Producer vs Crew vs Viewer
Every member you add to an event gets one of three roles. Pick the right one and everyone stays in their lane — Producers run the show, Crew helps build it, Viewers stay informed without the risk of accidental edits. There's also a fourth label — Owner — reserved for whoever created the org. You'll see it in the members list, but you can't assign it.
Roles are assigned per event, not globally. The same teammate can be a Producer on next month's user conference and a Viewer on the all-hands rehearsal — Overture tracks each event's roster separately.
The short version
Producer can edit everything and call the show. Crew can edit everything but cannot call the show by default. Viewer is read-only. Owner sees and does everything across every event in the org.
At a glance
Here's exactly what each role can do on a given event. Use this as the source of truth — it matches the live permissions in the app, not just the dropdown labels.
| Can they… | Producer | Crew | Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edit row content (titles, cues, notes) | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Edit session times | ✓ | — | — |
| Add or delete sessions | ✓ | — | — |
| Rename session tabs | ✓ | — | — |
| Reorder rows (drag handles) | ✓ | — | — |
| Edit venue details | ✓ | — | — |
| Mark follow-ups complete | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Call the show (live cue advance) | ✓ | opt-in | — |
| Print / export to PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invite new members | — | — | — |
Only Owners and org admins can invite new members. Producers manage the show; Owners manage the team.
Producer — runs the show
Producer is the role for whoever is actually building and running the event. They can do every editing action and they can call the show in Showtime mode. Use Producer for:
- The lead show caller / stage manager
- The production lead who owns the run of show
- The AV lead during rehearsals
- The technical director
Producers cannot invite or remove members — that stays with the event Owner. This is intentional. It keeps your team roster from drifting under your feet during a busy event week.
Crew — helps build the show
Crew can edit row content (titles, cues, lower-thirds, notes, the actual content of the show) and mark follow-ups complete. They cannot change structural things — no editing times, no adding/deleting sessions, no renaming tabs, no reordering rows, no editing venue. Use Crew for:
- Speaker wranglers and stage managers entering cue notes
- Content writers updating titles and descriptions
- Technical staff annotating cues during rehearsal
- Anyone you trust to type but not restructure the show
Letting a Crew member call the show
By default, Crew cannot advance cues in Showtime. If you want a specific Crew member to be able to call the show, flip the Call show toggle next to their name in the Members dialog. It's per-person — granting it to one Crew member doesn't grant it to the rest. This is the standard pattern for "my assistant stage manager runs Day 2."
Viewer — read-only access
Viewers see the entire run of show but can't change anything. No + Add row button, no hover icons, no editable cells, no drag handles. They can still print or export to PDF for their own copy. Use Viewer for:
- The client who wants visibility but shouldn't be touching the cues
- Executives, sponsors, and stakeholders who just need to see the plan
- Speakers reviewing their own session
- Anyone who needs the read but not the keys
Viewer is the safest default for people you don't know well. If they need more later, you can change their role in one click from the Members dialog.
Owner — the org admin
Owner isn't a role you assign — it's the global label given to whoever created the organization (and any other dfm_admin accounts). Owners can do everything: edit anything, call any show, invite/remove members on any event, change billing. There's no need to add an Owner to an event manually — they already have access to every event in the org.
Heads up
You'll never see Owner as an option in the role dropdown when inviting. That's expected. Owner is set at the org level when the account is first created. If you need to transfer ownership, contact [email protected].
Changing someone's role later
Open the Members button on the event header. Find the person in the table and pick a new role from the dropdown next to their name. The change is instant — there's no save button. They'll see the new permissions the next time they refresh the event.