help please :)
Getting my act together re starting an Open Mic in Aggie. But . . . . does it make a difference which night of the week it is? Weds & Thurs seem popular on WOL's gig guide. But Wednesday's already booked.
And . . . does it matter?
Comments
Fridays tend not to be good nights for the pub/mechanics institutes and difficult to ge tpeople out for poetry because there are other distractions available; but, prove us wrong!
there is on other thing that is vitally important to the success of a night. Damned if I can remember what it is.
You didn't use to be in the Boomtown Rats did you Harry? (Oh sorry - that was MONDAYS!);)
just don`t like fridays...pay no noticeto me
....Julian`s told you all the essential stuff
Great tips guys! Why avoid Fridays? Too much else on?
Hi Ann
There are a few things to think about, all worth doing so.
1. Enjoy it.
Venues are usually the most difficult thing to source. Their availability might dictate what night you choose. Pubs often like to have you there on otherwise-quiet nights like Sundays or Mondays. Try to avoid match days if your venue is a pub with a giant screen.
Try to get a place with a room you can close the door on, and where the music is turned off - piped or jukebox. In Wigan they pipe the poetry around the pub, which is superb.
Not essential that it is a pub. Cafe, gallery, anywhere where people will feel comfortable to let others tread on their dreams.
Publicity is probably the next item to consider. How do you let the people who might be interested know about it, and how to persuaed those who don't yet know they might be interested: the secret poets who are more numerous than most folks realise.
Get it onto our gig guide. david Andrew will help with that: gig@writeoutloud.net.
In building up the WOL nights, I built an email mailing list, as well as phone numbers for the digital underclass. libraries are useful places to put posters, as are shops, post office, supermarkets, so forth. Think up something newsworthy - nude poetry reading?send it to nes@writeoutloud.net - local radio, with whom you have contacts, local press, too.
I wil send you some examples of our earlier publicity stuff and you can ignore or adapt as you see fit.
Stick to times, no more than two hours with a good break in the middle, though not too good or they will resent you cutting into their conversations.
Don't have music at first as it can make the poetry harder to make an impact, except in the break or at the end. not needed though. Don't have guest poets. They often dissuade nervous newbies from having a go by seeming too good; that first time can be really difficult to pluck up the courage.
ensure everyone listends respectfully rather than shuffling thorugh their papers for their next poem whilst someone else is pouring their heart out.
Meet and greet, chat to the people arri
1...Avoid fridays
2...Don`t keep going till all hours
3...Posters around...design a gig-identifier
4...keep to five minutes per poet.
5...not more than two (short) music spots.
6...most folk want to read...control the guest
I`m sure you`ll make a great sucess of it.
(and - by the way - I like your poems)
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Ann Foxglove
Mon 15th Aug 2011 15:57
Well it's gonna have to be Tuesdays or Fridays or Sundays. Tuesdays sound boring to me. Fridays sound more exciting! (Except to Harry of course!)