The following memo was recently used at a London primary school to help organisers focus on managing the preparations for the Final Community Celebratory Event.

1 There should be FOUR largish rooms, which will be used as the ‘VENUES’ for the storytelling performances. Each performing group will occupy one of the venues for the whole evening. It will be responsible for the style and running its own venue. The basic layout will be very simple – an ‘arc’ of, say, seven chairs for the performers set at the corner of the room furthest from the door, and facing into the room; curved rows of chairs for the audience to sit facing the performers with their backs towards the door. Their room will be decorated – after their own fashion and theme. The outside of the door will be suitably, and hopefully spectacularly, labelled. There will be a couple of USHERS (i.e. some children from the gathering group) attached to each separate room.

2 A large open space, probably a hall or gym, will function as the place where people can meet, during the MAIN INTERVAL, for lots of talk, rest, tea, juice, cakes, whatever feast-like delicacies it is decided will best accompany the celebrations. It will probably be set out with small tables and chairs (lots of comfy chairs for the old folks etc) cabaret style. There will be some kind of easily visible space (or platform), for displays (of dance, music, mime, puppetry…). The MAIN INTERVAL will last for at least half an hour, and will be a time for EVERYONE to associate with one another. Around this space also can be mounted some kind of exhibition – photographs, pictures, stories maybe written by other members of the school… artefacts etc…Perhaps some community singing…any leaflets…school newspaper…(USHERS to serve)

3 Near the MAIN PUBLIC ENTRANCE will be some sort of RECEPTION DESK. Here, two or three USHERS will give out the programme/tickets to the visitors as they ask for them. Here, also, will be prominently displayed a BIG INFO BOARD which will show the names of the people who will be telling the stories, together with information as to times, venues, sources of stories and titles. Here, also, there will be more USHERS on hand to help and explain the procedures.

4 The timetabling of the evening allows a visitor to follow ONE of four different courses or routes around the stories. This route will be indicated on their particular timetable/ticket, showing which group they can hear, where and at what time. The timetable/tickets will be colour coded and numbered for easy following. Inside these will be the titles of the stories, the names of the gatherers, the names of the story-givers and the names of the tellers plus anything else that the designers wish to add.

5 There will be FOUR performing groups, each of about six or seven boys and girls. Each group will give THREE performances of its set of stories during the evening, and each set will last for about twenty or twenty five minutes (exact time yet to be determined). Each performing group will be allotted ONE free period when it will be able to watch one of the other groups performing.

6 Following the course of their chosen route each visitor will see, at some time, EACH of the FOUR ‘shows’, the last one being preceded by the long, MAIN INTERVAL, during which there will be the displays and refreshments.

7 There will be TWO periods of about TEN MINUTES each when the visitors are moving along the corridors to their next venue. During this time the corridors, staircases etc may feature ‘buskers’ of one sort or another to entertain the passing crowds. Before the evening starts, and for a time after it finishes, there may be some kinds of spectacle – maybe outside as the people arrive and leave – a steel band, gymnastics, singing etc….

8 The children of each of the two classes who worked in the project, as story gatherers will on the evening act as the USHERS or HOSTS & HOSTESSES. Ideally, they will help visitors follow the routes correctly, find the venues, locate the toilets…they will help and make people feel welcome, they will serve the food, make announcements, put people at their ease etc.

9 The school will be very well signposted and labelled with arrows and pointers. It will also be prettified and jollied so that the whole environment is geared to giving everyone a terrific time, and putting them at their ease.

10 This is not yet set in stone. Other performance slots may be added if anyone has a good idea – maybe someone in another part of the school already has a little play or something (?) It is possible that other items could be incorporated without materially altering the length of the evening – it just means visitors will have more to choose from. As, things and there is one long interval lasting half an hour, and two ‘moving about slots’ of stand if each of the four ‘main shows’ takes about 25 minutes, ten minutes each we could comfortably start at around 6.30 p.m. and finish at about 9.15 p.m.