A ceremony comprises some sort of public ritual that celebrates community achievement or identity, whether it is the unveiling of a plaque, the presentation of honours, the opening of an institution or building, or a processional event.

Ceremonies are how we celebrate things that matter to us. Our lives contain many ceremonies, and mark important moments in our lives, such as births and weddings.

The sense of being part of a tradition or creating a new one is important to a successful ceremony and to become a meaningful occasion, a ceremony must also involve and engage everyone present in a memorable way.

For those ceremonies that involve a royal presence, the Queen or member of the royal family in attendance can also bring an added sense of unity, history, purpose and pride to the event.

Far from being a dispensable and unnecessary expense, well-staged ceremonies are a vital part of public life.  A properly thought-out, cleverly crafted and beautifully performed ceremony, besides honouring the people and the achievements involved, inspires and motivates all those witnessing the event.

A manager or director who doesn’t understand the inestimable value of an appropriate celebration at an appropriate time, runs the risk of missing out on an exciting opportunity to bring a community together and create a sense of history.

The public ceremony and community events devised and directed by Michael Birch have proved to be entertaining and aesthetically satisfying, with scale and content being entirely appropriate to each particular occasion.

Michael possesses both the theatrical and presentational skills required to invent and stage ceremonies, and has the experience and understanding to work with all relevant stakeholders in order to devise the most appropriate content. He always undertakes rigorous research to provide a script that is poetic, humorous where appropriate, and uplifting.

Crucially, when commencing a new project, the research that Michael undertakes is very thorough; it involves meeting with key local people, organisations and schools, looking extensively through local archives, and reading and researching the history of the local area.

For the recent launch of stadium:mk in Milton Keynes, Michael visited no less than seventy five different schools in preparation for the event, as he feels that investing time in talking to young people; local community, arts and voluntary organisations; businesses and those working in the public sector is a vital to encourage local support and creative involvement. It is only by undertaking a thorough process of research that Michael feels he has the authority to speak on behalf of the local community for whom the ceremony is being staged. A shared involvement is central to the success of each project.

As either a guest or participant of a ceremonial event, a royal, VIP or dignitary presence has a phenomenal impact on all those taking part – and as illustrated by those events he has recently directed, Michael knows how to establish a royal presence as the key focus for the event. As part of the ceremony, the royal family member or dignitary could be asked to give a speech, unveil a plaque or declare a space or venue open and in each of these instances, Michael knows how to programme a royal, VIP or dignitary presence involvement to achieve the best effect.

Music is a key component of any ceremony and Michael has the experience to identify and programme music that will be appropriate for the event. Having himself been a musical director over many years, Michael can identify an appropriate musical director to come on board.

Visuals are also vital for the success of any ceremonial event and Michael understands how to turn any site into a ceremonial space, without making it feel awkward or ugly. At the Queen’s Golden Jubilee visit to Harewood House in 2002, Michael saw that using this stunning stately home as a backdrop would have the strongest impact, rather than creating a separate stage for the ceremony. He also has a pool of top class designers who he can call upon.

Rather than contracting a local event company to produce your public event, employing a real specialist such as Michael, with experience and expertise in this line of work, ensures an extremely high quality event that is fitting for the particular occasion.

Although acting as an individual, Michael is very happy to enlist the help of Stage Managers, Production Managers and Sound/Light Technicians etc. as and when required on any contract job. As Michael has a great deal of experience working with a range of arts managers and event producers he has a range of relevant contacts across the country, and sourcing skilled individuals to come on board for any particular project is no problem at all.

In evidence of this, Michael was responsible for contracting the operations team for the recent launch of stadium:mk, and those that Michael selected to help on the project included a production manager, sound technician, musical director and choreographer.

As event companies can often have their own agenda, and demand skyrocketing budgets that cannot always be audited, in employing Michael you are also able to maintain much greater control of the overall budget and event production timetable and will likely avoid an unnecessary waste of time and money.

Michael is also very happy to undertake an initial consultation, to discuss your event and production needs with no strings attached, and is happy to provide impartial advice about the best process to move the ceremonial event forward.