A proper venue and stage must be reserved and prepared. Choose a venue according to the number of participants and spectators expected to attend. Once the room has been reserved or rented, visit it ahead of time to see if it already has a stage for the performance. Check for lighting and seats.
If you need to rent stage lights or chairs, arrange for them to be set up before the event.
Recruit talent from the community or the group holding the event. Put up posters in the group's workplace or regular meeting area and include a number where participants can call to register their involvement.
Find a person who has strong public speaking skills to serve as a master of ceremonies. This person is key to the success of the program. He or she will greet the public, announce each participant and make group announcements. At the end of the show, the MC will thank the public for coming and those who participated.
Have an email address where participants can enroll on-line. Determine the number of participants you want to have involved. If you get more response than needed, have a couple of people on call as reserves if there are last minute cancellations.
Invite the participants who signed up to a dress rehearsal to try out for the show. Have the performances individually presented. Do not allow all other participants to view each act. This will test the commitment of those who say they are interested. If they show up to the rehearsal they are less likely to be no shows on the day of the event. This also lets you see the quality of the talent ahead of time.
Create and distribute publicity for the event. Posters, fliers, and newspaper advertisements are effective ways to let people know about the show. Post an announcement on the company web site, print it in a newsletter or send e-mails to members of the organization or people in the business data bank. Do the bulk of the advertising a week to 10 days before the event.
Recruit people to serve as ushers, greeters and security for the event. Assign helpers to assist with parking. You may want to offer sodas and snacks for sale at a concessions table. Make sure you have people designated to clean up after the event.