| |
 4: Selling Your Show
|
“Talented Touring Artist Seeking Presenter”
Homework, hard work and perseverance – these are the three keys ingredients to selling your work to a presenter.
Finding the Presenter
As Canada has so many presenters with so many different specialties and such a range of expertise and professionalism, it pays to do research to narrow your list of potential clients.
Presenters know what kind of performances their audiences enjoy and they are often hesitant to “push” their constituency into new and unknown territory. That is why, in developing a list of potential clients, it is vital to look at the presenter’s record of performances before trying to interest them in your show.
The better your understanding of the people your production will attract and of your technical and production needs, the better chance you have of engaging the interest of presenters, even if they have not seen a performance or showcase.
Research: The web is a great tool for doing homework, but not all presenters have a website. One easy way to search the web is to search the name of an artist in your genre who has toured and just see what pops up. There could be articles or calendar listings from local newspapers and websites that name the venue or even the presenting organization.
Once you have decided on the type of tour and the types of presenters most likely to book you, start getting in touch.
Regional Contact Events: If you are interested in touring to community or facilities presenters in a given region, plan to attend a regional Contact Event. There is no better way to gain an understanding of the opportunities for touring and to meet presenters and peers who are already experienced at touring.
Once you have attended a contact and see how they work, you might also apply for a showcase at the event so that presenters can see an excerpt of your performance.
Tips for Contact Events: Before, During and After
Getting presenters to see your show: If you have a performance coming up in your home community, try contacting presenters in your region about coming to see it. There is no better calling card for your work than a full performance in a professional theatre. Be aware of what else is going on in your community at the same time – perhaps you can partner up with another organization and issue a joint invitation so that visiting presenters can see more than one thing on a visit.
Following up: Meeting the presenter and mailing them information is only the beginning of the sales process. You will need to follow up by telephone and/or email. During your conversations at this stage, be sure to ask the presenters if they have enough information about you on which to base their decisions. Ask if they require additional copies of your sales kit for distribution to their committees or other advisors. If you have all of your materials available online, you might ask them if you can resend them the link to the online materials to pass along to others in their organization.
Networking: Generally, presenters are helpful in fostering new contacts. If you can get presented in a given region or on a given circuit interested in booking your show, the presenter may refer you to others who might be interested. Ask if you can mention the first presenter’s name when you call a presenter they have suggested. Generally, such references will speed up responses to phone calls or emails.
-
Non-traditional networking: If traditional series presenters are not appropriate to your planned performance circuit, your networking process will be quite different. Start by contacting other artists in your genre who have already toured the region to find out how they located presenters. Your provincial arts council or your industry organization may have information about presenters in your field.
 Towards a Fulfilling Touring Experience
The Road is a journey that demands the most of your character and expertise. An artist/company/band learns what works and what or who needs to be left at home next time.
Vanessa Richards, Artist
Read More...
- Networking for culturally-specific performances: This may involve finding an appropriate business association or social club to serve as a presenting host or co-presenting partner. Aboriginal networks such as the National Aboriginal Dance Collective (NADC) can share information on regional networks and assist in promoting your tour in regional communities. Showcasing your work at large aboriginal gatherings (e.g., the Canadian Aboriginal Festival at the Toronto Skydome) also promotes your work nationally and helps to establish a regional network.
Bringing Performance to Native Communities
As native actors and dances began developing new performance styles with Native perspective and content, non-native companies were also developing an interest in Native audiences… whether communities were ready or not, live theatre and dance were coming to them.
Rosa John, Kehewin Native Performance
Read More...
National and international conferences
Large-scale events (e.g., the International Children’s Showcase, CINARS, Commerce international des arts de la scène/International Exchange for the Performing Arts, the CAPACOA conference, Canadian Arts Presenting Association/L’Association canadienne des organismes artistiques, and the APAP Conference, Association of Performing Arts Presenters) attract larger presenters from throughout Canada who might not regularly attend their regional Contact event.
Industry-specific conferences/festivals
Festival presenters commonly attend industry-specific conferences and festivals in their genre to seek artists for their own future presentations. Attending other festivals to see performances of artists they might present in a future festival is a common activity. The children’s festivals and some of the music festivals are scheduled concurrently to offer more than one engagement for touring artists.
A Few Words of Advice for Travelers on the Paths Less Taken
The music we listen to is a lot like the food we eat. We are prepared to be occasionally adventurous, but we generally stick to what we are used to. This makes the serving of “exotic” forms of music – like world music and jazz – a challenge for presenters, audiences and performers.
Gary Cristall, Artist Manager
Read more ...
Essential Ingredients for Touring Success
Sales kits:
For presenters encountered at the Contact event or reached by telephone who indicate interest, you will require a comprehensive sales kit with information that will help you sell your show to the presenter. You will want to have your sales kit available in both printed material and electronic format that you can easily email. Consider having copies available on flash drive and/or CD. More on sales kits.
Technical basics:
You must also have an understanding of the basic technical conditions that are necessary for your work. The size of the stage, load-in/load out time and the lighting and sound equipment requirements are some of the essential components. It would also be helpful to provide information on local crew size and a suggested technical schedule.
Fees:
At this early stage of negotiating with presenters, it is not necessary to negotiate fees. If you have done your homework, you will have a good idea of what the presenter is able to afford, what your competition is charging and roughly what fee you will require in order to meet your touring costs.
Agents or managers:
If you have attended a contact event with little result and your own efforts to engage the interests of presenters have been for naught, you might like to think about whether your touring aspirations will be better served by finding an agent or manager who can represent your interests.
Helpful website:
|