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- Any issues that arose
- Ask new designers how it went, what they wish we'd told them before they started...
- Any suggestions for future years
- Some cool/crazy ideas might come from this - let it flow, some of them have panned out into something great!
Miscellaneous
*Registering Event with SAO and the City of Cambridge
It is the job of the producer to register the show with the city of Cambridge. Instructions are here: institute-events/events/reg.html
An example of a filled out MIT form and the two entertainment licenses needed for 6 shows over 2 weekends is in the locker:
/mit/ensemble/Private/Contracts/Entertainment Licenses.pdf
SAO. In addition, unless admission is entirely free of charge, you will need to register the show with the City of Cambridge to acquire an official Entertainment License for each night of the performance. The following instructions are up to date as of July 2018. If you find that some links are broken or some part of the process has changed, just use your best judgment, and update this section to reflect the new system when you're done.
This process can now be done entirely online! Begin by going to atlas.mit.edu. Click "Event Planning" in the left sidebar, then click the blue "Register New Event" button in the upper right corner and fill out the form.
The form should be fairly self-explanatory. Just give a rough estimate for the expected number of participants and amount of money that will be changing hands. You'll need to upload the document from CAC that shows your reservation of the venue. You may also need the Ensemble's cost object, which you can find here under RFPs.
Submit the form, wait for an email confirmation in response, then wait for it to be approved. This may take upwards of a month; there's a neat little progress bar on the Atlas Event Planning page that will show you who hasn't signed off on the event yet, so feel free to email these people if it's been a while to poke them nicely.
Once the event is approved, click the event in the Atlas Event Planning page. From here, the red "print pdf" link in the upper left lets you download the completed event registration. The red "request license" link purportedly lets you go on to request an Entertainment License from the City of Cambridge, but as of July 2018 doesn't actually work. Give it a try just in case, but if it’s still not working, proceed instead to the official City of Cambridge website's Entertainment License page and click on the "One Day Entertainment Application" link in the sidebar on the right.
Once again the form is fairly self-explanatory. There may be a bug that prevents you from giving the actual address of KLT as the proper venue, but don't worry; get it close enough and it’ll be fine. You can put yourself down as both the host and the responsible person. At the end, you’ll need to upload the event registration you downloaded from Atlas, as well as the CAC reservation once again. You don't need an ID, because hopefully the show will not be serving alcohol.
Submit the form when you're done and wait. It takes about ten days for the City of Cambridge to process the form, schedule a hearing, and vote to approve your license. There's a checklist on the application page that will let you know where along the process your application is.
Eventually, you'll receive an email informing you that your application has been approved. Then you'll need to pay. The license costs $50 per performance, plus a small processing fee. Print the receipt for reimbursement purposes. Once they've processed your payment, you should be able to download and print your shiny new Entertainment License.
Congratulations! You are now licensed. Before the show, put up the Entertainment License somewhere for all to see. Nobody really pays much attention to it, but at least you'll know it's there and that you obeyed the law. Good job, youFill out the form with MIT, wait for an email confirmation in response, then wait for it to be approved. Once it is approved, go to the License Commission Office in Cambridge City Hall (795 Mass Ave) with $50 per night in cash or check to get the entertainment license.
Interpersonal Stuff
From conflicts between designers to angry actors to broken up couples to the inevitable conflagration between the SM and the director, you need to get the parties back into a state where they can work together and fulfill their responsibilities. Remember, especially as the show approaches, everyone is hosed, everyone is tired, everyone is looking for an excuse to start screaming, and much of the time squabbles are born more of general frustration than of real interpersonal problems.Try to remain calm and be understanding of the situation. Hugs are also good. 
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