There Are Plenty Of Shows
Maybe you have heard the old saying,
“There is enough work for everyone.”
That is true when it comes to shows.
Every day people have special events.
It may be a corporate dinner, product launch, promotion or tradeshow.
Maybe it is a church fellowship meeting.
Civic organizations like the Lions, Elks, Moose and the list could go on, all have meetings & events.
Families get together for family reunions, or birthday parties, or graduation events.
Schools may have a special assembly that ties into their curriculum. Or a picnic. PTA’s may hold an event or need to raise money.
Senior centers and daycares both have special entertainment for their clients.
Do you see what I am getting at here?
If you search and reach out to people, there is no reason you can’t work.
There are enough shows for everybody.
Unfortunately, not everyone WANTS to do the leg work.
They hate making connections. They want it done for them.
Wake up Bunky, it doesn’t work that way.
I remember how badly I wanted to get an agent. I was 18 years old and thought if I had an agent, he or she would keep me working.
Now I’m 55 and I look back at how naive I was.
Agents are order takers. Their client says “We want comedy …” The agent pulls out your material along with five or six more and shows it to the client. If they are interested, the agent reaches out to you. If not, he is still making the sale by providing what the client wants.
Whether you are lazy, or clueless, one problem still exists to this day.
Stalking and attempted thieving.
And I’d prefer you not make the mistake.
Fellow entertainers have told me that they check to see where their “competition” is working. They then add the venue or group to their mailing list.
“YYY-act” told me he was talking with “XXX-act” and was told about a gig “XXX-act” had just finished. This confidential information was then abused when “YYY-act” reached out to that client.
“YYY-act” then asked me where I was working that day. I mentioned a general area. His response: “I got a call about doing a show around there today. Who are you working for? I bet it was the same group.”
Really?
After what he had told me earlier?
I know acts that have asked to attend shows and then tried to sell their own act to the client in front of the hired entertainer.
All those scenarios are completely wrong.
I was talking with Mark Wade about this awhile back. We used the analogy of plenty of fish in the ocean. Follow along.
Fisherman A is pulling a bunch of fish out of the water.
Across the lake, Fisherman B isn’t having much luck.
Fisherman B sees Fisherman A’s catch. He decides to boat over and throw his line in the water. Now both A & B are catching fish, but Fisherman A’s catch has dropped.
Fishermen C,D & E see those two catching and head to the same spot. The number of catches start to drop dramatically.
The next day, all 5 fishermen show up again. There are no fish at that spot.
Fisherman A heads out to try and find a new spot.
Fishermen B, C, D & E look over and see Fisherman F is catching a few fish, so they boat over there and again, the supply rapidly diminishes.
Too many hooks in the water will deplete the food supply.
You hurt yourself.
You hurt the person you are imitating.
Yes – it is a form of imitation.
You are trying to copy their gigs when you go after their clients.
Wouldn’t it be smarter to learn the correct bait and then go find your own spot to fish?
The shows are out there.
Don’t try to steal someone elses.
