Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 09:40:51 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Bookings up or down?


My ratio is about the same:  70%  schools, 20% libraries, the rest in
theaters/festivals/ workshops.  Over the last 28 years there have been
several downturns and individual regions and markets have dried up
completely, while others have popped up.  I used to be a regional
perfomer working  about 1/2 my shows in the Raleigh area 4 hours away.
The showcase in Raleigh then became inundated with performers outside
of my region, who heard about the market and that market shrank to
about 5% for me.

Two things I have benefited from is that I am not working just
regionally anymore, but nationally and through an agent.  I began
working in other markets after success at the 1987 (?) Fort Michell P
of A Festival.  Puppeteers form other guilds started inviting me to
their regions and that helped me get established in those regions
often.    Another market I worked in was Grand Rapids where  I did a
bunch of work for years and then it just dried up. Another tour was
the Mesa , AZ school district but I stopped considering it a low
paying working vacation and let it go.  A market that has never failed
has been the Southern Louisiana school and library market.  Dallas
Fort Worth is a market that has come and gone several times.  Each
time a market went belly up I was able to find new ones, with help
finally from an agent.

It was around then 15 years ago that I found an agent who would work
nationally for me.  I brought in most of the contacts from my data
base at first but then the agent reformed his business into a
school/family/arts market and paired down his roster to a dozen
diversified artists who did just those kind of gigs.  The agent goes
to selected showcases around the country and one of the 12 or so
artists on the roster will usually get a showcase.  That helps the
rest of us get into that market.  We all split the showcasing and
travel costs for the agent. (Agents are not a guarantee of anything
unless you find a good one and its a good fit.  Another thread) We by
no means work in a complete spread across the country, but in pockets.
 This means flying shows which is whole different thread in itself as
well.

I live in Asheville NC, a lovely place where I would starve if I was a
regional performer.  Another benefit of an agent is that sponsors are
a lot less likely to cancel on a show because of the agents contract
which discourages that.  He has also gotten our prices up to a mid
range where a school has to have more than the usual fee for a show
but not excessive fee either.  This weeds out schools on the margin
who might bail.  It also puts us in a market where we are dealing with
larger arts councils whose funds have to be in place to make a
commitment for a week long tour which then can then include less
fortunate schools. The contracts are sometimes written as far as a
year and a half ahead in some circumstances which is another kind of
insulation to the winds of the economy.

When I got started and couldn't get an agent, I booked myself and was
not happy doing so.  Then several diverse artists and I got together
and formed and agency.  We shared printing costs and hired a part time
secretary.  We bought mailing lists for other regions in the South
mostly and shared mass mailings.  We share booth costs at showcases.
This gave each of us the track record to get agents.  The original
musician who formed the coop continues on today focusing on cheap
shows for schools and libraries and works more than I do.  He stays
under everyones prices and is able to pick up shows up to the last
minute.  He tours from the Carolinas Florida to Texas.

Another factor is that I choose shows that clearly fit into the
curriculum but will play well for family audiences.  This means I
cannot wander off into interesting material for mixed audiences but
each show has to be immediately recognizable as good for k-5,
librarties etc.  My shows therfore are often not ideal for huge
Children's theater festivals.  I play those but am always outshined by
shows which cater to spectacle and don't have to be educational.  That
has been an OK trade off.  I can't have a one show career of highly
polished material but must have a constant new parade of shows.  This
keeps me tied however to this market of family shows and there is a
definite ceiling to where that will take any of us in that market
which is fine as well because I like the ease of working in this
scenario.

When I have gotten more prestigious work it usually carries with it a
certain anxiety and expectation that can be hard to live up to and can
be brutal on the ego.  s  In the end as puppeteers I have always
thought that we have an edge over other performances whose budgets are
huge or have high fees.  We remain an affordable entertainment and can
at the least set up on the curb ot the parrish hall and charge
admission.  In the far past the itinerant puppeteer made their way.
The symphony and the opera and huge theater groups are the first ones
to suffer as their budgets are huge.  We can widdle it down to bare
bones and make our way.

 I am greatful to have this work in this school/family/arts market and
my heart goes out to any of you who are having a rough go at it.  Best
of luck to all.


On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 3:52 PM, Chris Griffith <chris-AT-littlerednose.com> wrote:
> It seems to me another useful piece of information to tack on to this
> question is, where do you do most of your bookings?
>
> Over the last ten years, I have relied on school residencies to be my bread
> & butter - those have almost all dried up now.
>
> We are still doing performances, getting interest from libraries and
> museums, and have also received some grant funding recently.
>
>
> --
> Chris Griffith
> Circus Minimus Puppetry
> <http://www.littlerednose.com>
> (612) 724-1435
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
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