Why Use Entertainment in Special Events?

As event planners and producers, before we use entertainment in a special event, we need to understand its impact on an audience. In other words, we need to analyze exactly why we are suggesting it to a client.




The reason for any given entertainment concerns the overall
message delivered by a performance. It is the “why” question answered. The
performance must satisfy the audience and client and deliver the promised
results based on the original reason for the entertainment. For special event
production purposes, the audience’s interests are usually represented by a single
person (e.g. a client or event manager) or a small number of persons (e.g. an
organizing committee) during the planning process, and it is this person or these
persons who must articulate the reason for the entertainment to the producer. Here,
then, are the main reasons we produce entertainment shows for special events.




Education




A
powerful reason is the imparting of knowledge to an audience; it may be based
entirely on learning or may be a small part of a larger show with multiple
goals. Here are some typical examples that have proven successful in my own and
my colleagues’ experiences.



Scripted show. This occurs when entertainment is used with the main
goal of providing – or helping to provide – knowledge to the audience. I have
done this for a scripted variety show format in which we created a show that
told part of the history of Canada through segments that incorporated singing,
dancing, comedy, and acting, thus telling the audience in an interesting way
about the country’s history. Another way is to partially script a show to
augment a corporate presentation and to thereby explain more about the company
goals, such as for a sales meeting, or for the explanation of a complicated
concept. I have done this through the use of improvisational comedians who
performed semi-scripted, humorous problem scenarios for an audience of
financial planners who then had to workshop solutions for the scenarios
presented. Dianne McGarey, formerly of Atlanta-based
Axtell Productions has had considerable experience with this
type of show and states, “To do this successfully, it is vital to have a
professional scriptwriter who will work closely with you to incorporate all the
vital information, and agree (up front) to do “rewrites” as needed. A
theatrical director and rehearsal hall for the cast will also be required.”


Existing act. Knowledge may also be imparted through the inclusion
of performers who use education as part of their act, such as cultural dance
groups who explain the origins of their dances (e.g. Chinese, Native American,
African), storytellers, or handwriting analysts (personal knowledge), among
many. My company frequently used a world champion gold panner who would not
only teach guests how to gold pan, but would also teach the history of
gold panning and gold rushes while they were doing it. Figure 1 depicts a
Native American show that imparted knowledge about their culture using song and
dance to portray a legend.











Figure 1: Knowledge Imparted through the
Enactment of a Native Legend (Courtesy Wayne Chose Photography and
Pacific Show Productions, www.pacificshow.ca – Copyright 2006)




Physically Moving People



There is
no more impressive method of physically moving crowds than to have them follow
highly visual and loud performers. Using a marching band or other “noisy”
entertainment to lead people can save considerable time, especially with a
large audience, and can be a nice segue from a reception to dinner or between
event segments. In my career I have used marching bands, Swiss alpine horns,
drum groups, color guards, cowboys on horses, fanfare trumpets, a town crier,
stilt walkers, a Chinese lion, Dixieland bands, dancers of various types,
clowns, old cars, and more I can’t remember. In almost all cases, guests
automatically followed the entertainment without having to be told what to do,
thus making my job as a producer a little easier (not to mention negating the
need for a costly add-on audio system in a remote location).




Following
musical performers or noisy acts is not the only way to move people. Also
possible is creative hosting. For example, we once designed an Evening in Paris
night for an important client at which we used a dozen male and a dozen female
dancers dressed in traditional French attire and all very outgoing. They
greeted and cheered guests as they arrived and individually escorted each guest
to their table, then appeared later to perform a can-can dance routine after
which they went into the room full of seated guests to bring them up to the
dance floor (Figure 2). This concept of participative “party starters” has
gained tremendous popularity in recent years.









Figure 2: Example of Creative Hosting (Courtesy
Alan Gough, www.visionmasters.net,
and Pacific Show Productions, www.pacificshow.ca – Copyright 2006)




More reasons for entertainment in my next post.