Theatre planning can often be challenging but even more so amidst a global pandemic, where pre-existing systems are taken to their utmost (or unexpected) limits. Businesses going into the red, staff redundancies alongside a need for key workers and so on. In general, our daily lives are in a perpetual state of confusion and uncertainty and this does not leave theatres and performance venues unaffected. How do we deal with the current situation and how do we move onward?
The first step in solving a current problem is to recognize its flaws. Many venues are still managing and organizing their work with ‘conventional planning’ which would entail paper-based scheduling and basic computer software e.g. Excel. Since all data is stored and accessed separately, show planning starts from scratch and a comparative overview needs to be generated anew each time as the person has to figure out overlaps and errors manually. This shows a lack of something crucial at an age of rapid changes and turnovers — having a clear overview of available resources namely staff availability and allocation. Someone needs to cancel, another person is absent and you need replacements. Addressing this with conventional planning would in turn require calls, emails, searching through previous documents for notes on who is available when and if the replacements are compatible with current planning.
With the wonders of automated technology, these needs can be alleviated. For example, Lydian offers a feature that enables you to compare your planning and resource availability with existing planning and resources. This enables quick switches in planning should conflicts or issues arise. All data and changes are stored in the systems, which gives accurate and most recent information for both the planner and those whose schedules are affected. Moreover, the changes are factored into work reports meaning up-to-date work hours and expenditure without having to go the extra mile for the changes to be recorded. That is the benefit of a digital and automated planning system.
This approach also lends itself for effective and smooth management in the future, not only for a crisis situation where resources are limited and our choices hold more responsibility. The aspects to keep in mind are ‘clarity’ and ‘adaptability’ — to create and work within systems that provide a clear overview of workings and accessible ways to manage them. It is unlikely that systems that have proved themselves unreliable (e.g. ‘conventional planning’) at times of uncertainty will continue to serve us and be invested in the future. The recent shift in global circumstances calls for change, and that change is pointing towards further digital transformation in order to ensure reliable planning and the safety of both staff and audience.
