Originally Posted by
buffo
Nothing to it, really. First order of business is to find a venue. Cheaper is better. Once you have a venue, set a date and do it.
Questions to ask yourself and the venue manager:
1) Can we use a fog machine? (Call it a "Theatrical Fog machine" or they'll freak) This is the *most* important question, and will rule out more venues that you can imagine. Explain that it's not smoke, but a thin fog like you'd find in a dance club. Explain that even though it's not smoke, it *will* set off a particle smoke detector. Bring a fogger with you to show them. Ask about disabling the fire alarm if they have these smoke detectors. (We disable the smoke detectors only for SELEM each year, but leave the thermal ones on. We also disable the alarm's call-in feature by disconnecting the phone line. If we trip a smoke detector in the lobby <hey, it happens> the alarm still sounds, but it doesn't call the fire department! The venue manager is OK with this.) In a pinch, if you want to play dirty, you can cover these smoke detectors with a wet towel to defeat them, but this is against the fire code...
2) Do you have 3 phase power available? (And can we use it without hiring an electrician?) Not a big requirement, but it's nice to have if someone wants to bring a large ion laser.
3) Do you have a source of running water and a drain (for cooling)? Again, not a big deal, but you'll need it if you want to run anything bigger than a 60X or an HGM5.
4) Will we have complete autonomy? (That is, can we be sure that the general public won't just walk in on us while we've got laser beams flying around...) Also, do you require us to pay to have the fire chief present or to have security present? (If they say yes, find some other place!)
5) How long can we stay? (This is important - most places are used to a 4 hour event. You want all friggin' day and well into the night. Be up-front about this.) Try to get 9 am till midnight at least.
6) Can we have food / drinks / alcohol? Do we have to buy it on the premises or can we bring our own? Better find out beforehand...
7) Who cleans up afterwards? For the record, we usually sweep the floor and bag the trash ourselves at our LEM's. At the FLEM's we take the trash to my mom's place, since the venue has no outside trash cans or dumpster, but at SELEM we just move the full cans to the hallway backstage and the janitor takes it from there. We do sweep the stage though.
8) Are there tables / chairs that we can use? Can we move them around if we put them back when we're done?
9) What about windows? Can they be blocked to make the room dark?
10) Adequate parking?
11) Nearby food? Nearby lodging? Special rates for rooms?
12) Any chance of Internet access in the building? (Wi-Fi? Wired connection you can use? Cell service so you can use an air-card?)
13) How many 110V outlets? Will it be enough? (figure on a minimum of four 20-amp circuits.)
Edit: The minimum space I would look for is a room of at least 15 ft by 25 ft with an 8 ft ceiling. Ideal would be 30 ft by 40 ft with a 12 foot or higher ceiling, but that's hard to come by. For example, the venue we've been using in Florida is just 24 ft by 38 ft with a 7.4 ft ceiling, but it's cheap ($60) and nearly always available, so we're still using it.
Good luck!
Adam