For a small show, our plan fits on one public page and one private response sheet. The public page names expected behavior, the two sober contacts, where to find them, and options for asking for help without confronting anyone. Before doors, contacts review exits, accessible quiet space, venue staff roles, emergency boundaries, and who can pause the event. If a report comes in, one person listens and asks what support is wanted while the other handles practical steps; neither promises secrecy they cannot keep or conducts an improvised investigation. Notes are minimal, factual, securely held, and never shared as scene gossip. Immediate danger goes to appropriate emergency support according to the affected person's wishes when possible. Afterward, contacts debrief and receive support too. What keeps a small plan visible and usable rather than just well-worded?
Open thread / Dezz Ortiz
Practical Safer-Spaces Plan for a Small Show
A workable small-show plan for visible contacts, consent-centered response, documentation, and post-event follow-up.
Give the contacts a short script for introductions and a checklist for handoffs. Visibility drops when only one friend group knows who they are. Also state the limits of the role: they are support people, not therapists, security, or a substitute for professional emergency services.
Print the policy in large type at the entrance, merch area, and restroom route, then provide a plain-text version through the event page. A QR code can supplement those copies but should not replace them. Check that contact names remain readable under the room's actual lighting.
Touring bands need the plan before arrival, including who has authority to stop a set. Put it with load-in information and ask for relevant access needs privately. A clear plan also lets performers decline participation if the room cannot provide the support it advertised.