Big HOO HAA - getting too big?
Sun, 27 June 2004, 10:42 pmcrgwllms6 posts in thread
Big HOO HAA - getting too big?
Sun, 27 June 2004, 10:42 pmWe had another terrific special on Friday night, our second birthday anniversary. Twice as many teams, two musicians, two 'swing' players....a lot of toy donations given to the Smith Family Xmas Charity Appeal, and a brilliant night had by all.
Well, almost all. Unfortunately, once again, we were crowded to over-capacity, and had to turn people away at the door. Even the lucky last few to get in were unable to find chairs, and we were selling space on the floor. (A prominent perth director who shall remain nameless was cunning enough to steal the chairs from the Hoo-Haa players, making them sit on the floor...). There was also an unfortunate misunderstanding with some people who believed they'd booked and reserved a table...we apologise that it got mucked up, and we're looking at implementing a better method so it won't happen again.
It's probably time that we started looking for a bigger venue to host our 'specials'. Nobody likes turning people away, especially when we were virtually full more than half an hour before we were due to start.
Speaking of specials....it was announced that the next Big Hoo Haa special will be a 24-HOUR Hoo-Haa in September, based upon the History of the World..!! Watch out for more information as we get closer to the date!
And of course, no Hoo-Haa this Friday (First Friday of the Month Standup Comedy night instead), but we resume our normal crazy shows on the 9th July.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
Well, almost all. Unfortunately, once again, we were crowded to over-capacity, and had to turn people away at the door. Even the lucky last few to get in were unable to find chairs, and we were selling space on the floor. (A prominent perth director who shall remain nameless was cunning enough to steal the chairs from the Hoo-Haa players, making them sit on the floor...). There was also an unfortunate misunderstanding with some people who believed they'd booked and reserved a table...we apologise that it got mucked up, and we're looking at implementing a better method so it won't happen again.
It's probably time that we started looking for a bigger venue to host our 'specials'. Nobody likes turning people away, especially when we were virtually full more than half an hour before we were due to start.
Speaking of specials....it was announced that the next Big Hoo Haa special will be a 24-HOUR Hoo-Haa in September, based upon the History of the World..!! Watch out for more information as we get closer to the date!
And of course, no Hoo-Haa this Friday (First Friday of the Month Standup Comedy night instead), but we resume our normal crazy shows on the 9th July.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
Re: Big HOO HAA - getting too big?
Tue, 13 July 2004, 01:33 amYes, the whole reason I started this thread is because I notice we need to solve a few glaring problems. It's all very well having a terrific & popular show, but ever since the first 'special event' show, there have been punters who have been disadvantaged and have suffered uncomfortable conditions while trying to experience them. For instance, my parents haven't come to see any of our big shows, because they would really hate being stuck in such a claustrophobic crowded space. The fact that the bar staff can't even squeeze in to collect the empty glasses would indicate that there's a good chance it's not exactly legal, either.
I felt bad that people had paid to get in and yet there were no seats. We were trying to reconcile that in any way we could, and it made sense to me to use the actors' chairs...they weren't going to need them while they were onstage. I don't know how to reconcile the people who were early and thought they had front row seats, but ended up behind a new row of people blocking their view...that wasn't fair either. Sorry.
The people who volunteered to operate the door were understandably overwhelmed by the number of people who arrived, also the fact that so many arrived SO early. The nature of the room is that there is no fixed amount of seating, and it's difficult to know what a reasonable capacity is. No one had thought to count the actual number of chairs, until too late. More chairs kept being brought in, anyway. By the time Stephen's party arrived, it was difficult to go in and count how many seats were left, because many people had gotten up to buy drinks in the room next door, or were standing in the smoker's courtyard outside.
It was also unfortunate that some people had brought gift donations to give to the charity we were supporting, and yet were not able to get in to see the show. I think this was part of the reason why the front of house were trying to accommodate more people than they probably should have.
I'd hate people to think the motivation for squeezing so many people in is Greed...that really isn't the case, and it's not why we're there. But I do think we are guilty of Pride. We're proud of the show and we want everyone to get in to see it. We've got so many loyal followers now it's not easy to turn people away, even when we should.
As is often the case, a bunch of performers concentrating on putting on their own show are likely to be lacking some admin/organisational skills. I know conditions haven't been ideal for some audience members, but I hope they've been enjoying more positives than negatives. Thanks for the feedback, we are endeavoring to use it to prepare ourselves better for next time.
Cheers,
Craig