 |
| The view from my front porch
February isn't always snowy in North Carolina. In fact, if we get any snow at all, it tends to be maybe once, and it is a dusting that lasts twenty four hours. Not so this year. This year we have had two weeks of snow and ice. We are constitutionally incapable of dealing with snow, and our entire state hangs a 'closed' sign in the window and hoards as much milk and bread as possible.
This means that schools get canceled, and shows cannot go forward. It also means I get to spend a few of my ever dwindling days with my children. Still, there are some things we can do to make sure that if Mother Nature renders our schedule nonfunctional, we are prepared. Here are things that Dave and I do.
1 - Make sure to keep some wiggle room in the schedule for March and April. That way, if you have to reschedule shows from the snowier months, you have some places to put the rescheduled shows.
2 - Be proactive with your shows. If you think a cancellation is on tap, call them a couple of days ahead of schedule and make some alternate plans. If there is school, great, if not, you have a fallback position you could take.
3 - Cancelation of a show might occur if the school needs the instructional time, and the administrators are unwilling to do the show because of that. How to proceed? Well, we have a nonrefundable deposit requirement for venues. We offer them the option of booking a show for the next year. If they decide to go that route, then we apply their deposit to the show. If they decide to forgo the show, then we just keep the deposit. We've had organizations who've asked if they get the deposit back, at which time we politely refer them to the words, 'nonrefundable' in the contract they signed.
4 - Schools can get wild and wiggly in this kind of weather and occasionally they change things without giving you adequate notice, or any notice that they've made an alteration. Be as flexible as you can, and realize they are frazzled.
5 - If you can, offer venues a range of days to choose from in your schedule.
6 - After you reschedule, send out an amended contract, or a new one so everyone is on board with the new plan.
Hmmm, it seems like I won't be going anywhere for a couple of days. I have shows out on the coast starting Monday morning, and i hope most of the ice will be gone by then.
Last night I was busy taking pictures of the snow in the dark. I enjoy that it makes it look as if you are photographing the universe.
  
Just before I went in for the night, I took one last picture. Wouldn't you know it, Old Man Winter photobombed me! That guy has some nerve.
 |
Happy Rescheduling!
No comments:
Post a Comment