# Festival notes

## project plan

- Important beats
- First planning
- Create a shared vision with the Production Team. What kind of festival do you want to be? (why do you want to do it?)
- Create a preliminary budget. Create versions if necessary (what if we get **no** funding, what if we get **partial** funding, what if we get **all** the funding)
- Create an artistical plan (how many shows, how many workshops)
- Create a marketing plan
- Create a festival volunteer overview based on shows and workshops
- Create a brand identity (Colour scheme + logo + font)
- Work work (1 year - 3 months before)
- Figure out locations ASAP
- **Get your show location**
- Get your workshop locations
- **Get your volunteers**
- Call for directors, cast (if you want it) performers, teachers, jam hosts.
- Pick directors, cast, performers, teachers and jam hosts (background check with [Safe play](https://safeplayimprov.com/))
- Create contracts for everyone who is working for the festival (ask Gael for template)
- Figure out your technical plan for your show
- Get lights, sounds and recording equipment
- Get the social media train/newsletters rolling
- Think about attracting locals > work on local media.
- Think about merchandise
- Design and produce merchandise
- Figure out your afterparty location
- Figure out a place to stay for your guests from outside the country
- Figure out if and how you want to feed your cast/performers of the evening
- Get trustees
- Work on getting as many partners as you can. Find shared values and find things that are easy to share.
- Keep budget updated
- Keep communicating with your cast, performers, directors, teachers, volunteers.
- Last stretch
- OOH-marketing > flyers, posters, etcetera
- Check show location beforehand. Was everything delivered that was promised?
- Check workshop location? Was everything delivered that was promised?
- Check volunteers? Will everyone be there? Send more detailed instructions to volunteers
- Send emails to workshop attendants: where do you need to go and at what time?
- Send email to show attendants: where do you need to be and at what time?
- Make sure performers/teachers/etc. have a smooth transition from public transport to their residency (great if you have volunteers to pick them up).
- Make sure food will be there if you have shared food.
- Check with the afterparty location if everything will be okay. Make sure there is enough Gin. Make sure there is enough Tonic. :D :D :D
- Little thank you's for the performers is always nice
- Get your photography/video pool

- During the festival
- Make sure everyone knows what the expectations are
- Daily 'fixing things for on the stage' setup
- Daily check-in with stage building owner/concierge/person. Buy them sweets/beer/whatever.
-
- Check things:
- Floor manager check-in
- Front-desk manager check-in
- Try to enjoy your own festival!

## Notes
- Timeline: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOrcTXqI=/
- Roles and responsibilities: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOyHvrws=/
- Make a marketing strategy with your production team and make it simple: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOC2xfYc=/

## lessons learned
- Work with badges (festival pass/volunteer/performer/cast)
- Figure out what you want to do with people who are late to the show
- paid advertisements worked
- keep merchandise simple
- Get your sales channel up early or you will bleed sales
- Perfect english isn't necessary. Frequent, transparant communication is.
- More people in the team means exponentially more work
- Get locations for workshops and shows early. The longer you wait, the more expensive they are, the more uncertain it is you'll get them.
- Get contracts for your locations. Verbal contracts
- Afterparty location is important
- Some shows will bomb. That is okay.
- Make sure you have volunteers to set up and to break down the festival

## any tips
- **Talk to Gael, he has so much festival experience (15 years+) and is a nice, professional person.**
- Try to create a festival that you will want to run next year.
- Have someone dependable and calm who is responsible for the stage + performers (floormanager) and someone who is responsible for the 'front' (volunteer/front manager). There will be tons of people with tons of questions, and having someone recognizable and kind who solves their problems will free you from having to answer a thousand small annoying questions while you have big things to take care of (or just want to relax for a second)
- Try to make yourself unnecessary :)
- Scholarship fund
- Food
- Small things make a big difference
- Have a 'war room' seperate place for your production team during the festival in/close to the festival
- Love your volunteers
- Value your artists as much as possible (even if it's not money!). Be open about the situation.
- Announce accessibility beforehand so people don't have to ask
- Buttondown > Mailchimp
- Buffer > Hootsuite
- Wix kinda works
- Photography guidelines: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yKPpRZDkXQWusK_TGRzQaqMvXDSPJFyuAnkKb2mekGc/edit?usp=sharing
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o37WacG7zDBi6QO1-yq-cCDxnyYw7aKHN717YPjpbEI/edit#heading=h.3tbhv8w1b52y
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nXYZr4CIVkrESctZZ-1AcdYn1eWvImfKVkxPw9LlpM/edit?usp=sharinghttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dh57sYspTcF0rZz6DUiyOuuBHnVZDchWEqeKFK_EgV0/edit?usp=sharing