A Checklist for Rehearsal Schedules Before You Commit
Before locking in rehearsal blocks, tech checks and walkthroughs, run through these questions on venue access, speaker availability and the order of work, so the plan holds up.
Marcus Reynolds · · 6 minutes to read
Start with what the venue will actually give you
Before a single rehearsal block goes into a schedule, find out when you can physically be in the room. Venues rarely hand over a hall at the hour you would choose. A load-in may share the morning with another team, a cleaner may need the stage, and a house technician may only be on site for part of the day. Write down the real access windows first, then fit rehearsal around them rather than the other way round.
Ask the venue contact for three things in writing: the earliest entry time, the latest exit time, and any hours when noise or stage work is not allowed. Note who holds the keys and who can switch the lights and power on. These details seem small until a presenter arrives at a locked door. A schedule built on confirmed access is one the whole team can trust.
- Earliest entry and latest exit times, confirmed in writing
- Hours when noise or stage work is restricted
- Who opens the doors and controls power and lighting
Check who can be there, and for how long
Speaker availability is the second fixed point. Presenters often have other commitments, and a guest may only be able to give you thirty minutes on the day before. List every person who needs to rehearse, then mark what each one can offer: dates, arrival times and a hard stop. Moderators and anyone with a long or complex segment deserve more time than a speaker with a short welcome.
Do not assume that a full run-through needs everyone present at once. Many programmes work better when you split the cast into smaller calls, rehearsing the opening with one group and the closing with another. This respects people's time and keeps the room quieter, which helps the technical team concentrate on cues instead of waiting for the next person to arrive.
- Dates, arrival times and hard stops for each speaker
- Longer or trickier segments given more rehearsal time
- Smaller groups where a full cast is not needed
Separate the tech check from the walkthrough
A tech check and a walkthrough have different jobs, and a good schedule keeps them apart. The tech check is for the technical team: microphones, cameras, screens, playback and lighting states. Presenters can stand in for a few minutes, but the aim is to confirm that equipment works, not to polish delivery. Give it its own block, and allow time to fix whatever fails.
The walkthrough comes afterwards. Here the focus moves to the sequence itself, with presenters moving through their segments, hitting marks and hearing cues as they will on the day. Running the two together tends to frustrate everyone, because performers wait on equipment and technicians feel watched. Place a short break between them so settings are saved before people begin to speak.
- Tech check: equipment, levels and lighting states
- Walkthrough: sequence, marks, handovers and cues
- A short break between the two blocks
Decide how much of the programme needs a full run
Not every programme can afford a complete run-through, and not every programme needs one. Look at your running order and pick the places where things can go wrong: the opening, any move between presenters, a video roll-in, and the closing. These transitions are where a cue is missed or a microphone is left off. Rehearse those twice if you must choose.
A segment that one confident speaker delivers from a lectern may only need a quick sound check. A streamed panel with remote guests asks for far more attention. Be honest about where the risk sits, then spend rehearsal time there. A schedule that names which segments get a full run, a partial run or a technical pass only is easier to defend and easier to explain to a client.
- Transitions and roll-ins rehearsed before simple segments
- Full run, partial run or technical pass only, stated per segment
Build in slack and a plan for when it runs over
Rehearsals run late. A microphone needs replacing, a speaker is stuck in traffic, a slide deck will not open. If every block is packed edge to edge, one delay pushes everything after it. Leave a gap after the tech check and another before the final run, and say plainly what you will cut if time is lost.
Decide in advance which block is expendable. Perhaps the second pass on the closing can shrink, or a minor segment can be covered by a talk-through on the page instead of a full run. Agreeing this early removes the argument from the room. It also tells the team that the schedule has a sensible order of priority, not just a list of times.
- A buffer after the tech check and before the final run
- A named block to shorten if the day slips
Make the schedule easy to read and share
A rehearsal schedule only helps if people read it. Put each block on its own line with a start time, an end time, a location and the names of who is needed. Keep wording short and avoid abbreviations that only you understand. If a block needs a particular document, such as the cue sheet, name it beside the time.
Send the schedule early, then confirm it again a day or two before. Ask each person to reply with a simple acknowledgement so you know it has been seen. On the day, print a copy for the stage manager and the technical lead. When everyone works from the same page, small changes are announced calmly and nobody is surprised by the next call.
- Start, end, location and names on every line
- Early send, a reminder and an acknowledgement from each person
- Printed copies for the stage manager and technical lead
Work through these points in order: venue access, who can attend, the split between tech check and walkthrough, where the real risks sit, how much slack you have, and how clearly it is written down. If you can answer each one, the schedule is ready to commit to. If you cannot, you have found the gap before it cost you rehearsal time.
