By Jordan Davis
If your lodge was given $50,000 and was told to expect a 10,000 member audience at a show, what would it do? Freaking out is not an option for Coosa Lodge, whose shows are known throughout the country. Over the years, it has refined its practices, providing an example to other lodges of what local OA shows can become.
"A Coosa shows production typically includes a weekend-in-review video, keynote speaker, awards, drumming, and dancing," said lodge shows co-chairman Thomas Willingham. "We generally plan three main shows each year: our spring pow-wow — which is American Indian themed — our fall fellowship, and the annual winter banquet. Our most recent fall fellowship themes have been 'A Very Coosa Christmas' and 'Coosapalooza.'"
But what goes into creating a successful Coosa shows production? Take notes — your lodge can be creative and organized in planning a show as well! "My wife can tell when we are in a planning/brainstorming cycle because I get texts and calls at all hours of the day and night," said Chris Brightwell, associate adviser of Coosa shows. "It's not uncommon for one of the leadership team to wake up in the middle of the night with a really great idea and text or email it to the rest of the team before going back to sleep."
Brightwell has been a part of Coosa shows since 1999 and has a vast knowledge of the inner workings of the team on the eve of a show. But Brightwell's focus remains on the planning stages aided by effective communications.
"We make heavy use of Skype, Google+ hangouts, teleconferencing, private wikis, and a shared Dropbox folder to coordinate planning, script-writing, and pre-production asset development. We can use these tools to give people the information they need on who is coming, what they are doing, where to be, and when to be there," Brightwell said.
Once Coosa Lodge mastered communication between team members, planning became easier. "Planning goes hand-in-hand with communication," Brightwell said. "We have to make sure everyone knows their roles for the weekend and take care of the show lineup in coordination with the LEC and Key 3. We have to plan creative elements as far out as possible and then arrive on site with the final script. Only after we've rehearsed every line for the live-action events and tested the videos for presentation can we sit back and begin to relax."
But the relaxing only lasts for so long. As the weekend draws to a close, it's time for the closing show. Many team members come together for to make things happen.
"For these events, a division of responsibilities is critical," Brightwell explained. "It's impossible for one person to manage every aspect of the show. We assign tasks to individual people and allow the leadership structure to manage all of them. We have one person in charge of ‘making it happen' for each video or scripted segment, one person each in charge of lights, sound, and video, and one person in the front of the audience to manage any immediate problems that may arise."
According to Brightwell, the system works well. Everyone knows their role, and if someone wants to learn a new skill such as lighting, sound, or video editing, he is able to shadow those with more experience.
This system and years of tradition have proven successful for Coosa Lodge and have had a tremendous impact on those who participate. "An individual show for us can range from a simple campfire program for a hundred people at a camporee to a grandiose spectacle for 10,000 people," Brightwell concluded. "For most of our events, it shakes into what I'd call a ‘mini-NOAC show.' We open with a video, there are some presentations, we sprinkle audio and video throughout, and some semi-pro video mixing and light production effects, and voila — the show goes out with a bang!"
Can your lodge learn from Coosa shows? Consider making your next event one to remember with a showcase production.