Tips for school cultural arts presenters
First, thank you for bringing cultural arts programming to your school.
As performing artists we appreciate the great work PTA / parent volunteers,
teachers and school principals do to enrich their students' educational experience.
If this is your first year as Cultural Arts chair, welcome aboard!
The process may seem daunting at first but there's plenty
of help to be found. Please don't hesitate to ask us for guidance and consider checking in with cultural arts chairs at other schools in your
district.
If you're an experienced programmer, congratulations! Please consider sending us your suggestions to help make this Tips page
more complete.
Over the years traveling to thousands of schools and other performances, we've collected some "Tried & True" tips for successful assemblies that
we'd like to share with you:
[Contact us about a show] [back to top]
Keep a Journal
Since many Cultural Arts volunteers / teacher liaisons keep the position for only a year or two, it's a good idea to create a
journal with information on the shows booked. This info should include a description, price, date of show, artist contact info, grades that
attended, and an evaluation of the performance. This notebook will help future Cultural Arts volunteers know which programs were a
success, when they were last presented and how to contact the artist again.
Your Arts-In-Ed file (or cardboard box : ) will also collect mailings from prospective performers, quotes and flyers from artist you've been in touch with, contracts and other
paperwork for shows you've handled.
A suggested timeline for booking and presenting the program, along with contact names at your district office or BOCES (NY State schools) will be a big help to your successor, too.
Money saving tips:
With budget cuts everywhere, it's a good idea to try to save money while still bringing quality programs to your school.
Here are some ways to save:
Multiple back-to-back shows & block bookings: With fuel costs on the rise, travel is a big part of the cost you to bring a program to your door. Ask if there is a discount
for additional shows on the same day. Also, try to find one or more schools in your district to share travel and administrative costs with by block-booking a series of shows on the same or successive days.
If your program requires an overnight stay-over, you may be able to negotiate a better rate at a local motel to save on the final cost.
Multiple programs in one year: Some artists will offer a discount for booking a second show with one of their other programs during the
same school year. Referrals to other schools: Some artists will give you a "thank-you" credit towards another performance if another school you
referred books a program. Ask!
Booking the date:
You're almost there! A really good idea: Check with the school secretary and re-check the school calendar before you firm up the performance
date. Things pop up on the calendar all the time, so some presenters find it's a good idea to circulate a memo - with the
show date - when they book the program so more classes can plan to be in the building on show date. It's a lot easier to move the date before the contracts are done!
Be sure to reserve the performance space (including pre-show set-up time) with your school office when you schedule the date.
Help the paperwork flow to flow
Once the program is booked, it's time to make a simple to-do list or set up reminders in your computer calendar for paperwork due dates.
The artist or booking agency will send you contracts with a due-back date.
It's always a good idea to confirm that performance contracts have been signed
by the school and returned to the artist by the due date, to guarantee your
preferred program date. Also, be sure paperwork needed by any outside funding source
(Granting agencies, NYS BOCES, etc.) is sent in - and back - on time, too.
Hint: With so much paperwork on
everybody's desk these days, this is an area that's easy to forget, and so important to remember for an easy booking experience!
[Contact us about a show] [back to top]
Help the artists put on a great show in your school:
Check in with the artist a week or two before the show to confirm everything is on track. Confirm show times, payment agreements
and so on. The artists may need up-to-date directions to your school, especially if they're traveling to areas they're are not familiar with. You
may be able to give them a "heads up" about how to avoid rush hour traffic, or which roads may be closed due to construction. This is also
a good time to pass along when your school's buses arrive so they can plan their load-in times accordingly.
Technical needs:
Check with the artist in advance about the technical requirements for the show, (stage, lights, tables, chairs, sound,
electrical outlets, etc.). In most schools, one of the key elements for a successful event is the school's custodian! If the artists don't provide
you with a technical needs sheet, make a written list of the arrangement for the room (how many chairs, center aisle, and other needs such as use of a flatbed dolly for their equipment, etc.) and give it to the
custodian well in advance of the show.
Please make sure the performance space will be empty and swept clean before the show and that
stage lights are in good working order.
On Show day
If you can, try to be in the school to welcome the artist, to introduce the principal, to enlist the aid of the custodian, and to make sure that all
preparations go smoothly.
If you can't be there, try to arrange for another PTA member or teacher to greet the artists and show them to the performance space.
Give the artist a specific contact name ahead of time to look for when arriving at your school.
Artists will likely arrive about an hour or so before the first show and need to start setting up right away. If you have a cell phone, it's helpful to exchange cell
phone numbers with the artists in case you need to reach each other that day.
Hospitality: Artists aren't "rock stars" but they really appreciate a few nice gestures, such as bottled water and directions to the rest rooms. :
- ) If artists are staying over lunch, or visiting another school in your district for the afternoon, a heads-up as to where the locals go for lunch may be helpful, too.
Calling classes to the assembly: It's helpful to ask the school office to announce the show around 10 minutes before the start time of each show. This will allow students to make their way to the performance space and be seated and allow the show to begin on time. Artists may have other commitments or travel arrangements that prevent them from staying past the show times in your contract. Having them seated and ready to go will allow your students to experience the full performance!
After the last show, artists will need to take down their equipment and "load-out." Giving them a head's up as to when and where the
buses will pick up students can be a big help. This "wind-down-time" is a good opportunity to give the artists feedback about the performance
and exchange creative ideas with them about programming themes they've learned about at other schools.
Right after the program ends:
If you've funded the program through BOCES, this is the time to bring the BOCES Program Confirmation form to the school principal for his or her signature ... then mail it out to your BOCES right away.
Last, but not least, please congratulate yourself on a job well done! Thanks again!
~ Brian & Susan