Page 280 - DMGT304_EVENT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 13: Monitoring, Control and Evaluation

events in Bristol and London), Miriam Miller (One Green Firework - comedy events) and Notes
Emma McLean (Audiences London - audience development). They all agreed that a format
that used comedians with national profile to draw an audience, and involved UCL
researchers performing in a variety of ways, would attract our target audience while
providing significant engagement opportunities.
4. Venues
Bright Club is held in the Wilmington Arms. This is a comedy and music club next to
Exmouth Market, in Clerkenwell, London. This venue was chosen because:
It has all the facilities required (including a sound system and bar) and expert staff to
operate them;

It has existing comedy and music audiences who might be interested in attending
our events, and a reputation for high-quality events for non-academics;

It is easy to find (on a main road) and get to (near numerous bus and tube stops);
It is next to Exmouth Market, one of the busier parts of London nightlife on a
Tuesday night;

It is near to UCL (to help performers).
5. Marketing
Bright Club is listed in Time Out, The Evening Standard, Chortle.co.uk, Spoonfed.co.uk,
and on other websites. We also use social networking to build a community of interest
around the events. The Facebook group is http://www.facebook.com/
group.php?gid=58748936983. We create a Facebook group for each event, and encourage
performers to invite along contacts who are members of the target audience. For example:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229808486080

The Wilmington Arms advertise Bright Club by email newsletter, on their website and
via MySpace. They also display posters in the weeks leading up to each event. We sometimes
print a small number (500) Bright Club flyers and distribute these on other comedy clubs,
and place a pile in the Wilmington Arms.
6. Running the event

Preparation for the event is in two stages:
Performers are briefed on the requirements for a successful Bright Club performance,
including how to tailor their content to make it suitable for the audience. This is not in
terms of dumbing down, or making light of their subject, but rather about framing it in
such a way that the audience enjoy it and stay fully engaged during the performance.

Performers then gather on the afternoon of the performance to try out their acts on one
another. We also take this opportunity to train performers in the use of the stage
microphones that the Wilmington Arms provide (which operate very differently to lecture
theatre microphones).
Each Bright Club events requires the following staff:

Doorperson - to take money, to help audience members find seats, direct them to the
toilets, help presenters find the storage area.

Stage manager - to make sure that all technical matters are sorted out before the
audience arrive. To brief presenters and make sure that they get to the stage on time.
To indicate to presenters when their time is up.
Contd...

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