Messaging and Notes

Communication on a show happens in three patterns, and MusiCal has a place for each. Knowing which one to use saves you and the cast a lot of email.

Announcements

An announcement is a message the whole company sees. Use it for things that affect everyone in the production: a schedule change, a cast meeting, the call for a special rehearsal. Open the production's Messages → Announcements tab and write a new one. You can:

• Pin an announcement to the top so it stays visible.
• Target it to cast only, staff only, or the full company.
• Include attachments — a marked-up score, a costume sketch, a venue map.

Cast and staff see announcements in their portal and (if they have notifications enabled) by email when a new one is posted.

Rehearsal notes

A rehearsal note is a message attached to a specific rehearsal on the schedule. Use it for the things you want everyone called to that rehearsal to know in advance: bring black character shoes, the room is changed to the chorus room, we will be running Act 2 cold so review your lines.

Open a rehearsal from the Schedule tab and add a note. The note travels with the rehearsal — it appears in the calendar PDF, in the ICS feed's event description, in the cast member's portal, and in the day-of attendance check-in screen. If you change the note, it updates everywhere.

Director notes

A director note is private to staff. Use it for the things you write down at the table that you do not want the cast to read: a performer who is struggling, a vocal note for the music director, a thought about whether a scene is working. Open a rehearsal and add a director note; it is visible only to staff with the appropriate hat.

Director notes are also useful as a running journal of the show's process — the kind of notebook a director might keep in the back of the script. Searchable across the whole production, they become a record of what changed and when.

Choosing the right channel

A rough rule of thumb:

• Everyone needs to know, right now → announcement.
• The people called to this rehearsal need to know about this rehearsal → rehearsal note.
• Staff only, working notes → director note.

The wrong channel does not break anything, but the cast will appreciate not getting a barrage of notifications about rehearsals they are not called to.

Replies and acknowledgments

Announcements support a single thread of replies — useful for "got it" responses or quick clarifying questions, but not for back-and-forth that should be a conversation. For genuinely interactive discussion, schedule a meeting and use the announcement to call it.

Each cast member's portal shows which announcements and notes they have read. If you need a confirmed acknowledgment (think: "everyone confirmed they read the new safety protocol"), use the Require acknowledgment toggle when you post; the announcement then asks each recipient to click a button to mark it read.