What Is a Production Cue Sheet? A Guide for Show Callers

A production cue sheet is the document that tells the show caller (also called a stage manager or technical director) exactly what to trigger, when to trigger it, and in what order. It’s the playbook for executing a live show — every lighting change, sound effect, video roll, and stage transition is written down as a numbered cue.

While a run of show tells you what’s happening at a high level, a cue sheet tells you the precise technical actions that make it happen.

Cue sheet vs. run of show

These are different documents with different audiences:

Run of show — High-level, time-based. “10:00 - Keynote begins.” Used by the full crew and stakeholders to understand the day’s flow.

Cue sheet — Detailed, action-based. “CUE 47: LX fade to blue, SFX music bed under, VT roll opening video.” Used by the show caller and technical operators to execute the show.

Think of the run of show as the “what and when” and the cue sheet as the “how.”

Anatomy of a cue

Every cue has these elements:

Cue number — A sequential identifier (Q1, Q2, Q3… or LX1, LX2 for lighting-specific cues).

Department — Which technical department executes this cue: LX (lighting), SFX (sound effects), VT (video/playback), AV (audio/visual), STAGE (stage management).

Action — What happens. Be specific: “Fade house lights to 30%” is better than “dim lights.”

Trigger — What initiates the cue. Either a time (“at 10:00:00”) or a visual/audio cue (“when speaker says ‘let’s watch the video’” or “on applause”).

Notes — Additional context: duration of a fade, which speaker is affected, any dependencies.

The three-step cue calling sequence

Show callers use a standardized three-step process to call cues over comms:

1. Warning (standby) — “Warning: LX cue 12 and VT cue 5.”

This alerts the operators that their cue is coming. They prepare but don’t execute.

2. Standby — “Standby: LX 12 and VT 5.”

Operators confirm they’re ready. Hands are on faders/buttons.

3. Go — “LX 12 and VT 5… GO.”

Operators execute simultaneously on the word “GO.”

This three-step process exists because live production has no undo button. A premature lighting change or video roll can’t be taken back. The warning-standby-go sequence ensures everyone is ready and synchronized.

Building a cue sheet

Step 1: Start from the run of show

Your run of show defines the show segments. Each transition between segments likely needs cues. Walk through the show chronologically and identify every moment where a technical action needs to happen.

Step 2: List every technical action

For each transition or moment, list what needs to happen technically:

• Does the lighting change?
• Does music start or stop?
• Does a video play?
• Do screens change content?
• Does a microphone need to be opened or muted?
• Does anything move on stage?

Step 3: Number and sequence

Assign cue numbers in order. If cues happen simultaneously, group them (e.g., “Q15: LX fade to warm + SFX music bed out + VT slide advance”).

Step 4: Define triggers

For each cue, decide what initiates it:

• A specific time (for time-based shows)
• A verbal cue from the speaker (“Let’s take a look at…”)
• A visual cue (speaker walks to stage left, previous segment ends)
• The show caller’s judgment

Step 5: Rehearse

The cue sheet only works if the operators have rehearsed it. Walk through the full cue sheet in a technical rehearsal, adjusting timing and sequencing as needed.

Example cue sheet

Cue	Dept	Action	Trigger	Notes
Q1	LX	House to 50%	5 min before show	Audience settling
Q2	LX	House out, stage wash up	Show caller “GO”	3s fade
Q3	SFX	Walk-on music	With Q2	Track: “Opening.wav”
Q4	VT	Roll opening video	Music ends	Duration: 90s
Q5	LX	Fade to podium spot	Video ends	Tight spot, warm
Q6	SFX	Music out	With Q5	Fade over 2s
Q7	AV	Open podium mic	Speaker at podium	Lav mic channel 3

Photo by Caught In Joy on Unsplash

Tips for show callers

Call early, not late. Give operators time to prepare. If a cue is complex, give the warning earlier.

Be consistent. Use the same phrasing every time. Operators listen for patterns.

Stay calm. If something goes wrong, a calm show caller keeps the entire crew calm. Panic is contagious.

Mark your script. Highlight trigger words and cue points in your script copy so you never miss a cue.

Trust your operators. Once you say “GO,” let them execute. Don’t micromanage timing — that’s why you rehearsed.

Digital cue sheets

Paper cue sheets work for simple shows but become unwieldy for complex productions with 100+ cues. Changes require reprinting, and it’s easy to lose track of the latest version.

Digital production tools let you build your cue sheet alongside your schedule, with team assignments showing who operates each cue and linked resources (audio files, video clips) accessible from the same view. When changes happen in rehearsal, everyone’s version updates instantly.

ProductionPlanner.io integrates schedule items with team assignments and resource links — giving your show callers and operators a shared, always-current view of the production plan.

Figure: Each cue or schedule item carries its own notes, type, and assigned operators — all in one place.

Wrapping up

A well-built cue sheet transforms a show from “I hope this works” to “I know exactly what happens next.” It takes time to build and requires rehearsal to refine, but the result is a production that executes cleanly, on time, and without surprises.