Larry Abel, dreamer in chief of event production company Abel McCallister Abel, is using his company’s talents for good by mentoring local Nashville students through the process of putting together an epic prom night, from start to finish. Abel and his team (including husband Raymond McCallister and daughter Olivia Abel) work with students from KIPP—the Knowledge is Power Program, a network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory schools in low income communities throughout the United States—to teach them the ins and outs of budgeting for the event, gaining sponsorships, designing tickets and signage, and building props. We asked Abel to share the inspiration behind Prom Project and how the program helps build a broader bridge for students interested in the arts industry:
How did you get your own start in the industry?
We’ve been doing events for 19 years. Raymond and I both come from small towns, so we sort of stumbled our way into this business. Years back, I worked at Mars Inc. and one of my jobs was to take our brand to Hollywood and get earned media out of it. I started creating things for the brand [to gain attention for the brand] like extravagant chocolate buffets at the Emmy Awards. Long story short, it took off, I quit my job, and we started an agency that had humble beginnings out of our garage.
How has Abel McCallister Abel grown since those humble beginnings?
We are an experiential events agency that brings events to life in immersive ways from start to finish. We once built Oprah’s entire set out of Godiva chocolate. She saw that we took a 3,000-square-foot lounge at a party at the Golden Globes and made the entire thing chocolate. You can show someone a picture or give them a piece but when you fill a room with it, that’s an immersive experience.
What is Prom Project and how did it come about?
Back in the day, prom used to be a bigger affair with a lot of decorations. So, we thought, what if we could show students now what an old school prom was like? Wouldn’t it be cool if we could go into a high school and teach them how to put on their own from start to finish? We were in contact with Beth Torres from Make-a-Wish Middle TN who introduced us to KIPP. From there, we met with the student council representative, the teacher representative, and the principal and told them what we hoped to do. We presented a program where we would come in and teach the kids, work with their committees, and match them with people in our business who shared the same interest. We taught 12 to 14 students with interests in a variety of areas: how to budget for the event, how to get sponsorships, the tech side of things when sound or lighting was involved, how to build the props, design tickets and signage, and more. All these core competencies align with people in our business. We mentored them through the entire process. The kids’ idea was to have a red-carpet moment with paparazzi, and their theme was royalty featuring rich purples, gold, and jewels. We made seven large crown props that were five feet across and three feet tall and they came to the shop to decorate them. Then, we helped pick out the drapes, lighting, and tablecloths, and with them being all dressed up, it came together. The night of, we put the red carpet outside the venue, placed the props, and the parents were the paparazzi. We had so much fun!
What is your favorite thing about Prom Project?
Watching the kids’ ideas come to life, hearing them put it all together, and seeing it through fresh eyes. The students we worked with were smart and creative. It gives me hope in the future to see these kids, how hard they work, and how inspiring they were. Unless we teach and mentor, you don’t pass down what you learn. There’s only so much you can learn in a book. It’s important not just to give back with your finances, but with your time and your knowledge, too. If you can do that for kids who want to listen, it’s great!
What is your goal with the project?
Our goal is to teach the students, but, as a non-profit, our goal is to raise sponsorships to contribute dollars to the organization and get other peers of ours to do the same thing. At the end of Prom Project we hired two kids to come work with us. We would love to raise money to provide internships for kids to go to work for a costume shop in Hollywood or a prop shop in New York, where they can work firsthand and see what it is like. Let’s help them build a bridge from where they are to where they can be. Unless someone shows you where that bridge is and how to get there, you might not know what is on the other side.
What’s next for Prom Project?
We would like to do it every year and will be working with students from KIPP again next year. My bigger goal going forward is to challenge my peers in other cities who are similar to ours to do the same thing. It would be amazing if in five years there are 25 other proms like these going on at the same time.