Post-mortem meeting script — 45 minutesEasyStagecraft Module 5 · the one-week-after-closing meeting · agenda · facilitation script · one-page output template · the meeting that makes the NEXT production cheaper to plan

Why this exists. The post-mortem is the highest-leverage hour in the whole production cycle — for next year's show. Most schools skip it because closing-week fatigue makes it feel optional. Don't skip it. The structure below gives you a 45-min meeting where nobody is blamed, every observation is captured, and the output is a one-page document you re-read at the start of every future planning cycle.

When + who

When	1 week after closing. Earlier is too raw, later is too forgotten.
Duration	45 minutes. Hard stop at 50. If it spills past, you've not facilitated tightly.
Where	School staff room or production office — neutral ground. Not the theatre.
Who attends	PM (you, facilitating) · Director · MD · SM · LX HOD · SND HOD · Set HOD · Parent Coordinator
Who does NOT attend	Cast members (their own debrief happens separately with director) · Principal (gets the output)
Pre-work	Each attendee comes with ONE answer to each of "what worked / what didn't / what we'd change / what we'd keep". 90 seconds prep per person.

Agenda — 45 minutes

Time	Item	Notes
0:00 – 0:03	Opening (3 min)	PM opens with show stats: # performances, attendance, revenue, surplus/deficit, any incidents. Headline-only. The "neutral facts" anchor everyone before opinions start.
0:03 – 0:15	What worked (12 min)	Each attendee gets 90 seconds to share ONE thing that worked specifically. PM captures verbatim on whiteboard/screen. No comment, no challenge. Pure listening. Specifics, not vibes.
0:15 – 0:30	What didn't work (15 min)	Each attendee gets 90 seconds for one thing. Then 4 min for collective add-ons. PM captures. Rule: discuss systems, not people. Phrase it as "the [process / role / step] could improve" not "X did Y wrong".
0:30 – 0:38	What we'd change (8 min)	Up to 5 changes for 2027. Prioritised. Owner named for each. Specific enough that someone could action it in week-8 of next production.
0:38 – 0:42	What we'd keep (4 min)	3 specific practices that worked and must NOT be discarded. (Without this list, good practice gets eroded year-by-year.)
0:42 – 0:45	Wrap (3 min)	PM confirms next steps. Output document delivered to attendees + principal within 48 hours. Thanks everyone. Hard stop.

Facilitator script

Opening

"Thanks all for coming. We're going to run 45 minutes, hard stop. The point of this meeting isn't to relitigate the show — it's to make the NEXT production easier. Anything that was hard this year, the principle is: discuss the system, not the person. Same for what worked — name the practice, not just the personality. I'll capture everything on the screen as we go and circulate the one-page summary by Tuesday."

Headline opener

"Here are the numbers: 5 performances, 1,037 audience, A$2,201 surplus against forecast deficit of A$50, zero notifiable incidents, two minor first-aid entries — both Year-10 stagehand on dress night, both back at work in 20 minutes. That's the show."

What worked — prompt

"I want one specific thing each — not 'great cast' or 'good vibes'. Specific: a process, a person doing a particular thing, a contractor, a tool, a decision we made. The kind of thing where if someone came in fresh next year, you'd say 'definitely keep that'. [Pause.] Let's start at the SM and go around."

What didn't work — prompt (the hardest one)

"OK — and again, specific. Phrase it as 'the [process or step] could improve' rather than 'so-and-so did X wrong'. Even if you mean the person, name the practice. [Pause.] Director — start us off."

If someone breaks the rule and names a person: gently re-route. "OK — so the practice we're describing is [X]. Got it." Then move on.

What we'd change — prompt

"Looking at what didn't work — what are the 3-5 changes for 2027 that would actually address them? I want an owner against each — who would action this between Term 1 planning and bump-in next year? Doesn't have to be the person in the room; can be 'PM in conversation with school finance'. But named."

What we'd keep — prompt

"Last one — three things we did this year that we explicitly do NOT want to drift away from. Because every year someone arrives new and asks 'why do we do it this way?' and the answer needs to be in writing. [Pause.] SM — give me one."

Wrap

"Excellent. I'll circulate the one-page summary by COB Tuesday. The principal gets a copy. I'll archive it in the 2026 production folder, and the 2027 first-planning meeting in Term 1 will open with this document on the screen. Thanks for the year — get some rest. You've earned it."

Output — the one-page summary

2026 production · post-mortem · one-page summary

Production	Les Misérables · Year-12 musical · 14-18 Oct 2026
Headline	5 performances · 1,037 audience · A$2,201 surplus · zero notifiable incidents · 2 minor first-aid
Post-mortem attendees	R. Davies (PM), L. Murray (Director), Mr Chen (MD), M. Tran (SM), J. Lin (LX), A. Quinn (SND), B. Singh (Set), A. Smith (Parent coord)

What worked

Pre-show BS-detector on the lighting hire quote — saved A$4,745 with zero loss of capability.
SM delegation contract — first year using it. M. Tran ran tech week without a single director-to-SM authority confusion.
70% rule on the bump-in schedule — every published call ran to time despite a 90-min EWP delay on Day 2.
Parent dinner Tue + Thu of tech week — reduced cast no-shows for evening sessions vs 2025.
Image-release per-channel opt-out — 0 parent disputes about archival recording (vs 4 last year).

What didn't work

Wireless mic frequency coordination ran at 13:30 day 2 — should have been pre-bump-in. Caused 25-min delay starting band soundcheck.
Costume measurement night clashed with a year-12 trial-exam week. Took 3 sessions instead of 1 to capture all cast.
Programme ad-sales started week-4 — too late. Half the local businesses had already committed their advertising budget elsewhere.
Friday final-rehearsal call ran to 22:15 — should have been 21:00 hard. Year-12 cast fatigued for opening Saturday matinee.

What we'd change for 2027 (owner · timing)

Change	Owner	By when
RF coordination moved to week −1 (off-site venue scan ahead of bump-in)	SND HOD	2027 week −2 publication
Costume measurement night locked away from Yr-12 trial weeks	Parent coord	2027 week −7
Programme ad-sales opens week −6, not week −4	Parent coord + PM	2027 week −7
Hard-stop on Friday call at 21:00 enforced by SM	SM (next year's)	Week −1 schedule
SM delegation contract reviewed at bump-in weekend + dress (already proven; just formalise the review)	PM	Bump-in weekend

What we'd keep (do NOT drift)

BS-detector review on every contractor quote > A$5,000.
SM delegation contract signed at SM appointment.
70% rule on bump-in schedule.

Distribution: attendees + principal + business manager. Archived to production folder · re-opened at Term-1 planning meeting 2027.

The post-mortem rule. If you skip the post-mortem because you're tired, you're paying for that exhaustion with every avoidable mistake in next year's show. Three of the five "changes" above came from observations that everyone had but no-one had said out loud during the season. The 45-minute meeting is where they get said.