Punch and Judy, Brighton, UK

1. Advertise as much as you can. If your event contains a series of tellers, advertise the event as a series, but then also advertise each performer, proclaiming their style, and what they offer as a program/performance (folk tales/sea tales/music and tales, just song, magic, puppets etc). Use email lists, posters, postcards, press etc., some of which a performer might provide for you. Ask the performer to advertise the event on their own mailing list, blog, or website. Someone who is well known might draw from their own geographical area, as well as your local community. If you are spending a lot of money for a performance, then you want people to show up! Make sure people know about the event.

2. Find the needs of the artist. The performer should notify you of their needs, but it does not hurt to ask. It makes for a nice relationship between you and the artist. The kind of things to ask about are: required space; does the performer need an electric hook-up, water to drink, or a chair; does he or she need a small or large table to display their 'wares' or information; does the performer need a public address system? Things like PA will depend on the size of audience and venue, and also where the gig is to be held. If there are 50 people in a large hall with bad acoustics, one might need a PA; however at a venue where the group might be 60 strong, in a cozy room with great acoustics a PA would not normally be needed. If you have a group of 20 people on a common and the teller has to compete with lawn mowers and passing traffic, a PA will be needed. If you do not have one, you might want to suggest the teller brings his or her own system. If they do not have a PA (an expensive piece of equipment), one might need to be hired (give the teller the option to get hold of their own - they might have someone they hire off and therefore know the equipment).

3. Have the venue ready. If the performer needs a certain amount of space, it might be wise to mark the area with cushions, rope, or tape. Have the chairs out, set up tables, and have things in place (like a PA, if you are providing one) prior to the show. It can be very distracting to the performer, once the show begins, if a few latecomers arrive (always happens!) and people drag chairs across the floor. It can make for a great deal of noise and disruption which is bad for the performer, and also the audience who are trying to listen and get into the story/performance.

4. Prep and monitor the audience! Before introducing the performer, ask the audience to turn off cell phones, and that if they really need to talk, to do so outside of the performance area. Some performers might want to do this themselves. When I do this, I tell the audience that I try to weave magic, to have them fall into the tales I tell, so they themselves become part of the story. If people are receiving phone calls or chatting with a neighbor it distracts, not only the audience, but also the artist. The performer wants to give the best performance they can, but it is hard when they have to compete with noisy people in the audience. Some performers like the adults to sit with their children, so if the kids get too fidgety, or want to chat with their best friend next to them, they can be on top of it and stop any disruption. Most small audiences naturally put the kids up front and the adults stay at the back so they do not block the view for the smaller people. Personally I like to have the kids up front, as I like to interact with them! However, it should be the parents' responsibility to keep the children in a non-disruptive mode! It is NOT the job of the performer! Ask that of the audience. If the parent is still NOT doing this, then the venue should have someone speak quietly to the child (or parent/care provider if the 'owner' of the child is known), to prevent further distraction! Hopefully, no one is needed, as children and adults are all so deep in the performance, no one is really in the room!

I hope this is helpful and enables you get the best show possible for everyone. If you are spending money on a single event or on a series of events, I would like to see you succeed by maximizing the potential for a GREAT performance that people will remember (for the right reasons), and be talking about for weeks, months, years after: something good for you, the performers and the community you are targeting.

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CDs, including the award winning More Second-hand Tales, and A Tangle of Tales are available from Simon directly, from CD Baby and these local stores:
iTunes
Artisans, New London, NH 603-526-4227
Chapman's Store, Fairlee, VT 802-333-9709
Green Mountain Books and Prints, Lyndonville, VT 802-626-5051
Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH 603-526-5850
Norwich Bookstore, Norwich VT 802-649-1114
Wider Than The Sky, Newport, VT 802-334-2322