Page 12
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
February 19, 1993
Women reluctant to be involved in Talent Show due to last year's results
Continued from Page 1
categories. This lingering resentment is ironic because the idea for the all-inclusive, community Talent Show came as a response to criticisms about the long-running, separatist Womyn's Variety Show.
Fish and Noll said that the financial statement published last month was taken out of context because not all of the figures were in and further bookkeeping adjustments needed to be made. Several corrections to the printed financial report were stated by the panelists. The "Printing (all)" expense of $1,213 was actually the expense for the [after-show] Party, which lost a "couple of hundred dollars." The producer's fee was $1500, the emcee transportation was $366; the higher figures shown last month were reduced by separate adjustment entries. The hall rental was $2200, not $2700; the $500 difference was overpaid to the Civic and is due back.
The representatives felt strongly that all unpaid ad monies would be collected. Fish frequently referred to her experience with other shows and was confident that the outstanding $800 would be paid. She commented that there is a general feeling among non-profit groups that "business is a dirty word," which she called a mistake. Her assessment of the evening's weak profit was the shortfall in ad sales in the program book, saying the committee charged too much for the ads and overestimated the response of the community.
Those on the committee selling ads were men; as a result, women-owned businesses did not respond to the ad solicitations. Patti Harris, the Chronicle's sales manager, was able to get some of the women's businesses to advertise that rejected the original sales call.
The meeting also brought out the misunderstandings that had existed during the planning process and the event itself. For example, Nick Palumbo, who was the board's liaison with the committee, said that a large number of the committee members did not show up at their posts the evening of the event. Zak Haley, a committee member, disagreed, saying that most
showed up but few were trained in what to do. A large part of the problem was that almost all of the volunteers were inexperienced, "new" people. And no contingency instructions were given if a relief person did not show up, so stations were abandoned. Some attempts were made, according to Palumbo, to pull people over to critical stations, but it looked very unorganized to both patrons and volunteers.
A significant part of the meeting time was taken up discussing the lack of secu-
"There were approximately
1,100 in the hall. Only 810 tickets were sold."
rity. Fish and Palumbo reiterated the statement made at the Center board meeting: that hundreds of people walked in and did not pay. Fish called the setup of the building "challenging," citing her years of experience in staging events at the Civic. She said the house can hold 1400 and, being experienced in estimating its crowds, "there were approximately 1,100 in the hall [the night of the Talent Show]. Only 810 tickets were sold."
The choice of the Civic as a venue was defended for a variety of reasons. It was a place to hold a party along with the concert, it offered parking, and the event could have liquor served.
Haley questioned the co-ordination between the two co-chairs of the event, saying "no one knew who to talk to." Fish responded that at this point it was "not necessary to deface or humiliate people who didn't do [their] job." As producer of the talent show itself, Fish defended her
Dykes To Watch Out For
NO PLACE LIKE
HOME
1992 BY ALISON BLCHDEL
YOUR ROOMMATE'S ILLEGITIMATE BABY IS NO GRANDCHILD OF MINE!
152
ONI CHOOSES THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE. UH...NO SE.
OUR VALIANT TON ¡EMBARAZADA!? WHO'S THE FATHER?!
HEROINES HAVE
VENTURED
FORTH ON HOLIDAY VISITS TO THEIR
OF
FAMILIES ORIGIN. LE
ETS JOIN THEM ON
NEW YEAR'S EVE.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? TONI AND 1 LOVE EACH OTHER. WE'RE A FAMILY, AND WE'RE GOING TO RAISE THIS CHILD TOGETHER!
CLARENCE,
QUIT EATING AND HELP ME OUT HERE!
SMEK!
A LA PUTA! AFTER
ALL THOSE YEARS OF SCHOOL, AFTER ALL WE'VE DONE FOR YOU! YOU TURN OUT NO BETTER THAN YOUR COUSIN CARMEN! WHAT WILL WE TELL LA FAMILIA?
IT'S OKAY, MAMA. I'M GAY TOO.
position by saying "I wasn't that hard to find; however, people made their own decisions."
The planning process differed considerably from last year. Fish explained that "last year there was a committee of three that brought people in as needed. This year, it was decided to make more of an effort to build bridges as part of the planning process." The producer went on to say "for a larger amount of money than I was paid [$1,500], I could do it myself."
After deciding to have man and woman co-chairs, another difficulty was in finding women who would consider taking the position. The tiered sub-committee structure also did not work this year, according to the organizers.
In the aftermath of reports of problems with the national talent act, Marga Gomez, Fish confirmed that, although she had a verbal commitment from the manager for a $500 fee, the "contract was in the mail" up until the last minute. In a tactic frequently employed by managers, this pressure was used to negotiate a higher fee. "She asked for a lot more," said Fish, finally agreeing on $1,000 as her fee to perform and emcee. The performer should have arrived in time for a Thursday rehearsal but in fact showed up after the dress rehearsal started on Friday. A lot of consideration was given to choosing Marga as an “ethnic cultural minority." In the aftermath, Fish raised the question of whether "we are wasting money by presenting a national act.”
The resounding opinion of the people at the meeting was that there were too many acts during the show. While each act was of an acceptable length, overall the show was too long. Another acknowledged problem was with the sound system. Once again separatism issues from the first talent show affected the 1992 event. The knowledgeable women who had done technical duties the first year refused to work on the second annual show.
The "Center Spread," a pre-show benefit reception with a $50 ticket, was profitable, according to Fish. This despite the significant number of people who used the back door to get in for free, as witnessed by
CALM DOWN, JORGE. BMIT COULD BE WORSE...AT LEAST NOW WE KNOW SHE'S NOT UNA LESBIANA.
Haley. A few logistical problems with the Center Spread were reported which left people with not enough time to enjoy themselves.
Having both the Center Spread and a free "Party" afterwards allowed for comparisons. It was generally agreed that the party, which was upstairs, was decorated better than the downstairs Center Spread and was more fun.
Haley had chided the committee planners for naively assuming the event would be a sellout, and basing the budget on those numbers. Fish disagreed, stating that the planned break-even attendance number was 900.
The accusation about vendors charging full price was also refuted by the producer. Fish said, "we always paid discounted or non-profit rates." She shifted the blame for a marginally profitable event away from budgeted expenses, saying the first thing everyone looks at is the expenses when things fail. "You should look at selling more tickets," she said, to make the event a bigger financial success.
Tiered pricing was suggested as an idea to encourage even the "back door" people to pay next time.
Having voiced opinions and heard the explanations of the event's shortcomings, the audience was in favor of seeing the Talent Show repeated for a third year. The Center's board committee has to work at changing procedural tactics to remove the wrinkles without damaging the successful parts of a social evening designed for the entire community. Based on the comments at the meeting, it would seem the highest priority is to reach out to the many women who held a grudge from the previous show.
CLARICE GETS UPSTAGED.
1 SWEAR SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME.
LOIS REMINISCES WITH THE GIRL NEXT DOOR ...
LOIS! IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT!
BRING MARY JANE UP HERE
AND WATCH YOUR FATHER
OPEN THE CHAMPAGNE !
AND
WE'RE COMING, MA!
And, as a community, ask why so many people bypassed the ticket windows.
Safer Sex means
Use a condom. Use a dental dam.
Every time.
NOW DON'T
GET ALL WORKED UP.
MAMA, IT'LL BE
A GOOD THING! YOU'LL
HAVE A GRANDCHILD!
BULLS
IMO DISCOVERS JUST HOW ABUSIVE HER FAMILY SYSTEM REALLY IS! HAH! YOU'RE COMING UP ON
ATTA BABY!
RIGHT ON MY HOTEL!
MY LITTLE RESORT DEVELOPMENT NEXT! GOOD
WAITIL MY
ABOUT THIS.
LUCK!
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