. Review overlaps. Simultaneous activities can be intentional. Check whether they depend on the same technician, equipment or loading route before treating the plan as workable.
5. Share the relevant view. Coordinators need the overall timeline; a room crew needs its timings, notes and technical documents.

Example: shared load-in from 8 to 9 am, a soundcheck in Room A at 9 am and video setup in Room B at 9:15 am. Seeing them on one timeline helps with coordination. It does not automatically prove that the required crew and equipment are available: the coordinator still needs to check those dependencies.

In CronoVent, shared activities can span the venue while individual sessions belong to their rooms. The roBOt Festival case study shows this type of work, including schedules continuing past midnight. If you currently use a spreadsheet, see how to decide whether to move to event scheduling software.

Example: a talk at 10 am in the theatre

A one-hour public session may need several preparation activities. Here is an illustrative example to adapt to your production timings.

Technical activities remain visible in the schedule but are excluded from the session count. The number of talks and shows is therefore kept separate from preparation tasks.

Technical details and documents: where each piece of information belongs

At venue level, collect what applies to that space: confirmed equipment, notes, contacts and crews. “Venue info” opens the details without taking up space in the schedule.

“Venue documents” collects equipment lists, electrical single-line diagrams, audio, video and lighting diagrams, floor plans, layouts and technical riders. Anyone who can view the venue can download the documents. Upload them through “Edit venue”, with a limit of 4 MB per file.

In the session details, add the artist’s or speaker’s specific requirements, notes visible to technicians, outstanding checks and relevant attachments. A request for four wireless microphones belongs with the session; the theatre system diagram belongs with the venue.

Sharing the schedule with technicians, including on phones

Viewers enter using the event code or link and the viewing password chosen by the coordinator, if required. A customer account is not needed to read the schedule. Personal accounts are for managers and collaborators working on events.

On a phone, technicians select the day and their venue. Days wrap when space runs out; “Venue info” and “Venue documents” open supporting information on demand. Sessions remain the focus of the screen.

Permissions determine which contact details and crew information are shared. Check the technician view before sending the link. An internet connection is needed to work with the schedule: leaving a page open does not make it an offline copy.

Live relays and recordings

When a session is relayed to other venues, configure the destinations from the main session. Links between session details help trace the source and keep the schedule consistent.

For sessions requiring recording, the “Da registrare” (Recording required) indicator is also visible to technicians. The Recordings section tracks raw footage uploaded, video exported and video delivered; it can be private or shared for viewing. Videos stay on your own storage system.

Frequently asked questions about event scheduling

Coordinate collaborators and responsibilities

How to assign roles and access to festival crews: a guide to event assignments, working with multiple service companies and protecting the schedule with an event lock.