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Home Tour Supervisor Training

Life changing children's theatre.

Tour Supervisor Training

Complete this form before you begin your first tour as Tour Supervisor. Check all answers that you think apply. Not everything is black and white, so just answer what you think is best and we will discuss with you afterwards. This isn’t a test, this is just an easier way to get up to speed with Alpha’s philosophies so we can ensure we are aligned and working well together!

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Check all answers that you think apply

On the following pages are various scenarios presented. Check all the answers you think apply.

What should the Tour Supervisor do if a cast member or the team has an issue with a company policy or other problem whilst on tour? *Agree that they have brought up a valid point and console them with discussions around how that issue is true and get group consensus that it really needs to change or be addressedListen and have empathy for the situation, explain the reason for the policy/procedure and use leadership skills to help them to focus on contribution, service and being your best at the job they’ve been hired to doReport the situation to management and be participative and positive in implementing any new directives that management might implement as a result to help alleviate the issue for the cast member

How should the Tour Supervisor handle a Company Cast Member who is repeatedly underperforming? *Report the underperformance to management including the context and reasons why it might be happeningContinuously pull them up and show dissatisfaction with their performance on the job in hopes that they will improve and to ensure they’re aware of Alpha’s standards for our showsCasually mention the issue in a light-hearted way, giving some context for why we do it the way we do it at Alpha and the standards we are aiming for, and have the attitude of positive expectation that they’ll fix it up and we’re all in this together as a team to help each otherIgnore it and hope that they just pick it up or get better on their own, we don’t want to be making an actor feel stupid or not good enough at their job, after all, the job is difficult enough as it is, they’re already doing so much for the company so we can’t ask any more of them

What is the best way for a Tour Supervisor to pass on Director notes to actors, whether it be a performance note or a necessary alteration to adapt to a specific type of audience (eg. age or cultural variations for conservative content)? *Directly to each cast member privately, using empathy and understanding, and only giving the information necessary to achieve the goal and being aware of any necessary sensitivitiesRead out all the notes to everyone in full, being careful to dismiss notes that don’t seem relevant due to how the show has evolved over timeIt’s best to avoid giving too many notes from management, after all they aren’t on tour and you want to do what’s best for the cast and the overall outcomes of the tour & show, so just use your best judgement and discretionRespectfully and with a positive attitude give notes that effect everyone in a group setting either before a show, in the van on the way to a show or any other time cast are ready and receptive to positively take on and enact notesSame as above, but also adding in additional thoughts you have from what you’ve observed so far as important for the overall show’s message and outcomesEnthusiastically give director notes from management, reframing the notes as coming from you so as to reaffirm and encourage more faith in you as a leader that understands the shows better than anyone to ensure casts follow your lead without question

How should the Tour Supervisor handle conflict within the cast? *Passionately discuss and express your opinion about the conflict and what you think is right, and stick to your guns and stand up for what you believe in to ensure truth wins, after all that’s what Alpha’s shows teaches and we want to encourage people to speak truth about how they feel about everythingLet management team know about the issue before it has an opportunity to become a problem and collaboratively discuss ways to resolve the conflict in a way that makes everyone feel heard and satisfied with the outcome, and implement that action positively and respectfullyAmplify and bring attention to the issue for the long-term benefit of cast and company by indicating that it might be something the company is falling short on so that the long-standing issue that’s causing stress for everyone can finally be fixedIgnore it and stay out of it, you don’t want to get involved in something that could make people not like you, that’s management’s job

What should the Tour Supervisor do if an actor's mic stops working during a show? *Stop the show, make an announcement that the show will recommence shortly once you can figure out what is wrong and fix itHave the handheld mic ready to go SR, turned up, turned on and ready to go for them to grabCheck the receiver to ensure it has power, the batteries aren’t flat, and the channel isn’t muted on the mixer, and then have appropriate solutions to fix the mic once the performer comes off stage, whether that be new batteries, switching the mic on, or changing a broken cableThinking on your feet, you quickly go out on stage in character and adlib and cover for them until they can get off stage, then add clever additions to the show to ensure the plot and message stays on trackPerform the song for them from backstage after turning your own mic up

How can a Tour Supervisor re-motivate actors who are feeling tour fatigue? *Plan some extra fun / social activities to lift everyone’s spirits whilst travelling or in the eveningsReport the situation to management, stay positive during the work shifts and endeavour to give everyone the maximum downtime possible by getting everyone home or to the accommodation as soon as possible so they can take some time to restRemind them that they need to not allow themselves to get sick or fatigued on tour, because there’s nobody to replace them, the company values and needs them, and they need to take better care of themselves as you noticed they’ve been eating a lot of junk food latelyDiscuss as a group the difficulties created by how the schedule has been put together and agree as a team that the company shouldn’t be requiring a schedule that causes so much exhaustion, fatigue and stress

What should the Tour Supervisor do if power goes out during a show causing a loss of sound amplification as well as the lighting? *Staying calm and stress free, knowing it’s not Alpha’s fault, and cease the show; if the school can’t provide a reliable power source then there’s nothing we can really doStaying calm and stress free, find the teacher in charge of the booking and apologize for the interruption of power, and then go out on stage in costume and apologize to the audience that you are trying to fix it as soon as possible, there’s no need to worry or leave the venue, power will surely be turned back on soonKeep the show going no matter what! After all, the show must go on. Staying calm and stress free and in character, use your training and experience as performers to improvise and include the loss of lighting and sound into the plot in a clever way, continuing through to the end of the show without music or sound effects, which are less important than the lines anywayStaying calm and stress free, pause the show temporarily using a quick announcement whilst you attempt to find a power source on a different circuit that hasn’t tripped. If you have to go out into the audience to fix, wear an Alpha Shows jacket or uniform, and as soon as you have managed to get power back, re-cue the sound tracks to where you were up to first, get the show started again, and then see if you can bring back some lights

How should DMX cabling issues with lights be troubleshooted? *Check connections at each lighting fixture that is plugged in along the chain of DMX, replacing any faulty cables and/or securing loose connectionsTest with another DMX cable direct from the light or equipment to the DMX hubJust ignore it, the venue is pretty light anyway, nobody will noticeKill power to everything and see what happens

If the sound desk loses power, what should be restored first? *CameraMicrophones & sound amplificationCueing up the Backing tracksLighting Desk MacBook and Clarity

How often should the Tour Supervisor send Post Show Reports or report status to management? *Only for emergencies, fill in suitable forms when something is going wrong and you don’t know how to fix itDaily, sending a Post Show Report after each venue is completed and sending messages on Slack in a private group with management regarding anything elseWeekly, management only requires seeing a digest of Post Show Reports at the end of the week, at which time you can also report anything notable from the weekAt the end of the tour, management only does a review of all Post Show Reports at the end of the tour during your tour debrief discussion

What is the purpose of the camera? *So that actors can see the performances on stage and help with tech cues and interesting facts about the audience that would help when they are next on stageSo that management can review the show and bump-in/bump-out for safety and accountability purposesSo that any challenges that arise with venue or clients have been recorded for liability purposes

How should the Tour Supervisor respond to complaints from Company Cast Members? *Report it to management and discuss ways to resolve it with a positive attitude, coaching your team to help them focus on their professional obligations and contributionsPromise to speak to management about the issue so that it can be fixed to their satisfaction and resolutionValidate their concerns as something that definitely needs to be fixed, and reassure them that we are working on changing that issueRemind them that touring is difficult, and they have a job to do and they should be grateful to be performing at all

What is the best way to minimize conflict and/or underperformance within the cast? *Crack down on unprofessional behavior quickly and call up mistakes as soon as you notice themFoster open communication between the entire team and keep the work shifts light-hearted and funStick to your favourites on tour and in social situations, that way you don’t have to worry about not getting along with everyone, so no conflictThreaten to replace them because they’re not taking their job seriously

How can the Tour Supervisor be an inspiring leader on and off stage? *Make sure you model success and confidence to show the company you can handle being given more responsibility in leadership positionsCritique cast performances to ensure higher standards and give plenty of notes on every detail you can think of for setup to prove your leadership abilitiesModel and be the example of hard work, grace and resilience, even under pressureSympathize about the exhausting workload in order to create rapport with your team

What should the Tour Supervisor do if someone has lost their voice or they can’t perform for some reason? *Endeavour to lead in a calm way to help everyone get the down time they need so that they have a chance to heal and feel better by the next performance, potentially cutting problematic songs that they cannot perform temporarily, and liaising with management to discuss possible solutionsLet them know it’ll be a huge inconvenience if they don’t perform, and pressure them to go on no matter what - the show must go on!Make plans to rework the whole show around 5 cast members and do extra paid rehearsals to be prepared, and let the sick cast member stay home to recoverInsist they still come for setup and packup so the rest of the team aren’t overworked, but just perform the role yourself or sing the songs from backstage

How should the Tour Supervisor respond to feedback on their own performance onstage or about some aspect of their off-stage role? *Be truthful, state how the criticism made you feel and that you shouldn’t have to be made to feel that wayExplain that being a Tour Supervisor is just too stressful and that you don’t have the bandwidth to take on that feedback so that management knows the pressure you’re underExplain that the feedback doesn’t apply, there are other reasons why the way it currently is has become necessary that management isn’t aware ofAsk the cast what they think so you can get the whole team’s perspective and present your case in a formal letter to management on behalf of the entire castTake it professionally and implement the feedback without egoExplain that it wasn’t your fault, it was someone else on the team who had made the mistake

What should the Tour Supervisor do if a teacher is upset about something to do with the show or setup? *Apologize and offer to cancel the performance without feeReport it to management afterwards with full details of the incidentArgue and defend the actions profusely with the teacher to protect you and your cast from being blamed for somethingPolitely remind that most issues are communicated in advance in the Touring Pack that was emailed that someone from the company rang to confirm you received, and that these policies are in place for important reasons especially safety

How can the Tour Supervisor maximize bookings for Alpha Shows? *Push booking forms to be completed immediately by clients and don’t let them leave without doing itBuild rapport and provide a great show, touching base after to turn their enthusiasm into an agreement for the futureSuggest that even if they don’t keep the booking, they could help you out by just selecting ‘Yes’ on the booking form because that way management is happyMake the teacher feel guilty if they don’t book because you have all worked so hard and we don’t charge nearly enough for the huge show that we put on for them, and that we really need this booking because they are a larger school and they subsidize the cost of going to smaller ones

What are the Tour Supervisor's options when time is running short? *With a positive attitude and team spirit, encouraging faster but still safe and fun working pace to meet time goals, pushing back a show start time slightly, tightening up adlibs and maybe cutting a less engaging song for timeDecide to cut down the show by skipping scenes or multiple songs to save timeSkip less essential setup tasks like sound test and fight call, provided safe to do soWith a positive attitude and team spirit, get rapport with your team mentioning the tight schedule being so exhausting and thank them and mention that they deserve a bonus treat after the day is over for doing so much extra work

How should the Tour Supervisor respond to repetitive tech issues? *Report them as soon as it happens, and wait for management to provide a solutionDo some testing and troubleshooting to check if it’s something you can fix, but if not reach out to management to provide some guidance on next stepsKeep trying to fix it on your own and if it’s good enough and nobody will notice, just put up with it for now and trust it’ll be fixed after the end of the tourMinimise or just don’t mention the problem to management as you don’t want to appear incompetent

How should the Tour Supervisor communicate with management? *Let them know that you’ve got this, and they don’t need to worry or check in all the timeTake feedback politely and reassure management that you understand, because the most important thing is to appear competent and not let them downEnsure you are super prepared with everything and ready to answer all queries with a solution and justifications for how you think something should beProfessional and friendly, and dedicated to fact-based truth, aligned with company values and streamlined processes that are flexible and respectful of Alpha’s standards and history

What should the Tour Supervisor do if a teacher requests a shorter Question Time? *Comply to make them happy, even if they weren’t seated and ready on time, and just try to squeeze in as much as you canExplain it's value and keep full length and promise you will finish on time if they are seated on time, but keep an eye on each other to check at the end in case the show as gone a bit longer and they’re getting nervousReport the incident to management and ignore the request, they should know we always do a full question timeSkip Question Time altogether, you don’t want to upset them by going longer than their requested end-time

How should the Tour Supervisor respond if management request seems unreasonable? *Push back and argue and explain your point of view with conviction, that’s the only way you can get respect and make it the way it should beDiscuss your concerns privately & confidentially with management in a respectful way, and professionally defer to management’s final decisionVent to the cast about it so that you can have better rapport as a team and acknowledge how hard you are all working for the companyIgnore and discard the request assuming management isn’t paying that much attention anyway

What should the Tour Supervisor do if actors want to invite guests to accommodations, such as a significant other? *Allow it as long as there's roomProhibit any non-cast guestsMake exceptions for their friends or partnersRefer the request to management for approval

How often should the Tour Supervisor check oil level, trailer & van tire pressure? *Never, it'll be serviced after each tourWhen they rememberEvery few days, or after a long tripWeekly, or after a long trip

When should costume washing be avoided whilst away from Alpha HQ on tour? *When the costume is delicate and/or doesn’t touch any skin, otherwise most washing should be done every weekend for all costumesWhen the Tour Supervisor is very busy and there’s lots of other tech/tour issues to focus onWhenever the cast wants, each person is responsible for their own costume and can choose not to wash anythingNever, the smell of costumes must be minimised for cast comfort

How should the Tour Supervisor respond if a teacher says a cast member was unprofessional? *Admonish the cast member in front of the teacherApologize and promise to address it with the cast member, but then don’t worry about it as the teacher probably misinterpreted somethingDefend the cast member and reassure that we would never do something so unprofessionalReport the complaint to management to follow up, and let the teacher know that management will reach out to address

Fight calls are required at every new venue, but when might you skip a fight call? *Never, for safety reasons there is no exception to performing fight callAfter a week of touring, they probably know the fight just fine so don’t need to continue doing it as most venues are similar and as long as you set the same stage space every time, there’s no need to risk having performers out on stage when audiences are enteringWhenever you run out of time and the audience is coming in, all cast members should be backstage to maintain the ‘magic of theatre’Only if the venue is a typical venue that is no different than most other venues with a similar floor texture and space, and then only if an audience is coming in and would see performers on stage doing fight call

What should a Tour Supervisor do if a cast member is repeatedly late or contravenes an 'appropriate conduct' clause? *Give them a formal warningLet it slideReport it to managementJoin in and let that be the new standard, to maintain rapport within the team

What is the main priority during setup? *Getting lights focused so that you have the spotlight in the right spot for your soloSetting up the set with precise symmetry and spacing to prevent audience seeing backstage at all anglesRunning cables neatly and covering all of them to minimise tripping hazards backstageTime efficiency, safety and testing everything

When should the acknowledgment of country announcement be made if it's not included in the intro track? *At any time during pre-show announcementsYou can skip it unless you see someone of Aboriginal descent in the audienceDuring other pre-show announcements, just before the final ’30 seconds until show start’ announcementAfter pre-show announcements when music is fully faded, right before the beginning of the Intro track to begin the actual show

What should a Tour Supervisor do if they notice a cast member on Monday morning feeling under the weather after a big weekend out partying? *Ignore it, what they do on the weekend is none of the company’s businessAdmonish them with subtle jokes and comments about their partying lifestyleMonitor it and mention it on Slack to management so that if it becomes necessary we can figure out some paths forward to help them get back to being ‘tour fit’Don’t worry about it, and continue to focus on the overall needs of everyone as a team by encouraging casts to socialize and have fun on tour, because if they get sick it’s fine anyway, you can just take over their roles and re-work the show for 5 cast

What are the requirements for ad-libs during a show? *They must be pre-approvedThey cannot subtract from the main script in any significant wayThey cannot reference inside jokes that the audience won’t getThey should include your personal ideology to add an extra dimension to the values education

What must the Tour Supervisor report to management? *Cast injuries on or off the jobVehicle accidents or altercations with others on the roadCustomer complaints and feedbackPotential issues involving cast health or morale

When should costume repairs be reported? *During the show, being sure to include photosAt the end of each week, being sure to include photosWhen requested by cast members, being sure to include photosImmediately after noticing, being sure to include photos

How long should Question Time be? *As long as the audience wants5-10 minutes15-20 minutesIt's up to the teacher

What should the Tour Supervisor do if running late to a venue? *Skip a lot of the setup of lights and just get the set preparedCall ahead to inform the venue and reassure that the show will still be able to go ahead and finish on time, efficiently but calmly completing the setup as fast and safely as you canSpeed and run red lights to ensure you get there on time, after all you don’t want the customer to report to management that you were lateBecome hyper and start barking orders at the cast to ensure they move faster and remind them that this is what you have been saying all along

When should the company vehicle return to Alpha HQ or the accommodation after shows? *Whenever the cast is ready and have gotten all the food they needStraight away, unless the cast is required to be given a legal breakAfter dinner, if you won’t be back by 6pmBefore 11pm

What is the goal for maximum shift time for a single show day (Bachelor)? *3.5 hours4 hours4.5 hours5 hours

What is the most important thing to check at each school for a rebooking? *Audience numbers for this years show and sending the invoice to get the money as soon as possible so everyone can get paid their wagesShow selection for next year, making sure it’s a show the school would want and that it aligns with their curriculum focusThe schedule for next year, to ensure they have availability in their busy school scheduleConfirmation of ‘Y’ for booking, ‘whole school’, ‘next year’ and the signature on the booking form so that we can follow up to book them for any of our upcoming shows with certainty when it is convenient for the company, because all of the shows are awesome any year for the whole school as they aren’t aimed at specific year levels or curriculum requirements

If changes to a script need to happen for some reason, how should a Tour Supervisor handle it? *Liaising with Creative Director and Production Team to have the script re-written or alternative lines workshopped with the concerns in mindUsing the talents and skills of cast on the ground, making the decisions independently to ensure a smooth transition to the changes neededDon’t change it, the script is the script and should be respected and honoured in all cases, especially when it comes to identity politics that the customer is clearly ignorant aboutThe script? Don’t worry about it - we kinda make it up every day anyway!

Who should the Tour Supervisor consult for any expenses beyond diesel and accommodation? *Cast members, especially taking care of their personal needs as a priority when they forgot to bring something needed for touringTeachersManagementNo one, the credit card is there to be used

When is drinking alcohol permitted for cast members? *Only on days offWhenever they want, as long as it’s not on school propertyDuring group dinnersNever in uniform or at a company provided accommodation when there is a show the next day

When should leave times be adjusted? *To accommodate cast requests or personal issuesTo arrive late intentionally to minimize wage costsIf the estimated travel time has changed and there isn’t absolute certainty that an on-time arrival would occurNever, management has set them and it would be wrong to second-guess management

What should happen if a mic is just not working for one performer due to a costume, mask or other issue specific to that performer? *Report to management to get new microphones and explain the current mics just aren’t workingAlways keep everyone with the mics they have as they have gotten used to them, and just try to fix the problem micSwap mics amongst cast until you find one that works, and if short on spares put in a requisition requestDon’t worry about it, just have them use the handheld when to gets too bad

How do you approach a client that is a bit prickly and upset about something to do with our setup or requirements? *Defer to their issues and try to placate and please them by moving the van or doing whatever they need, even if it will cause more work for your team (or a safety issue)Hold yourself with confidence that you know you’re doing the best overall course of action for safety and Alpha’s policies but remain polite and understanding as you remind them about the conditions of booking or items in the Touring Pack they received on emailRemind them that we know what we’re doing as we’ve been doing this for decades and that if they don’t agree to our conditions we may have to leave and cancel the show without refundAvoid them at all costs, and just let management handle it, it’s above your pay grade

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