I have recycled/copy+pasted this post from my old blog, it is what i do as a performer with a few edits, enjoy :)
I work in many areas but the area where I primarily work as a performance artiste is at one off corporate events and launches.
My choreographed acts are between 4 and 6 minutes long. Some people may presume that that means that I just get paid for 4-6 minutes of work every time I have a job. WRONG !!!! That 4-6 minutes are the result of a lot more work, part of a bigger picture.
So what do I do?
Training: I train. Without training I would not be able to maintain the fitness levels required to do my skills. Without training I would not be able to increase my skill repertoire and develop new acts. Without training my body would not be as in shape/toned as it is. Without the many many years of training i have done since i was little then I wouldn’t be able to do anything. As well as stretching each evening at home then I train in various other locations for handbalance and aerial. Training costs money each session, and training is a chunk of my working day that I have to pay to do. I have actually renamed ‘i am going training’ to ‘I am going to work’, or ‘I am going to rehearse’. Because training to some people sounds like i am only going as i have nothing else to do that day. Training is WORK, very important work to ensure I can do each and every job that I do. Training takes time in my working week.
EDIT: I also now have annuals at two yoga studios and spend a large chunk of my week running around London to yoga classes. Yoga asana has benefited/complimented my work as well as myself more than i can write in this post.
Promoting: I do my website, I do my blog, I do my social networking, I do my logos, I do emailing new people, I do replying to people who enquire about me. Basically I spend time each week working on getting work. Promotional work takes time in my working week.
EDIT: Due to the fact i am in the yoga studio so much i hardly do any admin anymore, and then i have a panic and spend whole days devoted to it haha.
Speaking to agents and clients: Some of my work comes through agents, some comes directly to me. I speak to the individual about for example what they want and what performance wise I think would work well for their event. I talk about the venue, is it suitable for what they want. I supply technical requirements. I supply when necessary a risk assessment. I work out and supply a quote for my work. etc etc etc. This all takes time in my working week.
Admin: Contracts, Invoicing, Payments, Chasing Enquiries, Chasing Payments, Subscriptions, Insurance, Receipts, Tax Returns, Music Editing, Video Editing. This all takes time in my working week.
Costumes/Make-Up: I spend time handwashing costumes i have just used, rhinestoning new costumes, designing new costumes, repairing costumes. Gigs are not always kind to costumes and I look after them as much as I can but it is inevitable that they will not last forever. Costumes are not cheap. Make-up is not cheap. Both are essential to each gig I do. This all takes time in my working week.
Props: My handstand canes, contortion box, aerial hoop, rigging, and every other equipment/prop I own are not cheap in the slightest. I am very protective of all my props but sometimes they need repairing/replacing. Without them my acts would not exist.
Travelling: Sometimes i have to travel for hours and hours to get to events, and then hours and hours back home again.
EDIT: I love gigs in London or flying out somewhere abroad from Heathrow, these are now the bulk of what i do as i have no car...
The Actual Gigs: My favourite part of my job. I arrive a few hours before I am due to perform, because I need to get ready with hair and make-up, I need to view the performance area, make sure all is ok, and very importantly I need to warm up. For contortion jobs I like to warm up for 40-60 minutes immediately prior to the performance. My act is only 5 minutes long, but I am at an event for hours. If I am doing aerial I am sometimes there for longer as I have to be at the venue early to rig, and I can not leave until every guest has gone home and I am able to de-rig.
So in essence then there is much more behind every 5 minute performance, and without all the above then the 5 minute performance would not happen. I work as a performance artiste full time, it is my primary source of income, I LOVE EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT.
As a little separate note, if you are a new contortion/handbalance performer and you are charging a silly cheap amount for corporate events like £200 you need to look at your fee and raise it (like 2X+ it), because you need to remember all the points above, plus that corporate jobs don't come along every day of the week! Never devalue yourself, your skillset, and the industry.
Lotsa Love,
Sally Xxx
I work in many areas but the area where I primarily work as a performance artiste is at one off corporate events and launches.
My choreographed acts are between 4 and 6 minutes long. Some people may presume that that means that I just get paid for 4-6 minutes of work every time I have a job. WRONG !!!! That 4-6 minutes are the result of a lot more work, part of a bigger picture.
So what do I do?
Training: I train. Without training I would not be able to maintain the fitness levels required to do my skills. Without training I would not be able to increase my skill repertoire and develop new acts. Without training my body would not be as in shape/toned as it is. Without the many many years of training i have done since i was little then I wouldn’t be able to do anything. As well as stretching each evening at home then I train in various other locations for handbalance and aerial. Training costs money each session, and training is a chunk of my working day that I have to pay to do. I have actually renamed ‘i am going training’ to ‘I am going to work’, or ‘I am going to rehearse’. Because training to some people sounds like i am only going as i have nothing else to do that day. Training is WORK, very important work to ensure I can do each and every job that I do. Training takes time in my working week.
EDIT: I also now have annuals at two yoga studios and spend a large chunk of my week running around London to yoga classes. Yoga asana has benefited/complimented my work as well as myself more than i can write in this post.
Promoting: I do my website, I do my blog, I do my social networking, I do my logos, I do emailing new people, I do replying to people who enquire about me. Basically I spend time each week working on getting work. Promotional work takes time in my working week.
EDIT: Due to the fact i am in the yoga studio so much i hardly do any admin anymore, and then i have a panic and spend whole days devoted to it haha.
Speaking to agents and clients: Some of my work comes through agents, some comes directly to me. I speak to the individual about for example what they want and what performance wise I think would work well for their event. I talk about the venue, is it suitable for what they want. I supply technical requirements. I supply when necessary a risk assessment. I work out and supply a quote for my work. etc etc etc. This all takes time in my working week.
Admin: Contracts, Invoicing, Payments, Chasing Enquiries, Chasing Payments, Subscriptions, Insurance, Receipts, Tax Returns, Music Editing, Video Editing. This all takes time in my working week.
Costumes/Make-Up: I spend time handwashing costumes i have just used, rhinestoning new costumes, designing new costumes, repairing costumes. Gigs are not always kind to costumes and I look after them as much as I can but it is inevitable that they will not last forever. Costumes are not cheap. Make-up is not cheap. Both are essential to each gig I do. This all takes time in my working week.
Props: My handstand canes, contortion box, aerial hoop, rigging, and every other equipment/prop I own are not cheap in the slightest. I am very protective of all my props but sometimes they need repairing/replacing. Without them my acts would not exist.
Travelling: Sometimes i have to travel for hours and hours to get to events, and then hours and hours back home again.
EDIT: I love gigs in London or flying out somewhere abroad from Heathrow, these are now the bulk of what i do as i have no car...
The Actual Gigs: My favourite part of my job. I arrive a few hours before I am due to perform, because I need to get ready with hair and make-up, I need to view the performance area, make sure all is ok, and very importantly I need to warm up. For contortion jobs I like to warm up for 40-60 minutes immediately prior to the performance. My act is only 5 minutes long, but I am at an event for hours. If I am doing aerial I am sometimes there for longer as I have to be at the venue early to rig, and I can not leave until every guest has gone home and I am able to de-rig.
So in essence then there is much more behind every 5 minute performance, and without all the above then the 5 minute performance would not happen. I work as a performance artiste full time, it is my primary source of income, I LOVE EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT.
As a little separate note, if you are a new contortion/handbalance performer and you are charging a silly cheap amount for corporate events like £200 you need to look at your fee and raise it (like 2X+ it), because you need to remember all the points above, plus that corporate jobs don't come along every day of the week! Never devalue yourself, your skillset, and the industry.
Lotsa Love,
Sally Xxx
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