Layne Livingston

Defining

the Direction

“If you can dream it, you can do it!” Walt Disney

Every great idea starts with brainstorming. I

began with the Teen Actors Guild* executive board and shared my passion and excitement for this fundraising event for Elm Street Cultural Arts Village (ESCAV) and they caught the vision! A Medieval Festival was a perfect choice because it would allow us to include the members of the Teen Actors’ Guild*, showcase the theater’s beautiful costumes and introduce visitors to the shows, classes and camps offered for children at the Elm Street Theater. All while achieving the ultimate goal of raising funds for ESCAV!

(*Middle and High School drama club at Elm Street Community Theater)

Event Overview

Our overall goal was to raise awareness of the many camps, classes, and shows for children at the Elm Street Cultural Arts Village.

The festival was designed to be a family friendly event and to engage the Teen Actors Guild* in serving the community.

We wanted to raise money for the Teen Actors Guild at ESCAV in order to fund future events and drama camp scholarships for kids.

* (TAG) middle and high school drama club at Elm Street Community Theatre

Money, Shillings, Cash! Deciding on ticket prices was a difficult part of the festival. We could not charge more

than a large family could afford, but we had to be sure that our costs were covered

allowing for a profit.

Each child was given a burlap bag of gold coins, used to “purchase” a chance at a game

or a craft. We had to figure out how many coins were the value of admission, but

wanted to ensure each child would have enough to participate in everything. We settled

on $7 admission for a bag of 7 coins. Adults were admitted for free.

We had to seek sponsors to cover our upfront costs such as decorations, food, and

supplies. One sponsor provided $500 cash as well as a public address system for

announcements. Another sponsor provided tents and tables for free. Our food

coordinator organized food donations to sell in our “tavern.”

Organizing Funds Supplies Budget Donations

Craft supplies $200.00

Donated food 0.00 Free

Food for Tavern 150.00

Sound System 0.00 Free

Booth Decorations 100.00

Tent rentals 0.00 Free

Poster Printing 50.00

Total Cost/Cash Sponsor $500.00 $500.00

Advertising Posters, designed free by a local artist, placed

throughout the community

Ad in theatre’s playbills

Ad submitted to theatre’s website and Facebook

Local magazines and papers carried the ad for

free

Sent a costumed TAG member with large poster

and handouts to walk through “StreetFest”

(monthly Woodstock event)

Sword fight demonstration in high traffic area

TAG members distributing flyers

Cardboard castle displayed in lobby with poster

(Raffled at festival)

Casting the Crew

Director

Budget Coordinator

Advertising/Marketing

Costumes

Food

Training – Knights & Princesses

Live Action sketches in square

Craft Booths

Ticket Booth

Decorating

Layne – Director

Preparing for the festival took many months of gathering supplies, cutting

out crafts, making decorations, regulating the budget, and rehearsing.

Work Nights: I organized a calendar so that each week TAG members

could come to prepare crafts or decorations

Team Leaders: Each member of the TAG executive board was responsible

for portions of the festival.

It took me a few days to

make a flawless schedule,

but having one took a huge

burden off my shoulders. By

creating the schedule, it

helped the festival flow

better and ensured that

everyone had a job to do. It

also prevented an overflow

of workers at one station

and a lack of workers at

another.

The

Schedule

Training the

Crew

Taking the time to write out

craft instructions and provide the

team with their own copy helped

me stay organized. This assured

that all questions would be

handled before hand and

everyone had something to

reference if they forgot

instructions. A productive and

knowledgeable team is a sign of

good leadership..

Playing the Parts Several TAG members portrayed real characters

from Medieval Times. A “fool” runs through the

crowd after stealing the King’s crown. Once

captured, he endures a soaking at the sponge toss

both where the children “punish” him for his crime.

Wanted posters of a female thief surround the town

square and when spotted by a child, she is arrested by

the sheriff and carried away. Robin Hood and the

Sheriff of Nottingham engage in an authentically

staged sword fight for all to see. A May Pole dance is

held several times during the day and the girls are

taught the dance at Princess Training!

Rehearsals were scheduled frequently to make adjustments and keep the actors in shape.

Knights, Princesses

& Sword Fights Knight training with real “wooden” swords

and a knighting ceremony.

Princess training including costumes and crowns

Robin Hood’s authentic theatrical sword fight

- .

Crafts and Games

Making a Knight’s shield Corn Hole Toss

Face painting Sand Art

The End On the big day, I arrived at the location early to insure a smooth setup. Within one hour, we turned the parking lot into a medieval village. People arrived nonstop for hours, informing me that our advertising was successful. The children left with smiles on their faces and armed with crafts, balloons, and certificates of “knighthood” or “Princess” signed by the King. I received many “Thank You’s” from grateful parents. It had been overwhelming to prepare this event, and lots of unexpected “surprises” had to be dealt with and overcome. But the TAG members enjoyed themselves as much as the children, and we all learned a great deal about organizing, budgeting and working together. I learned an enormous amount about management and leadership while keeping a close eye on costs and customers. This experience showed me that like Walt Disney, if I can dream it, I can do it!