Night Kitchen Organization

How does Night Kitchen Work

The following points try to illuminate what Night Kitchen is and how it currently works. This is a standing proposal (A work in progress). Feel free to get an account on this web site and place comments on this page.

• Night Kitchen is a event designed primarily to provide local performers with a venue containing a listening and watching audience. In order to perform at a Night Kitchen Event, please contact the current organizers. Currently Night Kitchen events are being held at the Al Whittle Theatre, on Main Street, in Wolfville, NS.
• Night Kitchen events start precisely at the advertised time on the advertised date, typically at 8pm. The show spans 2 (two) blocks of 45 minutes, separated by a 20 minute intermission.
• Performing artists are assigned stage time in 1 or more slots of 5 minutes. There are 9 (nine) 5-minute-slots before intermission and 9 slots after intermission.
• One slot is equivalent to 1 song performed or 5 minutes, which ever is shorter in terms of time.
• Performance slots are limited. It is best to contact the organizers at least 3 weeks before the show in order to secure a slot and get billing on event posters and announcements.
• Within the theatre, the audience is asked to NOT use flash photography or (cellular) communication devices during the show.

Financial arrangements.

• Ticket prices for Night Kitchen events are $10 at the door and $7 in advance sales. Scheduled performers pay no cover charge. There are no complementary additional tickets for performers.
• After Event costs (advertising, theatre and equipment costs, SOCAN contribution) the net revenue is divided by 18 (number of performance slots) and shared among performers based on number of slots performed. This means that a performer (or a group) who was assigned 3 slots (15 minutes) will earn 3 times the amount that a single-slot (5 minutes) performer earns.
• Sponsorships will hopefully reduce the cost portion above and thus increase honorarium for performers.

Performers understand the following conditions for performing.

• All instruments (voice, guitars etc.) are amplified using condenser microphones. No monitor speakers are provided. The monitor sound is 100% acoustic. 1 Amplifier is provided for use with bass instruments. Any other provisions for amplification require prior agreement with the organizers of Night Kitchen.
• There is NO sound check for any performer. When called upon, performers get on stage, grab their instruments, position themselves in front of the microphones, perform, return instruments to their stands and vacate the stage.
• Part of the performers preparation includes registering any songs they plan to perform, thus helping the organizers with SOCAN related paper work. This is essential and saves the organizers of Night Kitchen many hours of work. The information required (for every song) is: Performer name, song title and song composer(s)/lyricist(s).
• The performance lineup will be posted 1 hour before show time in the backstage area. The information is confidential and should not be shared with the audience prior to show time. The performance lineup is not negotiable. Night Kitchen performers are admitted to the theatre 1 hour before show time. The audience is admitted into the Theatre 20 minutes before show time. Performers preparations (tuning, setting up instrument stands on stage etc.) must be complete by the time the Audience is admitted. Failure to complete these preparations before the audience is admitted may result in removal from the performance lineup.
• A performance begins when the performer is invited onto the stage by an MC and may be terminated by MC and/or sound crew when it extends beyond the allotted time slots.
• All Instruments are to be tuned and placed on stands within the rear half of the stage prior to admission of the audience (20 minutes before show time). Instruments stands are NOT provided and are the responsibility of the performers. During the show, instrument cases are to be stored in the green room (also at least 20 minutes before show time). Both, instruments and cases can be collected AFTER the show.
• Performers implicitly agree to be photographed by Night Kitchen photographers during the show. Performers also implicitly agree that such pictures may be used for the promotion of Night Kitchen itself.

Night Kitchen will admit one or more photographers without charge under the following conditions.

• The photographer will post all Night Kitchen photographs to the Internet within one week of the event, at a minimum resolution of 1/2 of a Megapixel, under a license that is equivalent to the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. The photographers may issue licenses for high resolution images at their own discretion.
• The photographer does NOT use flash photography