Journal writing experience

This weekend I attended “PanJazz”. I thought it was a good idea to write about this arts event as I knew it would have a lot of activity and this is also the field that I hope to advance into. By being in the position of a consumer I hope will aid me to identify what was successful and what was missing from the management of this event.



The evening consisted of three segments:

Pre-Event Reception - A Taste of the Caribbean - A chance to sample Caribbean food, art and craft, literature, music, merchandise and travel information. (6-8pm)

Show- Pan Jazz Folklore- A show which explores the various mythical characters originating from West African and French Creole heritage. The steel pan is at the centre of the evening's performances as the music introduces the various characters through dance and movement bringing these mythical stories to life. Costume design by Brian MacFarlane. (8-10pm)

The VIP After Party-After Party- with the cast of the show in the White Room at the Troxy. Complete with complimentary music and Nouvelle Caribbean style Canapés prepared by French Caribbean Chef Joys. Music supplied by London DJs. (10-1am)

Venue: Troxy
Date: Saturday 6th November

Initial reflection: I had to be encouraged at first to attend this event. I had a long week and was not overly in the mood to socialise. I think my mood was due to the drop in climate temperature and exhaustion. I then remembered that I had a reflective writing task to complete and this event would be an ideal situation.

A list of things that came to mind about the day.
Queues
Punctuality
Cold
Organisation
Warmth
Large venue
Interesting layout
Lack of staff communication
Good costuming
Enjoyable show
After Party
Nice venue
Well catered
Taxi home

Evaluation: I felt the content and idea of this arts event was fantastic. My mood was jovial; I think this was because It was nice being entertained as opposed to being the entertainer. It was not a high pressurised situation for me as I was the consumer (critic). The use of the steel pan (in the show) which is more commonly associated with the genre of calypso music was a refreshing change to hear in the style of jazz. I think having dancers in the cast was essential to the production as this brought another element to the show. The dancers enhanced the musicians who otherwise would have remained somewhat stagnant on stage and less aesthetically pleasing to me. 3 Canal the recording artists from Trinidad & Tobago performed a Jazz rendition of some of their hit songs which I am very familiar with. Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam provided a professional commentary which enriched the show.
If producing any event of this nature I would put contingency plans in place so the event would start promptly on time as advertised. Guests who were punctual became very irritable and began to voice their frustrations. Overall I thought the events of the day proceeded without any other incidents. It was a great opportunity for me to network and see friends that I had not seen for many years.

What if? : I would have loved more stalls selling arts and crafts, books and food at “A Taste of the Caribbean”, as the Caribbean is so rich in culture and culinary cuisine with influence from Africa, India, Spain and France. I thought the stalls could have depicted this better. Would this have attracted a much diverse and wider base crowd for future events? I would have like to see more dancers and a bigger cast on stage as I think the impact would have been greater. Also the lighting could have been more inventive. I would have also tried to invite heads of local government and celebrities as I think a great marketing opportunity was lost. I wonder what would have happened if they had the three events on three separate days? I was happy to learn that I have a friend who works behind the scenes with the company and will try and get her perspectives from behind the scenes.

Another view: I was fortunate enough to attend the event with a friend who is not in the performance arts field. Her initial thought was that the event was going to be a live poetry reading with music and not something that is more reminiscent to a musical theatre show. Overall she enjoyed the show and would return to a similar event by the same company.

A list of things that came to mind about the day (from friend).

Dislike waiting outside
Craft stalls were poor and substandard
Not enough items on sale
Wider range of books needed
More choice of food needed in “taste of the Caribbean” section
Overpriced craft store and product quality doesn’t reflect prices
Appropriate costuming
Stage scenery and props blocked musicians and performers
Able to understand colloquial dialect being from the Caribbean but needs to be modified for a much wider audience

Themes: The performers made their way through the isle during the show, which created a more interactive form of theatre. The concept of having an option to obtain a theatre, play or concert ticket that entitles the bearer to an all-inclusive on site pre meal, beverages and after show party is clever. Then the opportunity to mingle and converse with cast and creatives about the show is something that I really think could have great sales potential. I think there is a big niche in the market for this type of event.

What I would do differently: If I was running the event I would make sure all event staff and personnel were pre briefed as some were unable to communicate seating location to the public. They seemed to be unaware of the ticketing procedure of the night and it could have prevented a lot of unnecessary confusion. While in the audience sitting in the balcony I observed one of the cast members walking out into the foyer in full costume. I think when performers “break character” it detracts and diminishes the illusion of “make believe” theatre. At the after party although food was good, I would make sure all catering staff knew what they were serving before it left the kitchen, as not knowing was a potential health risk to anyone who had any food allergies or special dietary requirements.
I was so glad that I decided to go to the event. The date worked out very conveniently as it was a weekend. After going to this event, I would definitely go to any other similar events that this company decided to produce.

I like boxes and lists. I think I work well with structure in front of me. I find it easier to process my thoughts on paper first and then arrange them into a more cohesive format. I found by writing a short list of things that came to my mind about the day that I was able to look back and elaborate on the points of the event. By having them in order of occurrence I was metaphorically speaking able to connect the dots and use it to build a picture of the events of the day and remember how each led into each other (similar to writing in a short hand format). I noticed that even though I had found the event successful I was still very critical about it. I tried to counteract anything that could be deemed as negative by giving my opinion and positive constructive solutions.