Organizers

1. Is the location ready?
Have you booked the location and received confirmation of your booking? Has the location been inspected and approved for use? What about the cleaning and any technical equipment that may be needed?

By the time we arrive, the location/stage must be completely empty and tidy, the lodges set up and cleaned, the loading area free and, if necessary, cleared from snow and sanded and, in general, everything must be ready for the loading and building of our equipment. We strive for good safety and a good environment in the locations. we visit.

2. Have you hired the technical staff?
Do you need construction and assemblage help in order to carry out the performance? Hire the staff according to the wishes of the touring troupe. Remember that stage work often involves heavy lifting, so the stage workers should be in good health and of the right age.

3. Marketing material
Remember to request the playbills and other marketing material from the producer in good time.

4. Contact the tour manager/technical coordinator
Contact the responsible tour manager to make sure that everything will run smoothly and make sure that the timing is good, give information, discuss whether you have thought about any special events in connection with the performance.

5. Greeting the troupe
Be present and greet the guest troupe upon their arrival to the location and show them around. Inform them about the show's audience and other things that are good for them to know.

6. Suitable provisions for the troupe during the day and the eventual intermission
A performance day can be long and contains many moments of intense work. Make sure that there is an adequate provision of snacks, fruit or sandwiches throughout the day. If the show has an intermission, refreshments should also be offered backstage or in the lodges. Go over allergies etc. with the tour leader.

7. Eventual connected events in the foyer or café
Please prepare and put in some extra efforts so that the audience can feel good in the foyer and café before the show. Welcoming the audience generously is always an added bonus and raises the quality of the evening. Remember to prepare this.

8. Greet and welcome the audience
In the foyer, questions about anything between heaven and earth are almost always asked and need answers. It is important that you are there for the visitors’ convenience. Be in place approximately one hour before the show and make sure that all the prepping has been completed, for example the ticket office, admission, information about the event, upcoming events etc.

9. Thank the troupe and the rest of the tour staff
After the end of the show, porter help is needed again in order to, together with the theater staff, disassemble and load the equipment. It is also important to connect with the troupe. Has everything worked out? What have they experienced? You can always learn something that will be important for the next event.

10. Prepare the performance report
It’s easier for you if you have already prepared your work for after the evening’s event. Are there special requirements for reporting audience numbers etc? What does the producer need?

Thanks for the good advice on successful events and promotion, Scenkonstbolaget in Västernorrland and Västerbottens theater.

These tips can be useful for you when you want to bring an audience to your event. Since the requirements can vary depending on the size of the event, location or audience, you can adjust and prioritize the various points.

1. Establish a marketing plan
The promotion of an event is facilitated by having a clear plan in which the various activities are recorded. This gives you the chance to consider priorities (what you can and should do) and how much time you can spend on it. Examples of activities include sending out mail and information, meeting agents, putting up playbills, advertising, etc.

2. Communicate with agents, members and other target groups
It is important to communicate soon with those who are your most loyal contacts. Early information might allow you to find someone who can step in and help with something. Specific target groups can vary depending on the content of the show. Perhaps there is a group or association that is active within the issues addressed in the performance? Try to take advantage of the opportunity to talk about the upcoming play in different contexts, for example at association meetings, in the workplace or at the coffee table.

3. Send out information to schools and similar institutions in the municipality
The institutions in your municipality (schools, local government, hospitals, etc.) and larger companies are an important potential audience and support group. Information must be sent out to them early and perhaps in several different ways. Through visits, strategic mailing, mass mailing, billboards, etc.

4. Is there the opportunity to organize connected events or another way to expand the audience group?
For many audience groups, the opportunity to access in-depth contact or knowledge is an extra and requested bonus that strongly increases interest in a play. Check with the producer what options you might have to offer something like this.

5. Media and social media
Make a habit out of checking the show’s page here on our website in order to get the latest texts, press clippings, photos and videos. Our Facebook page also usually has some good material about our premieres. Please contact your local newspaper, radio, etc. and invite them to the show. Newspaper advertising is expensive, but written articles don’t cost anything. Create a Facebook event or contact the theater so that we can do it together.

6. Check the ticket sales, even on the show day
It is important to know how the ticket sales are going, in order to know if you have to make extra marketing efforts or take any other action.

7. Invite reviewers and / or other important people
Invite important people from your municipality to the event. The very best promotion comes when people talk about what their experience. This can be of great importance before your next event.

8. Keep track of posting and mailing
Both billboards and mailings may need to be made in several different occasions. Check that the playbills are in strategic locations and important workplaces and fix them if it seems necessary. The same applies if an additional mailing needs to be done.

9. Post playbills in the foyer and give out information about the upcoming program
In the foyer you have a great opportunity for positive contact with people who have chosen to come to your event. Information about upcoming events is therefore particularly important and effective right there. This evening the foyer is yours - and the audience’s.

10. Good connected events increase the evening’s attractiveness
There is much to gain if you can make the audience feel that they are being well taken care of and that they get to take part in an experience that is of high quality under many aspects. Connected events in the serving area and foyer are of great importance in order for people to feel that the whole evening was a success.