Show-week task runbooks for stage managers

The idea

Every theatre runs on preset checklists — props tables, pyro checks, mic swaps, house-open sequences — and almost every stage manager runs them from a paper binder that gets re-photocopied nightly and signed with initials. Generic task apps have proven people pay for checklists (Todoist charges $7/mo) but none of them can express the core theatrical primitive: this list resets before every single performance, and the house does not open until it’s green.

That primitive — per-performance reset plus blocking sign-offs — is the entire wedge, and it’s small enough to build in a week. Add role-scoped views so the props ASM sees only props tasks, and a timestamped sign-off log that becomes the paper trail when something goes wrong on stage, and you’ve replaced the binder with something the whole crew can see from the wings.

Who pays

The theatre or production company, not the freelance SM: $12/mo per active production is invisible next to any show budget, and SMs carry the tool between gigs, spreading it. Targets are community theatres, dance companies, touring shows, and university programs. Distribution runs through SM Facebook groups, the SMNetwork forum, and university stage management programs where one lecturer converts a whole cohort.

MVP scope

• Productions with crew roles and share-link invites
• Three checklist types: per-performance reset, one-time, and timed pre/post-show sequences
• Blocking items feeding a go/no-go house-open banner
• Realtime role-scoped crew views with timestamped sign-offs
• Offline-tolerant PWA check-offs that sync when signal returns
• Skip for v1: cue calling during the show, scheduling/availability, script integration, native apps

Build CallBoard, a show-week runbook app for stage managers. Stack: Next.js (App Router) as an installable PWA with offline support, Supabase for auth, Postgres, and realtime sync.

Core flow: 1) SM creates a Production, adds crew members by email or share link with roles (ASM, props, wardrobe, LX, sound). 2) SM builds checklists in three types: per-performance preset lists that automatically reset to unchecked before every show, one-time tech-week tasks, and standing pre-show/post-show sequences with target times relative to curtain (e.g. house opens at -30). 3) Each checklist item can be assigned to a role or person and marked as blocking — the dashboard shows a single go/no-go banner: house cannot open while blocking items are unchecked. 4) During show-week, crew open the PWA on phones, see only their assigned items for tonight's performance, and check off with a tap; the SM's view updates in realtime via Supabase channels with a timestamped sign-off log per item.

Pages: productions list, production dashboard with performance selector and go/no-go banner, checklist editor, my-tasks crew view, sign-off history. Non-obvious details: model performances as first-class rows so checklist state is per-performance, never global; queue offline check-offs locally and sync when backstage wifi returns, resolving by latest timestamp. Pricing: free for 1 production with 5 crew, $12/mo per active production, unlimited crew.