[Dixielandjazz] Sticking to the Schedule

[Steve Barbone]

"Stan Brager" <sbrager at socal.rr.com> wrote (polite snip)

> The concept of "sticking to the schedule" is a matter for the festival
> director to instill in the staff of a festival as well as the performers. In
> the Hangover Club venue at the Sweet 'n' Hot festival, all the leaders are
> aware of the schedule and generally have little problem with that concept.
> There are, of course, occasions in which the demands of the schedule must be
> enforced.

Right on Stan.

What amazes me is that more venues with multiple stages, and/or multiple
bands on one stage, and/or the same band with multiple sets on one stage,
have not yet figured out how to control the schedule.

It can be done quite simply by assigning a "Stage Manager" to each stage.

Examples: 

1) Du Pont's 200th anniversary. We played 5 sets on the same stage as did 5
other bands on their stages, at the same times. (50 acre outdoor venue,
22,000 employee attendees) Sets were 45 on and 15 off, from Noon to 4:45 PM.
Our stage manager, lovely young girl employed by the event manager, made
sure we stuck to the schedule by cueing us at the 5 minutes to go interval
while playing and while on break.

2) West Chester Music Festival. Twelve Bands, one set each. 2 stages next to
each other, one playing and one setting up. Continuous music, 45 minute
sets. Stage one plays while stage two sets up and when stage one stops,
stage two starts immediately. One stage manager handles it all, as does one
sound crew.

3) Red Sea Jazz Festival Israel. Five stages. 3 bands play one 90 minute set
on each stage. 30 minute break for set up and to clear audience for nest set
which has a separate admission charge. Audiences from 500 to 3500 people per
stage. Each stage had a separate stage manager who made sure the sets
started and ended on time. Our stage manager. Yael, was a lovely young lady,
22 years old, and she ran our stage like a pro.

Seems to me if there are schedule problems at any venue, including
festivals, a dedicated stage manager would solve most of them.
Qualifications? Just the ability to read a watch and enforce the schedule.
Plus a professional sound crew who were given stage set up diagrams and any
special miking instructions by each band prior to the sound check.

It is not that difficult to adhere to a schedule if everyone involved is
told in advance that they MUST do so. That's part of producing a
professional event, both band wise and support wise.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone