Evaluation
When this project was first suggested to me by Joey and Jacob I think its fair to say I wasn’t really sure it was something I wanted to do. I had always been part of the performance rather than the organisation and it felt in someway like a backwards step. However, after thinking it through I realised that whist I could have easily stood on stage and performed in some context it was a much bigger step out of my comfort zone and range of experience to take the role of organiser/manager for the duo.
The project changed a number of times during its timeline. A key change being Jacob not using the project as part of his module work but instead supporting Joey and I whilst perusing his own work for this module. I moved away from Cheltenham and Jacob was also away for a lot of the project so collaboration on the project was more challenging. We used social media to correspond which didn’t always work well. Its easy to misunderstand tone and intention without the benefit of face-to-face discussion. We had some pretty uncomfortable conversations around focus and who was supposed to be doing what but when we were able to sit down and discuss things in person these challenges were much easier to resolve.
In the current circumstances it was challenging to agree gigs with venues and promoters. I emailed and called a whole range of contacts and places. Many were hugely difficult to speak to and most weren’t able to book dates suitable for the project timescale.
With venues being a real issue we discussed the possibility of staging the project over 4 performances – 2 livestreams, 1 busking session and 1 live performance. My idea was to use the livestreams and the busk as promotions for the live gig. To that end I suggested the level of engagement in the livestreams guide the final set list and the busk be a promotional event.
As noted in my earlier posts this didn’t all quite go to the initial plan but the resulting performance at the Bottle of Sauce was well attended within the venues Covid reduced capacity and very well received by the audience. By asking Lucy Bell and Yetis Breakfast to play at the gig I widened the possible audience and by using posters to advertise the gig at the busk we gained a few more audience members outside of the usual crowd.
I have stepped outside my previous range of experience with this project. Parts of it I’ve been uncomfortable with, in particular the job of making sure everyone was on track for the timeframe (which can come across as nagging). Parts of the project I’ve surprised myself in enjoying – working closely with the Sound Tech for one, making the video record of the day and my step into emceeing.
I have learnt that you have to be very persistent in tracking down the right people to talk to and not to keep trying the same way if it’s clearly not working (I actually drove up to Cheltenham from Somerset to get to speak to someone at the Bottle of Sauce when phoning and emailing didn’t work). From this experience I now understand that putting events like this together is very achievable, as long as you have a plan of action and are organised but organising people is another matter entirely.
The day of the gig and the busk was my final ‘University day’ in Cheltenham and I really wanted it to go well for everyone and be a positive experience for myself. After all the planning, the changes and set backs, in my opinion and from feedback from others we had a great evening. All three acts were very well received, the atmosphere was great and the feedback from the audience very positive.