Organizing your writing

Creating a document trail for a production allows a manager to be organized and methodical. One can create a trail of information that develops into a plan to trouble shoot issues inside a production. An agenda and follow-up notes allow a manger to document verbal agreements created during production meeting process. The notes from each meeting are a record of all agreed upon tasks. Milestones can develop into deadlines. Estimates can be turn into budgets. A timeline can be established and followed at each meeting. Each production team can learn about what the other teams are doing. Important questions such as: A work call that requires shared resources can be discussed and defined. Problems can be presented, probed and resolved before becoming a conflict.

Agenda

For this course all the event managers should be present at the weekly production meetings. The technical heads, artistic staff and managers will attend. Before the meeting create a list of topics that relate to your assigned production. Communicate the list with the Production manager at least 24 hours before the meeting.

 Examples could include:

• questions
• verifying deadlines
• crew assignments.
• Technology
• budget

 The agenda portion of your writing assignments include attending the production meeting.  run your portion of the meeting (if possible). Take notes during the meeting and post the agenda and notes on blackboard every week you attend a meeting. If you miss the meeting it is up to you to get the meeting agenda and notes from the production manager and post to your Agenda wiki.

Journal

You will be writing in a weekly journal. Take this assignment seriously. You will need the information from your journal to support your event experience paper at the end of the semester. Think of the journal as an opportunity to include the content you are learning in class. The journal is also a location to express your thoughts and ideas about your project. What is working, what is not working. Any issues that need to be resolved before your assigned production loads onto stage.

Using writing to improve your thinking skills.

Writing your thoughts into a journal is a good method to put your ideas onto paper. The process allows you to read your ideas back. Writing down ideas leads to critical thinking skills. Developing these skills allows a manager to effectively communication[1] with their team.

Attend Production meetings

Observing the weekly production meetings is the best way for you to learn the inner workings of event planning. discussions range from deadlines to budgets. Content to be developed and content to be cut due to lack of funds or time. Be aware of the timeline of your event and how it nests into the semester production season. Watch the flow of the meeting against the time allocated to topics. If you get the opportunity to run a portion of the meeting be sure your production manager has the list of your topics and questions at least 24 hours before the meeting.

Other reference[2]

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[1] Schmidt, S. J. (1999). Using Writing to Develop Critical Thinking Skills. NACTA Journal, 43(4), 31–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43765593

[2] Bean, J. C., Melzer, D. (2021). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. United States: Wiley.