The run of show

Eight beats in 90 minutes. Each beat is timed. Each beat has a named owner. The run of show is the script that lets the lead organizer watch the room instead of the clock.

A run of show is the timed script for the event. Without one, beats slip — the welcome runs 12 minutes instead of 5, the Q&A bleeds into nothing, the close gets cut, the press misses the commitment because they had to leave for deadline.

The 90-minute county town hall run of show, eight beats:

Beat 1 · Doors open (T-30 to T-0). Greeting team at the door. Sign-in sheet. Scorecard handout. Childcare check-in. Spanish interpretation headsets at the welcome table. The 30 minutes before the event sets the tone.

Beat 2 · Welcome (T+0 to T+5, 5 min). County captain opens. Welcomes the room, names the partner orgs, names the official(s) present, sets the run of show.

Beat 3 · Why we are here (T+5 to T+15, 10 min). Lead organizer or guest speaker lays out the issue. One slide max, plain language, ties to the theory of change from Module 1.

Beat 4 · Constituent stories (T+15 to T+45, 30 min). Three to five constituent speakers, 5–7 minutes each. The story team lead manages the mic and the timing.

Beat 5 · Scorecard (T+45 to T+55, 10 min). County captain presents the scorecard. Framed as a question, not an accusation (Module 4.4).

Beat 6 · Official Q&A (T+55 to T+80, 25 min). Facilitator runs the mic. Pre-recruited questioners alternate with open-floor questions. Camera locked on the official.

Beat 7 · Commitments and close (T+80 to T+88, 8 min). Facilitator asks the official directly to commit to defined asks. Captures the answer on camera. County captain closes with next steps.

Beat 8 · Press gaggle and informal asks (T+88 to T+120). Press time with the official, photos, follow-up signup, captain pipeline conversations.

Contingencies. Build in two slip points: 5 minutes between Beat 4 and Beat 5, 5 minutes between Beat 6 and Beat 7. If stories run long or Q&A runs hot, slip points absorb the spillover. Without them, the close gets cut and the press misses the commitment.