Don’t you just love to be able to say that? Whenever we are involved in any project and we can say that we feel great. As a school show presenter, I like to put the key into the ignition of my Ford one-ton van after loading up all my equipment and have the feeling everything went “just like clockwork”. That would mean a minimum of proper planning and communication would have been executed by a number of key players. Let’s look at all of the individuals and their roles to make this happen.
The assembly program has been procured by the school principal, a teacher, or other support staff, or many times by the PTA or PTO president. Once a date and time has been established it is put on the school calendar and also the agent and performer’s itinerary. Sometimes these programs have been booked up to a year in advance to be able to reserve a particular program at a specific time.
All details of the performance including particular needs by the performer are sent to the school far in advance of the performance date. The performer may need the school to provide tables to be used in the program, access to an electrical outlet, early access into the facility used for the program or a private place to dress for the performance. Although these needs are simple they are important to the success of the show.
The day of the performance arrives and now the cooperation of the faculty is needed. All teachers should have been notified in advance as to the time their class would be attending. Most schools use multiple performances to better address their various grade levels. Each program requires a designated amount of time to be properly presented and so having the students in place and seated by the agreed starting time is critical. If the program is scheduled to begin at 9 am and the announcement to bring the students in the gym or cafeteria is not made till 9 am then the show will be starting ten to fifteen minutes late and the content will suffer because that much of the presentation will have to be left out to stay on the school’s class schedule.
Most school assembly programs are written and produced to stay within a 45 minute time frame. To make the program educational and entertaining a lot of material has to be crammed into that time frame. To cut minutes away from the presentation is very damaging to the overall continuity and success of the performance.
Now let us address the responsibilities of the presenter. On the day of the performance, he should arrive early enough to check in with the office, unload the props for the show, transport them to the performance area, and have everything set before the students are brought down to the performance. Of course he is required to be well prepared and the show to be of the highest quality. He must stay in the time frame allotted for the assembly program and to dismiss the students in a timely and orderly fashion. His set up time and break down time has been prearranged on the written agreement sent to the school usually months before. The performance area must be reserved with theses times in mind.
When everyone has been responsible for their part then the students and faculty will receive a well executed assembly program that will compliment their curriculum, enthuse the students on the subject matter, boost morale, and inspire greater learning among the students.
That is when everyone can say the event was “Just Like Clockwork!”