Stage Manager's Guide to CueDeck — From ARM to GO LIVE

How stage managers use CueDeck's real-time cue system to arm sessions, call speakers, and go live — without radios or spreadsheets.

Stage managers are the frontline of live event production. They're the ones counting down in the wings, cueing the speaker walk-on, and calling the AV booth when something goes wrong.

Traditionally, this means a radio in one hand, a printed run sheet in the other, and a prayer that the director's updates reach you before the audience notices.

CueDeck gives stage managers a focused, real-time view that replaces all of that.

Your View: The Stage Panel

When you log in as a stage operator, CueDeck shows you a streamlined session list filtered to your assigned room. No distractions from other rooms, no admin controls you don't need.

Each session card shows the title, speaker, company, planned time, and current status — updated live as the director makes changes.

The Core Workflow: ARM, CALL, GO LIVE

Stage management in CueDeck follows three key actions:

ARM (READY) — When your speaker has arrived and is standing by, you mark the session as READY. This tells the director and the rest of the team that the stage is prepared.

CALL (CALLING) — The director signals it's time. You hit CALL to indicate the speaker is being brought to the stage. AV knows to prepare, interpreters switch to the right channel.

GO LIVE — The speaker is on stage, the session begins. One click and every operator in the building sees the status change simultaneously.

Handling the Unexpected

Sessions don't always go to plan. CueDeck gives you tools for real situations:

You don't need to radio the director to ask "should I let them keep going?" — the overrun status tells the whole team the situation, and the director acts from their console.

Real-Time Awareness

Every change happens in under 100 milliseconds. When the director applies a 15-minute delay, you see it instantly on your session list — no need to ask "are we still on schedule?"

The broadcast bar shows director announcements in real time. If the coffee break is being shortened, you'll know before the audience does.

The Confidence Monitor

For stages with a monitor visible from the wings, CueDeck's Stage Confidence Monitor shows a fullscreen display of the current session, elapsed time, scheduled end, and next session up. Stage managers can glance at it without touching their console.

Why It Works

The old way: radio the director, wait for a response, relay to AV, hope the interpreter heard it.

The CueDeck way: one button click, everyone sees it, zero ambiguity.

Try CueDeck free and see how it changes your workflow. Want the director's perspective? Read The Director's Workflow.