Gaining Experience as a Performer (part one)

When eager new storytellers contact me for advice, they are usually interested in finding out what steps they need to take to eventually be able to charge for their services. Most of these folks understand it is necessary to polish performance skills until someone is willing to pay them a fee. There really isn’t a short cut from wanting to become a storyteller and working professionally as one. It takes work, time, focus and passion about what it is you want to accomplish.

Many years ago, I was a performing clown, and I had to teach myself the basics since the option to attend Clown College did not exist yet. Furthermore, I lived in a rural area in New Jersey, and I didn’t have a network of performers to call on for advice. So, I drew from what I had learned when I took theatre classes at Portland State College and the Portland Civic Theatre (Portland, Oregon). Then I read every book I could find on the subject at my local library. I found a local magic group, and convinced them to teach me how to become a magician. After months of study and practicing with these folks for a while, I decided I was ready to see if I had what it took to entertain as a clown.

Here's my alter-ego, Whispers the Clown.
This photo was taken before a show in Tucson, AZ.

I put out word that I needed audiences, and soon my calendar listed all kinds of volunteer jobs: library summer reading programs, sidewalk sales days, school shows, church benefits, hospital visits, Blue & Gold Dinners and birthday parties for neighborhood children. After each experience, I wrote down what worked and what didn’t in a notebook I kept for this purpose. Some notes listed more in the “what didn’t work” column than on the “what worked” side. At the time I didn’t realize I was ”paying my dues,” aka gaining valuable experience and developing sound professional habits.

Over time, I managed to improve my skills and polish my performances until I reached a point when I felt confident about asking for a fee. I found that once I started to charge for my services, requests for benefit shows became less frequent. Best of all, many of my past customers were now comfortable about paying me, since they already knew my work.

From that early experience of learning how to be a performing clown, I developed a sense about how to take the dream of accomplishing or doing something to a point where it is possible to move beyond the dream and into reality. In my next post, I will discuss what a new storyteller or any starting performer can ask for when people call and say they have no budget, but they can provide an audience that will be great for “experience and exposure.”

"How Much Do You Charge?"

Here I am telling stories on the
Storytelling Stage during the
2012 Tucson Festival of Books.

I am often approached by phone or by email by a potential customer asking the "how much do you charge" question. My answer is always "that depends.” I need to consider answers to the following questions before I can provide an accurate quote.

1) What kind of event is being planned?

A large school assembly is quite different from a family reunion, a festival workshop, a convention or a bridal shower. When I have an idea about what is being considered, I am able to determine if the event a good match for what I have to offer. This information also helps me learn if the potential audience will consist of children, mixed ages, or a specialized interest or age group.

2) What date and time will the show take place?

If I am already booked to do something else that day, I may not be available, or only able to book a program for another show if there is enough time to get from one venue to another.

3) Where will the event take place?

The answer to this question lets me know how much travel is required. For example, if I need to drive from one city to another to get to a venue, I may require a mileage stipend beyond my basic fee.

4) About how many will be in the audience?

The size of an audience helps me calculate the fee. If 500 people are expected, my fee will be different than what it would be for a show in front of 36 kids in a classroom.

5) How long will the anticipated performance be?

The cost for a 90-minute concert will not be the same as for a 45-minute show.

If you want to find out what I (or any performer) will charge to entertain your group, please be ready to offer details for these five questions.

I am always willing to discuss my fees with potential customers. When possible, I will do what I can to accommodate budgets. To book several shows the same day at one site or at nearby locations, be sure to ask about a block booking discount. Please feel free to email me through my website www.StoryWorksGroup.com or contact me by phone (520-235-4171).

A Thank You to Sean Buvala and Storyteller.net

A few days ago, I received a phone call from a woman who told me she had just retired from teaching, and now wanted to become a storyteller and tell stories in schools. The happiness in her voice as she described her dream took me back to the start of my own journey. Her call was a welcome chance for me to “pay forward” a little of what I have received over the years.  

As we talked, I recalled how eager and excited I was in 1996 when I decided to become a full-time storyteller. I remembered how much I appreciated being mentored by librarians and others who were already working successfully in the field. I told her where she would be able to quickly connect with the huge network of active storytellers and storytelling groups from around the world. At the top of my list of resources was storyteller.net, an online website for storytellers and people who love the art of story. Storyteller.net was founded in 1997 by Sean Buvala and was, I believe, the first resource of its kind. Now, there is a proliferation of storytelling sites, newsletters and blogs on the Internet, but in my mind storyteller.net will always be the best touchstone around for new and experienced storytellers alike.

Sean is a founder and the director of this fantastic website, maintaining this service even as he developed his own very successful storytelling business. Under Sean’s guidance, storyteller.net provides an extensive catalog of storytelling articles, interviews and related products. If a new storyteller has a question, chances are that question has been completely explored and answered by many working storytellers from all around the world.

Sean Buvala Performing During the
2012 Tucson Festival of Books

I hope the woman who contacted me visits

storyteller.net often. I know the information and

guidance she finds there will help her greatly.

Over the years, Sean's website has certainly made

a difference for me, and this is why I am taking

time today to thank this dedicated storyteller for

nurturing so many hopeful storytellers

for so many years.

Thanks, Sean!

A Festival of Family Fun

We had good crowds under the
Storytelling Tent.

The 2012 Tucson Festival of Books was even better than last year! This says a lot about how the our community supports and values stories, reading, books, authors and learning. I am proud to be a small part of an event that brings an estimated 115,000 people together in southern Arizona for a two day celebration of literacy. Tucson launched this festival in 2009, and it now ranks fourth on the list of five top  book festivals in the United States, just behind the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

NAU Peaks Players in " Josefina Javalina"

As a coordinator for the storytelling stage during the festival, I was delighted with our line up of excellent storytellers - each one sharing a different set of tales and performance styles. The diverse family audiences drawn to our large tent in the children's area on the University of Arizona Mall had a grand time!

Jean Baxter, co-cordinaor
of the Storytelling Stage

Fran Stallings, Author and Storyteller

In the previous post, I listed

the talented storytellers

featured on Saturday.

Our storytellers on

Sunday got off to a great

start with stories by

by Fran Stallings.

Other artists on the Sunday stage included Conrad J. Storad, Susan Lowell and the NAU Peaks Players, Loren R. Russell, Jean Baxter, Anne Lee, Ron Lancaster and yours truly.

The festival is over now, and plans for the next one are already underway. I wonder if 2013 will exceed the number of authors (450) and attendees (approximately 115,000) we had this year.

Author Conrad J.Storad

Storyteller and Author
Loren R. Russell

Be sure to mark your

calendar for March 9-10

and come enjoy the 

Tucson Festival of Books

next year!

Tucson Festival of Books - Day One!

In about two hours I will be on my way to the University of Arizona Mall to set up the Storytelling Tent in the Children/Youth section of the Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB). This is the fourth year for the TFOB, and last night during the Author's Table Reception, it was announced that the event is now in the top four book festivals in the United States! It is such an honor to be associated with this free and fantastic celebration of stories, books, authors, illustrators and readers.

I have coordinated the TFOB Storytelling Tent for three years now, so I've been able to watch how the organizers have come together to create and sustain such a wonderful community event. For the past two years, local storyteller and teacher, Jean Baxter, has served as co-coordinator for the Storytelling Tent. She and our colleague, Ron Lancaster (the emcee), have made it possible for our tent to be one of the most popular places for families to visit when they go from activity to activity during the day.

Today, our featured storytellers include: Internationally known storyteller, author and editor, Fran Stallings; the funny and prolific writer/presenter, Gary Hogg; Sean Buvala, author and founder of storyteller.net; award winning author of Tibetan wisdom tales, Naomi C. Rose; Tucson storyteller and teacher, Gloria Myers; and the wonderful talent of The Odaiko Sonora Youth Ensemble.

If you are in Tucson, you do not want to miss the TFOB. If you come to the UA Mall, please stop by the Storytelling Tent. You won't be disappointed!

Creating the Character of Fry-Fry

At the request from a reader, this post includes two photos of Fry-Fry, the nemesis of the “Squirrely Shirley Meets Fry-Fry” show.

The story behind the creation of this puppet started with a comment by a friend years ago when I was on the board of a downtown Tucson (AZ) historic neighborhood association. Being on the board meant that I got to know a lot of really interesting people. One of our neighbors was an extremely talented man who had been a chef for several years. During neighborhood fundraisers, dinners and ice cream socials, I came to know and admire David and his wife, Kathryn, because they knew how to organize events and bring ideas and people together. One evening during a conversation about bad restaurant experiences, David described the greasy food odor wafting from some fast-food places as being “fry-fry.” What a great image! His off-handed reference to greasy food made a lasting impression on me.  

As I was writing the “Squirrely Shirley Meets Fry-Fry” show, I considered introducing a puppet with a fondness for greasy, sugary, salty food.  I envisioned this puppet as the bad guy for our 2012 show about making healthy choices. Thanks to David, the descriptive image of fry-fry smells from fast-food places seemed like a good place to start exploring what I had in mind.  

The puppet character evolved to be a rather inarticulate and irritating troublemaker. I had a lot of fun constructing this stick puppet shaped a little like a French fry container. I decided to give him a mouth that could change from a smile to a frown during the show.

So, now you know a bit about the character of Fry-Fry, and how he evolved from an off-handed remark, to an idea that eventually became an unforgettable puppet. I am grateful to this odd little character, because he helped me envision a family friendly, interactive puppet/storytelling program about the value of exercise and good food choices. I now consider this light-hearted family show as my contribution to the First Lady's national campaign to combat childhood obesity. 

The Real Deal

After performing for many years, I know a good thing when I see it, and the Squirrely Shirley show is a good thing - the real deal. I’ve been upstaged by puppets before, but this is different and more exciting. I’m jazzed!

We added a Squirrely Shirley “journal” to the Story Works Group website during the 2010 tour, and took photos of the libraries where the show was booked. If you would like to visit Shirley’s trip journal to see some journal entries and site photos, just follow this link: http://storyworksgroup.com/shirleys_den/index.html

My enthusiasm about the Squirrely Shirley show has stayed with me since then. With the 2010 pool and water safety program “in the can” and ready to go whenever someone wants to book it, I started to research childhood obesity, diabetes awareness and healthy choices. In 2011, when the “Taking Control of Your Diabetes” conference came to Tucson, I spent the day learning about how diabetes is managed and how important it is for a diabetic to exercise regularly and eat well. 
   

Our “Squirrely Shirley Meets Fry-Fry” show about healthy choices is now ready to go. I have written a complete proposal identifying high-profile promotional opportunities, branding possibilities for project sponsors, and a program delivery method to get important information into the hands of our audiences. For this performance to have the most impact, it should be provided without cost to libraries, schools, hospitals and community centers all around the country – this is where the project sponsor (or sponsors) comes in.

I've developed a plan to bring together a family health organization or diabetes prevention group; a business sponsor (or sponsors), a design firm; and (of course) Story Works Group (the Squirrely Shirley team of two - the storyteller and the puppeteer).  

The show is currently being presented to audiences in Southern Arizona. We now need to identify some good folks willing to do something a bit different from the ordinary – a sponsor or sponsors with a sense of adventure and a willingness to have a little squirrel puppet promote their product(s) as she helps reinforce the need for children and families to make healthy choices for a lifetime of good health.

If you would like to see the two page executive summary of the "Squirrely Shirley Meets Fry-Fry" proposal, just let me know. (To get your copy of the summary, simply click on the word "comments" located in the red bar at the end of this blog entry and write "executive summary" in the comment box when it appears. I will email the PDF to you as soon as I receive your message.)

It's Magic!

Whenever I can, I like to add a simple magic trick to my shows, so when I wrote the 2010 program, I considered Soft Soap, a trick that involves magically cleaning three small silks. Since I had used this trick during my clowning days, I knew it was a crowd pleaser. I wrote dialogue for Squirrely Shirley to tell me she needed help with her laundry. Since the trick requires a new cardboard box each time, I visited my local magic store for supplies. I discovered that the tear-up box used for that trick had gone from 25 cents to $1.99 each (yes, I’ve had this trick for a long time). I decided to see if I could find a substitute box. In the cereal aisle of the grocery store, I found Attune’s Uncle Sam cereal. The box is not only perfect in size, shape and eye-popping design; it contains good-for-you cereal! Best of all, a box of Uncle Sam cereal costs about the same as the not-too-exciting empty box at the magic store!  I was happy. Then I made arrangements to get a supply of the cereal so I would have a box for each of the shows booked for our summer tour.  

During the show, Shirley and the audience helped me “clean” her towels by doing a little song and dance. What fun it was when I tore up the box once the magic was over and Shirley learned that her use of the word disposable did not mean wonderful.

Here’s a short video segment of that part of the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp3R-OMlreg