What steps can you take to accommodate unexpected personal emergencies affecting your production schedule?

1. Établir des procédures d'urgence : Créez un plan de continuité des activités qui détaille les actions à prendre en cas d'absence inattendue. Cela peut inclure la délégation des tâches critiques et la mise en place de plans de secours pour les urgences. 2. Former une équipe autonome : Assurez-vous que plusieurs personnes sont formées pour gérer des aspects clés de la production. Cela permet à l'entreprise de continuer à fonctionner en votre absence. 3. Automatisation des processus : Envisagez d'automatiser certains aspects de votre production, ce qui réduira la dépendance vis-à-vis de la supervision humaine quotidienne. (L'espace ne suffit plus pour ajouter du texte)

During the years following the COVID-19 crisis, we all learned how to navigate unexpected personal emergencies, aka. a positive COVID-19 test in the cast or crew! Building in extra time into your rehearsal schedule is no longer a luxury. It is an absolute necessity. I usually plan on 2-3 "loose" days towards the end of the rehearsal process to cover anything left unresolved or to give us an opportunity to pivot if we need to push back scenes or (hopefully not) work in a replacement.

Are you reading my email!!?? We are going through this right now. As the producer of long running show without regular covers or understudies, we often have a "bench" of previous performers to call upon. If they are not available, we look to recast. If time is of the essence we give the sub performer the book and explain the situation to the audience. Same with production issues, our Stage Manager ideally have skills to solve problems on the spot whether we are at or home theater or on the road. I have dozens of stories from our own production and others and I guarantee you that watching company overcome production challenge is much more thrilling then a cancelled show. The show must go on.

Communication is KEY. I see so many issues in the industry that could be quickly solved or easily avoided with clear and effective communication with key participants.

This goes without saying. But make sure you know where this info live and be certain any new team members have access to it. This is ideally part of a through onboarding process.

Provide emotional first aid. Emergency situations are stressful for everyone directly or indirectly involved. Therefore, show your employees that you care, go to them, talk to them, help them materially and non-materially, with care and advice, and show your employees that they mean a lot to you. Only then can you begin to put the systems in place to secure the theatrical production, especially rehearsals and performances - to show respect for your artists and your audience.

Great point. Speaking from personal experience I'm one to dive into the fire and try to figure out how to put it out. But it's important to not forget that any challenge you may be facing is often caused by an unfortunate or challenging situation experienced by another. It it imperative you or someone your team communicates your efforts and solution to alleviate any additional stress that individual may be feeling as a result of "letting you down." And if you've build a solid team, ideally they will all rise to the occasion.

Handling Change is the number 1 important skill for any succesful leader. Contigency plans must be put in place, for any and all type of emergencies. I watched in NYC after one scene, them switch out Elphaba, all covered in green make up.