Checked Twice Daily: Call Board Meaning at Ocean Theatre
A call board is a backstage bulletin board used in theatre to post notices, schedules and other essential production information for cast and crew. It acts as the central communication point for a show, bringing together call times, cast lists and rehearsal updates in one place that everyone involved can check. Without it, a production has no shared source of truth for who needs to be where, and when.
TL;DR:
A call board must be located where all cast and crew pass multiple times daily to ensure visibility and access for everyone.
It is maintained primarily by the stage manager and checked at least twice a day to avoid missed updates like schedule changes or safety notices.
The board typically holds critical information such as call times, cast lists, role changes, safety notices, and travel instructions, especially for touring productions.
Digital tools supplement but do not replace the physical call board because of reliability issues like unread messages or unequal device access.
The call board remains essential for its simplicity, offline availability, and ability to serve all team members equally regardless of digital literacy or connectivity.
Table of Contents
Definition and usage in a theatre production
The Merriam-Webster definition describes a call-board, sometimes written callboard, as a noun denoting a bulletin board, especially in a theatre, used to post rehearsal and cast notices. That simple framing explains why the term shows up so consistently across dictionaries: it describes a specific object with a specific job, not a general concept open to interpretation.
In a working theatre, the board usually lives somewhere cast and crew pass several times a day: backstage near the stage door, in the green room, or outside the company office. Placement is never an afterthought. A board tucked away where only a handful of people see it fails at the one thing it exists to do.
Location matters for two practical reasons:
Visibility: everyone moving through the building sees it without having to search.
Access: cast, crew and stage management can all reach it, whatever their role or schedule.
Who keeps it updated and when to check it
On most productions, the production stage manager maintains the call board, posting and removing notices as rehearsals and performances evolve. Touring shows often run a second board as well, managed by the company manager, covering logistics like travel and accommodation that fall outside a stage manager’s usual remit.
ControlBooth’s practitioner guidance recommends checking the board at least twice daily: once on arrival and once before leaving. A simple routine looks like this:
Check on arrival, before you settle into the building.
Check again before you leave, in case anything changed during the day.
Check after any major announcement or break, since updates often follow straight after.
Missing an update is not a minor inconvenience. It can mean a late arrival, a missed costume fitting, or worse, a missed safety notice.
Pro Tip: Make checking the call board as automatic as finding your dressing room, it takes seconds and saves everyone a scramble.
What you will actually find posted on the board
A call board earns its keep through what it carries day to day. According to the Wikipedia entry on call boards, it typically holds contact sheets, schedules and rehearsal time changes, accessible to cast, crew and management alike.
In practice, that usually breaks down into:
Call times and daily rehearsal schedules, so everyone knows exactly when they are needed.
Cast lists, understudy notices and role changes, kept current as a production evolves.
Blocking notes and rehearsal room allocations, pointing performers to the right space.
Contact sheets, giving quick access to stage management and company numbers.
Travel and arrival instructions, especially useful for touring companies.
Health and safety notices, covering anything from fire exits to weather-related changes.
Call board versus soundboard, footboard and call sheet
These terms sound alike but describe entirely different things. A soundboard, per the Cambridge Dictionary, usually refers to an audio mixing surface or the resonating plate inside an instrument, nothing to do with notices. A footboard, as Collins notes, typically means a vertical panel at the foot of a bed or a foot-operated lever, again unrelated to theatre communication.
A call sheet is different again: it is the daily schedule document used on film and television sets. Theatre productions rely on the call board instead, as a standing, physical hub rather than a single-day printout. You might hear a stage manager say, “Check the call board, your understudy slot starts earlier this week,” a sentence that only makes sense once you know what the board actually is.
Digital tools alongside the physical board
Many productions now pair the traditional board with digital channels: email lists, group messaging apps, production intranets or scheduling software. Tools like those discussed in production scheduling guides can speed up how quickly a change reaches everyone, especially cast and crew working off-site.
The trade-off is reliability. A message can go unread, a notification can get buried, and not everyone in a company has equal digital access.
Speed and reach: digital tools can alert people instantly, wherever they are.
Access gaps: not every company member checks messages at the same rate, or has a device to hand backstage.
Redundancy: the safest approach keeps the physical board as the single trusted source, backed by at least one digital channel.
ControlBooth’s own guidance makes the point well: even digitally connected companies keep a physical board for last-minute or safety notices, because it works when apps do not.
How we use a call board at Ocean Theatre
At Ocean Theatre Company, our call board sits where every member of The Company (14-19) passes on their way into rehearsal, kept current by our production stage management team throughout each show. During a production run, it carries call times, blocking updates and cast notices, following the common rhythm practised in theatre productions. Checking it is simply part of how a production day starts, and performers are encouraged to treat it the same way.
Why the humble call board still matters
A call board earns its place not through novelty but through reliability. It works without wifi, without a login, and without excluding anyone who finds a screen harder to manage than a printed page. That simple reliability is exactly what makes it worth keeping, long after every other backstage system has gone digital.
— Andrew
FAQ
What does “footboard” mean?
A footboard usually refers to a vertical board at the foot of a bed or a foot-operated lever or pedal, as defined by Collins Dictionary. It has no connection to theatre communication and should not be confused with a call board.
What is the definition of a soundboard?
A soundboard is most commonly an audio mixing surface used to control sound levels, or the resonating plate inside a musical instrument, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. It is a sound engineering term, not a theatrical noticeboard.
What is a callboard in theatre?
A callboard is a backstage bulletin board used to post schedules, cast lists and rehearsal notices, as defined by Merriam-Webster. It serves as the main communication hub for a production, typically maintained by the production stage manager.
What is board slang for?
Outside theatre, “board” can informally mean many flat surfaces or panels, from a sound mixing desk to a message forum online. In a theatrical context specifically, “the board” almost always means the call board, the backstage noticeboard carrying production notices.
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