The Shining event seemed to be a real success. I felt we were pretty prepared beforehand but was still very nervous. The space looked even better than I was expecting and all the last minute touches really came together. We arrived hours in advance just to ensure we would be able to sort any problems if they arose. Everything ran very smoothly though. We began by bringing all of our equipment and props down to the main room and then I organised them all so they were ready to go into the other rooms once we had access to them. Zoe printed all of the signage she had designed and the vintage photographs and then Alex and I put them up around the space. As we had plenty of free time we went and got some extra props for free, like spare suitcases to decorate the cloakroom, just to ensure we had enough. When we had access to the other rooms i started to dress these whilst the tech team began setting the lights up. At times it was difficult setting up the spaces with the general public in the building but I think we worked around it quite well. Once the ushers all showed up we ran through with them what their roles would be and how they should act. Flo met all of the actors and briefed them. I then handed out all of the costumes and helped people get ready. During the event I worked on the cloakroom so was able to interact with the audience, which I really enjoyed. It was absolutely fantastic watching the audience explore the space and interact with the actors. All of the ushers and actors were brilliant and really listened to what we had asked them to do.

In the main space we had different elements for the audience to interact with like an old radio system, so the audience could talk to an actor on the other end and a Photobooth area with props in keeping with The Shining theme. All of these elements seem to be go down really well with the audience. The bar was also very successful, especially the drinks promotions and red rum cocktails that we had decided to incorporate into the menu.

During the event there were luckily no disasters. We had a few hiccups with ticket allocation but this was all sorted quickly and easily. I was so pleased that we had allocated roles efficiently so we all knew exactly what we were supposed to be doing and when. I have definitely learnt that rehearsals are always helpful and am really pleased that we had had a couple running up to the event.

I am really looking forward to looking over the evaluation forms from the audience. So far we seem to have great feedback on social media.