The Slow Burn: Sweeps

 Dear Competitors,

Congratulations on being selected to compete in the 2010 Harmony Sweepstakes Mid‑Atlantic Regional!  DC is a true a cappella town.  We have had eight straight sellouts, and we are keeping our collective fingers crossed for a ninth.

Here I have collected everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Sweeps but were afraid to ask in one handy place for your reference. 

Please note that there are a number of “To-Do’s” for the performers outlined throughout this document, so please read it carefully! 

Here are some key dates to keep in mind:

• Review the Harmony Sweepstakes website and provide any missing info/corrections to me via email (address below) by 3/5/2010
• Write a check for $10 per group member payable to “Harmony Sweepstakes” (not to me!) and send it to me by 3/5/2010
• Send 2 8x10’s of your group to me by 3/15/2010
• Email the name of your comp to me by 3/15/2010
• Email your FINAL, LOCKED setlists, including song authors and arrangers for each song, to me by 4/3/2010

I look forward to another fantastic show!

Best regards,
Ted Donat
Regional Director
Harmony Sweepstakes Mid-Atlantic Regional


Who’s Who in the Performance

• Regional Director/Producer/Emcee:  Ted Donat has been singing, writing, arranging, directing and producing music for over 30 years.  His a cappella experience (if you don't count entertaining houseguests at his parents' dinner parties in his early years) began with the award-winning Amherst College Zumbyes in the mid '80's.  After graduating from Amherst in 1986, Ted moved to New York City, where he sang with several groups all around the town, including Uptown Sounds and Downtown Vocals, which he also directed.  (Sadly, he was never able to crack the elusive Midtown, Little Italy, or Chinatown a cappella scenes).  The highlight of this period was performing at Alice Tully Hall at the Advertising One Awards.  In 1999, soon after relocating to the DC area, Ted joined the coed a cappella group dcVocals, assuming the musical director mantle from 2000 to 2004.  He first judged the Harmony Sweepstakes Mid-Atlantic Regional in 2001, and took on the regional director role the following year and has been fortunate to produce eight straight sellouts!  In 2009, Ted branched out to produce the inaugural Harmony Invitational.  While not a sellout, it came close, which is pretty darn good for a show in its first year!  In 2004, Ted left dcVocals to recapture his misspent youth and founded the band (the kind with instruments) The Slow Burn (www.theslowburn.com).  By day, Ted toils in the high tech industry as Senior Director of Product Management at Symantec.  In his spare time, which he has far too little of, he enjoys spending time with his family - wife Avril and kids Madeleine, 8, and Lucas, 5.

 

Production Team

As always, I have a great team in place to aid me in the production of this event, including, but not limited to:

• Assistant Producer Sara Rasmussen:  Sara is a huge fan of a cappella singing and appreciates the wide variety of styles that the Harmony Sweepstakes showcases.   Sara has been singing in a Sweet Adeline Chorus for many years and can be found performing as a baritone in Sweet Adeline quartets every chance she gets.  After attending several Harmony Sweepstakes, Sara decided to join the production team.  By day, Sara does her part to save the environment through her work at EPA.  This is Sara's fourth year working on the event.

• Whether it's a rock 'n' roll, classical, bluegrass, jazz, or bawdy Irish drinking song, Associate Producer/Sound Wrangler Paul “Paulie Walnuts” D’Andrea loves a great melody.  He has been playing the guitar for over 20 years and has been writing music for over 10 years.  Throughout that time he has remained very envious of those with clear vocal talent.  Paul plays lead guitar and sings for The Slow Burn.  This is Paul's fourth year on the production team.

Performers

Please visit http://www.harmony-sweepstakes.com/dc.html.


Judges

TBA


Afterglow

The Afterglow will be in the Bandstand at the bar for one hour after the end of the show.  It is very loose – groups usually hang out, trade off songs and just have a good time.  Just have fun and enjoy the evening! 


Air Travel

Three airports serve the DC area:

• Reagan-National Airport (DCA) - 3.5 miles from The Birchmere
• Dulles Airport (IAD) – 30 miles from The Birchmere
• Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) – 38 miles from The Birchmere (closer to Baltimore than DC)

Audio Recording of Show

Each group will receive one complimentary set of CDs (the show generally fits on two CD's).  Additional copies will be available for $10 per set.


Comps

Each group gets one complimentary ticket.  You don’t actually get a physical ticket – the name of your comp goes on a list that is kept with the ticket takers at the entrance to the hall.  Please send me the name of your comp so we can put him/her on the list.  The show has sold out for the past seven years, so if you have another guest besides your comp, they will have to buy a ticket or they will be sitting in the parking lot!


Directions

For directions to The Birchmere, go to http://www.birchmere.com/direct.cfm.


Call Time

The call time is 2:00 p.m. on the day of the show.   Please be on time!!!  We have to sound check all the groups in a very short period of time!!!  If you are not on time, you may miss your sound check window!


Entry Fee

The Entry Fee is $10 per group member (e.g., if you have 5 members it’s $50).  If you have not done so already, please send a check for the appropriate amount payable to “Harmony Sweepstakes” to me.


Effects

No special effects are permitted.


Event Info

When:  Saturday, April 10th, 2010, 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 5 p.m., seating begins at 6)

Where:  Birchmere Music Hall
  3701 Mt. Vernon Avenue
  Alexandria, VA  22304
  703-549-7500
  www.birchmere.com
  Food and drink served
  Parking free


Food & Beverage

There will be complimentary water in the dressing rooms.  Food and beverages are available from The Birchmere or numerous local restaurants.


"Goodnight Sweetheart"

"Goodnight Sweetheart" is the "anthem" of the Harmony Sweepstakes and after all the awards have been announced, everybody comes up to sing it.  We will only do the chorus (the first 8 bars).  We'll sing through it twice on stage and then we will leave the stage singing on the third chorus and head out of the auditorium singing.  Cheesy, yes, but the audience really digs it.  We'll rehearse and block it at the beginning of the sound check.  I will send a jpeg file of the song, thereby violating several copyright laws.


Harmony Sweepstakes Website

The website for the Harmony Sweepstakes is www.harmony-sweepstakes.com. 

The Mid-Atlantic Regional page is http://www.harmony-sweepstakes.com/dc.html.


Judging

You will be judged 50% on musicality (pitch, dynamics, phrasing, intonation, blend and technique) and 50% on performance (audience contact, choice of material, appearance).  Judges will rank order the groups.  The scores will be added up and the group with the lowest score wins!


Lodging

As you know, Washington, DC is a popular tourist destination, so it can be difficult to find inexpensive lodging if you are from out of town.  If you don’t have friends in the area, you may find yourself paying upwards of $150 a night for a hotel.  I suggest that you book early.  One of my favorite sites is www.kayak.com.  It crawls other travel sites very quickly and rank orders results by price or distance.  I just did a search and found the following deals at nearby hotels (these are all within 5 miles or so of The Birchmere):

• Best Western Pentagon Hotel - Reagan Airport - $89
• Radisson Hotel Reagan National Airport - $85
• Americana Hotel - $85
• Holiday Inn National Airport - $99
• Crowne Plaza Hotel National Airport - $99
• Crystal Gateway Marriott - $109
• Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport - $110
• Embassy Suites Crystal City - National Airport - $112
• Sheraton Crystal City Hotel - $119
• Residence Inn Arlington Pentagon City - $119

You can also try Priceline Hotels (www.priceline.com).  I would choose a 3-Star hotel and start with “Crystal City” and then expand to one of the following nearby areas:

• Alexandria - Mt. Vernon
• Alexandria - Pentagon
• Arlington
• Convention Ctr - Capitol Hill area
• Dupont Circle - Woodley Park
• Georgetown - Foggy Bottom
• Springfield
• White House – Downtown

If you are a local group that is willing to host any visiting competitors, please let me know!


Merchandise

Groups can sell merchandise only during intermission and after the show.  There will be tables dedicated for this purpose outside the auditorium in the Bandstand area.  You will need at least one person to sell merchandise during these times.  The Birchmere gets 20% of all CD sales and 25% of all other merchandise.  These are the house rules.  If you want to raise your prices to accommodate this, no one will object, but please keep a careful record.  I need to pay the manager before we leave, so please find me when you are done closing shop and give me the do-re-mi.


Performance Order

The order will not be decided until just prior to showtime, per the rules.  We will do a lottery before the sound check.


Prizes 

• Winner:  Represents the Mid-Atlantic in the Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival.  Free trip (or the cash equivalent thereof if you are from out of the area) to San Francisco from DC.  Expenses include transfers to and from the airport and lodging.  (Note:  You are expected to double up!)

• Audience Favorite:  $200 gift check

• Best Original Song:  $50 gift check (Please note, if there is only one original song, this category will not be awarded.)

• Best Original Arrangement:  $50 gift check (Please note, if there is only one original arrangement, this category will not be awarded.)

Purpose and Spirit of the Event

From the Rules:  “The purpose of the Harmony Sweepstakes is to promote the appreciation of vocal harmony, to put on an entertaining show and to provide the performers with a positive experience.  While it is a competition, in the past, everyone has had a friendly and supportive attitude and this has contributed to a really fun evening.”


Rules

A complete list of rules can be found at http://www.harmony-sweepstakes.com/rules.html.  Please familiarize yourself with all the rules!  In particular, see below regarding the 10-minute time limit.


Set Lists 

Set lists must be locked five days before the event (3/31) so that we can create accurate Tech/Talent Schedules and Judges’ Sheets.  No exceptions!!!


Tech Sheet/Talent Schedule

A separate document will follow.


Tickets

Tickets are $34.50, General Admission (i.e., NO RESERVED SEATS).  This price does not include Ticketmaster surcharges.  Tickets are available at The Birchmere Box Office any day there is a performance from 5-9 p.m., via the Birchmere website (www.birchmere.com) or via Ticketmaster.


Time Limit

From the Rules:  “Time Limit may vary with different regional competitions. Generally, 10 minutes per group is allowed.  Timing begins when a group starts its first tune and ends when it finishes its last song.  A group may use its 10 minutes any way it likes (i.e., three songs or one long medley or five short songs, etc.). The audience will be instructed to keep applause between songs to a minimum.  Whatever time limit is decided upon by the Regional Director, please stay within it, as groups stand to lose up to 50% of their overall sores by going over time.  This keeps the show to a reasonable length and keeps the competition fair to all groups.”

Some regions are ridiculously strict about the time limit.  For instance, in some regions, if you go overtime, you can lose a whole place in the competition (e.g., You came in first on points but because you went over, you are docked to second place.)  I try to be less stringent about this, but by the same token, I want to encourage people to stay within their time limits. 

Here is how we deal with overtime in the Mid-Atlantic Region:
When you rehearse your sets, make sure your set is under 10 minutes.
Each group will get 15 seconds of grace.
Starting with second 16 of overtime, one point will be added to your score for each second you go over.  (The scoring is like golf – lower is better.)  Example:  If your set is 10:20, you will get 5 extra points added to your score.
Starting with second 31, 2 points will be added to your score for each second you go over.  Example:  If your set runs 10:35, you will get 15 points added for the first 15 seconds you go over plus 10 points for the next 5 seconds for a total of 25 points!!!  That will be a difficult handicap to overcome!
The timer will not start until you start to sing, so time getting mikes and stands set up will not count against you.  You can say hello to the audience prior to singing and it won't count against your time, but please keep it brief! 


Watching Other Groups

You are welcome to watch other groups perform, but please be respectful and don’t make too much noise.  You can stand against the back or side walls in the designated areas.

If you should have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to another great competition!

Break a leg!

Best,
Ted Donat