Set the stage and deliver a successful event

15 June 2018

 

Planning an event requires you to juggle a dozen balls at once. You need to consider the needs of your audience and your speakers/presenters while flawlessly delivering on the aims of your event.

With all these factors to consider, it can be difficult to think about staging elements. However, your stage design is a vital part of the overall experience, helping to better communicate your event’s message. It should also look visually spectacular!

Tell a story with your stage

Ultimately, every stage should tell the story of your business and brand. Your event is trying to communicate a message – but what? Do you want to exude class? Be cutting edge? Fun? Formal? Figuring out key phrases associated with the vibe you’re going for is a good way to get thinking about stage theming.

Once you’ve decided on some ideas, the event team at CMS Australasia can provide the equipment you need and help you implement each element during the event. Lighting, sound and special effects can all help to communicate information about your brand and get your audience excited.

Your stage can do so much more to add to your event experience if it communicates a brand or business message.Your stage can do so much more to add to your event experience if it communicates a brand or business message.

Part of this is developing an interesting backdrop to your stage. It’s one of the first things your audience will notice when they walk into the room, so you need to make it visually stimulating while still clearly communicating what your event is all about. In addition to supplying the equipment you’ll need onstage, we can provide motion graphics, and custom light and sound displays, to get the adrenaline racing.

Blending spectacular with effective

Before you start spitballing ideas for how you want your stage to look, however, you need to create a stage plot (a diagram detailing what will happen onstage). This enables you to better see how much equipment and furniture you can fit in the space, the number of screens you’ll need and how your presenters will be able to interact with the audience. Note the equipment you’ll need as you go along too, so nothing is missed out.

Once you’ve figured out what you need on your stage, you can decide on the shape and size. Your event space is a major limiting factor, but don’t consider it an irresolvable issue – rather, think of it as a chance to get creative.

For example, in February our long-time customers Australian National Basketball League (NBL) asked us to manage their Gala Awards night event in the Melbourne Crown Palladium. This included designing and assembling a stage. However, the hotel’s event space wasn’t the right fit to accommodate a single stage for both presentations and musical performances. We got around the problem by assembling two separate ones – a normal proscenium presentation space and one central performance stage. This way, we were able to meet the event’s specifications despite the space limitations.

Another important factor in creating an effective stage is ensuring your audience has the right line of sight to see everything that goes on. If they’re unable to see or hear your speakers, they will soon lose interest. That’s why it’s vital you plan your layout and seating around your stage. It’s the centre of your event, and you need to make it noticeable.

Why use a professional event production service?

CMS Australasia is a one-stop shop for event production – from concept design through to assembly, execution and pack up, we can help with every aspect of delivering the right stage for your event.

For more information on setting up your event to knock your audience out of the park, contact the team today to request a proposal.