Event Technical Services

It is very important when scheduling an event to go through the proper steps before contracting your speaker or performance.

When you speak to the performer or agent, come up with a date (or some dates if they are flexible) and a time for your speaker. Also have a room you'd like to use in mind.

Tell your contact that the date and time you picked between the two of you is good; however you need to check facilities and make sure you're not double booking over an event that is already scheduled. Also ask if the performer or speaker has a technical rider and have your contact email/fax you a copy. A technical rider is paper work stating what the event needs to make their performance work. Do not sign a contract at this point. You do not know if the room you're wanting is available at this time or if the event you are wanting to bring in can work technically.

Some good wording for your contact may be:
"Pencil me in and let's connect in the next few days. I need to determine if we have the space to do your show and to have our tech people glance at your technical rider. "
"This sound great, just let me check on facilities and technical requirements. I can get back with you in a day or two."

Next you would contact the Forum office. Do you have a specific date(s) in mind? If you do, check with the forum office on that particular date. Make sure that you explain to them what type of an event you are bringing in. They may have an idea of what room would be good for you to use if you haven't already picked one out yourself. If the date and place you want checks out with the forum, tell them to book you into that time/date/space. By doing this, the forum will create a RES form that will be emailed out to you and all the proper people such as campus security to unlock doors, catering if you have food requests, and the Events Technical Director if it's in Anderson Auditorium or Schaller chapel or has special tech needs.

Your last step before booking an event is getting the technical requirements oked. If you are bringing in a speaker or performance, they more the likely have some sort of technical needs. Examples may be something as simple as: mic, projector, screen, computer hook up, etc. Some more elaborate technical requirements may be certain lighting, sound and staging ideas that they have. They also may need certain types of instruments or props that we need to make sure we have on campus. You need to get in contact with the Event Technical Director on campus so that your rider can be reviewed and oked. The ETS Director may ask for your contact to go over some specifics with them to see how flexible they can be.

After you have the room reserved and the technical aspects of the contract oked, you can then go ahead and confirm everything with your contact and have them issue you a contract.

Contracts can be sent to you, however, you do need to get the Vice President of Business Services signature on the contract too.

Download a quick step by step guide and check list for planning an event here.