FAQs about Art Attack XXIX

Amina Goheer
Concerts Director
seeconcerts@umd.edu

The grass is growing, flowers are blooming, allergy-stricken blokes are sneezing in your food and annoying high school students on tours are blocking your way to class. Spring has finally arrived! This means that Art Attack is just around the corner.   

First, I’d like to say thank you. Art Attack is a near-impossible feat considering that we are trying to program for 35K+ students. We understand that we’re not going to please every single person on campus, and as such, we expect to hear some kvetching about Art Attack. So last Monday when we announced Art Attack, we braced ourselves for the usual grouses and grumbles thrown our way. But this time, magically, y’all showed us some love and we do appreciate it! Thank you, UMD community, for letting us know when we’ve done you right. We’re here to please you, so it really tickles us when you like what we do.

While there’s a lot of love circulating about Art Attack XXIX, there are also a lot of good questions being asked. Here, I’m going to tackle some of the commonly asked questions. If you have more questions, e-mail me at seeconcerts@umd.edu and I’ll get around to them!

1. How is the Art Attack artist chosen?

Choosing an artist for Art Attack is a combination of many factors including student input, allocated funds and artist availability. We heavily weigh student input through survey research that is conducted throughout the year. Our intrepid Research Director collects data through online and paper surveys through Facebook, our list-serv, Twitter and at events like the First Look Fair and the SEE Homecoming Comedy Show. 

I then combed through the research results and saw first what genres are popular among students and second, what artists were feasible options for us given our budget. From there, I compiled an exhaustive list of potential artists that I brought to the SEE Executive Board. We discussed and discussed and discussed and discussed. And then a little more discussion was held. And once the discussion was officially done, I still got texts, emails and telegrams with more thoughts, ideas and considerations to factor in. Art Attack is no small deal in the SEE world. It’s our biggest event of the year, and we begin working on it months in advance.

Based on our budget and artist availability, a final survey with four names was given to the students, with B.o.B. listed as an option. As a board, we again looked at the research and finally put in a bid for the artist we thought would best serve the UMD campus.

As Concerts Director, my main focus for Art Attack was to bring a relevant act to campus. B.o.B., with a new album coming out on May 1, is certainly a relevant artist in 2012. His songs are heard all over the radio and his live shows are known to be fun and exciting. He met all of our criteria and not only is in-demand right now, but will certainly only be getting bigger in the near future. 

2. Why don’t you just raise the price of tickets and get us a Beyoncé-Jay Z (with opener Blue Ivy) concert?

It’s not that simple. First, and most importantly, SEE is a student organization, not a business. We’re not here to turn a profit; we’re here to serve the entire student population. We’re not going to let people sit out of our largest event because they can’t afford a $40 ticket. We understand that other schools do it, and that some of you might be willing to pay that much, but that’s not how we operate. We make our events – especially Art Attack – affordable and accessible to everyone, and that’s not going to change.

Also, if you want to see the Knowles-Carter family perform, you can easily hop on the Metro and see them at the Verizon Center. Students at Penn State or Ohio State don’t have that luxury, and as such, their programming boards have very different directives than SEE. While other schools might get bigger names, keep in mind those students often pay much more than we charge for concerts.

Another factor that we have to contend with is that there is only one available date for Art Attack each year. This means that if an artist is already booked or cannot perform on that date (usually the first Friday in May), then they are out of the running for Art Attack.

Eric, our trustworthy Comedy Director who brought you the likes of Aziz Ansari and Seth Meyers, also does a great job at discussing why our ticket prices are the way they are in his blog post – http://www.thisissee.blogspot.com/2012/03/thoughts-behind-seth-meyers.html

3. I thought this year was a “rock year.”  Why do we have another hip-hop act?

The rock-rap-rock commandment is a slight myth. While it’s worked out that in the past three years Art Attack has gone rap-rock-rap, this is not a magical formula that SEE must abide by. What we do abide by is our mission, which states that we must program diversely. As such, we do our best to vary the musical styles and acts we bring to campus each year. This past fall we had a rock concert featuring Ra Ra Riot and our smaller spring show, Terpstock, will feature The Ataris on April 21.

From a programming standpoint, rap and rock are very different. Currently, rock is harder to program for since recognizable rock bands like Coldplay or The Black Keys are extremely expensive and difficult to get. Bands in our price range unfortunately aren’t in demand on campus. There happen to be more rap options for us right now (doesn’t mean we didn’t try our hardest to bring in a rock act). Our priority is to get a relevant, talented, fun artist who will perform well and satisfy campus demand – regardless of genre. With B.o.B, we saw those qualities and went for it.    

4. How do I buy tickets?

At www.umdtickets.com or the Stamp Ticket Office. Tickets are $8 for the UMD community (with a valid UMD ID) and $25 for non-UMD guests. 

As always, we appreciate the feedback (and the love)! We’re a student programming board here to make you happy, so please keep letting us know how we’re doing and how we can improve.

The Thoughts behind Seth Meyers

Eric Feldman
Comedy Director
seecomedy@umd.edu

My name is Eric Feldman. I am a senior engineering major at the University of Maryland and as part of my campus involvement, I am the comedy director of Student Entertainment Events. As Comedy Director, I selected Aziz Ansari for the Homecoming Comedy Show and Seth Meyers for our Spring Comedy Show. 

Since I was a freshman, the SEE Spring Comedy Show has been held in the Grand Ballroom. Freshman year, SEE brought Zach Galifianakis. I decided to go 20 minutes before the show started and I had a great time. My sophomore year, SEE brought Dave Attell and Jo Koy, two very successful Spring Comedy Show events that were held in the Grand Ballroom. Last year, we brought Gabriel Iglesias. We priced tickets at five dollars and held the show in the Grand Ballroom. The show sold out and everyone visibly had a great time as Iglesias performed for an hour longer than anyone had expected.

We have now arrived at the Spring 2012 Comedy Show and I would like to share with you all my side of the story and what led me to proposing Seth Meyers. For starters, the Spring Comedy Show has always been placed in the Grand Ballroom. So it is no surprise that I associate this show in my mind with the Grand Ballroom and thus, when I proposed the event, the Grand Ballroom was the natural venue of choice. Second, I had the unique opportunity to book Seth Meyers for our Spring Comedy Show; an opportunity that students would be overjoyed with—and I was thrilled. While The Diamondback is correct and Seth Meyers tied for first place on our previous comedy survey, I just could not pass up the opportunity to bring Seth Meyers to campus. He was in our budget, popular and would bring with him a great show. I didn’t feel that it was right to bring a less popular comedian and put him/her in the Grand Ballroom, leaving many potentially unsatisfied. I do want to apologize for bringing someone that people wanted to see according to our research and putting him in too small of a venue. But I wanted to assure everyone that I was doing the best job that I could do with the budget and opportunities that I had.

Our job is to please the students. After all, I am a student and no different than any one of you. I am trying to please everyone to the best of my ability. So why would I do anything that would intentionally make people upset by depriving them the opportunity to see their favorite comedian? I wouldn’t. 

The truth is, as an organization housed in the Stamp Student Union, utilizing venues in the Stamp, such as the Grand Ballroom, is very economically feasible for us. Special grants for the Homecoming Comedy Show are what allow us to house the show in Cole Field House. However, due to the costs of the stage, lights, sound, video, security and more when we produce an event in Cole, it is difficult for us to afford it for any other comedy shows for the year. If I wanted to put Seth Meyers in Cole Field House, we wouldn’t have been able to bring The Second City in the fall, and we wouldn’t have been able to bring another comedy event in April to be released at a later date. Our mission, as stated on our website, is to program diversely throughout the year. To us, that does not mean two large shows, it means providing the campus community with several diverse shows. 

Economic majors may agree that charging more for tickets now will make up for the difference in the production costs associated with a larger venue. And you’re right. However, SEE operates with strict financial and spending guidelines, with few exceptions. As such, we must have the money in our programming line before we can book the talent, venue, etc. That means that charging students more money now for tickets will help us for future shows but will not for this show. This is partially why we raised ticket prices slightly from last year, so that we can ever so slowly build our programming budget to one day be able to bring big talent at big venues all while still fulfilling our mission. Additionally, the talent cost is dependent on the size of venue they are performing in, so SEE would not only experience a jump in production costs bringing Seth to Cole, but also a jump in talent fees.

As much as many of you would like us to charge 30 dollars a ticket now and place the show in Cole, we also recognize that not everyone can afford to spend 30 dollars on entertainment and that students deserve to pay a fair price for tickets. The complaint that tickets are too cheap is selfish and unfair to students on a budget. People complain when tickets are too expensive, when tickets are too cheap, when the venue is too small, when the venue is too big, when the performer is too unknown and when the performer is too recognizable. We want to make you, the students, happy, but it is difficult when the feedback is unconstructive and without research and understanding.

My name is Eric Feldman and I am senior at the University of Maryland. I have done the best I can as Comedy Director for SEE, and on behalf of SEE, I hope that by working together we can develop a mutual understanding of the programming process and continue to bring great acts to campus.

From survey to show: The road to the Homecoming Comedy Show 2011

Eric Feldman
Comedy Director
seecomedy@umd.edu

Your likely experience of the show:

September 14: You find out that Aziz Ansari is coming to UMD.  You get really, really excited and tell all of your friends.

September 16: You wait at your computer for the clock to turn to midnight. Tickets go on sale and you finally get those floor seats that you’ve been dreaming of.

October 13: You show up at around 6 p.m. to get in line for doors to open.  Eventually you find your way into Cole and find some open seats, take our survey, and wait for the show to start.  Finally, the lights dim, the show is introduced, and then you laugh hysterically to Max Silvestri and Aziz Ansari for two hours.  At around 9:45 p.m. you leave to go study for that organic chemistry test the next day and/or go out to Cornerstone, or your favorite bar of choice. 

Our experience of the show:

February: I begin to think about potential performers for the show.  In mid-February, I attend a conference in St. Louis, in which I meet with many agents (including Aziz Ansari’s agent).  Aziz’s agent claims “Aziz would kill it at Maryland.”  It sounded fairly biased but I keep it in mind anyway.

March: We send out a survey on Facebook and get hundreds of responses.  Aziz Ansari and Seth Meyers top the survey, so it is decided that I will be pursuing one of them. 

April: Seth Meyers is not available on the day reserved for the Homecoming Comedy Show; therefore, Aziz has become my target.  I begin learning about his price and availability from his agent. It turns out that he is within our range.  I then propose the event, with Aziz headlining, to the SEE Executive Board and it is approved.  After receiving approval, I send a “bid” to Aziz’s agent, which is an offer to have him perform on a certain day for a certain price.  They have a week to respond. 

           

After about a week we still have no response.  We discover from the agent that his price is more than they originally had told us, due to his TV and movie career possibilities. We begin to panic a bit, as we currently do not have the extra money and we do not know where we are going to find it. 

May: Somehow, miraculously (through several co-sponsorship transformations), we obtain the money necessary to obtain Aziz and I then re-propose the event to the SEE Executive Board.  The event needed to be re-proposed because of change in price. The event is once again approved, so I once again send out a new bid to Aziz’s agency.  The bid is sent out on Thursday, May 26, and just like last time, they have a week to respond. 

           

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday all pass by with no response from Aziz’s agency.  On Thursday morning, the day of the deadline, we get a message from his agent saying, “I am doing all I can do get this done today.  Hold tight.”  I am a nervous wreck all day during my internship. I leave work at around 3:30 p.m. and still have not heard back from them.  Finally, at 4:18 p.m., less than an hour before the deadline, the agent notifies me that they are able to accept the bid and the show will happen.  I begin to yell out in joy and get some strange looks from people.  

June/July/August: Over the summer, we work out contracts, eventually getting them signed and completed in late July after a lot of back and forth.  The show is now official.  I also work with the SEE Promotions Team to determine our marketing strategy for this event and work with the SEE Tech Director and Production Team to work out production requirements.

September: We plan to release the Homecoming Comedy Show on the first day of the First Look Fair, at 10 a.m.  We prepare by printing 2,000 handbills. 

           

Once the clock reaches 10 a.m., we all go crazy, yelling Aziz’s name throughout the entire Mall and handing out handbills.  The 2,000 handbills, which were supposed to last both days of the fair, have all been handed out within the first three hours of the fair.  Needless to say people are excited.

           

We plan to release tickets that Friday at midnight.  In the first day of sales, over 3,000 tickets have been sold; we are shocked.  These are the highest first-day numbers that SEE had ever seen for an event. 

October: We continue to track ticket sales.  Hundreds are selling each day.  DC101 promotes the show the week before, which helps us sell more non-student tickets. 

           

We also hold a production meeting with the Police, the Fire Marshal, staff from Cole Field House and SEE’s Production Team to determine stage set-up, the maximum capacity of the event, evacuation plans, entry plans and more.  The show is now becoming a reality.

           

October 13, Day of Show:

7:00 a.m. – We arrive at Cole to begin setting up the stage, sound and lights for the show. 

3:00 p.m. – The stage, sound and lights are complete. 

5:00 p.m. – Before doors open, the SEE Security Team is trained and prepares for the show. Also, we have our weekly SEE Executive Board meeting backstage. 

6:20 p.m. – Doors open and the 8,200 empty seats begin to fill. 

7:00 p.m. – Aziz Ansari arrives along with his tour manager.  I am occupied with this, while the Production Team is occupied with the tornado warning, which was a bit of an unexpected challenge. 

7:50 p.m. – Max Silvsestri arrives.  I then find out that I, rather than Aziz, will be introducing the opener, so I meet with Max to plan what to say. 

8:07 p.m. – The lights dim, I go on stage to introduce the show, and then welcome Max Silvestri. 

8:12 p.m. – I’m running around backstage to address minor details to prepare for Aziz while Max performs. 

8:45 p.m. – The moment everyone has been waiting for.  Aziz Ansari takes the stage, performing for about an hour.  While everyone else is getting satisfaction from the comedian, I am looking the other way, pleased to see 8,200 plus people having a great time because of SEE’s hard work. 

9:45 p.m. – Aziz ends his set and comes off stage.  The audience empties, and we go backstage to hold our meet and greet with Aziz.  We then begin taking down the stage, sound and lights.

1:30 a.m. – We finish breaking down the stage and lighting, and Cole once again looks like a soccer field. 

1:45 a.m. – Sleep.  

Behind the Scenes of the SEE Homecoming Comedy Show

Laura Yannai
Venue Director
seevenue@umd.edu

As most (or hopefully all) of you know, Thursday October 13^th will mark SEE’s annual Homecoming Comedy Show in Cole Fieldhouse. Each year SEE strives to put on a great show featuring a comedian at the top of their field, and this year, with Aziz Ansari as our headliner, will be no different. We are so excited about having Aziz come to our campus and we hope you are too! We have been working very hard to make this show a success and if you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes of a SEE event, here is your chance to find out.

The Homecoming Comedy Show is SEE’s first all-hands-on-deck event of the school year. This means that on the day of the show every SEE Director, as well as members of our Tech and Security Teams, will be working from the minute the sun comes up until way after the sun goes down to make sure the show runs smoothly. We build the stage, set up lights and sound equipment, make sure the chairs on the floor are set up properly, set up green rooms and much more. Once the show is over, we take apart everything we worked so hard to put together! It is a day long—and sometimes exhausting—process, but it’s all worth it when we hear the audience screaming with laughter and cheering for our comedian.

As SEE’s Venue Director I am a member of the SEE Production Team, which consists of the Venue, Tech, Security and Hospitality Directors. Once a programmer books an event and our Promotions Team figures out how best to advertise it to the UMD campus, the job of the Production Team is to physically put it together. Whether it is ordering sound equipment for the stage or figuring out where to position Security Team members around the venue, we like to get our hands dirty and take pride in seeing the physical manifestations of our work. A few weeks ago we held an official Homecoming Comedy Show production meeting. Our advisors, the SEE Comedy Director and contacts from the Fire Marshal’s office, UMD Police, Campus Recreation Services and Facilities Management were all in attendance at this meeting. We discussed the production of the show at length, coordinating various details such as the set-up of the chairs on the floor, the position and set-up of the stage and the rooms that would be used as green rooms for Aziz. Even small details such as the number of ambulances that will be present at the event (following regulations set forth by the Fire Marshal’s office) had to be discussed. Any questions, concerns or anticipated problems were discussed to ensure that no details of the event were overlooked.

I have been making preparations for the Homecoming Comedy Show ever since April when I reserved Cole as our venue. Over the past few weeks I have been planning for the event along with my fellow Production Team members as well as with my contacts throughout various campus departments. I have been filling out Facilities Request forms to request tables, chairs and other items for the event and coordinating green rooms and green room set ups for Aziz. I have also been working with DOTS to reserve parking permits. At an all-hands-on-deck event, we accommodate many vehicles on campus, whether it is an 18-wheeler for our tech company or a personal car for our artist. I obtain parking permits from DOTS to make sure everyone has a place to park.  More importantly, I have been making sure that everything will be set up and delivered on time so we are not scrambling to set anything up at the last minute!

Overall, SEE’s Homecoming Comedy Show is a great example of what we do best, which is to bring you the entertainment that you want to see the way you deserve to see it. I hope you enjoy the show!