Jim, resident perfomers at NTMC were positioned behind performers, on a SILL in a slightly elevated position, LOOKING OUT TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE ,THIS IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE LAYOUT OF THE FOLK CLUB , THE RESIDENTS WERE KNOWN AS ON THE SILL.
They were seperated from the audience, AND ALSO SAT BEHIND BOOKED GUEST PERFORMERS, this is FACT,and well you know it.
   my interpretation of this is that it created a distancing of the residents from the audience, I also think that as a performer it is better to have all your audience[ including organisers and residents in front of you] where you can see their reactions, i think that when a guest artist is performing it is better for the guest to be able to see the reactions of all the audience including the residents and organisers, ,and is imperative in attempting to give as good a perfomance as possible.
layout of rooms in clubs is important in enabling performers to perform to a high standard