Katie Lynn Wolcott Genre Analysis In the traditional sense, genre is defined as limited classifications of a piece of literature; however

there is a new conception of genre. Amy Devitt, an English professor at the University of Kansas, says genre focuses on the actual uses of texts, in all their messiness and with their potential consequences and how they can be created within one professional community to be used by nonmembers of that community (Devitt, p.19). By this, Devitt means that a genre is a specialized text document used within a profession or a group of people with similar goals and on occasion these texts can be meant for individuals outside of that particular group. In this case, the documents are meant to be helpful to all participating parties. In the form of concert venue policies, genres are created to enhance the overall experience of the ticketholders and help the establishment run more efficiently, but how does it fulfill this task? Essentially all venues have their policies displayed on their website in order to assure the ticketholders can easily access them. By looking at three different venues, The Beacham, Marymoor Park, and Palms Casino Resort it is easy to determine that all of the policies are user-friendly despite the similarities and differences between them. The physical appearances of the documents are the readers first impression. The font size and style has one of the biggest initial impacts on the viewer and can affect the overall physical organization of the document. The Beacham in Orlando utilizes a variety of techniques to highlight the policies and make them more appealing. It uses larger, bolded font for different section headings as well as all capitalized lettering for specific headings, such as general

policies and miscellaneous (Resources and FAQ). The Beacham was the only example to use two different font styles to distinguish the main header from the subsection headings. They also use bullet points to help make the rules and regulations more organized. The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas used its largest font for the main heading, The Fine Print, and a slightly smaller font for the body headings, ending with the smallest font for the actual content. The Palms Casino Resort was the only venue out of the three being examined to use a horizontal dividing line to separate the name of the venue from the beginning of the policies. Both of these sources place the content beneath the section titles, but the Marymoor Park begins the body of the section on the same line as the heading, using a colon to separate them and by bolding the heading. Marymoor Park did not use different size font between sections, which made it look more dense in wording, but it did use all capitalized letters for the section titles. Bold, all capital letters and underlining is also utilized to stress and reinforce important aspects of their policies, such as NO ALCOHOL AND NO GLASS PLEASE (Marymoor Park, p.1). The Beacham and the Palms Casino Resort are more aware and cautious of customers visiting their policies, so they try to make them easier to read and pinpoint specific sections that the visitor is more interested in reading and not overwhelm the customer with text by using the variety of text sizes. The Marymoor gave off a more unwelcoming appearance by not breaking the sections up with a variety of text sizes. The visual aspects of these policies can influence the ticketholders motivation to read the full text. The structure and content of the genre varies greatly depending on the venue itself. The general structure of all three examples is that they are all broken down into sections, leaving a break between each topic. However, what is included in each venues policies is relative to what type of venue it is. Marymoor Park is an outdoor concert venue, so what is in their policies will

differ from an indoor venue. Marymoor Park includes many weather aspects, warning ticketholders to be aware of the weather of the day their event will occur and to bring sunscreen or umbrellas if necessary. Since it is an outdoor venue there is no specific seating on the lawn area, so individuals are told they can bring their own beach chairs and blankets, but high backed or lawn and patio chairs ARE NOT ALLOWED (Marymoor Park, p.1). As stated previously, their use of capital letters is used to stress the important aspects of their policies. This was one of two policies that included an FAQ section in the document. Just by the questions alone, one is able to tell what many guests have thought about previously and what their priorities are, such as the ability to bring pets, picnics and grills into the venue, which had this been an indoor venue most customers would imply that none of those items would be allowed on the premises. The Marymoor Park also includes an email address where customers can send any questions not answered in the policy document. The Palms Casino Resort venue is actually called the Pearl Concert Theater, but it is within the resort itself. One of the first headings is Age Restrictions, allowing children age six and up, by showing the importance of that topic for the venue. The Palms Casino Resorts takes a lot of precautions when it comes to ticketing. They have multiple sections for Lost/Stolen Tickets, Thermal Tickets, Refunds, and what to do if an event is canceled or postponed, showing they are very oriented with customer service and help the guest as much as they can when they are experiencing difficulties with their tickets (The Fine Print). There is also a disclaimer for entertainment at the very end explaining how the performing artists have creative control over their own shows and that views expressed do not reflect those of Palms Casino Resort (The Fine Print). This is to ensure in the case a ticketholder gets offended by a performance, it does not reflect poorly on the establishment at which the event was held at. The Beacham, as did the Palms Casino Resort, begins its policies

with entry regulations, saying that if not stated otherwise, patrons must be at least eighteen, or have a legal guardian with them if they are under the age of eighteen and even then they must be at least twelve years of age, and have a valid form of identification to enter. By this information alone, one can imply this is a more mature venue. This is the only venue out of the examples to actually warn the ticketholders of possible lighting and sound effects that could pose a threat to their health. The Beacham does allow drinking from the two bars in the venue, but if drinks are thrown in the venue they have the right to remove you from the area and charge for any damages. This ensures the safety and makes the overall experience of the customers more enjoyable. They also include an FAQ, as did Marymoor Park, where they even recommend some hotels for overnight accommodations. Since this venue is not as large or well known as the others, there is a section that tells potential talent and performers how they could be featured to play at the venue. The smoking restriction also depends on the performer at The Beacham, but at Marymoor Park it is prohibited within the venue, but there is a designated section for smoking outside the entrance gate. All three of the venues listed above have sections for people with disabilities, which show they are cautious of all potential guests and do not want to limit someones experience due to a disability. All of these policies are stated to prevent ticketholders from getting injured and to enhance their experience in hopes they return for more business. If a ticketholder is aware of the rules and regulations of the venue then they will know what is to be expected from them to prevent being denied entrance into a show because they violated the policies. Employees are also required to know the venue policies to enforce safety regulations to the ticketholders and to prevent any damages to the venue itself. In this case, content is imperative to the efficient running and structure of the venue.

Participation is the key for these policies to be put into action. Without participants, the genres would essentially be useless. The participating parties of the venue policies remains fairly consistent no matter what the venue is. The main participants are the venue owner, employees and the guests. The venue owners are in charge of creating the policies with the ticketholders and venues best interest in mind. The owner then hires a manager, as well as other employees to implement these rules. The ticketholders have the responsibility of making sure they are aware of the policies or else they will face the consequences provided by the employees, such as being denied entrance to the venue or even being kicked out of the venue. There are some other parties that may play a minor role in the policies, such as the ticket suppliers, which is why The Beacham mentions Ticketfly in their policies. Other small groups include nearby hotels and their concierges in case a hotel guest asks about any events they can partake in during their visit, which may take place at one of the nearby venues, in which case the concierge would have to be aware of the venue policies and age restrictions. Participation is an integral aspect to the genre efficiency. Concert venue policies are specialized texts, also known as genres, that are to be utilized by people within the same professional community, but they are also meant to be used by people outside of that community. By the genres use of highlighting, structure and participation, the participants feel a sense of welcoming. For this reason, their policies are put into simplistic terms so that all participants have a thorough understanding of what is being stated. If all contributors are aware of what is to be expected then the venue operations will run smoothly, which in return will increase the overall experience of the guest and ensure they have a pleasant time and will, hopefully, in the future lead to repeated business. In this case, all participants benefit and new relationships are established.

Works Cited Devitt, Amy J.; Bawarshi, Anis; and Reiff, Mary Jo. "Materality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities." College English 65 (May 2003): 541-558. Print. "Marymoor Park Concert Venue Policies and Information." . N.p., Dec. 2008. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/parks-andrecreation/documents/marymoor/MMP_Concert_Venue_Policies_FAQ.pdf>. "Resources and FAQ." The Beacham. N.p.. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.thebeacham.com/resources/>. "The Fine Print." Palms Casino Resort. N.p.. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.palms.com/musicvenues/venue-policies>.