Next in my series of organizing for the New Year. This pic is of my wonderful students (who now are grown and many have children of their own….) for the musical “Peter Pan,” which I use here as an example of the concept.

Get Organized!

Part 3: The Concept of Backplanning

You did your dreaming….within all those dreams are some goals for this coming year. Now comes the time to put planning to work. I’ve used this system for decades – literally. I’m sure someone came up with the idea before, but to my knowledge no one else calls it “backplanning.” Because…..you plan backwards. It seems counter-intuitive to how we usually plan, but this method pretty much guarantees you will finish on time, without that last-minute unpleasantness crammed in to a few days. In fact….you could be early.

What I also like about this system is that by the time you are done, you have a plan in front of you that looks extremely practical, manageable, and something that doesn’t scare you before you even start.

One thing to keep in mind – your goals can be any length, from a week to a year.  I’ve used this method to plan getting ready for a trip in two weeks to presenting a middle school musical in 9 weeks, to my yearly goals. For the school musicals, I started with a 9-week calendar that was determined by opening night. Then I started backing up important dates, until I had actually scheduled auditions.

What I want you to do next is skim through this calendar, top to bottom, and bottom to top. There’s room built in for snow days and other things that might come up, plus keeping in mind the attention span of middle schoolers. And, I feel it’s do-able for me, the director.

• Friday, May 2 – afternoon and evening shows, strike set, cast party
• Thursday, May 1 – afternoon opening, evening show
• Wednesday, April 30 – dress rehearsal
• Tuesday, April 29 – tech rehearsal everything
• Monday, April 28 – tech rehearsal, lights and set changes
• Friday, April 25 – run through all acts, costumes and props
• Thursday, April 24 – run through all acts, props
• Wednesday, April 23, run through all acts
• Tuesday, April 22 – Act 3
• Monday, April 21 – Act 2
• Friday, April 18 – Act 1
• Thursday, April 17 – all musical numbers from all acts, concentrated
• Wednesday, April 16 – Act 3
• Tuesday, April 15 – Act 2
• Monday, April 14 – Act 1
• Friday, April 11 – Act 3
• Thursday, April 10 – Acts 2 and 3
• Wednesday, April 9 – Acts 1 and 2
• Tuesday, April 8 – Act 3 finish blocking
• Monday, April 7 – Act 3 blocking
• Friday, April 6 – Act 3 blocking
• Thursday, April 5 – Act 2
• Wednesday, April 6 – Act 2 blocking
• Tuesday, April 5 – Act 2 blocking
• Monday, April 4 – Act 2 blocking
• Friday, April 1 – Act 2 blocking
• Thursday, March 31 – Act 2 blocking
• Wednesday, March 30 – Act 1
• Tuesday, March 29 – Act 1 blocking
• Monday, March 28 – Act 1 blocking
• Friday, March 25 – Act 1 blocking
• Thursday, March 24 – Act 1 blocking
• Wednesday, March 23 – Act 1 blocking
• Tuesday, March 22 – Act 3 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Monday, March 21 – Act 3 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Friday, March 18 – Act 2 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Thursday, March 18 – Act 2 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Wednesday, March 17 – Act 1 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Tuesday, March 16 – Act 1 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Monday, March 15 – Act 3 music main roles
• Friday, March 12  – Act 3 music main roles
• Thursday, March 11 – Act 2 music main roles
• Wednesday, March 10 – Act 2 music main roles
• Tuesday, March 9 – Act 1 music main roles
• Monday, March 8 – Act 1 music main roles
• Friday, March 5 – read-through
• Thursday, March 4 – read-through
• Wednesday, March 3 – cast announced
• Tuesday, March 2 – auditions singing
• Monday, March 1 – auditions acting

Yes, there’s more behind the scenes going on before we even begin, but those pieces don’t involve a cast of 80 children. I need a schedule I can work with, students can take home for parents, and teachers will know when classes are disrupted.

Next: Using Backplanning for your Goals