When I talk with theater directors about how they create their playbills, I hear a familiar list: Canva, Google Docs, and similar tools that let them design a program and turn it into a PDF.
Some print that PDF. Others share it through a QR code. Many do both.
Those tools can produce an attractive program. But directors often tell me that creating the playbill still takes hours—and making changes afterward can become another project.
As the founder of Shindig Digital Programs, I have a clear preference for a platform built specifically for theater programs. That preference comes from listening to directors describe what takes their time, what strains their budgets, and what happens when someone discovers a mistake on opening night.
What Directors Are Using—and Why
Most directors I speak with have been creating their programs with tools they already know.
Canva gives them control over the design. Google Docs provides a familiar place to organize text and photos. Once the program is finished, they can export a PDF for printing or online viewing.
That flexibility is useful. One document can serve audience members who want paper and those who prefer scanning a QR code.
The challenge is how much work goes into getting that document ready.
A Digital PDF Still Requires Page Layout
Directors tell me they spend considerable time arranging photos, aligning text, adjusting margins, and making everything fit.
If one student submits a longer bio, someone has to shorten it or rearrange the page. If another cast member sends a photo late, someone has to find room for it.
Sharing the finished PDF online saves printing, but it doesn’t remove that layout work.
One director told me creating a playbill could take up to 40 hours. That is one director’s experience, but the broader complaint comes up repeatedly: the program takes time they would rather spend elsewhere.
Why I Recommend a Dedicated Digital Playbill Platform
We built Shindig specifically to help directors save time and money.
My view is that a director should be able to focus on recognizing the people in a production without also having to become a page designer.
Shindig offers hundreds of production templates. Depending on the show, a template can include:
A cover page and cover image
A synopsis
Acts and scenes
Background images
Sometimes, the history of the show
If we don’t have a template for a particular production, we can help put one together.
That gives directors a starting point with much of the content and design already in place. Their main work is adding the cast, crew, and other production personnel, then reviewing the program for their show.
Opening Night Shouldn’t Be Too Late to Fix a Mistake
Some of the most useful examples directors share with me involve changes they make during a performance.
A parent arrives, opens the playbill, and discovers their child’s name is spelled incorrectly. A student’s photo is missing because they never submitted it. Someone notices that a bio needs a correction.
These things happen. The question is how easily you can respond.
With a PDF, a correction may require reopening the original document, adjusting the layout, exporting another version, and replacing the shared file. If copies have already been printed, those copies still contain the mistake.
Directors have told me they’ve made corrections in Shindig in seconds while sitting in the booth.
A Thank-You Added From the Booth
One director shared a story that captures why this matters.
While sitting up in the booth, he saw a parent arrive and realized he had forgotten to thank her for bringing water and treats to a rehearsal.
He opened the digital playbill and added a special thank-you.
It was a small change, but it recognized someone who had helped the production. He could take care of it when he remembered, while the show was still happening.
To me, that flexibility is one of the strongest reasons to choose a dedicated digital playbill platform.
Think About How Your Audience Will Use the Program
Creating the playbill is only half the experience. The other half is what happens when an audience member opens it.
A PDF shared through a QR code gives people access to the program on their phones. Depending on the document’s design, finding a performer or returning to the synopsis can involve scrolling through pages and enlarging text.
Shindig uses interactive buttons so audience members can jump to the information they want. They can open cast information, view photos, and move between sections without searching through a long document.
When evaluating a playbill platform, I recommend opening a sample on your phone and trying a few things:
Find a particular cast member.
Read that performer’s bio.
Return to the synopsis.
Find the acts and scenes.
Open and enlarge a photo.
Those simple tasks will tell you a lot about the audience’s experience.
You Can Still Offer a Printed Program
One advantage directors appreciate about PDFs is the ability to print copies. That is useful for audience members who need or prefer paper.
Shindig includes a printable one-page PDF playbill, so directors can keep copies available while offering the full interactive program digitally.
I recommend this approach when directors are concerned about changing an established routine. Put QR codes where audience members can easily find them, and have a small supply of printed programs ready.
Families can also create a free personal Shindig account to save their digital playbills and revisit them after the production.
Consider What Your Time and Printing Budget Could Support
The cost of a playbill includes more than the platform subscription or printing invoice. It also includes the director’s time.
I have heard directors struggle with spending even a few hundred dollars on printed programs. Others describe printing expenses reaching into the thousands.
Every theater’s situation is different. But directors can usually name something else that money could support:
Lighting
Curtains
Microphones
Headsets
Other production needs
The same is true of time. Hours spent adjusting bios and arranging pages are hours that could go toward students, the cast, or family.
That is the purpose behind Shindig for me: helping directors put more of their resources into the people and productions they care about.
How I Would Choose a Digital Playbill Platform
If a director asks whether I recommend staying with a PDF workflow or switching to Shindig, my recommendation is Shindig. We built it to address the problems directors have described to us.
But I encourage directors to evaluate the actual workflow. Before choosing a platform, ask:
How much content and design will I need to create myself?
Will I have to resize text and rearrange pages?
How easily can I correct a name or add a missing photo?
Can audiences quickly find the information they want on a phone?
Is there a printable option?
What will the platform cost, and how much printing will I still need?
For the directors I work with, the biggest difference is being able to create a polished program quickly and keep it current—even when a correction comes from a parent on opening night.
That is what I believe a digital playbill platform should make possible.