You're running out of time for set changes during a live performance. How can you prioritize effectively?

The most important thing to consider is safety in every dimension -- actors, crew, and audience. Sometimes the lofty idea you had hasn't panned out and you have to cut it for the sake of safety.

Cuando nos quedamos sin tiempo para hacer cambios en el set durante una actuación en directo, priorizamos con enfoque y rapidez. Primero, identificamos los ajustes más críticos que impactan directamente en la calidad de la actuación. Comunicamos estas prioridades claramente al equipo para que todos estén alineados. Enfocamos nuestros esfuerzos en resolver estos elementos clave y delegamos tareas menores a otros miembros. También mantenemos una mentalidad flexible, adaptándonos sobre la marcha. Así, optimizamos nuestro tiempo y garantizamos que los cambios esenciales se implementen de manera efectiva.

Sometimes I've had to take a step back and have a rehearsal for the "boring" things like set and wardrobe changes. I'd use a stopwatch and figure out how to get them all down to as short a time as possible, which tends to mean finding stuff to cut or how to make the whole transition more fluid. It will eat time when you have the least time to lose, but if I don't stop and do that, I can't make sure the rest of it is working properly.

Hopefully by this point I've already delegated everything. The Stage Manager should be mostly running everything and if he/she doesn't have full mastery of what has to happen, I'm in bigger trouble (but without exception, every SM I've ever worked with has been on top of this). Other crew people -- mostly designers -- need to understand the time crunch and you might need to tell them "we'll fine-tune later, we just have to get through everything" but sometimes that doesn't matter and everything is going to take the time it's going to take. That's when it's best to streamline (not "lower") my expectations and get very pragmatic about what I'm going to ask everyone to do.

Before any problem solving action is to be executed, forming or maintaining a calm consciousness will be crucial to have. Time may feel like it's slipping away and a fear of panic may start setting in. The other parties involved may start acting like headless chickens in chaos while trying to separately tackle a task and may even become a disruption for another person unknowingly. Being the calm individual here will enable one to step back and clearly see the bigger picture and to see which task needs to be focused on first and then can even guide the others to come together to have a part in the solution for the overall debacle. Fear is more of a restricting agent whereas calm provides a suitable environment for expansion.