Building and Maintaining a (GREAT) Coffeehouse Series

May 11th, 2007 | Posted by Kevin Prentiss in Creativity | Low Cost Programming | Marketing | Series Programming - (0 Comments)

Posted by: Del Suggs – Saltwatermusic.com

In General

What is a "Coffeehouse"? It’s a performing environment
that rarely exists outside of the college campus. Briefly (and vaguely),
it is a venue designed for an intimate performance for a small audience.
That means a small act (rarely more than 3 performers) utilizing
minimal sound equipment (small PA) performing for a small audience
(generally less than 100) in a small space. The idea is that the
performer puts on a show (as opposed to just singing songs, etc.) and the
audience actually pays attention (as opposed to chatting and drinking).
It is actually much more fun than it sounds on paper. Most people rarely
get the opportunity to see an entertainer up close in an intimate setting,
instead of being in a concert hall with several thousand other people.
It is a wonderful experience.

Where did they come from? They began as alternative performance
sites in the 1950s, as musicians, poets, and other avant-garde performance
artists sought out places to perform. In the 1960s, students brought them
on campus. They don’t really have an off-campus counterpart, except for
the occasional "listening room." A coffeehouse is very different from a
bar.

What happened to them? In the 1960s, students found these
smoky basements and storage rooms and turned them into cool places to hear
music. In the 1970s, they put on polyester clothes and went out disco dancing
to the BeeGees. In the 1980s, they shaved off parts of their hair and pierced
odd body parts. And in the 1990s, they rediscovered acoustic music and
songs with a message… and the coffeehouse.

Where are Coffeehouses now? Most campuses no longer have
a room used just as a coffeehouse. They are more likely to be held in a
student lounge, snack bar or cafeteria, campus pub, or even on the patio
or green area. Today’s coffeehouse is usually held in a converted space
used for something else. Almost anyplace can be utilized, if it can be
used for an intimate performance.

What kind of entertainment? Small musical acts that are
generally "acoustic-oriented" instead of electric. Comedy and novelty is
also very popular. The idea is to have a show where the audience and the
performer are in close proximity. Because of the nature of the coffeehouse
show, it is necessary that the artists be Professional (NACA-type) acts.
These acts are accustomed to working in the coffeehouse setting and performing
for student audiences. These programs are rarely successful when consisting
of local or student acts entirely.

Starting a Series

Why can’t I just do one coffeehouse show and see if it works?
Because nobody at your school knows what a "coffeehouse" is! If you want
your coffeehouse to be successful, you should plan a Coffeehouse Series
or Program. It’s like advertising– repetition helps make it successful.

What is a Coffeehouse Series? Plan a number of regular,
consistent shows. Hold them on the same day or night, in the same place.
Use the same "quality" acts for each show (not a NACA Pro one time and
an amateur student the next).

How do I do that? First of all, get a commitment from your
Activities Board or Director of Student Activities. Take the budget you
receive, and divide it by 900. For example, you are allocated $3600 for
your Spring Semester: divided by 900 equals 4. You should then plan on
doing four shows for your Spring Series, because most Coffeehouse Acts
will fall into that price range.

Next, find a location. This will be easier at some schools than
others. Some obvious places are the Student Center Lounge, the snack bar
or cafeteria (after meal hours), Dorm lounges, a ballroom, etc. Choose
a day or night for your program which works in your academic and social
schedule. If you are at a "suitcase college," don’t plan the series for
Saturday night! If your school has a strong (and large) greek system, don’t
schedule it during chapter meetings. And don’t go head-to-head with major
sporting events. If you can, choose one consistent day (Tuesday nights,
for instance), or a range (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday). Try not to
do one show on Saturday night and the next show on Tuesday night. Be consistent.
You may want to try a regular schedule, like the First Wednesday of each
Month for a monthly series, or Every Tuesday for a weekly series.

Check the room schedule, and try to get a priority on the days you want.
Then schedule the acts you want for those days. Take advantage of Block
Booking. Refer to your notes from the NACA Conference. Check your files
for promo. Talk to artists and agents over the phone. Watch the videos,
and listen to the tapes. Book a variety of acts, not just white male guitar
players or comedians.

Book your series One Term (semester or quarter) In Advance. This is
the easy part.

Promotion

How do I promote the Series? First, come up with a name for the
series, something catchy and memorable: "Wednesday Night Live" or just
"Tuesdays" helps people remember when it is. You may want to name it after
the room: "The Outpost" or "The Orange & Brew." You can name it after
your school mascot: "The Eagles’ Nest" or "Club Tiger." You can even use
the word "coffeehouse" in the title, although most people won’t know what
it means. (They will also expect you to serve coffee). You can also name
it after somebody important or special: "Edgar’s" was the name of the Coffeehouse
at Clemson University, located in the Edgar-Somebody Student Center. And
Campbell University named their Coffeehouse after a student who died suddenly,
and called it "Chelle’s Place." Or how about borrowing the MTV concept:
"Unplugged."

Then plan a whole publicity campaign for the series– not just
one show at a time. You want people to attend every show, not just one.
If your activity board does a calendar, get your Coffeehouse listed. Print
your own schedules and distribute them, do T-shirts, posters, buttons,
stickers, whatever you can afford. Just make sure you get the word out.

Do a separate publicity campaign for each individual show, using
the materials the performers will send you and your own ingenuity. You
might also check out Promoting Your Campus Events
for more ideas.

Most importantly, make sure your Activities Board knows about the show,
and all of your friends. Make then attend! In a small room, 12 or 15 people
is a good start for a crowd. And if they tell everybody they know, you’ll
have a full house.

The Show

What is a "Show"? Your coffeehouse programs should be "Shows,"
not endurance events. They should have a beginning, and an end. It’s like
a movie, or a lecture. Don’t expect your artists to play for three hours
and your students to drop in at their leisure. Schedule a Show: Ninety-minutes
straight (or less) is the norm. You can do two-hours, with a break– but
you will lose part of your audience when you break. Most coffeehouse shows
are running around 60-75 minutes.

What about the room? The Venue for your coffeehouse needs
to be comfortable, cozy, and intimate– yet not too familiar. If you are
using a familiar place, like a lounge or cafeteria, rearrange it totally
for the show. Make it look like a new place the students have never been
before! Don’t just put the chairs in rows. Use the tables, put on table
cloths and candles. Turn off TV’s, Video Games, cover the pool tables,
etc.

Make sure you have a stage. Even small rooms need a stage, but
make sure it fits in scale with the room. Make sure you have stage lights.
Lights help the audience focus on the performance. Know how to turn off
the room lights.

What about Sound? Make sure you understand the sound requirements
and have taken care of them if you are providing the sound system. If the
act is doing their own sound, schedule a load-in and arrange for a few
strong backs to help carry in equipment. Allow them time to do their sound
check, and get it right. Then make sure you have some help to load-out
after the show.

How does the show begin? Open the doors 30 minutes before
the show. Have some music playing which will set the mood for the program.
Have some table tents or fliers with the performer’s bio and other information
on it. Have your program schedule available. Make sure all of your activities
board members and your other friends are there, and sitting down front.
At show time, dim the room lights and turn down the recorded music (then
turn it off). Have a student introduce the act on stage, through the sound
system. Then turn it over to your performer.

What about when the show is over? When the performer finishes,
just sit tight. Allow for an encore, if the audience wants. Have your emcee
thank the performer for a great show, and thank the audience for attending.
Announce the next show ("Come back next week for another great performer,
John Doe.") Keep the lights down, and let people visit with the artist,
talk, and drift out. It won’t take very long, and will leave a much better
impression than flipping the lights on and running every one out. Don’t
be in a hurry!

Any other suggestions? Don’t forget that these are intimate
shows. Don’t expect 1000 people to attend. If they do, it’s not a coffeehouse–
it’s a concert.

Some coffeehouses have table tents or have the Emcee announce
that the performance is for listening– ask people to refrain from talking.
It’s also rude for audience members to request songs (usually just yelling
out "Play some Buffett!") UNLESS the performer has asked for requests.
Make sure your Board knows this once-common audience courtesy.

Be good to your performers. Make sure you understand their riders
and contracts, and call if you have any questions. If you are providing
a room, make sure you have their preferences (nonsmoking, ground floor,
or whatever). Some touring artists prefer motels with room-side parking
to hotels, so that unloading is simpler and they can keep an eye on their
van full of equipment.

Make sure your artists get a map of the campus, with your office
and phone numbers marked. Arrange for parking permits. Take them to dinner
after the show– they are probably nice folks you’d like to get to know.

The next day, tell everyone you see that they missed the greatest
performance on the planet. Make them aware that the series happens, when
it happens, and that they need to be there. Your series will be a success!
Good Luck!

Presenting Shows The Right Way

May 11th, 2007 | Posted by Kevin Prentiss in Diversity | Low Cost Programming | Marketing | Series Programming - (0 Comments)

Posted by: Del Suggs – Saltwatermusic.com

For years I just accepted and played any situation a college wanted.  Middle of the
cafeteria?  I can do that.  Outside on the lawn?  No problem!  Lobby of the Student
Center?  Sure thing!  See, I’m a Nice Guy– and nice guys always try to get along with
everybody.  I didn’t want to cause trouble by objecting to a venue or presentation idea.

As you might imagine, I had some interesting experiences.  How about this– I actually
played the “Half-time Show” at a football game!  My sound system was set up on a flat
bed truck, and when the teams ran off the field the driver pulled on the middle of the field
with my “stage.”  When my twenty-minutes was up, the driver ran back out, unplugged
the extension cord and drove off the field with me “surfing” the back of the truck.

I also had some lousy experiences.  I played standing on the floor in the corner of a
crowded campus cafeteria, while being completely ignored by three hundred students.  It
was a colossal waste of my time and their money.

Being a life-long learner, I started to keep track of the “problem situations,” especially
when I noticed trends.  Soon, I began to see that simple changes could often create a
much better performance situation.  When I felt like I was knowledgeable enough, I began
to offer suggestions to activities personnel at the school where I was performing. 

For example, when another school wanted me to stand on the floor in the corner of their
cafeteria, I suggested that we move some tables and put me up on the elevated sitting
area.  That show turned out great, and Student Activities Board was grateful to find a
better way to present their performers.

Eventually I refined my advice into the various educational programs I offer at the APCA
Conferences and Workshops, and at the Student Activities Training Programs I present at
colleges across the country.  I thought that I would share a potpourri of those ideas with
you this month.

 

Shake It Up

If you are using a room where students already go (like a cafeteria), or if you do all your
shows in the same room (like a ballroom), then change the room around for your shows.
It makes a difference, because it opens your students’ eyes to the new experience
(performance) that they are about to enjoy.

If you’re in the tired old cafeteria, then move the tables around.  Instead of putting the
performer in the same old place, put them in the opposite end of the room.  Remove all
the chairs that face away from the stage, so that everyone sitting in the room is facing the
performer.  Put out tablecloths, even for a Noon show.  Find a way to dim the lights.

Of course, you’ve brought in a stage– because that gives your audience a focal point in
the room.  But how about lights?  You can nearly always find a portable stage lighting
system on campus, but if your school doesn’t have one then buy some clip-on lights and
flood bulbs.  I heard of a show once where they lit the stage with fifteen of those desk
lamps that come standard in dorm rooms!  Be creative, and do things differently.

I played a college coffeehouse that tried a new arrangement for my show.  Instead of
bringing in a stage platform for me to stand on, they brought in six or eight stages for the
audience to sit on!  I played on the floor, while the students sat at tables on stage risers.  It
was a “dinner theater” effect, and worked out great.

 

Stuck In Traffic

Respect the traffic patterns on your campus.  No, I’m not talking about jaywalking– I’m
talking about the path that students take around your school and school buildings.  If you
are presenting a daytime show, then you have to pay special attention to the traffic
patterns.

Students may go to different places on campus, but they tend to follow the same routes.
If you find that students are filling the student center at 11 a.m. every Wednesday, then
that may be the perfect time for your so-called “Noon” show.  Move it up an hour to 11,
and take advantage of that audience.

Keep your stage away from doorways and popular exits.  Students are accustomed to
using particular doors into and out of rooms and buildings.  Don’t try to do a show right
in the midst of that traffic flow.  Students will walk right by your event.  That hurts the
show disrupting the performance for the rest of the audience, because of people essentially
walking in front of the stage.

But do take advantage of that traffic flow by noting where those students are going.
Understand that you will not break those traffic patterns, especially for a daytime show.
Make sure that any performance or event is either at the beginning or end of the traffic
route, or somewhere along the way.  Don’t even attempt a daytime event that’s not going
to be walked past by all those students unless it’s a really major program.  Old habits are
tough to break.

 

Picky Little Things

Take note of those petty little distractions that can reduce a great show into just a good
show.  Sometimes just the simplest little annoyances can add up to a big irritation with
your audience. 

Always be aware of lines and queues when you place your stage.  I played an outdoor
event where the food line and the beverage line were on opposite sides, and both ended at
the foot of the stage.  It made for a train wreck of confusion right in front of the stage, a
big distraction for the audience.

If you place a performer in front of a large door, window or glass wall, make sure there is
some kind of curtain, banner, or even just a blanket covering the glass.  Without fail, some
student will walk up to the outside of the glass and either try to open the door, or just start
making funny faces and such things.  And even if that doesn’t happen, you don’t need the
distraction of having students walking around behind the performer.

Make sure there is somewhere for the audience to sit down.  It can be discouraging for an
audience to enter a room or an outdoor space to enjoy a show and have no where to sit. 
I’ve played beautiful shady patios and courtyards on college campuses where the audience
stood around for a while, then left because there was no place to relax.

On the other hand, think about using performers when students can’t sit down.  We can be
a great distraction for those waiting in long lines.  I’ve performed specifically for students
waiting in line for Drop/Add, to buy books, to vote in SGA elections, to give blood, and
for students waiting in line for other attractions like wax hands and caricatures.  If they’re
going to be in line for very long, use some music to distract them.  It sure makes the time
fly.

 

Natural Spaces

Consider the natural spaces on your campus.  You may have a hillside that is just perfect
for an outdoor event– that gentle slope that creates a natural amphitheater.  Take
advantage of it when the weather is amenable.  Do a show someplace different.  But pay
attention to the climate and conditions!

Last October I performed an afternoon concert at Three p.m. on a beautiful campus lawn.
When I was booked, I suggested that the presenters do two things.  First, provide a cover
or awning for the stage in case of too much sun or rain;  Second, that they make sure there
was adequate shade for the audience.  They ignored my suggestions.  While there was no
rain, I ended up performing in the full blazing sun for two hours.  And the audience?
Well, they sat about a hundred yards away underneath the shady trees that bordered the
lawn.  Still, it was a good show.  The school has already booked me back for this fall.
But, they moved the show to November instead of October, and to Five p.m. instead of
Three p.m.  It’ll be much more comfortable for the audience, and for me!

If you have any questions about successful programs, please email me at:
Del@SaltwaterMusic.com.  I’ll do my best to advise and help you.  And let me know
about any thing new you’ve been using in your programs.  Whether it’s a new
programming idea, or a sure-fire promotional technique, if you’ll email me about it I’ll
spread the word.