Over the course of my “professional” career as a fire spinner and performer, I have had the opportunity to entertain groups both large and small. Music Videos, Concerts, Headlining, and Private Parties are where it’s at as far as this line of work is concerned. And yet, there seems to be a great deal of confusion and miscommunication everyday on all fronts. And I believe it is time for all of the entertainers out there to begin standing up for ourselves and demanding respect.

Firstly, there is the issue of being taken seriously. At many events, fire spinners and hoopers are expected to attend, perform and provide ambiance “pro bono”. Free admission is dangled in front of us as if to say, “Of course we knew you’d want to come to this event anyway, but let us compensate you somehow”. Free drinks are usually thrown into the bargain, without thought or regard for the safety aspect of having drunken fire performers. And while there are some events that I would and have performed at for free because of the event, those are usually the ones which are coordinated by friends of ours in the Burner community. Which is to say, I will perform for free, for friends. But the assumption that we are merely “ravers” or “party go-ers” is not correct in all cases. Certainly there does, and always will exist, a contingent of the community whom will attend and perform at all sorts of parties for free. But this does not mean that we should simply lower our own expectations. Here’s a few major arguments in favor of us, as performers, being fairly compensated:

1. Think of all the countless hours many of us spend honing our craft. For some, it is more than others, and more than likely there is a great deal of love involved. But that does not make the energy put into the skills any less. Dancers do not dance purely for money. Actors do not act purely for money. Musicians do not play purely for money. There will always be love and caring for one’s craft involved, but you cannot allow that mentality to guilt you into taking gigs for little or no money. By accepting compensation for your work, it allows you to further your own pursuits. For many of us, money is scarce, and while we do this out of love, our real jobs can and do get in the way. With adequate compensation, we can afford the time needed to practice, perform, and purchase the best tools for the job.

2. There may be the counter-argument that the bands don’t get paid that much, and why should we be paid more than the headlining band? This obviously is in reference to smaller gigs, ones where the bands are usually not compensated much, and even that is divided amongst however many members of the band there are. But an argument can be made in favor of us as performers, that, while the band may not be making as much individually, they are getting publicity, fandom, and the opportunity to perhaps get “found” by record companies, managers, etc. Fire Performers don’t make albums. We don’t go on tour headlining large venues across America. We can’t sell T-Shirts, or Merch like a band can. All we have is ourselves and our performance. And while there are varying degrees of performance level, each show is singular in it’s own monetary value. The highest level of success for performers like us may be that of Michael Moschen, and that’s nowhere near the level of success that U2, ACDC, or any other great bands can achieve. And for many of us, private parties, corporate gigs, and larger scale public performances are the best there is. Essentially the comparison between ourselves and the band is not a valid one. And you can’t allow that to dictate your pricing.

3. People may try to entice you into taking lesser paying gigs by convincing you that this gig will lead to many more in the future. They might even tempt you with the, “I’m a booking agent” line. But, at least for myself, I have found that many booking agents are working for the client, and not necessarily the performer. Meaning that they will take what they can, within the client’s budget. This inevitably leads to underpaid performers, and many times, lack luster performances by people who may not have been performing very long. This will lead to both the client’s and the agent’s opinion that, while having felt the rate to be high for the performer, and then leading to less than adequate shows, they were right all along with the assumption that performers shouldn’t be, and aren’t worth what they are being paid. When in reality, the idea for many performances is that you get what you pay for. So if you pay the bare minimum for a performer, and only one or two people take the offer, more than likely, they are the less experienced performers, who are simply trying to break into the scene. Which is great for the new performers, but can end up leaving a sour taste in the client’s mouth when they were possibly expecting something a little more grand.

4. That same mentality of taking this gig for less, and having it lead to others is used when convincing the performer to take less on all of their gigs in order to create a higher volume of shows. This may work to some degree in the performers favor, but then you must understand that if you agree to lesser paying gigs, it can create an atmosphere where people feel that this is what you are actually worth. Imagine a scenario where a performer originally wants 150-200 for a gig. Details and performance level aside, this is what they are asking for. And that person is then convinced to take 75-100 per gig, with the expectation of increased volume. This sounds great in the long run. But over time, people forget that you were originally valuing yourself at 150, and instead see your value as 75. Eventually that will trickle into the community at large, creating a price point for all performers of 75 as that is what they are used to. Soon enough, people are convincing the newer performers to do it for even less, say 40-50 dollars a gig, at which point, you, the original performer, may be considered expensive by many standards. What then do you do? Others are stepping in and taking the gigs they can get at the now market value of 50, in order to increase the volume of gigs. You can no longer imagine a situation of getting back to your original price of 150, except upon special occasions, and you may be unwilling to perform for 50. This has been a Long Term Sacrifice for Short Term Success. And it affects everyone.

5. If you were to think of your performances in terms of being on a purely professional basis, then you must actually begin to figure out how much time you are spending on each gig, beyond actually being at the show. There are some performers who charge “per spin”. This may be easy to calculate, but it will lead to underpaid performers. A spin lasts 3-6 minutes. And in this case, how much will anyone really want to pay for 3-6 minutes? 15 dollars? 25 dollars? 50 dollars then begins to seem steep. And if you only spin poi, or hoop, or staff, then you are limited in the number of spins the client may want to see. So, say a client wants to see 2 spins from you, set an hour apart, paying you 25 dollars a spin. That’s 50 dollars for the gig. And there is no way, under these terms to ask for more. The client only wants 2 spins, so what more do you have to offer? But in this scenario you are actually spending at least 1.5-2 hours at the venue. From arrival, to preparation, to performance, to break, to second performance, to finally break-down, and This turns into a 2 hour gig. And while 25 dollars an hour may seem like good pay, remember that this gig may have conflicted with other gigs you could have gone to, and you most likely will not be working 40 hours at actual gigs a week. Maybe 1-2 gigs a night over a three day weekend. Which translates to roughly 6-12 hours at 25 dollars an hour, equaling 150-300 for a full weekend’s work. That’s not enough to pay the bills. And more than likely you will not have 2 gigs every night. All in all, if this is what you want to dedicate your life and livelihood to, then you must charge more, and charge by the hour, not the spin, to make a living. This will end up including practice time, travel time, advertising and promoting time, etc. To do this, and only this professionally, it is a full day’s work. And we should charge accordingly.

This may make this line of work seem entirely unappealing, and at times it feels that way. But then I spend time hanging out with all of the wonderful and talented people who do this both for fun and professionally, and I remember why I started all of this in the first place. I wouldn’t feel this strongly about these issues if I didn’t love what I do. I wouldn’t feel so strongly if I didn’t want to do what I do everyday.

I’m sure there will be people out there who do not agree, perhaps even strongly disagree with me. Everyone is more than welcome to their own opinions. And please feel free to provide constructive criticism to this article, but refrain, for the sake of professionalism, from simply bashing me and badmouthing me.

With love to all the spinners out there

-Sean

(Article by Agent Red: Agent Red is a fierce and talented visionary – producer, performer, instigator, innovator, and spreader of benevolent propaganda! As an Agent of positive change, Red believes that people who are in touch with their creative potential are healthier, happier, and safer people!)

This morning I awoke to one of the closest most sweetest people in my life freaking out because his business partner had launched a new company online, while simultaneously taking their shared website offline, changing all the passwords to his account, and now is  trying to sell this business back to him – for thousands and thousands of dollars – crazy!

It is going to be a bit of time now collecting records for him to prove that he is, in fact, entitled to his own business, because they have no written agreements.   Luckily, it’s provable with a little time, and we both know some attorneys, but sheesh – what a pain!

ARTISTS, ENTREPRENUERS:  PROTECT YOURSELF with written agreements ALWAYS.  It does not make you a douchebag to protect your stuff and furthermore, COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS HAPPEN.  It is best to protect both parties by setting your arrangements clearly on paper before entering into a new arrangement.

WRITTEN AGREEMENTS COME IN MANY FORMS AND CAN BE AMENDED TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT EACH OF YOU WANT.

They can cover:

MONEY:  you may choose which party gets paid for which reason or that no parties get paid. The agreement for Art Outside allows both sides to post, but no sides to sell the footage. without renegotiation.  this is great for photographers too, because it can be difficult to sell photos without a release if there is a discrepancy with your model later.

IP (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY) AND CREDIT:  you may agree exactly on how each party should or may be creditedand who owns the creative copyright.  If u want to co-own as a creator with a photographer or videographer, make it easy on both of you and write it down.

TERMS OF USE/ final cut : This is so so so so important.  do u want that cute sexy pinup shot you did mistakenly on a site with questionable material?  how about being portrayed as a minor?   Or just a really really unflattering pose of you….  NO NO NO you don’t.  If u are a performer or artist that wants to make sure they look good enough to hire in each and every shot, you may want to consider making an agreement where u have to agree a shot represents you properly.  We also use this for Art Outside – to avoid that ‘one trippin guy’ from AO getting posted all over the web and misrepresenting the event.

MODELS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, and “CREATORS” :

Presently, I myself am about to deal with an intellectual property issue regarding a photo that I created with the help of a photographer.

By default, photographers own the images they capture, but did you know there is something called “Creators rights”??

This protects the auteur or creator of an image, like a film director, for example…

I enlisted a photographer to help me fulfill a vision of many years, and chose the costume, pose, angle, location, makeup, model, and even did a work-trade with the venue to install an aerial harness for the shot.  I can safely say the shot was years in my mind and a couple months in planning

This photo is currently the website homepage, business card, and best known image of this photographer.

It has now been sold, as well as posted in many publicaitons, including the new “whole Lifestyle” magazine, and this photographer refuses to credit me as model or co-creator of the image, and even tried to SELL ME A VERSION for a BENEFIT CALENDAR.

UNREASONABLE? YES!

BUT, THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT MY ART AND WORK LIES WITH ME.

Moral rights are rights relating to a creator’s reputation in connection with their work. You must give the creator of a literary, artistic, musical, dramatic work or computer program or film:

• the right of attribution – you should attribute a creator when you reproduce a work or film and it should be clear and reasonably prominent so that the person receiving a reproduction of the work of film will have notice of the creator’s identity;
• the right of a creator not to have their work falsely attributed – A creator is entitled to take legal action if their work is falsely attributed to someone else.

It would have been so much simpler if I would have written something down to begin with.

And now i have the pleasure of providing declarations of the other peeps involved, as well as the time and effort involved to rectify this mess.  Is it worth it to protect this image – my recurring daydream brought to life?  Yes, but this not the first time I’ve lost IP, just the first time it’s been worth it to fight.

I am available to consult anyone on this that is interested in learning more about artistic agreements.

Big Love!

Red

-Photo (Thumbnail): Phil Holland

-Photo 1: Agent Red and Aaron Geiser Creative

-Photo (Feature): Denise Rosser under Creative Commons

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You can reach Agent Red by sending her an email at red@agentred.net

Agent Red Bio: Agent Red is a fierce and talented visionary – producer, performer, instigator, innovator, and spreader of benevolent propaganda! As an Agent of positive change, Red believes that people who are in touch with their creative potential are healthier, happier, and safer people!  She has dedicated her life to musing the uninspired, the mainstream, and the close-minded with education and inspiration disguised as entertainment.  She is a founding collaborator of the unique and amazing Do Lab events in California. Through that amazing community, events and their possibilities took on many new meanings over the years.  Once traveling the world as a solo performer and founding member of performance troupes Lucent Dossier and DC Juicy, Agent Red is now located mostly in Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA.   Following a performance accident this New Years Eve, Red was critically injured at a performance at Sea of Dreams in San Francisco, ending her ability to perform for quite some time. Deciding to be proactive and really look into what she does best, she is now restructuring her business to help artists and entrepreneurs get grants and sponsorship, as well as continue her ongoing works in Event Development, Production, and Artist Management.  Agent Red currently produces and curates music and performance artists for the annual Art Outside festival and other events through Art Seen Alliance in Austin, TX.  She is partnering with Marcus Swagger, the founder of LegitArt in Austin, to create a boutique music and performing artist agency, LegitArtist.  Additionally, she will begin auditioning performers in April for two performance projects she will be creating in 2012 in Austin, Texas.

Okay.  So having done a number of gigs over the years I felt it pertinent to share my views on how to prepare for a gig in order to come off a both professional and fabulous.

Choose the Right Music.  If you have a choice of music, LUCKY YOU!  We often don’t get that luxury. To me, choosing music is both a blessing and a curse. I tend to agonize over choices for hours. There comes a time when you just have to pick.  But make sure you KNOW your music. Make sure your audience finds it ENJOYABLE (no dubstep for a 50 yr old birthday party). Make sure YOU find it ENJOYABLE (everyone can tell.  trust me.). I have about numerous old “standbys” that I use in basically every gig I do. I’m pretty sure I’ve performed to Jamiroquai’s Canned Heat at least 50 times. Right now, the next two contenders appear to be “Under Pressure”and “Filthy, Gorgeous. But yes, make sure you like your music. Make sure you want to dance to it even when you’re not holding a toy. Make sure it’s time appropriate (If you know your wicks burn out after 2.5 minutes, don’t spin to Freebird–having someone hit next on an ipod is awkward.  Cut it down if you can, or just choose a different song.)

Get Gussied Up. It separates the men from the boys. It makes you look like you actually prepared something, even though we all know you’re just going to improvise and pretend it was planned. Ladies, put on some extreme makeup. Gentlemen, put on some extreme makeup. Get on your best spandex, try to match your fellow troupe mates in color scheme or literary genre. Just do something. There is a BIG difference between what you wear when you’re jamming with your friends and what you wear when you’re on display. Even try to dress up for local jams, especially if the jam is open to the public. I feel that if there is that guy in the crowd who wants a fire performer, he’ll pick the one who looks like a fire PERFORMER. But please please please….when they’re paying you…..make sure you look worth it.

Ladies, Wear Shorts. This is mainly for ladies. Unless you guys don’t care…or are going for that sort of thing. However, you do not want people getting more than they’re paying for. Wear shorts under your skirts if that’s something you’d rather not show off. And even if you’re cool letting it all hang out, make sure the people you’re performing for are age appropriate.

Grab Your Gear.  and bring backups. Bring a copy of your music. (I usually pack my Ipod, a CD (in case of battery dying), and a boombox (in case their speakers aren’t working for some reason). Bring feul, spin off buckets, and a TOWEL. It’s so unprofessional to ask the homeowner if you can borrow one of their towels for a safety blanket.  They don’t know soot like us. And if you have extra tools, bring those too. You don’t want to find yourself with an hour to kill and nothing new left.

Arrive early. Usually I get there about 30 to 40 minutes early and then just chill in the car until it’s 5 till.  But I’m weird.  What you should do at the very least is arrive on time. It’s professional. It’s classy. It’s what’s going to make them want to hire you again. Usually, I feel you can just let the universe manifest an outcome for life, but when youre going to a gig, plan ahead, and get there EARLY.

Remind Yourself (or Pretend) You’re A Professional. Act like it. Look the client in the eye. Set up your station in a quick and organized fashion. Act smart and direct questions. Smile and be courteous. Do not accept their free drinks until AFTER the gig. If they try to be shady and stiff you money, be persistent. If you treat them like a professional should, they should treat you like an ideal client. I find that when I try to be palsy with the people, they try to pull one over on me and make me wait around for the money or try not to pay at all. Be upfront with them ahead of time with how you’re getting paid and what is expected of you and them.

When it’s time to Leave, Leave. This may sound pretty callous, but often if you don’t make it clear that you have to go at a certain time, people will try to milk an extra 30 minutes or an hour out of you. and if you’re getting paid by the hour, most likely you’re the one loosing out. Set your time frame for performances beforehand so that you can give the client as much attention in the time you’re supposed to be there. While you should listen to your client’s needs, make sure they realize that you are a professional and have your own requirements. You are the expert, and they have to understand that. So be kind, alert them to your leaving at least 10 minutes early, and then start packing. They’ll inevitably want pictures and to say goodbye, so planning ahead means that you get out on time.

These are just a few suggestions, not rules. Adapt them to your own philosophy and unique performance requirements. Just remember that you can only rely on yourself and your troupe mates. Be on the same page, be professional, and don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself if need be, because you’re worth it.

Wouldn’t it be great to combine work and play? The idea of using your unique skills to create an awe inspiring performance, and subsequently getting paid to do it seems like a pipe dream. How many people out there really make a living as a performer, and how do they manage it?

While there are quite a few factors in determining one’s success in the performance world, proper branding makes for a much easier climb up the ladder. From choosing the right name, to building a website, and social media, it’s a lot of work, but it’s something you have to being willing to commit to if you want to quit your day job.

1. Choose the Right Name:

This is pretty obvious, right? That’s the first thing any performer or band does when starting out. But don’t get too attached to anything until you’ve done your research, or you’ll regret it later. There’s no better tool when choosing a hoop name than Hooping.org’s Hoop Name Directory. Philo and the gang recently did a “pre”-spring cleaning of the list, and weeded out old and seemingly unused names. And while the number of chosen names can be discouraging, it forces you to choose something truly unique and creative. Notice how many names have the word “hoop” and “circle” in them. It’s not too late to join the party, just make sure that you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes.

Another great resource for names is Google. Write down all the names that you love, and simply start googling. If it’s already out there, those little search engines spiders will find it. With any luck, the names on the top of your list will still be available.

And remember that even with the utmost preparation, confusion can still occur. Our name, The Gyronauts, was chosen without too much prep work. After browsing through Hooping.org and Google, we were convinced that it was completely unique. And then one day, we stumble across The Pyronauts. Wow, that’s only 1 letter different, but we were already committed. And in the long run, the names are very rarely confused. But remember that even the best names may not be bulletproof. You just have to remember to accept it, move on, and do your own thing.

2. Create a Website:

This is crucial to your development as a business, for many reasons. If you have a website, people are very unlikely to accidentally take your name. It’s all about protecting your brand, and by making yourself known you can better protect yourself. Not only that, but Hooping.org requires a valid URL to be included on the list of names. And even though that list isn’t legally binding, it dissuades people from attempting to simply steamroll you for the naming rights.

A website also acts as an incredible calling card. Even if you don’t know the first thing about web design, there are plenty of sites that allow you to build a site without any knowledge of html. WordPress, Wix, Intuit, SquareSpace and Joomla all operate (to varying degrees) on the notion that you know nothing of coding. They’re easy to use and cost very little to nothing.

What’s even better is if you can purchase a domain name containing your performance name. So many domains are already taken, so be patient, search around and don’t be afraid to use .net, .org, or even .co as all these are recognized are worldwide domains.

3. Get Social

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Youtube are extremely important these days when it comes to marketing yourself. Create a Facebook page for your group, or yourself, get your friends to like it, and after 25 likes you can create your own URL name (i.e. facebook.com/awesomehoopers). Get on Twitter and scoop up your troupes name, or something close. And make sure to create a seperate Youtube account just for your group or persona. It keeps things clean and easy to understand for potential bookers.

This can be a lot of work at first, but it’s well worth it. Without an online presence, people won’t be able to find you, contact you, or hire you. It looks professional, and I found that looking professional made me act and feel more professional. And it will get frustrating, so remember to breathe and play. You won’t become a millionaire in this business, and it’s not worth doing unless you enjoy it.

-Photo (Thumbnail): Gian Angelo Geminiani under Creative Commons

-Photo (Feature): NASA

Do you ever feel that you are just too unimportant to be worthy of someone’s response? Or at least, is that how they make you feel, justified or not? Or perhaps have you yourself checked your email, phone, facebook, etc. and found that, although you had unanswered messages, it simply wasn’t worth your time?

Big Timing: The act of intentionally being late or too busy for others

Oh yes, I have witnessed this in our little circus world. I have, regrettably been on both ends, whether consciously or unintentionally. Everyone has probably been on both sides of this struggle, and when it happens, it’s important for us to take a step back, and allow that person, or ourselves, the benefit of the doubt.

Let’s start with an example of Big Timing someone else, and specifically a scenario in which I was the culprit. While still in college, I was understandably very busy, what with school and theatre. I was also a blossoming flow artist with a desire to gain in skill and hopefully one day impress one of my hoop/poi idols. This involved strange fantasies where we would hang out, jam, and come to the realization that we will be best friends forever! I don’t know what I was smoking, but it certainly caused some serious delusions. And in the middle of it all, I remember meeting a fellow spinner in Union Square. This kid seemed nice enough, but after a few minutes, I realized that he was simply a “glow stringer” with nothing much to offer. And while I don’t mind teaching and being helpful, at that point I decided that since I could gain nothing from this situation, I would simply abandon it. Not in a mean-spirited way, but in a manner that did not hold me accountable for leaving suddenly and not really following up with this new-found friendship. It was sad, but I was busy. No time to indoctrinate a glow stringer. I was definitely Big-Timing him.

Now for an example with which to gain your pity. For the sake of friendship, this example will be rather vague, but you’ll get the point. I was working on a project, and wanted help from a few other prominent members of the community. I sent the message out to these people, people whom I had met mind you. And for whatever reason I never received any response. No Yays. No Nays. I was left to wonder why I was so unimportant as not to warrant a response of any kind. And since I’m not the overly persistent type, I never really followed up on it. Instead, I just moved on.

All of this heartbreak and frustration could have been avoided if both parties made an effort to meet somewhere in the middle.

Big-Timer: Get your head out of you ass and realize the sun doesn’t revolve around you. We’re all people. You were there once, and will be again if you keep it up. So be nice, be friendly, be open, and if you really are too busy, let them know and be honest.

Big-Timee: Calm down son. Everybody’s got their own shit going on, and they are not about to drop everything they’re doing to come and help you. it doesn’t mean they don’t like you, it just means they like themselves more. And who doesn’t?

In what was once a very intimate community, it can seem at times that in order to climb up the social ladder, you must not look down. When instead we should look at the others in our community and realize that it is their approval and friendship that we should be seeking. The masses make the decisions here, not the individual. And so, we must remember that each and every one of us was starting out at some point, and as we got a hand up, so must we offer the same to others.

As much as we all love a good pirate, the Yar, Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of rum (but perhaps mostly the rum), that is not what this article is concerning. No, this time around we’re going to take a look at the nature of intellectual property in the circus arts community.

First off, let’s start by addressing the concept of whether or not intellectual property can actually exist in a community driven art form. Certainly we’ve all stumbled into the realm of some as yet unknown trick, only to later discover that, your trick had indeed been done before, and done better. But there still exists in this community the notion that teaching, or putting videos or ideas onto the web, and then seeing your ideas demonstrated by another person without any credit is equal to having your idea stolen. And while it may be unethical for someone to ask you a question, receive an answer, and then spout off about “their new idea”, the percentage of people I’ve met who’ve exhibited that kind of behavior is practically non-existent. Because that behavior alienates you from the people you work and play with. Why then do people seem so distressed by having their concepts “stolen”?

Outside of our community we are taught that taking from another person is wrong. Then we learn that taking, but crediting the original author is alright in some circumstances, but in a world ruled by fast-paced internet communication, Crediting the proper original source is like playing Telephone, with thousands of participants. Good luck tracing that back to the source. So then, we must forgo the ideas of ownership, as all of our ideas would not have been possible without the ideas that came before, and move on. How then can we hope to receive recognition for our efforts?

Teach. Lend. Let others know about your new set of skills, and fully immerse yourself into the process of transferring your knowledge so that our art may grow. Don’t worry about recognition, as over time, if you make yourself available in the community, people will begin to recognize your talents as a whole, not based on one specific set of moves.

As far as actual property, such as DVD’s and instructional videos, which contain and are based on that intellectual property, pirating can take on a more sinister tone. However, while I do not support or participate in pirating, our art exists in an already counter-cultural niche of society. Many of those who play have also grown up in a world where downloading movies, music, etc. is commonplace. They do not, however, download for their own financial benefit, but out of a desire to learn and grow. But, in turn, many performers will then get to see your DVD through sharing, which, as far as I have seen, will lead to greater workshop opportunities. So while your product may have been pirated, you have increased your fandom and overall marketability in the process.

Here’s a video of Neil Gaiman speaking on pirating, which Facebook found for me while stalking Noel. Thanks Noel (and Facebook)

As Neil explains, the greater reach that pirating allowed, in turn lead to greater success and an understanding that publicity, especially positive human to human publicity, through all means is a good thing.

For all of the pirates out there however, keep in mind that the videos you enjoy, and the skills you are learning came with effort, craftsmanship, and oftentimes funding. So please show your appreciation for those artists by attending their classes, spreading the knowledge, and providing to the community yourself.