Show Season Admin: How to Stay on Top of Your Performing Arts School in the Run-Up to the Show
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4 min read
The weeks before a show are the busiest of the year for most performing arts schools. Extra rehearsals, costume fittings, and cast lists take over, and everyday admin gets pushed down the priority list. Term fees go unchecked, messages pile up, and next term's re-enrolment gets pushed to "after the show". Here’s how to keep an eye on every part of your business while still running it and keeping the show on schedule.
Book a Weekly Admin Hour (and Protect It)
When everything feels urgent, admin happens in scraps: a reply between rehearsals, a payment check at 11pm. Things get missed that way.
Instead, block out one hour a week, on the same day and time, for business admin only. Treat it like a class you're teaching. In that hour, work through the same short list every week:
Check outstanding payments
Clear any messages waiting for a reply
Check next week's timetable and teacher cover
Look at re-enrolments for next term
Note anything that needs a decision
Because Class Manager keeps payments, messages, classes and students in one place, you can work through that list from one login, on your laptop or your phone, without opening five different tools.
Keep an Eye on Cash Flow
Show season is often when money is tightest. Venue hire, costumes, sets and licences all need paying before a single ticket is sold, and it's easy to lose track of who has paid what.
A few habits that help:
Check your finance report every week. Class Manager's reports show what's been paid and what's outstanding, so you can spot a problem in week two rather than week ten.
Let billing chase for you. With automated billing, term fees are collected automatically, failed payments are retried, and reminders go out without you sending them. That keeps your regular income steady while your attention is on the show.
Keep show costs separate. Add show fees, costume charges or a production contribution as their own one-off charges, so you can see at a glance whether the show is covering its costs.
Take money upfront where you can. Costumes, show T-shirts and DVDs can be sold through the Shop and paid for at the point of order, rather than chased afterwards.
If a few families do fall behind, our guide to chasing late payments without upsetting families has some useful scripts. Tickets are a separate pot: with Stage Stubs, ticket sales are handled away from your class fees.
Get Ahead of the Messages
In the run-up to a show, the same questions arrive over and over: What time is the dress rehearsal? Do they need to bring their own tights? Where do we collect from? Answering each one separately can eat hours every week.
Send one show information pack. Put every date, time, kit list and venue detail in one scheduled email to cast families, sent a few weeks before the show. When someone asks, you can point them back to it.
Plan your reminders. Schedule emails for the key dates (costume deadline, dress rehearsal, show week), then send a quick broadcast in Chats the day before each one. Broadcasts can't be scheduled, so add a reminder to your calendar.
Use suggested replies. For the questions that still come in, Chats suggests replies for you, so you can answer in seconds between rehearsals.
Set reply times. Let families know when you'll respond to messages during show season, for example, weekday mornings. It's a small boundary that protects your evenings.
See more about Class Manager's communication tools.
Share the Load
Many school owners try to do all the admin themselves in show season, on top of directing, choreographing and teaching. Delegating even a few jobs makes a big difference.
Give someone the show admin. A trusted teacher or assistant can manage cast messages, costume orders and rehearsal registers, while you keep hold of finances and big decisions.
Use staff permissions. In Class Manager, you choose what each person can see and do, so helpers get access to cast lists and registers without seeing your income or other families' payment details.
Let teachers take their own registers. When teachers mark attendance on their phone or tablet, you're not chasing paper registers at the end of the week.
Write it down once. If you hand a job over, add a short Note to the relevant student or class record, so whoever picks it up has the full picture.
Don't Forget the Students Who Aren't in the Show
It's easy for show season to take over the whole school, but not every student is in the cast. The families of those students are still paying for a full term, and they'll notice if their classes are cancelled, moved or taught by a different teacher every week.
Keep regular classes on the timetable. Set show rehearsals up as Hidden Classes, so only the cast can see them, and keep your normal timetable as it is for everyone else.
Plan cover early. If a teacher is needed for rehearsals, arrange cover in your weekly admin hour, not on the day.
Tell families about any changes in good time. If a class has to move for a tech rehearsal, let those families know as early as you can, with a clear reason.
Include them in the excitement. Share photos and updates on Spotlight, Class Manager's in-app feed, so non-cast families feel part of it, and invite them to buy tickets.
Sort Next Term Before Show Week
The week after a show is when many families decide whether to carry on. If next term's timetable isn't ready and re-enrolment hasn't opened, that decision gets made without you.
Aim to have these done before show week:
Next term's timetable built. Use class scheduling to roll your classes forward and make any changes while you still have headspace.
Re-enrolment open. Ask current families to confirm their place by a set date, ideally just after the show while everyone is still excited.
Fees set up. Have next term's fees and discounts ready, so the first invoices go out without a last-minute scramble.
Trials ready for new enquiries. Shows bring in new interest from friends and family in the audience. With Automated Trial Emails switched on, enquiries from show week get a welcome and a follow-up even if you're too busy to reply straight away.
The show is also one of the best moments to suggest a second class to a current student. Our post on getting students to take more than one class covers how.
Enjoy the Show
Show season will always be busy, but the admin doesn't have to fall apart while you're in the rehearsal room. With a weekly routine, billing that runs itself, messages planned ahead and next term sorted early, you can spend show week where you belong: with your students.
Book a demo to see how Class Manager keeps your school running in the busiest weeks of the year, or open your account and get set up before your next show.
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