In 2026 Arts on Tour is partnering with ATYP and PAC Australia to present the pilot of a new initiative designed by Cally Bartley, Tour Ready Tour Fit (TRTF). Cally designed the program to upskill young touring crew (stage/production managers, technicians) heading out on the road with little or no touring experience.

There are two components to the program. Tour Ready is an intensive, 1-day session covering the process of touring, from document planning to truck load to bump in/out. Tour Fit is a mentorship program where a highly experienced mentor is paired up with inexperienced crew member/s on a tour for 2-3 weeks over the pre-tour period and the first 2-3 venues on the tour, providing hands on guidance and training.

“Crew teams on most touring shows are inherently small, with little opportunity for a young production member to learn from another. TRTF was designed to fill this gap – with an experienced professional providing advice and training to the next generation of production staff.”

The Pilot

Tour Ready Tour Fit is being piloted on the AOT tour of ATYP’s Saplings from July this year. The aim of the pilot is to fine tune the Initiative and seek ongoing support from 2027, so that training and mentorship for young crew going out on the road can be integrated into touring models, funding and best practice.

The Need

One of the many impacts of COVID-19 is a skills shortage in the live performance industry. As such, it has become commonplace for young production staff to head out on tour, responsible for a whole show, with limited experience both in the production role generally, and regional touring in particular.

These production staff are away from home and isolated from traditional support mechanisms, where the challenges of short turn around bump-ins or with touring party dynamics are amplified. Producers struggling with staff shortages are often in a situation of having to hire someone with limited experience out on the road, knowing they can do it, but wondering how they can support them to make sure they can do it right (and want to tour again!).

Likewise, Presenters are reporting a drop in the experience level and knowledge gaps of touring crew, resulting in venue crew at times having to take the lead on a visiting company’s bump-in. Presenters are also seeing errors in show documentation, including inaccurate crewing levels and hours needed in the venue, leading to increased safety risks and time pressures.

The Solution

The idea for TRTF was sparked by a conversation with a venue manager lamenting the struggles of seeing so many new crew on the road. TRTF was designed to address this ‘experience gap’ with a mentor-based training program led by 2-3 experienced professionals working alongside the touring crew of a production in three stages; before a tour departs; at the first two venues of the tour; and throughout the tour on a check-in basis. The Mentors provide training and guidance with the young production personnel, bringing their expertise to the preparation and beginnings of a tour.

TOUR READY
Tour Ready is an intensive day-long session for touring production staff that covers the process of touring from document planning to practical tasks like loading a truck. Conducted ideally 4-6 weeks prior to the beginning of the tour, the session covers how to run a bump-in at the venue and how to manage a company of artists on the road. This session is intended to provide information, templates and action points for the new generation of production staff to prepare the show and themselves to be ‘tour ready’.

TOUR FIT
Tour Fit is the mentorship component of the program, and sees a highly experienced mentor paired up with inexperienced production staff (stage manager, production manager, touring technician) for 2-3 weeks over the pre-tour period and the first 2-3 venues on the tour. The Mentor will provide hands on guidance and training through the venue bump-ins/out, managing a tour party and dealing with life on the road. The Mentor then provides routine check-ins, and provides advice and support while the tour is on the road.

The Mentor liaises directly with the Producer to identify areas of training and improvement needed in the production staff. The Producer benefits from the upskilling of their younger staff and assurance of a highly experience person on the road for their first tour venues. The Mentor is also available to the tour Presenters, using venue feedback to further train the production crew as part of the mentorship.

The Tour Fit mentorship is rounded out by a post-tour debrief compared against a pre-mentorship questionnaire to measure learning outcomes.