Host City Requirements

To all those troupes and/or kings who are thinking about hosting IDKE, please know that planning and IDKE is a huge task! Please read over the following information about IDKE and what it takes to host the event; feel free to send us questions at: dtroka@emory.edu. Keep in mind that some of the information is subject to amendment as the steering committee receives feedback from IDKEs and the drag community at large.

Planning, coordinating and executing the International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza (IDKE) is a tremendous job that takes time, energy, dedication and experience. The IDKE Steering Committee is very excited about the event continuing its successful travels and has created this proposal form to ensure that all the necessary components are lined up, thought through, and taken care of. The steering committee feels it is imperative to emphasize that hosting an IDKE is not just about securing venues for the different events; it is also about having a team that has both planning and people skills, and is comprised of folks who are willing to be held and/or can hold other members of committees accountable for their actions (or lack thereof). It is also important to point out that the first four IDKEs, which were held in Columbus, Ohio, were in large part made possible by an affiliation with the Ohio State University. While it is not a requirement to affiliate IDKE with a university or college, we highly recommend such an affiliation because it often provides free or cheap space, sponsorship from departments, as well as other possible resources (free a/v equipment, free photocopying and mailing, etc.).

In the past there have been six different events that take place during the weekend of IDKE, they are: Dragdom, Showcase, Science Fair, Academic Conference, Film Festival (added in 2001) and Sunday Brunch. While these are not the only things that can happen at an IDKE they are the six foundational components of the event and must be included in any new host city. Please see the descriptions of each event below.

Dragdom

Dragdom is an event that historically has taken place the first night of the weekend (i.e. Friday night) and offers up a space for all people to perform in drag with or without rehearsal, for as long as they want (within reason), and for as many times as they want (after allowing others to have a turn on stage). In the past, this event has been likened to drag karaoke. A performer or group of performers can bring their own music and provide it for the dj, or they can use music that the dj already has. This event not only provides a space for drag queens and bio queens to take the stage on their own, it also encourages novice or new kings and other audience members to become part of the performance festivities. Historically this event has always taken place in a bar which can help folks overcome their qualms about performing but is problematic because it presents an age limit (usually attendants must be over 21 to enter, and it would be preferable to find a location that would allow underage kings, as we have had performers as young as 8 years old in the past!)

Suggested number of people needed to run Dragdom: 21 (4 IDKE registration people, 2 door people, 4 security, 2 deejays, 2 emcees, 1 stage manager, 2 music pullers, 2 people to help performers choose their music, 1 person in charge of raffle, 1 person to sell merchandise).

Showcase

The Showcase is an event that has historically taken place on the second evening of the weekend (i.e. Saturday night) and offers up a space for rehearsed performers to perform a piece that centers drag king content and is less than four minutes. This event has also always taken place in a bar that serves alcohol. While the Dragdom space can be smaller because many people are still trying to get into town on Friday night, it is imperative that the Showcase space be large enough to accommodate at least 700 people. This is the largest attended event in the weekend and the only thing many people go to. Therefore turning people away because the bar has met capacity is a very bad thing. We also suggest that the coordinators of this event strongly discourage repeat performances, that is, allowing a king or kings on stage more than once and allowing kings to perform acts they have performed at IDKE before. People are paying good money to get in and they are not interested in seeing repeats.

Suggested number of people needed to run the Showcase: 22 (2 door people, 1 security team captain, 2 outside roving security, 1 dressing room door security, 2 front of the house security, 2 back of the house security, 2 deejays , 2 emcees, 1 stage manager, 2 stage manager assistants, 1 back of the house assistant, 1 runner, 1 raffle/merchandise, 1 tech, 1 lighting)

Science Fair

The Science Fair is an event that has historically taken place during the second day of the weekend (i.e. Saturday afternoon). In the past, the Science Fair took place in the same building as the academic conference and often ran concurrently with panels and presentations. This event creates a space for those people who are a part of drag king culture to educate, inform, and dialogue with others in the community. Previous Science Fairs have had booths on how to pack, how to apply facial hair, how to start a troupe, how to dj, how to dress like a king, how to move like a king, as well as provided space for different troupes to sell merchandise and network with new communities. It has also often been within this space that the host city provides some sort of “hospitality” space for participants to sit and relax, have a beverage, and perhaps network or reflect on the events.

Suggested number of people needed to run this event: 8-9 (1 event chair, 1 hospitality lead, 1 hospitality assistant, 4-5 demonstrators, 1 vendor organizer)

Conference

The Academic Style Conference is an event that has historically taken place during the second morning of the extravaganza (i.e. Saturday morning). In the past the conference took place in a building on the university campus. Most of the work of the conference takes place well before the event. It requires creating a call for papers, gathering submissions, reading and grouping submissions and finding facilitators for panels. It is also important to gather technical needs from the presenters and make sure there are people to set up and run the technology (e.g. slide projectors, tape and video recorders, televisions and VCRs). This event also requires a great deal of correspondence with the different presenters, most of which can be done via email.

It should be stressed that while the emphasis on this part of the weekend is on academic style paper presentations, non-academic presentations should be sought out and encouraged. This portion of the conference presents an opportunity for those doing research on drag king culture, gender, performance, etc. a place to present their work. However, this part of the conference should also be a space for those who are doing creative or critical work in these areas, but are not strictly following an academic styled paper presentation, to present their work. In the past these kinds of presentations have included a workshop to create a drag king Barbie, a salon style bio queen dialogue session, a workshop on how to start a drag king troupe, etc. It is critical that this portion of the conference includes a variety of workshops/presentations reflecting the diversity of the drag community. In addition, an “Open Space” area should be set up for impromptu sessions to take place covering topics attendees feel are not important and not reflected in the organized events.

Suggested number of people needed to run this event: 5-15. (2 to write call for papers, gather submissions, and select papers/workshops/panels, 2 to secure and support technology, 1 open space organizer, a number of panel facilitators and room monitors dependent on quantity of sessions).

Film/Art Festival

The first year of IDKE a drag king photographer displayed her work in a gallery space in the same building as the academic conference. In year three, this event took place in the form of a film festival also in the same building as the academic conference. As a general guideline, if there is a demand for either an art or film festival it is highly encouraged. In addition, films can be shown multiple years in a row since there will always be new audience members. The art or film fest can be shown concurrently with the conference. The chairperson of this committee must create a legal document and submission form to go out to artists, photographers, film makers. They also should register with the art/film festival weblink and advertise in appropriate publications drag king websites and list serves. Films to be shown or art to be displayed should be delivered to the IDKE coordinators or discussed if delivery prior to the extravaganza is not an option. A program guide should be created based on content and length and ideally someone should introduce the film and/or artwork and perhaps facilitate a discussion or “talk back” session afterwards. For the film festival format several films can be shown concurrently, or films can be shown one at a time throughout the day.

Suggested number of people needed to run this event: 5 (1 person to send out the call to artists and collect submissions, 2 people to choose films/curate the show, 2 people to host/run the event)

Sunday Brunch

The Sunday Brunch is an event that has historically taken place on Sunday morning afternoon. Often this event functions as a closure to the weekend. The first brunch in 1999 consisted of food and networking followed by a talk by Lesley Ferris, Director of the Theater Department at OSU and two theatrical performances about drag and gender mutability. Subsequent brunches have had different formats including more drag performances, spoken word and other theatrical performances. All brunches must provide vegetarian (and ideally vegan) options and remain affordable. It is also great if we can utilize a queer and all-ages venue (bar, restaurant, theater, community center) for this event.

Suggested number of people needed to run this event: 7 (2 emcees/hosts, 1 deejay, 1 tech person, 3 people to organize getting and presenting the food).

Committees

It is also important that the host city have several committees. While there should be perhaps two or three co-coordinators of the entire IDKE event, it is necessary for those people to delegate authority to committee chairs and their teams. Committee size will vary depending on their assigned areas and tasks. The co-coordinators of the event will also act as liaisons to the IDKE Steering Committee.

Suggested Committees

1. Venue Committees—finds and secures the venues for each event during the weekend.


2. Housing Committee—locates free hosted housing as well as finds local affordable hotels, motels, b&b’s and youth hostels.


3. Transportation Committee—creates maps of the area as well as locates information on local public transportation.


4. Volunteer Committee—coordinates, supervises and assigns all volunteers to committee work and other odd jobs.


5. Registration Committee—creates, coordinates and supervises all registration materials.


6. Financial Committee—deals with all the money.


7. Fundraising Committee—coordinates and executes all fundraising.


8. Outreach/PR Committee—advertises and promotes the events to the (inter)national drag king community as well as to the larger local community.


9. Website Committee—creates website and ensures important info from other committees is present.


10. Logistics Committee—coordinates the greeters and registration table, locates and secures all technology needed.


11. Hospitality Committee—creates and supervises a “hospitality lounge” for Saturday events.


12. Conference Committee—plans, coordinates, executes, and supervises the academic/community conference, including the “open space.”


13. Film/Art Show Committee—plans, coordinates, executes, and supervises the film/arts.


14. Science Fair Committee—plans, coordinates, executes, and supervises the science fair.


15. Showcase Committee—plans, coordinates, executes and supervises the showcase.


16. Dragdom Committee—plans, coordinates, executes and supervises dragdom.


17. Brunch Committee—plans, coordinates, executes and supervises brunch.

Venues Needed

1. Space for Dragdom: must accommodate approximately 400-500 people.


2. Space for Showcase: must accommodate at least 1000 people.


3. Space for science fair: must accommodate approximately 100 people.


4. Spaces for academic conference: each panel’s room must accommodate at least 40 people.
   
   **Large panels must accommodate 75-100 people.


5. Space for film/art festival: must accommodate 75-100 people.


6. Space for brunch: must accommodate 100 people.

•••Please remember that it is part of the mission of IDKE to make all of our events physically and financially accessible. Please make sure all venues are accessible to those in wheelchairs and with other disabilities, as well as assuring that they are affordable to almost all participants (and provide scholarships for those who can not afford it).•••