Tech Squares Amateur Night is held one week in the summer, usually a week when the club's regular caller is on vacation. (Note from Veronica: We should avoid holding Amateur Night the last Tuesday of August, as that's when we have a guest cuer, and some people may want to teach round dances they have written during early rounds. At the very least, this conflict should be considered before scheduling.) Someone needs to organize it, and someone needs to MC it. These can, but do not have to be, the same person.
Finding an organizer: This position should be advertised when appointed officer positions are advertised, and if not filled from that, it should be advertised at the end of May/start of June. Hopefully, by the end of June, we will have an organizer; otherwise, the President (and EC) should decide what to do.
Responsibilities of the Organizer:
- Publicize for a couple months beforehand, both in email and spoken announcements
- Have a sign-up sheet at gate (with options for patter, singer, rounds)
- Encourage club members to sign up
- Provide resources for amateur callers/cuers (Guy Steele and Bill Ackerman are likely to be willing to coach amateur callers – check with them)
Responsibilities of the MC:
- Make sure that the guest caller is on stage with music ready to go, fussing with cables as needed. Some callers might want music chosen for them by the MC.
- Make sure that sound balance is correct.
- Get people squared up (the guest caller might not be able to do so.)
- Make sure that the caller is comfortable holding the microphone and being on stage. Prevent anxiety attacks.
- Set the volume levels appropriately, intervening on the fly if necessary.
- Tell the caller how to start the music, if it is not from their own device.
- Then get off the stage and let them enjoy their moment of glory.
- If a tip is going far too long, use their best judgment about shortening it, but only as a last resort.
For at least two weeks prior to the event, it needs to be publicized in the weekly email and in the announcements from the stage, and a sign-up sheet needs to be present at the gate table, where people can sign up for slots for patter, singers, and rounds. Some callers may want to do patter or singer but not both. Prospective callers/cuers should be directed to the organizer, or other known resources, for help in obtaining music and writing choreography. The organizer needs to gather up participants' music and have it on a laptop or other device, or see to it that the participants will have their music on their own device. The organizer creates the schedule for the evening and makes sure that it is communicated to the participants.
Amateur night itself is run by the MC, who is usually the organizer, but does not need to be. Because of possibly lower interest in amateur cueing, a professional cuer, usually the regular cuer for the club, is often hired. The MC does not need to be a professional caller, but needs to be familiar with the equipment and familiar with running a dance.
Because of all the extra commotion, amateur night runs more slowly than a regular dance, and it may run past the usual 10:30 ending time. The club should be informed of this in advance.
If there is concern with being able to fill the night with amateurs, it may be prudent for the club to hire a professional caller as back-up/MC.