Cross-channel comms for a show that is being delayed, rescheduled, or cancelled. Email, social, and on-site signage variants for each scenario, no apology language for things outside the venue's control.
How to use it
Copy the SKILL.md below, paste it into a Claude chat, and tell Claude to remember it as a skill. Claude will save it and pull it in the next time you need contingency comms.
To make it match your venue, tell Claude the details it doesn't know yet: your venue name, your refund mechanism and processing window defaults, your standard ticket-validity language for reschedules, your customer service contact, anything your team does differently. Then ask Claude to update the skill with that information. The file will be tuned to how you actually run contingency comms, without you ever opening a code editor.
Works best with: install the venue-voice-profile-builder first. Contingency comms still sound like the venue, just calmer and more precise. The skill checks for the profile and writes in your venue's voice when it finds one. Without it, Claude falls back to a generic event-marketing voice.
Once it's saved, trigger it by telling Claude "use the contingency comms packet skill" and pasting the scenario, the show details, and the refund or reschedule mechanics. Speed matters: trigger the skill the moment a change is confirmed. Do not use it for weather contingency on outdoor shows; that has its own skill.
---
name: contingency-comms-packet
description: Draft a full contingency comms packet for a show that is being delayed, rescheduled, or cancelled, covering email, social, and on-site signage variants for each of three scenarios (delay, cancellation with reschedule, cancellation without reschedule). Trigger whenever an operator says "the [artist] show is being delayed", "we are rescheduling [artist]", "we have to cancel the show", "draft the cancellation comms", "build the contingency packet", "the artist just dropped", or any phrasing that signals a show is changing or coming off the calendar. Also trigger when the operator pastes a producer or agent note about a delay or cancellation and needs the comms across channels. This is the crisis comms skill in the Backstage library. Use it the moment a change is confirmed. Distinct from weather contingency (use `weather-comms-template`), routine reminders (use `pre-sale-reminder-email` or `last-call-email`), and post-show recap (use `post-show-recap-email`).
---
# Contingency comms packet
## What this skill does
This skill produces a complete cross-channel comms packet for the three scenarios a venue faces when a show is not happening as planned. The job is calm, factual communication that protects the ticketholder, the artist, and the venue's trust in equal measure. Tone fails fast in contingency comms. The skill defaults to the tone that holds up.
For each scenario, the packet covers three surfaces: the email to ticketholders, the social post for the venue's channels, and the on-site signage copy for the box office or door. Operators paste the inputs once and walk away with everything they need.
## When to trigger
Trigger when an operator says a show is being delayed, rescheduled, cancelled, or postponed. Trigger on "contingency comms", "cancellation packet", "reschedule announcement", "the [artist] show is off", "the artist just dropped", "we need to push the show", or any phrasing that means the calendar has changed. Trigger immediately. Speed matters in contingency comms.
Do not trigger for weather-related contingencies on outdoor shows (use weather-comms-template). Do not use for routine on-sale reminders (use pre-sale-reminder-email or last-call-email). Do not use this skill if the show is sold out and the issue is something other than a calendar change.
## Required inputs
Ask for these in one message. Do not draft any of the surfaces until the inputs are confirmed. Wrong details in contingency comms create refund chaos.
The scenario. Delay (show happens later the same day or same night), cancellation with reschedule (show is moving to a confirmed new date), or cancellation without reschedule (show is off, refunds available). The skill produces the packet matching the scenario only.
Artist name as it appears in the announce.
Original show date, time, and venue.
For delays: the new doors and set times.
For reschedules with a new date: the new date, new doors, ticket validity rules (originals honored, exchange required, etc.).
For cancellations without reschedule: the refund window, refund mechanism (automatic, request, point of purchase), and the date refunds will process by.
The reason for the change, if it is being communicated. Some changes are explained, some are not. The operator decides. If the reason is being held back, the comms acknowledge the change without speculating.
The artist or management statement, if there is one. Quote it verbatim if provided.
Any operator-specific language the venue uses for contingency comms (a sign-off, a customer service email, a phone number, a refund FAQ page).
## Voice
Read the venue voice profile if one exists. Contingency comms still sound like the venue, just calmer and more precise.
Default Backstage operator voice if no profile exists: calm, factual, no apology language for things outside the venue's control, clear apology language for things inside the venue's control. The voice is "here is what is happening and what to do about it", delivered without panic.
Hard voice rules:
No em-dashes. Use commas, semicolons, or periods.
No "we are devastated", "heartbroken", "deeply sorry" language unless the cancellation is the venue's fault and the apology is owed. Performative regret reads as inauthentic.
No speculation. If the operator did not give you the reason, the comms say the show is being [delayed/rescheduled/cancelled] without inventing the cause.
No blame. The comms do not point at the artist, the production company, the venue's neighbor, the city, or the weather. If a third party caused the change, the operator decides whether to name them. The skill writes around the operator's choice.
No urgency framing for refund deadlines. The refund window is a fact, not a deadline. State the date plainly.
No hype for the rescheduled date. If the show is being moved, the comms confirm the new date. The reschedule is not a re-announce.
## The three scenarios and what changes between them
Scenario A: Delay. The show is still happening today, just later. The packet acknowledges the change, gives the new times, and confirms that all original tickets are valid. Length is the shortest of the three.
Scenario B: Cancellation with reschedule. The show is moving to a new confirmed date. The packet acknowledges the change, names the new date, and states the ticket validity rule (tickets honored for new date by default, or exchange required, depending on the operator's decision). Length is medium.
Scenario C: Cancellation without reschedule. The show is off. The packet acknowledges the change, names the refund mechanism, and gives the date refunds will process by. Length is medium to long.
The structure across all three is consistent. The substance changes.
## Output structure
Always produce all three surfaces (email, social, signage) for the requested scenario.
### Email
Subject line. One option. The pattern is plain language. Examples: "Update: [Artist] at [Venue]", "[Artist] show rescheduled", "[Artist] show cancelled". Under 55 characters. No hype.
Preheader. One sentence with the single most useful detail: the new date, the refund mechanism, or the new doors time.
Opener. Two sentences. State plainly what is happening. The first sentence is the change. The second sentence is the practical next step (tickets honored, refund automatic, new times posted).
The details. Two short paragraphs. Paragraph one gives the substance: the new date, the new doors, the refund window. Paragraph two gives the practical: what the reader does (nothing, exchange tickets, watch their inbox for refund). Use the artist statement here if the operator provided one, set on its own line with attribution.
CTA, if applicable. A single link to the refund FAQ, the new show page, or the customer service contact. No CTA on a delay; the show is still happening at the same venue.
Close. One line. A clean, neutral sign-off in the venue voice.
### Social
One post per channel, but the structure is the same across Instagram, X, and Facebook. Adjust length to fit the channel.
Opener. One sentence stating the change. Lead with the artist name and the change verb. "The [Artist] show on [Date] is being rescheduled." "[Artist] at [Venue] tonight is delayed."
The details. Two to three sentences. New date, new doors, ticket validity, refund mechanism. The same substance as the email, compressed.
Practical. One sentence on what the reader does. "Tickets are honored for the new date." "Refunds will process automatically by [Date]." "Check your inbox for the full note."
Close. One sentence pointing the reader at the email for full details or at the FAQ page. Optional sign-off if the voice profile uses one.
### Signage
One short block for the box office or door. Used when ticketholders show up not knowing about the change.
Format:
```
[ARTIST] - [Original Date]
Status: [Delayed / Rescheduled / Cancelled]
[One line on what is happening.]
[One line on what to do next.]
For full details: [URL or email address]
```
The signage is meant to be printed and posted. It is the most stripped-down version of the comms. Voice neutral, format above the line.
## Hard rules for the packet
Cross-check every detail. The new date, the refund window, the doors time, the ticket validity rule. A single inconsistency between the email and the social post will cause refund chaos. The skill confirms each detail appears identically across all three surfaces.
Do not include any detail the operator did not provide. If the operator did not give you the refund processing date, the skill writes "Refunds will process. Watch your inbox for confirmation." rather than picking a date.
Default refund window language: "Refunds will be issued automatically to the original payment method within [X] business days. No action required." Adjust if the operator gives different mechanics.
Default ticket validity language for reschedules: "Tickets purchased for the original date are honored for the new date. No exchange required." Adjust if the operator says otherwise.
If the artist or management provided a statement, the email includes it verbatim. The social post may include an excerpt. The signage does not.
Refund details belong in the email primarily. Social and signage point at the email for the full mechanic.
## Common failure modes to avoid
Apologizing for things outside the venue's control. If the artist cancelled, the venue does not say "we are so sorry we have to do this". The venue says "the show has been cancelled". State the fact.
Performative emotional language. "We are devastated" is not the comms tone. The reader needs information, not the venue's feelings.
Inventing the cause. If the operator did not say why, the comms do not say why. Speculation in contingency comms is a fast path to a worse situation.
Multiple CTAs. The reader has one decision: read the email, request a refund, or hold the ticket for the new date. The packet has one CTA per surface.
Treating signage as decorative. The signage is read by someone who already drove to the venue. Every word is functional.
Using the rescheduled date as a marketing moment. The reschedule is information. The next announce email can lean into the new date as a sales push, not this one.
## What to deliver
Return all three surfaces for the requested scenario, in this order: email, social, signage.
For each surface, label it clearly. If the operator asked for one specific surface only, return just that one.
End with two or three sentences naming any detail the operator did not provide that the comms had to leave generic. Specifically: refund window, ticket validity rule, the new date for reschedules. Do not walk through every word choice. Speed matters more than commentary in contingency comms.
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