Workshop Planning Guide
Here you’ll find everything you need to prepare for a fun and successful HEART Global workshop.
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Everything in this guide is intended as a recommendation and are not hard-and-fast rules, but these pointers are what we have found to consistently lead to a great workshop experience for both the organizers and students.
If you have any concerns about anything in this Planning Guide, do not hesitate to reach out to us at uk-ireland@heartglobal.org and we will help you find a solution that works for you.
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In this guide, we'll cover
(click to navigate)
Spatial requirements
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- A school gymnasium, indoor basketball court, auditorium, or a similar large room that can be used as an assembly area.​
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Separate space to be used as a teacher’s lounge for HEART Global team members. It would be ideal if this room could be locked, as the personal things of the team members are also kept here.
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We will also need an additional locked room separate from the cast personals to hold the business equipments. In the past, we've used locked closets or small offices for this purpose.
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The main space will act as our rehearsal location as well as show venue. We will require enough space for participants and the audience (typically 2.5 attendees per student).
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ELECTRICAL NEEDS:
The venue will need to have a number of 13A wall sockets for our portable sound equipment
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STAGE NEEDS:
HEART Global brings the complete stage set up, from stage lighting to sound equipment.
Schedule
Below you will find suggested schedules for 3 hour and 4 hour versions of our one day workshops! The schedule is a model and can absolutely be adapted to your area's specific needs.
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The HEART Global representative will then confirm the exact times with you at least 3 weeks before the start of the workshop so that you and host families can plan accordingly.
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Daily Schedule
The following schedule is to be understood as a model that can be adapted to the needs of the school.
The HEART Global representative will then confirm the exact times with you at least 2 weeks before the start of the workshop so that you and the host families can plan accordingly.
3 Hour Sample Schedule
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM HEART Global cast arrives, sets up equipment, prepares for workshop
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Session 1 (Meet the Cast, Opening Production, Choral Number, Improvisation Games)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Session 2 (Finale Dance, Bows, Encore, Pass Out T-Shirts, Dress Rehearsal)
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM House Opens, Student Water Break
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Showtime and Goodbyes
3:30 PM Students Go Home
4 Hour Sample Schedule
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM HEART Global cast arrives, sets up equipment, prepares for workshop
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Session 1 (Meet the Cast, Opening Production, Choral Number, Improvisation Games)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Session 2 (Stomp Dance, Finale Performance, Bows, Encore, Pass Out T-Shirts, Dress Rehearsal)
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM House Opens, Student Water Break
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Showtime and Goodbyes
4:30 PM Students Go Home
Registration
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The ideal number of participants is between 100 and 200 students. You do not need to give us a guarantee of the total participants; if the number falls below the minimum, that is our risk. We aim for as many participants as possible because the more participants we have, the more dynamic and diverse the experience can be, and the more fun everyone will have!
We LOVE having all of the teachers on staff attend and participate in the workshop!! So please invite all of your teachers who are available to join us!
Whenever possible, please keep the registration deadline open for last-minute registrants until the start of the workshop.
At the final performance, HEARTGlobal will manage ticketing as well as issuing free tickets to host families. You will also be given tickets to gift to community leaders, school board members, and other VIPs.
Accommodations & Hosting
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When our HEART Global team member stays with a host family, international friendships are formed, authentic cultural experiences are exchanged, and a new global connection is made. It becomes an unforgettable and unique experience for both the host and the hosted.
Selecting safe and warm host families requires a great deal of care on your part. We want our guests to feel completely at home with us. So look for host families with whom there can be no doubt of the warmth and hospitality. They don’t need to have a fancy house or luxurious boarding arrangement; they just need to be trustworthy and dedicated to hospitality.
Very important: Always host HEART Global team members in pairs!
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Sleeping Arrangements
The members of the HEART Global team travel without sleeping bags or air mattresses. If there are no guest beds available, the host should prepare an air mattress or the like.
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Evenings, Meals, and Transport
You will find a Template Host Family Form and detailed Host Family Guide in the Workshop Promo Kit available for download in the Marketing section below. The Host Family Form will help us to be sure we're gathering all of the necessary information from the Host Families. Your HEART Global Rep will be in contact to discuss next steps about cast details with you.
Finances
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Please discuss the payment plans and modalities directly with your HEART Global Rep.
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There will be a HEART Global Business Manager on site during the event. At the beginning of the workshop, please submit the list of your students' participation and corresponding financial overview to the Business Manager. Please ensure all financial issues have been resolved and a payment plan has been made BEFORE the HEART Global team leaves your town.
Additionally, feel free to use the intermission and performance to sell refreshments to raise money for your community or school.
Recommendation for the Payment Procedure:
If your students will be paying to participate in the workshop, collect the participant fees before the start of the workshop or set up a sub-account of your school account and make the registration for the workshop dependent on the submission of a corresponding payment. We find this saves a lot of endless back-and-forth.
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The participation fees are graded as follows:
Workshop participant fee £ 40.- and includes performance t-shirt
Tickets to the final show: General Admission £ 10.-
HEART Global collects these payments without any commissions!
Marketing for Your HEART Global Event
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Getting the word out about your event is as important to your school as it is to HEART Global
Anyone who has ever experienced a workshop and the final concert knows what huge opportunities a school gains for its PR as a result. Secondary schools in particular are under increasing pressure of competition with regard to their PR. Your school can distinguish itself in a big way when it hosts a HEART Global workshop.
To help you advertise for your event, we’ve put together a Heart Global Workshop promotional media kit that can be downloaded below. The kit contains a guide to using our brand and graphics, our logo, promotional photos, and an A4 size poster template to help you advertise your unique HEART Global workshop. The kit also contains a Template Host Family Form and detailed Host Family Guide.
Arrival & Departure
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Arrival and departure of the HEART Global team will be dependent on your specific tour dates and tour plan.
If the day before the start of the workshop is a travel day, we will usually arrive at 6PM. We will hold a short 15-20 minute meeting upon arrival where we will share details of the workshop and assign each cast member to their specific host.
If we can only get to you on the first day of the workshop, we will meet host families after the final performance.