Show dictionary · Production Management
Run of Show (ROS)
Also: ROS · show flow · rundown
A run of show (ROS) is the minute-by-minute document that sequences an event: every segment, speaker, video roll, and transition in order, with start times, durations, owners, and the audio, video, and lighting cues attached to each moment.
In practice
The ROS is the show’s single source of truth. The show caller calls from it, FOH and lighting take their cues from it, stage managers move talent by it, and producers judge whether the event is running long against it.
A good ROS row carries more than a time and a title: who is on stage, what plays on screens, which microphone is live, what the lighting look is, and what happens if the segment runs over. Corporate shows tend to run detailed ROS documents; touring concerts encode the same intent in set lists and cue stacks.
"Run of show", "show flow", and "rundown" are near-synonyms whose preference varies by industry: broadcast says rundown, corporate says run of show or show flow, theatre works from the calling script.
How you’ll hear it
"Per the ROS we have a 4-minute video at 9:12. That is your reset window."
Related resources
Part of the eventools.io Show Dictionary, a free glossary of live event production terminology.