Ayacon’s Sunday Night Live FAQ & Info

Being such an awesome event, we know that a lot of people will have questions about Sunday Night Live. I’m hoping the information below will be useful to anybody thinking of entering.

If you do have any questions, please feel free to ask them on the relevant “Ayacon’s Sunday Night Live” thread in the forums.

What is it?

Sunday Night Live is the Event for all you performers out there. Whether it’s a classic Con “Skit” or a musical performance in costume, to a Full Metal Alchemist Magic Show; we want to entertain and show off and make Sunday Night Live one of the fond memories people will take home with them after the con.

What sort of things can I do?

Let your imagination go wild! You can do tons of different things, the important rule is to try and aim for it to be as entertaining for the whole audience as possible. This is a non-competitive event so the primary aim is to put on the best show possible.

One thing to make clear is that this is still a Convention for Anime/Manga and Japanese culture. I’m happy to let Video Games, other Animations and western references slip in (providing you make it relevant to the Convention*) but we have to try and keep things focused to the con.

Here are some examples of what you *could* do;

• A “Skit” (like you see at other cons/expos)
• A magic act!
• A poi/juggling display!
• A serious piece of dramatic performance!
• Sing!
• Dance!
• A choreographed fight sequence!
• A full orchestral band!

Those are just some ideas to help get you started, but almost anything goes! Feel free to post on the forums to discuss ideas!

(* - For example, a skit mixing Ouran High School and Glee is fine. Doing singing/juggling/etc in regular street clothes isn’t)

What sort of thing *isn’t* allowed?

Well, as you can imagine there are a few things we won’t allow, this is to ensure safety of the audience, the staff and yourself! (As well as to avoid damaging the Arts Centre so we don’t have to pay for damages!)

We would ask you to use common sense when thinking what is/isn’t allowed, however here are some things that are definitely out;

• Anything with fire/pyrotechnics
• Anything involving water
• Anything that makes a lot of mess! (Mainly because Kat has told me I’m the one who has to clear it up! )
• Un-trained Stunts/Fighting (IE; Don’t do something unless you are well trained and can do it safely)

If you’re unsure if you’re performance is suitable, submit it anyway and we will get back to you on anything that needs changing.

As an entrant, what do I need to do? [IMPORTANT BIT]

First things first; what do you want to do? Do you want to do a group Skit? Do you want to do a choreographed dance routine? Do you want to sing? Juggle? What do YOU want to do and what CAN you do?

Once you’ve decided, gather friends (unless you’re a lone wolf kind of performer) to help and sketch out your idea. We aren’t being harsh with time limits this year but we do have a series of basic Do’s/Don’ts we would like everybody to stick to (more of those in a minute), basically be realistic. Nobody really wants to watch a five minute dance (even if you are amazing!) and even the funniest Skit in the world can get boring after a while.

Once you’ve got something sketched out, you’ve sorted out a group that isn’t going to flake on you two weeks before the con and you’re prepared to do some practicising, you will have to register via the appropriate online form. This will then get a once over by myself and I’ll either add it into our list straight away or I might need to ask you to make some changes. If you can send a sample of your performance, or a decent script/outline that will be a huge help.

At Ayacon itself, there will be some time set aside on the Friday and Sunday for you to come and practice/show your performance to me and a panel of allies. A panel of us will be watching to sort out a final run order, offer advice or politely remove you from the final show if we think your act isn’t suitable.

On Sunday evening after the closing ceremony, you’ll be performing on the great main stage to all of Ayacon. Exciting stuff!

I’ve heard you’re going to be really strict on what can and can’t enter. I don’t think I want to enter...

Awww, please don’t feel that way!

It’s true that we want to check over people’s entries to make sure we’re not getting the same things over and over and that every act is suitable for the show. We also want to encourage people to go above and beyond the usual dance/song/skit performances. But we’re certainly not going to turn people away blindly.

We’ll only ask people not to perform (and we’ll do so gently and politely) if we really don’t feel that it’s suitable for the show. This isn’t Britain’s Got Talent where you’ll get buzzed off the stage!

Do I need to provide my own music? Can I use video? What about microphones?!

You’ll be able to send us (or bring along on the day if it’s a big file) any music/video tracks to use for your performance. It’s always good to try and make sure that whatever format you supply is going to work on any machine so do be careful.

As somebody who has been doing skits and performances for a few years, I always encourage you *pre-record* all of your audio and make it as clear as possible. Microphones do allow you some ad-lib opportunities but things can always go wrong and let’s not think about people forgetting their lines!

We cannot promise that microphones will be available or working on the day. If you rely on a microphone for your skit and we can’t accommodate it then we may ask you not to perform. We will prioritise working microphones to singers or other acts who could not have pre-recorded their audio.

Any other technical equipment, props, amplifiers, instruments etc will need to be brought with you. We will not supply these ourselves.

Can I do a performance with a large group? How many is too many?

Absolutely! Group performances are always great and can have a great visual impact!

It doesn’t matter if you only have two people and 18 “stage ninjas”, as long as they look the part (say all black, or dressed appropriately for the performance) and they’re providing something to the skit they’re very welcome.

As for the maximum number, be realistic. A group of 20 identical Naruto cosplayers performing would be fantastic and would probably be the most you could fit on the stage comfortably.

Can we use bought costumes?

As this is a non-competitive Event, and the focus is on entertaining the audience, absolutely!

Mark’s General Do’s and Don’ts for Sunday Night Live

Do

• Pre-record your audio (if you can!)
• Be realistic and sensible with your time limit. Generally over 3 minutes is pushing your luck and will annoy the audience (I speak from experience!)
• Join up with friends if you’re nervous! Performing with others is fun and can help take the edge off those nerves!
• Practice! Practice! And practice some more!
• Bring any props, technical equipment, instruments/amps etc with you. We cannot provide these on the day!
• Make sure your performance is relevant to the Convention in some way! Anime/Manga/Video Games and other Animation is probably a safe bet, likewise references and crossovers will probably be fine as well.

Don’t

• Make your performance too long! Aim for the 3 minute mark!
• Rely on a microphone (unless you’re singing) as they have a tendency of going wrong when you least want them to!
• Forget to bring copies of your audio/videos if you’re using them. A USB stick on the day might just be a lifesaver!
• Be afraid to do something different! Last year we had dances, skits, burlesque, guitar players, singers, stand up, poi and a magic act!
• Agree to be in your friends performance if you’re going to flake or not make the con! It’s an upsetting experience for the performer!

So please, get your ideas together, sign up when registration opens and have fun! If you any questions about entering, please don't hesitate to get in touch either via the forum or through ayaconsnl@gmail.com.

Regards,
Mark