applying theatre to your events and receptions

I recently had the pleasure of designing the 2008 Anti-Defamation League, Abe Goldstein Community of Respect Dinner, Honoring U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson and Marty Kogan. With a title this long I knew I would have to step up my game!
The organization was returning to a venue at which the event had been held several times in the past and I wanted to breathe new life into the evening. For years the stage had been set in the same location with large screens to either side affording everyone in the back a view of the proceedings. The first thing to do was to come up with something to energize the space and give the attendees a sense of “happening”. To do this, I went back to my experience of summer stock in the Melody Tents of Northern New York and the New England Coast. “Why don’t we present the evening in the round” I suggested. This will bring every one closer to the stage and truly give a since of “community” to the evening”. There will be no one who is in the front or the back. By placing tables off from one another I was able to totally avoid the effect of rows and offer everyone an unrestricted view of the stage.
The stage was a raised ten foot diameter stage with four giant projection screens mounted eight feet from the stage level. Many of the presenters and honorees for the evening were not professional speakers and there was concern that they may feel some discomfort not having a stationary podium and addressing a group to which they would have their backs turned at some point during their presentation. The opposite result was true. The small dimensions of the stage, the intimacy created by the screens hanging overhead and the fact that only a small portion of the almost five hundred guests was in view at any given time created a sense of intimacy for the speakers. As they moved about the stage there was an ease that does not often happen when people are trapped at a lectern. Something that further enhanced the presenters was the use of lavaliere microphones; this eliminated the in/out audio that so often occurs when inexperienced speakers turn away from the stationary microphone.
In our early meetings with the hotel, discussing the set up of the space and the kosher menu for the evening, the issue of placing the desserts on the tables at the beginning of the dinner was a major topic. The table seating for ten and in a few cases eleven and twelve already created a crowded situation; to place that many separate desserts would have made the situation even worse. Since the theme was community I thought it would be good to present the desserts family style. Four desserts were chosen to represent the four seasons of the year; these were served on four plates at each table, and passed among the guests. Not only did this further enhance the since of community and family; it provided a lot more space on the table.
One other device I used to create a feeling of intimacy was to place impactful décor in the four corners of the room. Vignettes consisting of three large four foot urns were placed on plinths of varying heights. The urns were filled with natural branch and the vignettes were backlit in a soft blue. Many times when a space is left dark it ends to come off as a huge void but by placing these elements there and lighting them there was an ending to the space and a feeling of closeness.
I hope this will offer some alternative ideas for you to consider for your next event whether social or corporate; some, or all of these ideas may prove useful.