For the purposes of this article I'm going to assume you have an act/s of performance standard ready to go. The following is a step by step guide on what to do to get your act out there and be paid to do it! If you'd like advice about putting an act together, try reading my blog How to Create a Successful Roving Act. A lot of the tips can also be applied to stage and installation acts. Firstly, let's put this article into context. There are a number of different types of circus work and the avenues to this work vary accordingly. The most obvious which probably springs to most peoples' minds is to join a circus company as a solo or ensemble artist. This is one type of circus work but not the only one. Another method is to simply create your own stage show, street show or company. Finally, many circus performers work as independent circus artists, performing at corporate, community events. This last type of work is what I'll be focusing on in this article as it's what I know the most about. The following is a list, in order, of how to get work as an independent circus artist at community and corporate events: Getting Started1. Have an employable act How to create an employable act is a whole other article in itself so I'm not going to go it here. I would just say that it's advisable to have something at least mostly ready to go before you start putting yourself out there to avoid the stress of having to scramble something together last minute. 2. Decide on a price Here's what helped me decide on pricing: i. Resources If you're lucky enough to have friends in the circus community than you already have access to the best resource for advice on what to charge. Most circus people are very happy to give advice about pricing. For Australian readers, try the Facebook group Circus Rates in Australia Discussion Group. This group contains the results of a survey conducted in 2017 of Australian circus performers and what they're currently charging for almost every type of circus act. Also, check out the ACAPTA website (Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Association) there is an excel spreadsheet which can help you calculate what rates to charge. I haven't yet found equivalent resources for America or Europe, so if anyone out there knows of any, please feel free to contact me so I can list it here! ii. Write your prices down This has saved me so much stress. When I first started, every time I was asked to quote I would re-invent the wheel, um-ing and ah-ing over my prices. Eventually, I decided on my roving act prices per set and per hour, made it into a little chart and stuck it on my wall. Now, when I get asked to quote it's all there - I can just add on a bit for petrol or parking if needed. This takes out the stress and ensures consistency when you quote between different agents. iii. Be ok with not getting the gig It's ok to say no to gigs. Yes, you want the work, but not at any price. Being ok with walking away is a much more empowered position to be in than one of being desperate for every gig. This mindset will help you negotiate a better price for what gigs you do and be empowered to walk away when the pay and conditions aren't right for you. 3. Get Insurance This is boring so I'll keep it brief. Get Public Liability Insurance. You'll need it to get work with any decent agent and for your own piece of mind. I'm with Duck for Cover (Australian). While you're about it, get some private health cover with ambulance cover. We all know circus work is pretty dangerous and it's better safe than sorry. 4. Get photos & footage This is what sells your act - both to your agent/s and the client so IT HAS TO BE GOOD. Here's what you will need for each type of act: Roving Act: 5-6 quality photos. You can get some footage of your roving at a gig at some later stage but it's not essential to start with. Stage Act - At least 5-6 quality photos, a teaser demo reel that leaves the viewer wanting more (for clients) and a full length video of the whole act (for agents - so they know what they're selling). Getting an Agent/s The majority of gigs I've had have come to me through one of my agents. Getting yourself onto the books of a few agencies is probably the best thing you can do to get yourself gigs. Here's what I did to be listed with some circus agents: 1. Googled "Circus Agent + my home town". 2. Made a list of all the circus agents in my city. 3. Worked my way through the whole list emailing all of them. What I included in my emails: i. A little introduction, eg: "Hi my name is Tess and I've recently created these circus acts and I was wondering if you'd be interested in listing them on your site". ii. A little write up of each act, eg: "Stilt Walking Butterfly - The Stilt walking butterfly will brighten up any event with her beautiful glittery costume and colorful banter... etc" iii. Media - photos of the roving acts, photos and footage of the stage acts. iv. Then I would finish by saying something like: "Thank you for your time, please contact me if you'd like any further information about the acts and I hope to hear from you soon." As you can see, I kept my initial emails quite brief. Most of the agents I contacted got back to me to put me on their site. Usually they'd ask me for my rates, which I'd then send through, and sometimes a bio (although most agents don't even request this). At this stage you can also send through any specific requirements for each act- eg "no steep slopes, rigging point at least 6metres high, etc". I eventually made an "Act Requirements Sheet" for each act which I can simply attach to the email to save time. Getting this in early on will save you the hassle of being booked for an event which your act isn't suitable for later on. Networking By far, most of the gigs I've ever had have come through my agents. However, a couple of the most fun gigs I've ever had have come through circus friends. Sometimes a friend will receive an enquiry for a date when they're already booked but they've put my name forward instead. Other times a gig will actually require a duo act or two acts so a friend will ask me if I'd be their second. For this reason, it's always good to network: take every opportunity you can at gigs and open training spaces to chat to other performers and make connections. Also, return the favor by putting your friends' names forward for gigs where you can. Clients Direct Another way of getting gigs is by liaising with clients directly, either by them contacting you or you contacting them. Potential Clients Contact You It's a good idea to have a Facebook page for your acts and a Webpage. This opens up the avenues for clients to contact you directly. In my experience, only occasionally I will get an inquiry through one of these and very occasionally this will lead to a gig. In my experience, most of the time these type of inquiries are from people looking for a bargain who don't necessarily know what type of act their event requires. I make sure to send through my "Act Requirements" document as soon as possible and my rates so they can see straight away if my act isn't suitable for their event before we've wasted too much time. Be sure to also add on 15% to your quote, otherwise you're actually undercutting your agents. This fee covers the time you'll spend emailing and negotiating with the client which the agent would usually do for you. You Contact Clients Another way of generating work for yourself is to contact clients directly. This can be a bit daunting and may not get you a high strike rate but can be worth it to get yourself a few extra gigs. You could try googling upcoming events in your area and then contacting the organisers directly if you think your act would be suitable. For example, if there is a food and wine festival in your area and you have a food or wine themed roving act, you could contact your local council or whoever is organising the event and put your act forward. Just make sure to contact them several months in advance and be prepared to be rejected several times before you get a hit. Final Thoughts There's plenty of work out there if you have the ingenuity to create something saleable and the initiative and courage to put yourself out there. In most cases, circus work isn't going to make you rich, however performing your act in front of a good crowd can be such a high, and in my opinion is well worth it. Go for it and good luck!
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AuthorI've been dancing since I was little. I've danced with Melbourne Dance Theatre, Look Left Dance Circus Theatre and Lyrebird Dance Theatre as well as and freelancing around Melbourne as a dancer and circus performer. This blog contains some of the lessons I've learned on my journey and some of the things I wish someone had told me earlier! |