Scouting the Venue
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This article is part of the Succeeding in the Performing Arts series. These questions were contributed in Scouting the Venue — a discussion on the Bose® Pro Portable PA Community |
Questions to Ask When Scouting the Venue
General Questions
Most of these have been incorporated into the Who, What, When... model below.
- What volume is acceptable in this place?
- What external noise factors are there?
- Does the type of crowd change throughout the night? How quickly?
- Are there sound issues you weren't aware of?
- How far ahead of time can I set up? Is the stage area being used for something else before I play?
- I have my own PA.
- Am I allowed to use it, or
- do you insist on my using the one you have set up?
- Is there a house sound-man?
- Which entrance do you prefer I bring my equipment through, and how far is it to the stage?
- If you won't be at the venue when I'm playing, who is my contact person, for pay and instructions?
- And of course:
- How big is the stage?
- IS there a stage?
- Is it raised at all?
- Do you have lighting of any kind?
- How far away is the power?
Topical Break Down
You might use a different model based on a time line through the event, or centered around the physical layout. This is far from complete, but food for thought.
Who
- Who is in the audience?
- Does the type of crowd change throughout the night? How quickly?
- Who do we talk to if there are issues?
- Who do we talk to to get paid?
- Who is running the sound system?
- Who else will need to access the stage?
- Special events may have talkers, announcements, auctions, guest performers.
What
- What volume is acceptable in this place?
- What external noise factors are there?
- What kind of music are you expecting?
- What kind of sound system do you have?
- What kind of music do you play in the background?
- What kind of stage do you have?
- How big is it?
- Where is it?
- Is it elevated?
- What is the dress code?
- What is your policy about food and drink for the performers?
- What is your policy about having non-paid performers on the stage?
- What is your policy about original music?
- Are you paying a Performing Rights Organization to allow us to play copyrighted material? See: Why are they pickin' on us little guy venues?
When
- When can we gain access to the premises?
- When can we access the stage area?
- When will the audience arrive?
This can be important if this is a special event.
- When do we start playing?
- When do we take breaks?
- When will the announcements, events or speeches happen? (Special Events)
- When do we shut down?
- Are encores okay?
Where
- Where do we park?
- Is there a loading zone or loading bay?
- Where do we load in?
- Where do we store gear, bags, cases, anything that should not be visible on the stage?
- Where do you want us to go during the breaks? (the bar, the lounge, a "band" table).
- Where is the stage?
- Where are the electrical outlets?
- What else is on the same circuits?
- Are there any outlets that we should not use?
- Where does the sound have to be heard?
- Is there any place where the sound will not be reachable from the stage? (outside, separate rooms, balconies)
Why
- Why does this venue have live music?
- Why are the people in the audience there?
- Why are you holding this event? (Wedding, Funeral, Concert, Party, ...)
- Will there be photographers, video, recording?
How
- How big is the room?
- How big is the stage?
- How do we get paid?
- How do you want us to handle requests? (Happy Birthday?)
- How is the stage lit?
- How do you want us to access the stage?
- Is there a set route through the venue.