How to use BigClock mode

BigClock replaces the cue list with a stage-display view: huge countdown, current and next cue, ahead/behind indicator. Toggle with the MonitorPlay icon or Esc.

3 min Show callers, Stage managers

BigClock mode replaces the standard cue list with a stage-display layout — huge countdown, current cue title, next cue preview, and a clear ahead/behind schedule indicator. It's designed for the monitor you point at the stage manager from across the room.

From regular Showtime, click the MonitorPlay toggle to flip into BigClock — a massive green countdown, NEXT and ON DECK cue previews, and an ahead/behind schedule indicator. Click the toggle again to return.

The three warning states in real time: amber below 1:00, red below 0:15, and a fast-flashing red count-up once you go negative. Audio cues fire at each threshold when the speaker toggle is on — see audio cues in BigClock.

Where the toggle lives

Once the session has started, you'll see a MonitorPlay icon (a small monitor with a play triangle) in the top-right cluster of the Showtime window, sitting alongside the fullscreen and close buttons. Click it to toggle BigClock on or off. The toggle only appears after the session is running — there's nothing to show in BigClock until the master clock is ticking.

What you see in BigClock

Massive countdown — fills most of the screen, counts down the planned duration of the current cue. The color is your at-a-glance state: green above 1:00, amber with a slow pulse at 1:00 or less, red with a faster pulse at 0:15 or less, and a fast flashing red count-up (−M:SS) the moment you go over.
Current cue title — the "What is happening" text in big readable type.
Next cue preview — smaller, labeled Next, so the stage manager knows what's coming.
Schedule delta — a small label showing whether the show is ahead or behind its planned cumulative time. Useful when you need to decide whether to make up time in the next break.
Session and event names — kept on screen so the photo of the stage display is self-identifying.

BigClock mode is per-window, not per-session

BigClock state is stored on this Showtime window. Open a second Showtime on the venue's stage monitor and toggle that one into BigClock; your producer's window stays on the full cue list. That's the intended workflow — the stage caller drives from the cue list, the stage display shows the BigClock.

How to switch back

Two ways:

Click the MonitorPlay icon again in the top-right cluster.
Press Esc. Esc always exits BigClock mode, even when you're typing in a field — it's the one shortcut that bypasses the typing-protection rule.

Pause, Resume, Restart, Advance — all still work in BigClock

The toolbar at the top of the Showtime window stays visible in BigClock mode, so you can still click Pause/Resume, Restart, Stop, and Advance. Keyboard shortcuts (Space, →, R, S) also still work. The screen just shows the bigger view of "what's happening right now."

Stage-display setup tips

Use the fullscreen toggle (Maximize2 icon next to MonitorPlay) once you're in BigClock — gets rid of the browser chrome for the cleanest stage look.
If the monitor is far from the caller, set your laptop to "Extend display" rather than "Mirror" so your cue list stays on the laptop and BigClock fills the second screen.
BigClock and the cue list are both connected to the same session state in real time — pausing on one updates the other instantly.