All the creative and amazing plans in the world can’t make up for organized preparation! Proper preparation will not only reduce the likelihood of last-minute disasters, but it will also give you the margin needed to weather any problems that may come up. As you simplify your recital preparations, you’ve probably already begun to sigh in relief. We discussed two biggies in our last post: venue and costumes. Now that you have those secured and checked off your master list, we’re going to talk about a few more important aspects of your upcoming dance recital: program design, content, advertising, and printing.
Program Creation
Did you know that your Jackrabbit Dance software includes program-creation tools? Just poke around in the Recital module, and you’ll find ways to streamline your program. Early on, determine what content you will want to include. When it comes to the program cover and any other unique design elements, you may want to consider hiring a graphic design professional. Perhaps a member of your dance family has such skills they would be willing to donate or exchange for a discount on recital or class fees. The more attractive and well-designed the program, the more delighted your advertisers will be. Your dance family will also appreciate your attention to detail and extra effort.
Program Details
An extremely important element in getting the details right is ensuring all dancer information is accurate. By using the Jackrabbit Recital module, you’ll be able to populate your program with performance order, dancer names, class details, and more — and then seamlessly export your program draft and send it to parents easily for them to review. Once you have content inserted and confirmed, you need to make sure you have enough time to print and proof it before sending a final draft to the printer — ideally at least a month before the recital.
Program Advertising
By securing advertising pages in your recital program, you can help offset the cost of your recital and even create additional revenue above-and-beyond recital costs. Successful communication with your advertisers will be paramount!. In order to be sure advertisers are pleased, make certain to be organized and clear on communicating exactly what they can expect. Also ensure that fees are paid in plenty of time before the program gets printed, eliminating the potential need to re-design the program at the last minute. (And don’t forget to ask your printer-of-choice if they’d consider donating time or printing services or provide a printing discount in exchange for an ad!)
Program Printing
Before you can get quotes from printers, you will have to have determined the length of the program — including number of black-and-white pages and number of color pages. In order to secure a printer that will print to your standards and within your price parameters, make sure to ask about the file types that they accept. Once you decide on a printer, be sure to get the file to them in plenty of time; plan to have the programs printed and picked up at least a week before the event.
Continue reading with our third post in this four part series.
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