Opera Programs

Point of Contact 

The Butler Opera Center should provide an assigned contact person that will be the sole point of contact for the marketing designer during a single program’s production.  The marketing designer will funnel all communication through this point of contact.  

Effective Fall 2019, the marketing designer will only send proofs to and receive changes from the assigned point of contact; see details under Making Corrections below. 

Program Information

Because of the extensive nature of opera print pieces,  program information does not route through ArtsVision.  the BOC contact person should send program information directly to the marketing designer. Download and use the Opera Submission Form to submit your information. 

Synopses

Synopses have historically been provided by the Butler Opera Center for inclusion in the program.  If you are providing a synopsis for the opera please note:

• The writer of the synopsis should be properly credited. 
• If the synopsis is under copyright, you must obtain written permission to re-print the synopsis.  Do Not plagiarize synopses, or publish work without permission; it is illegal.  
• The synopsis must meet a high editorial standard that represents the BOC and the Butler School well.  If during the course of production, the communications department determines that your synopsis does not meet this standard, we may replace it with different synopsis, or remove it from the program. 

If you require help obtaining a quality synopsis for your opera, please reach out to the marketing designer at least 60 days before your opening date.  The school has resources available to secure a quality synopsis that is rights-cleared. 

Production Workflow

Opera programs follow a 6-week production workflow that begins when the opera submits the program submission form to the marketing designer, and ending 12 days before opening night. Typically, the marketing designer will send a courtesy email 1 week before the program information is due.  

The process includes three proofs and three rounds of changes for a final PDF about 2 weeks before your concert.  Each time you receive a draft, you are given 4 days to proof the document and return changes to the marketing designer.  Upon receipt of the changes, the marketing director will generally provide a new proof within 2 days or less.  

This should be considered a flexible guideline with the cooperative aim of having a finished program about 2 weeks prior to the concert. Due dates are not hard deadlines.  Though the dates are guidelines, the production time for programs is relatively compact, and so efforts should be made on both sides to submit information on or before the suggested deadlines.

Note that any dates that fall on a weekend will automatically default to the following Monday.  If you send a list of changes on Friday, the marketing designer will aim to provide a new proof on Monday.  

Programs will be scheduled to go to press approximately 9-11 days before your concert.  This allows us to fit the job into the busy print schedule and allows a buffer in the case of unforeseen problems, like a machine breakdown, etc. 

Final Credits and Change Deadlines

Though the general workflow is considered flexible, the 12-day deadline is firm.  12 days before your concert will be considered the final program and will go to press.  While both the BOC and TPA credits may be hard to finalize by the 12-day deadline, because of the school’s demanding print schedule, changes will not be possible after the 12-day mark.

Making Corrections 

• The opera production leadership may choose who on their team should be included in the proofing process, however the marketing designer will correspond with only the assigned contact person.  Have your point person distribute the proofs to your selected team, and collect edits from your team.  
• Before sending corrections to the marketing designer, the point person should collect & collate all the changes into a single document, and ensure that none of the changes contain conflicting information.  If there is a conflict, resolve the conflicting data internally before sending corrections.  
• Whenever possible, an annotated PDF is the preferred method for receiving changes. You can use the markup tools provided in MacOS Preview to make clear changes throughout the proof.   A single change list in a Word document or the body of an email will also be accepted.  The changes must be collated into a single list.  Do not simply forward multiple change lists from multiple email addresses. 
• Please make every effort to send a single list of changes for every cycle.  Upon receiving changes, a new draft is frequently generated on a quick turnaround, so multiple changes coming in at different times results in a lot of excess work for everyone.