Event templates and Series are two really useful features... but which do you use when, and what is the difference between using an Event template and a Series?
In brief:
A Series is meant for events that are repeated, the same event occurring multiple times. It allows you to update details, such as the start time, the ticket price or marketing info for one event and automatically apply the change to all events in the series. Series is especially useful for events like exhibitions or daily openings.
The Event template is used to create a standard event that you can set up in advance. It’s useful for events that recur regularly — such as a monthly party or a weekly concert, where details like ticket information, crew scheduling, and publicity data are always the same.
Series
The Series feature is designed for events that take place multiple times — for example, a film screening shown three times a day or an art exhibition running for two weeks. Start by creating a single event, then turn it into a series by adding a 'New event in series' on the Main tab. You may also create an event from a template and link it as a series. This means that you can later edit Main, Publicity and Tickets tab as a series.
The events that are linked to a series can be recognized by the following icon:
If you want to make adjustments to an entire series, use the Edit series button. If you only want to make adjustments to a single event in a series, simply edit the information on the Main, Publicity or Finance tab of the event and click Save.
Event template
An Event template is meant for recurring productions.
For example, if you host a movie night every Thursday, you can create a template called "Movie Night" that includes the build-up time, start time, ticket information, crew schecule, publicity details, tasks, and production info.
Since this information is likely the same each week, creating events from a template saves time — you won’t need to re-enter the same details every time.
Of course, you can still make adjustments for each individual event after you've created the event. Once the event is saved, it is no longer linked to the template.
You can also use event templates in Stager to plan things like catering schedules for an entire month in one go. For example, create a template called "Café" and set up separate templates for every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Go to Settings - Planning - Event Templates to create your templates.
Then, add them to your monthly calendar using the yellow + New button > Event from template option in the top right corner of the calendar.
If you want the events from a template to be linked, you can select Link events as series while adding them.
Read more about Event templates.
