1. Prepare what you are going to do in advance.
   
2. Practice what you are going to do in advance.
   
3. Choose pieces of your presentation that best reflects who and what you are.
   
4. Choose a theme that meets the summer reading program theme
   
5. Introduce yourself, a brief description of your overall presentation and then get right to your demonstration.
   
6. Be on time and ready to go when your time begins
   
7. End on time and when time is up do not keep going. Stop and move off stage.

1. Brief descriptions of your program
   
2. Age group possibilities for your programs
   
3. What other programs do you have
   
4. Any special requirements or restrictions they need to know about.
   
5. Then give a demonstration of your work.

This Article was written by Sue Erickson of the San Bernardino County Libraries and is full of good information for librarians and performers alike.

Librarians

• Attend the annual Inland Library System’s Performers’ Showcase to see performers audition for you! Use this opportunity to schedule programs for the Summer Reading Program, as well as, keeping in mind upcoming program opportunities throughout the year.
• Match a performer to your intended audience (and then publicize the program to that intended audience). The Showcase Resource Guide includes information about the age group for which each performer feels his/her program is appropriate. Unless you will restrict program attendance somehow, choose a program that will work with an all-ages audience. Don’t expect preschoolers to sit through a drawing workshop or a long storytelling session.
• Coordinate programming with neighboring libraries/schools/Parks & Rec, etc. for a reduced rate when inviting a guest presenter to your area. Performers are more likely to accept an invitation that involves multiple programs, especially if significant travel is involved.
• Follow up with the artist after 2 weeks if you have not received a written or email confirmation of your program.
• Contact the performer one week prior to your scheduled program if you have not heard from him/her recently. Verify that you are on their schedule for that day, date, time, location.
• Remember that your library is in competition with many others during the busy summer months. How a performer is treated at your facility could make the difference between the choice of going to your library or somewhere else. Extend some basic courtesies to your guests:

• Make sure they have directions to your library. Give landmarks along the way if your building
  is not easily seen from the main road.
• Provide a phone number on which they can reach you, not the library’s recorded message
  number… if they are going to be late, they need to be able to get through to you.
• Reserve a parking space close to the door for unloading. Put a sign on the door you
  want them to use. Tell them where to look for the sign.
• Recruit a teen volunteer or page to offer assistance with carrying gear into program area
  (and following the program too).
• If this is a program with live animals, offer a cool, quiet place for them to rest, away from the
  children.
• If there are special materials, equipment, area requirements specified by the performers, are
  they in place?
• Take charge of your programs. You are the host/hostess and it is your responsibility, not your guest performer’s, to let your audience know what your expectations are for their behavior at your program. Be professional and friendly, but firm. Include specifics in your welcome comments about priority seating for children, what to do with strollers/fussy children, how to be a good audience. Include the adults in your comments, as they often feel free to engage in rude talking behavior, completely oblivious of how disruptive that can be. Everyone will be able to enjoy the program more if the ground rules are stated up front to the entire group.
• Introduce your performer, with a clearly stated name and background information that the performer has provided. This gives the audience insider information so they now can appreciate what a special person this performer is that you arranged to come to their library. “My library hosted a member of the Magic Castle or a Disneyland performer or someone who tells stories at the National Storytelling Festival each year or who hosts a cartoon workshop on PBS, etc etc.”. This same information should be included in your pre-program press releases and publicity.
• Display and talk about library materials that support of the performer and their program.
• Act as a role model during the program. Do not leave the area to read book reviews at your desk. You are the host/hostess. Stay, keep the audience under control, enjoy the program, respond to prompts from the performer so that the audience can look to you and model their response on yours if they are unsure what to do. A little enthusiasm on your part can go a long way toward creating audience appreciation of a performance. Be the cheerleader for this program that you arranged.
• End the program with a thank you to the performer, a round of applause from the audience and any pertinent announcements that need to be made, like “don’t forget to check out these books on the art of magic” to tie in with the magic show that just concluded, or “next week, so and so will be here with live animals from the Amazon”.

Performers

• Please be realistic in your scheduling of performances. With traffic the way it is in So. CA these days, it really isn’t feasible to book programs on the coast in the morning and expect to make it to the high desert for an afternoon show. Remember that many libraries will have 100-200 children waiting for you to show up. Call ahead if it looks like you may be late. This gives the library staff a chance to organize something to keep the audience entertained while they wait for you to arrive. If something happens that prohibits you from making your engagement, be honest about your inability to be there and suggest arrangements for an alternate date.
• Please plan on arriving at least 30 minutes prior to your performance and allow yourself sufficient time to assemble or prepare for your program.
• Check in with your contact as soon as you arrive.
• At larger library venues, use a sound system so that all can easily hear your program. A young audience is squirmy and easily distracted… if they can’t hear what is going on, their attentions will quickly go elsewhere and you’ve lost them.
• Be prepared to deal with the many changing library audiences. Library audiences can range from preschool through 6th grade, parents and other family members. Be prepared switch gears if you see that you are losing the attention of your audience for whatever reason. Be flexible and skip part of your planned program if necessary. If they’re getting restless, have them stand and do a stretch with you or act out something with you. Audience participation keeps them engaged.
• Ask permission first to sell your own CDs or books. Some libraries may be limited to selling only through their Friends groups. Please do not bring youth inappropriate items.
• Libraries sponsor programs for youth in order to promote their services and materials. In support of this effort, it helps if books and/or libraries are mentioned by the performer during the presentation…. “I learned my first magic trick from a book I borrowed at the library” or “you can learn a lot more about this exotic marine reptile in the book XXX” or “this is a folktale from the planet Xenon and you’ll find it and others in the J398 section of the collection”. Librarians should have a display of books related to your program; a mention of this display by you, the performer, is appreciated and helps reinforce the message that reading is of value.

Helpful Tips for New Showcase Participants<TOP>
by Craig Newton

Congratulations, for choosing the showcase experience. This article is designed to give you a few pointers on the whole process. In the world of Southern California libraries, showcases are the most important way to market your program.

Keep in mind as you prepare your 7-minute sample that you are not only talking about a program for children but you are also talking to the librarians. You will not get the reaction that you are used to getting with children from the librarians because they will be intently listening and making notes on what you do. This doesn’t mean that you cannot get them involved, but it will take a little more effort and planning on your part.

Seven minutes is not a lot of time, but it is enough time to show how you talk to an audience, which is probably the most important thing to show the librarians, and it is enough time to give a brief description of the content of your program. Make sure your showcase fits into the time. It sends a negative message to both the librarians and the other performers if you go over your time. The best showcases are a combination of program description and demonstration of your unique abilities.

Plan to arrive early on the day of the showcase. Be professional and have a nice, well organized table top display. In every part of the showcase process, professionalism counts. Have professionally prepared literature, high quality photos, and conduct yourself as the professional entertainer that you are. Plan to stay at least through the break after your time to showcase. If possible, stay the whole day. I always find that helps if I can do it.

Have your schedule with you and plenty of copies of your literature. Every library is different, but some will be ready to book on the day of the showcases. Having plenty of literature to hand out will help for those librarians who will call you later.

Be a good part of the audience. This means a few things:

No talking in the back of the room as other performers are trying to weave their magic over the crowd.

• Participate with the things the artist wants the audience participate in.
• If you need to get up and move, do it between artists, not during a program.

Learn from other performers. It will be obvious which performers are veterans and you would do well to pick up pointers by watching what they do.

Showcasing can be a stressful situation for many new performers. It is not the environment we are used to operating in. Make the best of it. Never make excuses and never draw attention to any shortcomings in your presentation. Remember that most of the librarians have seen many showcases. They want to see your personality and your ability. If something is not perfect –you know, sound is strange, a prop falls over, or whatever, -just roll with it. The librarians like to see that you can adapt to challenges of this sort.

Approach your showcasing experience with a positive, upbeat attitude and you will enjoy great results, and probably make some new friends. This really is a fascinating group of people, so enjoy!

What you need to know about Library Showcasing<TOP>

After organizing, managing and promoting 11 library showcases of the past 5 years there have been a variety of questions that have been asked of us year after year. These are all valid inquiries of artists and hopefully this article can help you understand the process.

Question #1. Do the fees charged guarantee an artist a time slot on the showcase? No. The fees charged to the artists pay for all the printing, advertising, mailing, management and inclusion of artist information in Performers Showcase Directory that is given out to the librarians each year. These showcases are by-in-large artist financed. This process began with both county of LA and ILS libraries were going to discontinue their showcases because of lack of time and funding. We’ve continued them by having the artists pay to participate because all artists have come to understand the importance these showcases to their work.

Question #2 Will the attendees all come to my table to view my work and pick up my literature? No. We have discussed with the librarians, over the years, a variety of ideas to get the librarian to visit each and every performer. We are always fighting the need to get performers stage time to showcase with the need to provide librarians with enough time to go through the vendor fair area at the showcase. There is no easy answer or plan that works for everyone at this time. Artists want a chance to meet with each librarian to discuss their offerings and librarians want to get with artists they have seen to ask question or book programs. At the end of the day, the librarians want the time at the showcase to best serve their purpose – find programs they are interested in having come to their library. They all use the directories all year round and generally keep this, with the notes they make at each years showcase, for future reference. They do always keep each artist’s separate literature so inclusion in the directory is more important at this time then trying to meet every librarian that is at the event.

Question #3 How are tables assigned at the showcase? On a first come first serve basis. Table space is 2’ by 4’ in size. Generally there has not ever been a problem with artists finding table space at the events. We do have a general information table if space is full for artists to put out their information. Beginning in 2010, additional table space may be purchased including extra floor space but this must be done in advance of the actual showcase.

Question #4 How are artists selected for the showcase? First in the selection process are New Artists who have programs that fit into library affordable pricing. Second in selection are “Tried and True” artists (returning artists) who did not present at the showcase the previous year that fit into library affordable pricing. Third are “Tried and True” artists that did showcase the year before but have a substantially different program then previously demonstrated. Fourth go to new and “tried and true” artists who above the affordable pricing going from least expensive and moving up until all the slots are filled. You can see the application for more information on this. Finally, all final artist selections for the showcase are made by the various Library districts.

Question #5 If I have multiple shows can I perform more than one show at the showcase? No. Only one demonstration each showcase. However if your Y A program is greatly different then your children’s program (ie magic for children’s and lecture on Hiking for YA) then you will be considered for both. Each showcase is considered separate but the librarians do not want the same material demonstrated in both.

Question #6 If I have multiple shows will I be on every year? No. You may be considered each year if you have separate YA and Children’s programming but there is not guarantee that you will be on every year because of multiple shows.

Question #7 How often can I expect to showcase? We try to be sure that all artists showcase every other year. However some things that may effect this are the numbers of artists apply to participate and the number of artists in your genre (ie storytelling, magic etc) that are applying. We try to provide a wide variety of art forms each year.

Question #8 Are there reasons why I may be turned down from showcasing or being part of the directory? Yes. The major reason artist will not be able to participate in unprofessionalism. Some of the reasons to be declined include: 1) if you show up late to or miss programs, 2) if you use inappropriate language or material, 3) if your program is reviewed as being unsuitable for library audiences and 4) if your fees are not paid when required to be part of the showcase and directory.

Question #9 There is a mistake in the directory, do I get my money back? No. We make every effort and take every percussion we can to ensure that all your information is correct. We also provide about 3 weeks with 3 separate updates, where you can review your listing online to be sure all the information is correct to what you submitted to us. This process provides artists with time to read and fix any mistakes to their listing.

What you need to know about the Program Preview Day process.<TOP>

Program Preview Day and Arts Faire in broken into five distinct parts - the Arts Faire, the Showcase, the Directory, the Audition and the Online Posting of your presentation. The following information is designed to provide you with helpful information for each of the parts.

Arts Faire. This is area provides artists with table top areas to exhibit their information and meet with attendees. The table space provided is about 2’ by 4’ in size. Artists can purchase additional table space. If artists want to have their own floor space, it will be sold in the same way and due to the limitations on this must be done in advance of the showcase. The Arts Faire is open to all arts providers (artists, organizations, museums, etc.) who offer programming to schools for assemblies, workshops and family fun night events.

Showcase. Artists who have performed at Program Preview Day in the past 3 years are automatically accepted to apply for a showcase slot. New Artists, or artists who have not presented in past 3 years, must audition to be part of the showcase. This process is clearly spelled out in the <application.> (mark, link this to the application.) All artists will be judged each year based on their showcase presentation and may be required to audition again in order to participate in the future.

Directory. The directory will reflect all the arts providers who are part of the Arts Faire and Show case. This listing includes photos, contact information, brief descriptions, program and additional information as well as fees for shows. There are also additional advertising opportunities for artists to participate in to enhance their exposure including full and ½ page advertising within the directory. The directory will be posted on line about 4 weeks prior to the showcase for artists to review their information and fix any mistakes that may have occurred. We make every effort to be sure that all information is correct and this is an additional assurance that each artist can take advantage of. There are no refunds based on a mistake in a directory listing.

Audition. This event will be held on 2 days. Slots are limited to sign up, turn in your application and send in your money ASAP to get your slot at the audition. This event is being handled by the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators and they will be judging the artists on a variety of merits. These include: 1) educational content, 2) arts quality, 3) age appropriateness, 4) artistic quality and 5) professionalism. Each artist will be given 15 minutes for set up and take down, presentation and question and answers. Be sure to present your best program, keep your demonstration to 5 or 6 minutes and it should be basically the same presentation that you are intending to use at the showcase. If you are accepted you will be included in the artists who are being considered for the showcase. If you are turned down, you will be provided information to help you understand the reasons behind this so you can prepare for next year, you will still be able to be in the directory and participate in the Arts Faire and your showcasing fees will be returned.

Performers Showcase Online. All demonstrating artists will have their programs posted online, as part of their showcasing fee, for schools to continue to view for the balance of 2009. This along with advertising that will be sent out over the course of the year to encourage schools to go online and view artists are additional opportunities that are being provided at this year’s event.

Dream Shapers is sponsoring the event and the fees paid by all the artists support the showcase - advertising, management of, web design and directory fees. This is an artist-supported event provides a wonderful way for independent artist who provide a wide variety of programming to the schools to come together, in a professional setting to generate awareness for the services provided on a year round basis.

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