Break A Leg

I used to volunteer to be assistant director for our synagogue's biannual musical. Having minored in theatre in college, I knew the three priorities for the position: 1) Take copious notes during rehearsals to ensure that decisions one day turn into actions by the next. 2) Get the cast and crew what they need to work together seamlessly. 3) Keep people's spirits up.

A synagogue play is supposed to be a community-building experience. But one year, everyone was miserable. For many reasons, this particular production brought out in 50 adults their worst high school drama behavior, from prima donna tantrums and behind-the-back whispering to sneaking out for a sip of scotch. Ticket sales were slow, no one wanted to rehearse, and the group's motivation was lower than a prison chain gang. The director and producer and I were chronically depressed. 

To cheer up my two beleaguered friends, I wrote an email with the subject line, "How to Produce a Synagogue Play." I gave ten tips that included things like, "Remove dialogue and choral numbers and replace with solos," and "Give 40 performances so every cast member gets the lead at least once." The insider jokes lifted our spirits, I assumed no one else would see it, and we got to opening night.

To my horror, the director had put my email in the printed program! She thought it was lighthearted and funny, and made a great final page. I was overcome with dread, waiting for cast members to take it personally and confront me for humiliating them publicly. I made plans for the next congregation I would join after I was ejected from this one. But no one said anything. They had felt the same way, and understood the good-natured humor.

Move forward 20 years. I am one of the lead professionals producing United Synagogue's Centennial Celebration. My role has felt like being the assistant director of the biggest, most complicated synagogue play ever attempted. It has been exciting, terrifying, and fun. Our team learned how to work together, and after a year of nearly continual communication, we can almost read each other's minds. I can honestly report that I never felt the need to write a tongue-in-cheek email to boost morale, although there was one time when I nearly crafted a fake press release that changed the date of the founding of United Synagogue so we'd have an extra year to plan.

The program guide has already gone to print, but in my own tradition of "how-to" commentary, I now offer my advice on....

HOW TO PRODUCE A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

Tip #1. Celebrate a 100-year anniversary. Really, it makes choosing a theme a breeze. 

Tip #2. Set realistic goals. It will help you make complicated decisions about your space needs. The risk is that if you surpass your expectations, you might have to walk 600 people from your hotel to another one seven blocks away for Friday night dinner and religious services. (The same risk applies to goals for the number of exhibitors. If you're not careful, you will have to convince them that the rafters outside the restrooms are prime space.) 

Tip #3. Boost attendance by holding your event during a secular four-day holiday weekend like Columbus Day. The risk is that the city will host a marathon at the same time. But, you'll enjoy the hunt as you help people search for rooms when your hotel runs out of them. 

Tip #4. If you encourage people to present workshops, be prepared for an enthusiastic response from the community. Then refer to the risks in Tip #2 about space. 

Tip #5. Don't be afraid to assign staff members to the core steering committee who are already too busy to work on one more thing. Look at it like baseball players warming up for their next at bat by swinging two or three times the weight of a regular bat. Those professionals will appreciate how light their regular work load feels when the event is over! 

Tip #6. One month out from the event, turn over 1,000 details that the core team set in motion to about 40 additional staff and volunteers. They'll thank you, too, for the reason detailed in tip #5. 

Tip #7. Look for chair people who are serial synagogue presidents. They are human beings with a strange genetic inability to run away from responsibility, weekly meetings, mind-numbing trivial detail, whining, conflict, political intrigue and constant pressure to raise or save money. 

Tip #8.  Engage an event planner. It's worth every penny to be able to say, "Our event planner is responsible for that." 

Tip #9.  Identify target audiences and ask "connectors" to keep reaching out to them. Avoid counting how many people have registered. Instead, look for who is not registered...yet. In the end, it will make your CEO extremely happy that your assurance, "Everything is going as planned," turns out to be true. Remind him/her of how right you were when it's time for your annual performance review.  

Tip #10. About your family: Remember that they won't understand the new words you'll throw around, like, "room blocks," "exposure," "values engineering," "MOS interviews," and "VOG (voice of God)." Tape a photo of yourself to your refrigerator so they'll remember what you look like if you spend more time in your office than your kitchen for a year. Thank them profusely for their patience with your continual distraction. Maybe even post your thanks publicly on your blog.

With more than 1,000 participants, the Conversation of the Century will take center stage in the Conservative Jewish community when it "opens" on Friday. To the hundreds of performers, speakers, volunteers, and staff who will bring it to life, I say thank you, and, as they say in the theatre, "Break a leg!"