What to write down after every show (the 5-minute post-gig debrief)

The most valuable five minutes of any gig happen after you walk off.

You’re packed up, a little buzzed, halfway to the car — and everything you just learned about this client, this room, and this set is sitting in your head, perfectly clear. By next week it’s fog. By the time they re-book, it’s gone. The fix is a quick, repeatable debrief you do before you drive away.

Here’s exactly what to capture.

The post-show debrief

Five lines, two minutes, every time:

• What you actually performed. The set or routines you did for this client — not what you planned, what you did. This is the single most useful thing to record, because it’s what stops you repeating material on a return visit.
• What landed and what didn’t. The bit that killed, the trick that fell flat, the song that pulled the room in. Tomorrow you’ll think you’ll remember. You won’t.
• The room and the logistics. Stage size, sound, lighting, load-in, where to park, who let you in. Future-you returning to this venue will thank present-you.
• What the client wanted or loved. “Keep it clean for kids,” “they loved the close-up stuff,” “wanted more crowd work.” These notes make your next pitch to them sound like you read their mind.
• Money status. Paid in full? Deposit only? Invoice to send? Note it now so nothing slips through unpaid.

That’s it. The goal isn’t a diary — it’s five facts that turn a cold re-booking into a warm one.

Do it before you leave the parking lot

Timing is everything here. The debrief only works if you capture it while it’s fresh, so build a trigger: you don’t start the car until the notes are in. Thumb it into your phone in the front seat. Two minutes, every gig, no exceptions.

If you wait until you’re home, you’ll skip it. If you wait until next week, you’ll guess. The whole value is in catching it warm.

Where the notes belong

Scattered notes are barely better than no notes — the point is to find them when this client calls back. They need to live attached to the gig, next to the date, the venue, the contact, and the fee, so the whole picture comes up together. That’s the core idea behind keeping track of your gigs in one place.

Our free Working Performer’s Gig Tracker has a Notes column on every gig and a Clients tab for the patterns that repeat. When the sticky notes and camera-roll screenshots stop cutting it, TrouperList keeps your post-show notes, files, and set list pinned to each show — so the debrief is right there the next time that client’s name comes up.

Five minutes in the parking lot now. An easy, confident yes in two years.