When you post a show on Cast98 you are prompted to select your starting point. The options will configure settings behind the scenes to relevant tools in front of you quickly depending on where you are in your production cycle.
Let's dive into each setting to see how it the director tools you'll find inside Cast98. The options for starting point are:
Manage auditions
Capture conflicts
Schedule rehearsals
Create playbill
Manage Auditions
This is the default starting point that enables you to squeeze the most magic out of Cast98 during your production cycle. If you're unsure about which starting point to choose, this is the recommended choice.
It assumes that your production's auditions are in the future and expects you to use the audition form for audition scheduling and the audition dashboard for audition management.
After holding successful auditions, you can leverage the cast list for your casting management software needs and assign roles + groups to individual performers from your pool of auditionees. The rehearsal schedule maker will automatically import cast and crew conflict calendars from submitted audition forms and you'll be ready to begin adding rehearsals right away.
As opening night draws near, you can activate the built-in digital playbill for your production and let it work its magic.
Cross the finish line of your show feeling good that you mostly conquered the learning curve and are ready to start your next production cycle.
Capture Conflicts
This starting point assumes that you have just finished auditions, have already cast your show, and are now looking for rehearsal schedule software to help navigate around conflict calendars.
It activates your audition form and streamlines it for collecting conflict calendars, which entails a few changes from the default, built-in form:
It renames the action item on your show page to submit conflicts
It captures only basic, required profile information (e.g. name, email, date of birth)
It skips the show questionnaire completely (no time slots, no role preferences, etc.)
You can easily invite your cast members to submit their conflicts using the link on your show page. The entire process for each of them only takes 3-5 minutes and prevents a whole lot of work for you, the director.
FAQ: Can I manually enter conflicts for my cast members?
While they create an account and input their conflicts, you can start creating the cast list. Being on the cast list is how they gain access to protected resources such as the rehearsal schedule, chat groups, rehearsal notes, etc.
Once the cast list is complete, you're ready to start putting rehearsals on the schedule. The schedule maker automatically syncs conflicts to show you the best days to rehearse.
And now, because you've done the legwork of getting your cast members into Cast98, you can also enjoy the built-in digital playbill.
Overall, this starting point feels like a lot of backtracking but an hour spent on setup will save you a dozen hours spent on rehearsal scheduling in a spreadsheet.
Schedule Rehearsals
This starting point assumes that you are past auditions you've already cast your show, and you are ready to put rehearsals on the schedule without navigating around conflict calendars.
It also makes your rehearsal schedule publicly accessible, since you will not have your cast members registered on Cast98. Soon you'll be able to put a password on the rehearsal schedule that people will have to enter when they are not logged in.
The onboarding process will advise you on the best next steps which is effectively creating your character list, rehearsal groups, and using to tag attendees for each rehearsal.
As opening night draws near, to activate your digital playbill you will need to use the custom playbill creator which requires an XL membership for your studio. This sounds a lot scarier than it is, because the monthly cost of a membership is only a fraction of what you would spend on printing playbills for your show, and the playbill creator will give you a mobile-friendly playbill much faster than other digital playbill providers.
Create Playbill
This starting point is going to assume that your first performance is just around the corner. You're past auditions and deep into rehearsals already, so the system expects you to bypass those tools. It assumes...
You will NOT use the audition form
You will NOT use the cast list
You will NOT use the rehearsal schedule
As a result, there are no performer profiles to pull bios and headshots from, and there are no cast/crew assignments to use as credits. You need to custom build your playbill.
To activate the custom playbill creator, you must activate an XL membership for your studio, which you'll find in the admin tools on your studio profile. The monthly cost of a membership is a fraction of the printing costs you would normally face and will get your playbill online faster than any of the free digital playbill providers. Enjoy!