l livingston realawardspresentation
TRANSCRIPT
Defining
the Direction
“If you can dream it, you can do it!” Walt Disney
Every great idea starts with brainstorming. I
began with the Teen Actors Guild* executive board and shared my passion and excitement for this fundraising event for Elm Street Cultural Arts Village (ESCAV) and they caught the vision! A Medieval Festival was a perfect choice because it would allow us to include the members of the Teen Actors’ Guild*, showcase the theater’s beautiful costumes and introduce visitors to the shows, classes and camps offered for children at the Elm Street Theater. All while achieving the ultimate goal of raising funds for ESCAV!
(*Middle and High School drama club at Elm Street Community Theater)
Event Overview
Our overall goal was to raise awareness of the many camps, classes, and shows for children at the Elm Street Cultural Arts Village.
The festival was designed to be a family friendly event and to engage the Teen Actors Guild* in serving the community.
We wanted to raise money for the Teen Actors Guild at ESCAV in order to fund future events and drama camp scholarships for kids.
* (TAG) middle and high school drama club at Elm Street Community Theatre
Money, Shillings, Cash! Deciding on ticket prices was a difficult part of the festival. We could not charge more
than a large family could afford, but we had to be sure that our costs were covered
allowing for a profit.
Each child was given a burlap bag of gold coins, used to “purchase” a chance at a game
or a craft. We had to figure out how many coins were the value of admission, but
wanted to ensure each child would have enough to participate in everything. We settled
on $7 admission for a bag of 7 coins. Adults were admitted for free.
We had to seek sponsors to cover our upfront costs such as decorations, food, and
supplies. One sponsor provided $500 cash as well as a public address system for
announcements. Another sponsor provided tents and tables for free. Our food
coordinator organized food donations to sell in our “tavern.”
Organizing Funds Supplies Budget Donations
Craft supplies $200.00
Donated food 0.00 Free
Food for Tavern 150.00
Sound System 0.00 Free
Booth Decorations 100.00
Tent rentals 0.00 Free
Poster Printing 50.00
Total Cost/Cash Sponsor $500.00 $500.00
Advertising Posters, designed free by a local artist, placed
throughout the community
Ad in theatre’s playbills
Ad submitted to theatre’s website and Facebook
Local magazines and papers carried the ad for
free
Sent a costumed TAG member with large poster
and handouts to walk through “StreetFest”
(monthly Woodstock event)
Sword fight demonstration in high traffic area
TAG members distributing flyers
Cardboard castle displayed in lobby with poster
(Raffled at festival)
Casting the Crew
Director
Budget Coordinator
Advertising/Marketing
Costumes
Food
Training – Knights & Princesses
Live Action sketches in square
Craft Booths
Ticket Booth
Decorating
Layne – Director
Preparing for the festival took many months of gathering supplies, cutting
out crafts, making decorations, regulating the budget, and rehearsing.
Work Nights: I organized a calendar so that each week TAG members
could come to prepare crafts or decorations
Team Leaders: Each member of the TAG executive board was responsible
portions of the festival.
It took me a few days to
make a flawless schedule,
but having one took a huge
burden off my shoulders. By
creating the schedule, it
helped the festival flow
better and ensured that
everyone had a job to do. It
also prevented an overflow
of workers at one station
and a lack of workers at
another.
The
Schedule
Training the
Crew
Taking the time to write out
craft instructions and provide the
team with their own copy helped
keep me stay organized. This
assured that all questions would
be handled before hand and
everyone had something to
reference if they forgot
instructions. A productive and
knowledgeable team is a sign of
good leadership..
Playing the Parts Several TAG members portrayed real characters
from Medieval Times. A “fool” runs through the
crowd after stealing the King’s crown. Once
captured, he endures a soaking at the sponge toss
both where the children “punish” him for his crime.
Wanted posters of a female thief surround the town
square and when spotted by a child, she is arrested by
the sheriff and carried away. Robin Hood and the
Sheriff of Nottingham engage in an authentically
staged sword fight for all to see. A May Pole dance is
held several times during the day and the girls are
taught the dance at Princess Training!
Rehearsal were scheduled frequently to make adjustments and keep the actors in shape.
Knights, Princesses
& Sword Fights Knight training with real “wooden” swords
and a knighting ceremony.
Princess training including costumes and crowns
Robin Hood’s authentic theatrical sword fight
- .
The End On the big day, I arrived at the location early to insure a smooth setup. Within one hour, we turned the parking lot into a Medieval Village. People arrived nonstop for hours, informing me that our advertising was successful. The children left with smiles on their faces and armed with crafts, balloons, and certificates of Knightship” or “Princess” signed by the King. I received many “Thank You’s” from grateful parents. It had been overwhelming to prepare this event, and lots of unexpected “surprises” had to be dealt with and overcome. But the TAG members enjoyed themselves as much as the children, and we all learned a great deal about organizing, budgeting and working together. I learned an enormous amount about management and leadership while keeping a close eye on costs and customers. This experience showed me that like Walt Disney, if I can dream it, I can do it!