Task One: Research and Understanding

1. The Events Management Process

There are 4 stages to any Performing Arts Event. Planning, Sourcing, Managing and Measuring. Through all 4 stages, all members of the team that are organising the event must have a set of skills to ensure that all planned aspects of the event come to fruition and meet or exceed clientele expectations. Skills necessary are:

· Communication

· Organisation

· Punctuality

· Negotiation Skills

· Problem Solving

· Resourcefulness

· Attention to detail

· Calm

· Active Exploration

· Flexible

· Passionate

Among many others, I will discuss these skills in further detail throughout this post in relation to the stages at which they are most required.

PLANNING

This is the most important stage throughout the Events Management Process. This is the stage where all the decisions are made that will affect the remainder of the process.

Beginning on any event there must be some initial questions asked.

WHY? - Why is the event being hosted? (Raising awareness, raising funds, showcasing talent, finding new talent

WHAT? –What is the desired output or concept? What is the event? (Concert, lecture, stage play, musical, networking reception)

WHO? – Who is our audience? Who are we targeting this event to?

Once these questions have been answered , the next thing that must be considered is the Budget. Everything that happens throughout the process will be governed by whether it is in the event’s budget.
It must be first decided what the budget is and how it will be attained. Do we have an existing Budget? Will we be asking for sponsorship?

Once you are aware of the budget you must carefully consider how you will use it.

BUDGET

· FOH Staff: The Front of House Staff is important in any Performing Arts Event. It must be considered in the budget how many are needed. Does the Venue you intend to hire offer FOH staff? How much does this cost? Do you have your own FOH Staff?

· Technical Staff: Depending on the nature of your show, there will be at least some technical aspects that will need attention. Do you have your own Technical Staff? Do you have your own Technical Equipment? Does the Venue have the correct technical equipment? Are your/they’re technical crew able to work the equipment needed?

· Catering/Bar: Most Performing Arts Events will hold an interval of some kind, it is then that it must be decided if refreshments will be offered. If so a plethora of questions must then be answered. Are you catering the event yourself or are you hiring an external company? How much will they cost? What food will you be serving? Is it hot or cold? How and where will it be prepared? Will you be serving Alcohol? Are you legally permitted to sell Alcohol? Are people in your team old enough to serve alcohol? Does the venue have staff old enough to serve alcohol? Can the venue accommodate the serving of your desired food and drink?

· Venue: Venue is Key in any Performing Arts Event. The Venue type will affect the size and length of the event and the location of the event will hugely influence how effective the marketing process is. Is the venue you want within the budget? What does the venue offer in terms of equipment, space and staff?

· Performer Fees & Expenses: Performers are a fundamental part of the show. This is who the audience are coming to see. A number of questions must be asked in order for these to be selected. What kind of performers do we need? Do we have them? If not how will we attain them? How many do we need? Is there an age restriction? Will we be paying them? Will we pay for their travel expenses? How many do we need? How many can we afford?

· Licensing: Legal constraints will more often than not hinder a performing arts event. Laws must be followed throughout the process and must be considered before any money is spent from the budget. One of the biggest being Health and Safety. Does the space in which the event is taking place adhere to al health and safety regulations? Are appropriate team members health and safety trained? Is copyrighted material being used? Have royalties been paid? For example , sheet music or script royalties must be paid in order for them to be performed. If alcohol is being served the property must have the correct licence and those serving the drinks must be of legal age to do so.

· Marketing, Audience and Ticketing: In Order for the Event to gain an audience, it must be advertised and the PR for the event must attract the desired audience that was discussed earlier. Is the event Invitation only? If so, How are the guests being invited? Who will design and produce the invites? Who will acknowledge and record the responses? Or is the event open to the public? If so is there a charge to attend? How much is it? Will there be a different price depending on age? Who will sell and distribute the tickets? Who will acknowledge and record any responses? Who will Market/Publicise the event? This again is very important, you will sell no tickets if your target audience has no idea the event is even taking place. How will the event be marketed? Posters? Adverts? Leaflets? Where will these be placed? Town Centres? Radio? TV? Will you rely on word of mouth? And who will handle the cash throughout the process and on the night and how will they handle it?

· Costume, Furniture and Prop Hire: Depending in the genre of event, costumes props and furniture might be needed for performers. If this is the case do we have them? Will we be hiring them? Who/where will we hire them from? Do we intend to spend money on them? Will the performers be in charge of this aspect? Will a talent relations team member be in charge?

· Transport: How will both the events management team and the performers get to and from the venue for rehearsals and the event itself? Will we be paying expenses? Will we offer the transport? How will we travel? How will we get the equipment needed to the venue? How much will this all cost? Can certain team members drive? Can performers drive?

It’s clear to see that everything about the Performing Arts Event stems from a plan. The more adequate, detailed and organised the plan, the more smoothly the other stages of this process will be.
Once the event is planned, job roles must be assigned in order for the second phase of the events management process to begin.

These jobs may include:

· The Events Manager

· An Executive in each department

· Technical Management

· Crew

· Marketing/ PR

· Budget Manager

· Talent Relations

· Operators

· Wardrobe

· Front of House

· Health and Safety

Among many others:

SOURCING

After all planning is complete and when it has been decided what is needed and what is required of each individual within the events management team, the team can begin sourcing the requirements for the event. This will include:

THE BUDGETIt will have been decided within the planning stages how much the budget for the event is and how it will be acquired. Ideally, the client would give the Events Management team the money, however more often than not, more money will be required to produce the desired event. If this is through sponsorship, it is at this stage that whoever is responsible for the budget contacts the sponsorship and attains the money. If the money is to be raised, then they will organise the fund raising events. They may contact ‘Angels’ to gain money, applying for grants or loans.

VENUEThe team will have decided on a venue and it is at this point that the Events Manager will contact the venue and discuss with the staff there on arrangements to made for the event. They will discuss costing and staffing and this will all be reported to the relevant department heads.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONSOnce the venue has been decided and the event established, there will be a certain amount of legal implications that will have to be researched and combated. For example: Health and Safety. The team must ensure that the venue in which the event is taking place adheres to all health and safety regulations. They must also ensure all relevant staff are health and safety trained. If copyrighted material is being used, they must ensure that all royalties have been paid and they are legally allowed to perform/play them. If alcohol is being served, the correct licence must be acquired and ensure that those serving the alcohol are of legal age.

CATERINGThe team members in charge of catering will have to research and hire the desired caterer or of the team cater the event itself, they must organise a menu. Either way, they must work close with the Budget Manager to ensure that everything spent is within budget. They must also hire catering/front of house staff and also adhere to the budget restraints when doing this.

TALENT RELATIONSDepending on the event, talent will be seen to a certain degree within the event. These people must find and hire the talent. If auditions are being held, they must organise and hold the auditions deciding on venue and running all of the applications process. If the talent is being hired, they are responsible for their hiring and discussing of their contracts. They work closely with the talent and the Events Manager to ensure that both parties are in agreement throughout the Events Management process.

MANAGE

This is the stage where the previous stages come to fruition. Leading up to, and the actual event, everything that has been planned and sourced must be managed. One of the biggest aspects to consider is time management and to ensure that all departments are working efficiently and are meeting necessary deadlines. It is the Events Manager that will oversee this. There are a number of things that will need to be managed leading up to and on the day/night of the event.

REHEARSAL PROCESSAgain, depending on the event, a certain amount of rehearsal will be required. The Events Management team must organise these rehearsals and liaise with either the talent or the talent relations department to ensure that all are present to them. They will organise the venues, times and dates for these rehearsals up until the actual performance.

BUDGETThe budget must be managed throughout the process to ensure that no department is spending money that the Events Management Team doesn't have.

ADVERTISING AND PRThis is one of the most important aspects of the Managing stage. In order for the event to take place, it will need an audience. It is the marketing and PR department’s responsibility to ensure that people are aware of the event’s existence. They will manage all advertising, including where and how this is done. They must record and acknowledge each invite response or ticket sale to ensure they don’t over or under sell tickets.

MANAGING MISTAKESIt is inevitable that every team member will encounter mistakes and issues throughout the process. It is imperative that all team members use initiative to combat these issues to ensure that the event is held with as little problems as possible.

SET UPAs the performance date nears, the Events team will have to organise a ‘Get In’ for venue. They will have to arrive and unload any hired in or brought in equipment and issue out individual responsibilities for the operators, catering, waiting on and Front of House staff.

CLIENTELE NEGOTIATIONSThe client will often want to be updated on the progress of the event. And more often than not their expectations may not necessarily be met, so it is the Events Manager’s responsibility to negotiate around their (perhaps too high) expectations so that they are not left feeling unhappy or dissatisfied.

MEASURE

When the event has finished, the job is still not done. There are still a number of things to consider.

GET OUTThe staff must remove all staff and equipment from the venue and ensure everything is returned to its rightful owner.

POST SHOW EVALUATIONAfter the event, it is time for the Events Management Team to discuss what went well and what went wrong with the entire process and what had been learned throughout the ordeal. This will then help the team when organising another event to ensure that mistakes made in the first instance are not made again.

 

2. Example of an Events Management Hierarchal Structure

 

3. Example of a generic Events Management Checklist

An Events Management checklist is very important in the planning of any event. This way the team can ensure that everything is running smoothly and every team is up to date with what needs to be organised. By using the checklist all grounds are covered and nothing is forgotten about. Alos, there are numerous 're-confirming' points in the checklist. This is vital to ensure that everything is kept organised throughout and the team are made aware of any relevant changes.