Less can be more. Often clients think a 75-minute show is what they want when they really should have a 30- to 45-minute show. Event nights can get long, and it is nice to leave an audience feeling energized and wanting more.
Always request that the wait staff not clear dishes during a show. It is a major disturbance for your guests.
Give some thought as to how to best set up the room. Sight lines are important.
Keep things moving along throughout the evening. Often people are done eating and just sitting and waiting for things to happen. Dessert shows often work great. As soon as the staff serves dessert, the act is introduced and the show gets rolling. People in the audience generally like this schedule.
Try not to have a break between your emcee, the dinner, or your presentation, and the start of Tim’s show. Once people get up and moving, it is hard to get them back and focused. Things should be ready to go, and Tim will be all set so he can jump on stage and keep the evening flowing.
It can be tough because of the roles people play in organizations, but try to have someone who is energetic and articulate do the MC work for your event. It makes the night a whole lot better for your guests. Make it easy - use an introduction from the entertainer.
Make sure you allow enough time and space for acts to get set up and perform properly. Professional acts will want to get all set up and do their sound and light checks before your group comes into the room.
Make sure you pay attention to the little details required to make the show the best it can be. Stage size, power needs, set-up time, and a dressing room to change the warm-up in are all things that create a situation where a show can be at its very best.
Even if you have a committee decide on who you are using for entertainment, have one person act as a contact to your performer prior to the day or night of the performance. Things get mixed up when three different people are telling an artist three different things.
Lastly, relax and enjoy your event, knowing that you have picked a great entertainer who will guarantee to make you (the person responsible for entertainment) look like the STAR.
