It is no secret that production managers have a ton on their plates. Whether they are managing theatre, opera or dance, production managers carry the weight of many organizations' programming efforts. And often, they are doing it alone. While many larger organizations have multiple production management staff, there are many who operate as a one woman show. Whether you are a one person department or 5, however, technology can be used to automate workflow and tedious tasks, leaving time for the real management which comes in the form of having face to face conversations with collaborators. We sat down with three members of the Production Manager's Forum to learn more about the best tools to manage scheduling, communications and budgeting.

Mary Jean Sedlock, Production Manager of University of Maine Theatre/Dance Division and Production Manager of Theater of Monmouth; David Holcomb, Production Manager of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama; and Joel Krause, Production Manager of Arena Stage all joined AMT Lab Chief Editor of Interactive Content Jess Bergson to discuss their favorite existing tools, as well as what they would seek in their quintessential production management software. Want to kick off your new year being as productive as a production manager? Watch above to learn from the pros and click on the images below for examples of the work discussed.