Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Back when I really was trying to take over the world and was really gung ho about setting up tours I would take a look at a map, decide where I wanted to travel then contact festivals and possible jobs in the area (including, but not limited to opportunities to busk) and work aggressively towards putting together fantastic tours. My usual method of operation was to find two or three events that happened at more or less the same time and contact all three in the hopes that at least one would be interested in bringing me in to perform. This required a bit of tact and diplomacy in the event that multiple events expressed interest, but the appearance of being ‘in demand’ often worked to my advantage anyway.
I got so good at booking tours for myself that several performers approached me asking if I could do the same for them and for a short period during the mid-90’s I co-ran a company called ‘Beaver Street’ which actively pursued tour booking for several variety performers who seemed to think that it was a service worth paying for.
Beaver Street eventually went by the wayside as I found that it wasn’t as much fun to baby sit performers as it was to simply be their friends so after about two seasons of setting up tours I returned to just focusing on my own work an my own touring interests.
I was always sort of blown away by the fact that performers weren’t able to set this sort of thing up for themselves though. To me it never seemed like rocket science. Especially in today’s world where the internet has made connecting with festival producers and possible clients so much easier it still baffles me that people are having a hard time finding work. Mind you as an entertainment consultant for the PNE I’ve also been amazed with the huge variance in the quality of promotional materials that get sent in by various performers.
Take the time to – Craft good promotional materials… Contact multiple possible clients… Pursue those that really allow for the easiest flow of movement and building a successful tour shouldn’t be too hard. Skip any of these steps and you’ll likely be zig zagging around the country cursing yourself for not having looked at a map properly.
