Monday, June 06, 2005

Selling a Solo

Selling a solo performance is always hard, unless you are famous or you have a wonderful agent.
Well, I am not famous that is for sure and I have no agent, I am my own agent as it seems.
But most artists are the worse people to sell their own creations. At least that is what I think or perhaps I am just projecting myself.

In the north they wanted a performance. They wanted “Afternoon Soap”, my choreography with an actor, but the deal was besides paying the expenses, just to give me 50% of the entrances. This always translates into: “I will pay for performing” lol
Not great deal of course. But then there is this other voice “but it IS a performance”, so I thought that by offering a solo instead, I was being very smart. I didn’t have to pay the actor and my light designer had less hours of work, what made it cheaper too.
Of course I forgot my own work, the hours of rehearsals to prepare the show.

I don’t have to go on with the experience, of course I lost money and although it went well, I had no public. Why? Because of poor publicity from the organizer.

I tried to be positive: “At least I filmed it”

But yesterday, when I could feel the tiredness, I said to myself like the crow: “Never More”.

Why people think that art is no work?

Why everybody want things for free?

I have to explain so many times, that it is not free for me. There is a set to move, a light designer to pay and if there are other artists, I have to pay them too. I have to explain, that I can’t pay from my own pocket so an organization exhibits proudly the many performances they organize.

“Never More” said the crow

I hope this time I mean it

2 comments:

Max Bouillet said...

Most everyone has settled for a life of shovels or for a life paper. Many have had aspirations of being the artist, the dancer, the actress, the poet... but many failed themselves and settled for what was expected of them. Now they are jealous of those that did not give in and see their life as a life of frolic. We know differently, of course, but it is difficult to show others.

Andrea said...

Thanks Max for your comment. You are absolutely right.

Artists are seen by some, as people that don't work. Work is supposedly something you don't enjoy, so if you enjoy it, it is not work.
Goverments have this same attitude, therefore when the budget has to be cut, the first thing that suffers are the arts.( Grammar seems not right here lol)

I have so many funny stories about situations and comments by some , that perhaps I should write about it.