How to bring a Speaker/Performer to Campus | Return to Main Student Groups Page | Selecting a Speaker/Performer There is a large stack of brochures from agents of speakers and performers in the WSA Office ( 190 High Street) where you can find ideas and addresses and phone numbers of agents. If you can’t seem to find the agent you need or what you’re looking for, the WSA administrator in the WSA Office (x2410) or the director of Student Activities and Leadership Development (x2460/ x2467) may be able to help you. Agents are often aware of the clients of other agents, and may be able to set you in the right direction. If the speaker or performer you are interested in is not one that would be likely to have an agent, there are a variety of ways you might go about getting in touch with them. You may be able to reach them through their place of employment (e.g. a university) or through an organization they are involved with. If it is someone who has been published, you can write or call their publisher. If it is a group that has recorded an album, you can write or call their recording company (though they will probably have an agent if they are this big). If you know the area in which they live, you may find their number listed in the phone book. Calls for group business can be made on the WSA phone. After Selecting Your Speaker/Performer and Getting Funding from the Speaker/Music Fund but Before Booking Visit the WSA Administrator or the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development to make sure that events are not overbooked for the date your event is scheduled. Also, ask the WSA Administrator what your group’s budget number is. You will need to give this to the Student Activities and Leadership Development office in order to finalize your reservation of a facility and to arrange for equipment or Physical Plant/Public Safety support services. See the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development (x2467) to go over instructions for negotiating contracts. Contracts with Speakers/Performers Contracts can be very sticky matters. What you should know: Verbal agreements are almost always considered legally binding. Written agreements are definitely considered legally binding. Here’s how it works: Once an SBC-funded group has a proposed date, time and place for an event, and knows that the speaker/performer is free to come to Wesleyan at that time, the group applies to the SBC for funding. The SBC needs as much information as possible—plans must be as concrete as possible without a contract. Especially important: when applying for funding, the SBC needs to know all projected costs for the program, including ticketing, public safety charges, custodial services, AV costs, payment of speaker, and extraneous charges incurred by the speaker such as transportation, guest house and food costs. DO NOT COMMIT TO A SPEAKER OR PERFORMER IF YOU HAVE NOT YET BEEN GRANTED FUNDS FROM THE SBC! After the group has submitted an application for funding, the SBC discusses it and informs the group of any allocation they have received. This happens within a week of application. Once you have received funding and you begin to negotiate a contract, it is important that you stay in close communication with the SBC, the director of Student Activities and leadership development and/or the WSA administrator. All contracts should be sent directly to the WSA, never to a student box. Any group holding a musical event or hiring a speaker must supply a copy of the contract, social security number (or federal ID number) and HOME address of the performer to the WSA office, in compliance with the regulations pertaining to Wesleyan as a non-profit institution. READ YOUR CONTRACT IN FULL! If, in reviewing a contract, you realize you may have trouble meeting some of the requirements of the contract, DON’T SIGN IT! Though most parts of a contract are not negotiable, some parts may be. For more info about this, talk to the WSA administrator in the WSA office and/or the director of Student activities and leadership development. And, in any case, the contract must be read, approved, and co-signed by the WSA administrator or the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development. Any contract over $4999 must be signed by the Vice President of Finance and Administration. Questions to Ask Your Speaker/Performer What is their address and social security number (or the federal ID number of the organization they are working with)? This information is necessary because of IRS regulations pertaining to Wesleyan as a non-profit institution. You will need the information in order to get a check made out to them. Will they need to stay overnight? How do they plan to get here? (car? bus? train? plane?) Do they have any special dietary needs/restrictions? Does their contract contain any clauses or riders for which you will have to make arrangements ahead of time (such as ordering food, sound or light equipment)? Be sure to confirm your reservation for the facility in which you want to hold your event. If the facility is one where extensive forms need to be filled out, make sure you complete and return the form to the Director at the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development before it is due. Otherwise you may lose your reservation. Call the speaker/performer and confirm the time and date. At the event make sure that members of your group are present to collect admission, prevent eating, drinking, and/or smoking in facilities where it is not permitted, and to keep aisles clear for safety reasons. For more information, see our Guide to Booking Facilities. 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