Institutional Advancement
Event Setup
Event Checklist
Be sure you have the perfect event by using our Event Checklist. This will help you guide you through the planning of events at MCC. Please call 480-461-7475 or email llassitter@mesacc.edu if you need assistance.
Sample Setups
Click each heading to see an example.
- Theatre
– this is a theatre style set up, with chairs facing a head table in the front of the room. It is suitable for lectures, speeches, presentations, movie watching and performances. Allows for most efficient space use.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Classroom
– usually 3 chairs on one side of the table facing a head table in the front of the room. It is suitable for workshops, orientations, and presentations where the audience will be taking notes. Relatively space consuming.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Herringbone
– tables turned at an angle toward the head table with 3 chairs on each side of the table. It is used for presentations to allow everyone in the audience to face the speaker. More space efficient then the classroom set-up.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Square
– tables moved together to form a square shape with a hollow middle and chairs around the perimeter. It is used for meetings and conferences with even number of people on each side.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- U-Shaped
– tables are moved together to form a u-shape facing a head table with chairs around the outside. It is used for meetings and conferences with the presenter separated from the audience. More space consuming then square and conference set-ups.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Banquet Dining
– consists of rectangular tables pushed together to form rows, with aisles left in between the rows. This set up is used for large functions, sit down dinners, receptions, and socials. Allows for the maximum capacity use of a particular room.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Rounds
– most commonly used set up for dinners, receptions, celebration, and socials. Round tables allow for up to 8 people to be seated per table. This set up is much more space consuming then the banquet style.
- (Example)
Additional chairs and tables can be provided as needed.
- Kirk Student Center Lobby
- For events that require multiple tables and chairs please refer to the diagram below and adhere to the guidelines.
Room Capacities
Southern & Dobson
| Navajo | 500 | Theatre Style |
| 272 | with rounds of eight | |
| Yaqui | 12 | |
| Pima | 22 | |
| Maricopa | 15 | |
| Yavapai | ||
| Kiva | 80 | |
| Employee Lounge | 80 | |
| LB145 | 160 | |
| Library Reading Room | 125 |
Red Mountain
| Community Room(M200) | 270 120 |
Theatre Style 20 Rounds of 6 |
| Administration CR(M224) | 10 | |
| Student Life CR(M213) | 14 | |
| Enrollment Srvc. CR(M107) | 16 |
Setup Tips
Click each heading for more details.
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- Avoid a center aisle.
- The best seats in the house are directly in front of the speaker which are often wasted in a large empty aisle. The speaker is forced to run stage left, stage right, to address a "divided" audience. Use two smaller side aisles on either side of center.
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- Keep the audience responding as a group.
- Keep the front row as close to the stage as is comfortable. Reduce the distance between the speaker and participants in the last row. If the room is rectangular, set the stage in the center of the long wall. Cut single-chair access lanes into long rows every sixth chair.
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- Rope off the back 10 rows
- until ten minutes into the presentation. Have a door host direct participants to take the seats up front.
- Curve or angle your seating.
- Audience responds better when individuals can see each other. Straight row seating requires additional concentration to absorb the message.
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- Stagger the chairs.
- Eliminate audiences twisting, bobbing and craning to see around the head in front of them.
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- Do not overset the room.
- If you are planning on 200 people, set the room for 180 not 250. Stack extra chairs at the back of the room. Otherwise, the front rows will be empty. Better to have every seat taken than large empty spots throughout the audience.
- Save space for those in wheelchairs.
- If you know some attendees will be in wheelchairs, you might remove a few chairs at the ends of the rows near the front, to provide space for them to wheel their chairs to the ends of these aisles. This allows for easy entry/exit, and it’s nice change for those often relegated to the back row in an audience.
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- Do the doors close loudly?
- If side or back doors close loudly, please have a door stop handy or tape the lock to avoid noisy distractions.
- Audio/Visual
- The most overlooked (and damaging) glitch – ceiling lights which shine directly on the screen and wash out the visuals. After 5 minutes of eye strain, the audience gives up even trying to follow along. The solution is not to dim all the lights, which will throw your speaker in the shadows. If possible remove the offending lights that shine directly above the screen.
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- Use an additional light source on the presenter.
- Studies have proven that when an audience cannot see the presenter clearly, they also believe they cannot hear him or her clearly!
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- The eye follows movement, not sound.
- If photos are to be taken, avoid doing so during the first fifteen minutes of the presentation. It will be too much of distraction for both your audience and speaker. Try and take a posed "action" shot during the break.
Information provided by : Scott McKain, Meeting Planner
and writer of “All Business is Show Business”.
The following room capacities and diagrams offer a variety of set up options
depending on need and the nature of the program or type of event/meeting.
Web Services - Institutional Advancement: email | phone: 480-461-7445 | fax: 480-461-7383 | Southern & Dobson Building AS-4
