Deciding Upon the Events of the Immersive Event
Though we had decided as a group what our specific roles and responsibilities would be for the project, we were all to collaborate in deciding the series of events that would take place during the immersive event. After having been shown around the areas of the building where we could mainly host the event (Watersides 1, 2 and 3), as well as the main building’s facilities such as the Cafe/Bar, as well as the different entrances to the building (such as the fire exit that leads to the back of the building), it was decided by myself and the team to compile our individual thoughts on the flow of the evening before creating a single document that incorporated elements that correlated with many of the teams’ ideas.
From this basic outline of ideas we wished to achieve, we were able to hone and pin-down our ideas that could be achievable goals with the help of advice given by the Ops team at the Watershed, and our project’s creative partner Compass Presents. We were thus able to specifically allocate rooms for certain events, such as W2 as the Colorado Lounge where we would have a performer portraying Jack Torrance typing at his writing desk, and W3 as the main event space where a photo booth would be set up and an intercom system which would allow the audience to interact with a performer on the other end of the intercom. Certain changes and alterations were inevitably made along the way due to health and safety, and practicality issues, such as alterations to the point by which the audience would enter the building; we had at one point considered using the goods lift, due to the lift in The Shining being an iconic feature of the film, but this was changed to the back entrance of the building. Our meeting with the Ops teams of the Watershed enabled us to further focus on what we were able and unable to do during the event, and we allocated a day’s run-through to ensure that the planned flow of the evening would function as we wished it to.
Within this plan for the evening’s events, we had made contingencies for possible issues that could arise during the event. In order to ensure the safety of the performers as well as the comfort of the audience, we planned to have voluntary attendants in each function room of the event, to oversee the rooms and make sure that both the audience and performers were happy. As well as this, we decided to employ a bouncer at the entrance of the event (the fire exit of the building), due to the fact that it would be taking place late on a Friday night. We also took into consideration the possibility of a fire alarm occurring during the event, and while the Future Producers team heading up the event could not take control of such a situation as we are considered members of the public, we ensured that members of staff of the Watershed would be involved in the evening who could take charge of such a situation, however unlikely it was to occur.
Health and Safety Considerations
Health and safety for the event was taken into consideration and headed up by my Gothic Season team member, James, and a comprehensive risk assessment for the event was formulated and revised.
