What Makes a Good Festival?

by Mike Kaiser13 January 2009

This worm in this particular case is the adjudicator. Although this may coincide exactly with some people’s opinion some of the time, in this example it merely refers to the ability to study at close quarters how festivals work.

It is a fact that the adjudicator at times is highly visible, literally holding centre stage and influencing key moments. However, there are many more times during a festival when one is on the sidelines, approaching the theatre, standing in the foyer, sitting in the stalls. Then it is possible to muse about how effective the advertising is, the programme, the welcome as you enter, the comfort of the seats, the arrangement of the plays for each evening, the coffee and tea volunteers and so on.

This then is the “worm’s-eye view”, added to which of course we probably see more festivals in different parts of the country than most. What follows is a list of observations about what succeeds. Many of them do not depend on money although some do. They one ingredient that is irreplaceable is people and we are all keenly aware that if only two or three people have been putting the festival together for years, then some of the finer points here are impossible.

Finally, it is by no means an official GoDA position – only the eclectic jottings of various individuals.

Make it obvious from outside the theatre that something is going on inside. Have somebody good with people on the door – smile. Have your Front-of-House staff dressed for impact.
Design a strong image into your posters and programme covers and change it every year. Avoid simply words, words, words. The image will attract attention and the details can follow later.
Look after sponsors, offering them something in return.
Look after season ticket holders, first by making prices ridiculously competitive so that it is as cheap to buy the week as, say, three nights.
Have an audience award amongst the trophies.
Offer season ticket holders some simple refreshment at the end of the evening.
Be flexible in programming. Quite often, two medium to long plays make a more satisfactory evening than a long night with three plays. Late finishes are a disincentive.
Look after your teams when they arrive during the day with first and foremost a smile and a cup of tea. Some festivals offer a meal. Some pay towards van hire! Do not let rules and regulations stand uppermost. The loyalty of some teams to festivals is most marked and it starts with this initial impact.
The skill and discipline of the technical teal is vital. Pre-show technical sessions should be calm and swift in achieving what is wanted. The stage manager has to be even-handed and fair to all teams. Back- stage crews should enjoy it too.
Make the programme as attractive as it can be to encourage everyone – teams, audience and advertisers. Investigate high quality covers and materials. Include background details of all teams provided by themselves.
Choice of plays – do you have a choice? Don’t be afraid to reject poor plays or standards; it is in your long-term interests. On the other hand, don’t be afraid to have controversial or strong material. If it is done well enough, the audience will appreciate it.
Keep the intervals as tight as possible so that 30 – 40 minutes of “drift” isn’t added to the evening. Alert your refreshment staff when an interval is due and have some teas and coffees poured and ready to go.
Celebrity guests – a very questionable benefit. After all, you really want audience there who are interested in drama. However, the right guest in the right place for the right reason, gives you publicity and sells tickets and gives the sense of special occasion. Never dismiss it out of hand. Derek Jacobi at The All-Winners was superb, for instance.
Have the best MC you can to introduce each evening and, later on, the adjudicator. This does not have to be the Chairman, or even a member of the committee. Find someone who is good at it and enjoys it, injecting some spark and humour. Rig some special lights, have a fanfare or lively sound effect, and have some fun.
Be adventurous in choice of adjudicator. It is quite striking that some of the most successful festivals have a policy of constantly trying out new faces.
Some awards ceremonies are terrifically creative in their choice of stage settings, music, lighting and even type of trophy. Release the ingenuity of your backstage crew. If you have the traditional cups and shield on a table, make sure the quality of presentation is as good as you can make it. Find some delicate way to control the guest speeches. Have no speeches after the awards which should be the climax of the event.

Obviously, most people would like to do most of this all of the time, but manpower is an issue. The other point to make is that one of the delights of adjudicating is the difference between festivals in size, venue, atmosphere and approach, so this is not a plea for uniformity. However, it might provide a useful checklist.