01
What a run sheet contains
Most run sheets are a table with one row per item. The usual columns are:
- # – the item number, used on intercom (“standby item 12”)
- Start – the clock time, often with Duration or End
- Title – what happens: a speech, a song, an award, an interval
- Notes per department – sound, lighting, video, stage and presenters
At the top there is usually the show’s name, date, venue and a version number, because the run sheet changes right up until the doors open.
02
Other names for a run sheet
The same document has many names, depending on country and type of production:
| Name | Where it’s used |
|---|---|
| Run sheet | Events, concerts, corporate shows (UK, Australia) |
| Running order | Concerts, TV, festivals (UK) |
| Run of show (ROS) | Corporate events and conferences (US) |
| Rundown | TV, broadcast and livestreams |
| Show flow / show running order | Events and galas |
| Cue sheet | Theatre; also the music reporting form for broadcasters |
| Kjøreplan, kjøreliste, dreiebok | Norwegian |
| Körschema, körplan | Swedish |
| Køreplan, drejebog | Danish |
| Ablaufplan, Regieplan | German |
| Draaiboek | Dutch |
| Conducteur, déroulé | French |
| Escaleta | Spanish |
| Scaletta | Italian |
A set list – the songs in a concert – is often part of the run sheet. A call sheet is something else: it tells the crew when to arrive.
Free templates under two of these names: run of show template and running order template.
03
Run sheet vs. cue list
The run sheet is the plan for everyone. A cue list is the lighting operator’s version of it on the console: one cue for each moment the lighting changes, numbered and named so the operator can follow the stage manager’s calls.
On a grandMA3 the cue list is a sequence. Building it means typing every item from the run sheet into the console by hand – or letting CueSetter read the run sheet and make a macro that builds it.
04
How to write a run sheet the lighting desk can use
- Give every item a number, and keep the numbers when items move. Use 12.5 for an item squeezed in.
- One row per item, with the start time in its own column.
- Put a set list on separate lines in the title cell, so the songs can become sub-cues.
- Send it as Word, Excel or a PDF exported from them – not a scanned page.
- Put a version number and the date at the top.
Our free run sheet template for Excel and Word follows these rules.