Dublin SPWC

[Ross Vegas]

Fun times in the emerald isle

I just worked this festival and it was a blast.

I didn’t know anything of the controversy about the last festival (or I might not have gone!), but I was well pleased with the communication, the accommodation, the scheduling, and the hospitality.

Loads of press calls to do (…sigh), but in truth I’m a bit of a media slut, and I don’t mind pretending to be a pop star for a few days if it means more fans come down to see the shows. The PR people clearly did the job of getting the word out, cos you couldn’t catch a train without seeing an SPWC billboard, go into a deli without seeing an SPWC headline, or turn on the tv without seeing space cowboy.

The rain was a bit painful, but we got most of the shows off, and even some in full drizzle (showbiz, it’s not all glamour). Save the rainy shows, attendance was excellent, I had no duds; I understand they scaled the performer numbers back this year, so that must have helped. I heard the new festival in port-a-whatsit was a bit quiet, but Dublin and Cork where I worked were heaving, and the public were generous enough, especially with the economic shit that the irish are in (its’ everywhere; I had people appologise to me for being jobless as they gave me 2 euro).

I’m not a fan of the competition format myself; I’m an artist, not an athlete, damn it…. but then, you don’t hear me complaining when I win one. The press and the public do respond to it. Fair play to the winners; well done and well deserved.

The whole where’s-wally-world-record thing, was a bit of a distraction from the public watching me, and giving me their money (which is what I’m mainly about), but it did bring the people and the press out, and it was an incredibly spectacular, cultish, fun thing to be a part of, and an imaginative and unique promo stunt; (see the facebook for it’s full technological effect; you can zoom in on an individual in a crowd of three thousand). And it’s for the kiddies in Africa, princess; so shut up for five minutes and put on a wally costume, it’s not all about you. (that comment is directed at myself, by the way, no disrespect to those who chose to go up against the wally record; that’s totally your right; we got mouths to feed, and we can’t pay the mortgage with children's smiles.)

The artist liaisons were professional and delightful to work with; I got a personal schedule on arrival, bubble-mix at an hours notice on a Sunday, and a hosted open-top-double-decker bus tour of Dublin (but I’m still waiting on my coke, if you’re reading this Clare). I had an army of cheerful volunteers to run my sound and carry my stuff; where are my chair bitches now?! (am I difficult?) The staff dragged friends, family and a bunch of randoms together to help out "just for the crack" (the irish will do anything for crack apparently, like my neighbours at home)

Mark and Conor seem to have taken past critisizms on board (as promised), learned from their mistakes, and restored the festival to it’s former glory. They are new-ish to the arts, but they do seem to be motivated by a genuine love of the craft and an appreciation of talent and community, bless ‘em. I felt totally supported by them and the team. I know that in this business, sadly, sometimes you have to chuck a hissy fit to get what you need to do your best work (is that just an Australianism?), but there was no need this year.

Hopefully SPWC is back….

… oh, and check out the vid; killer edit, whoever did this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WItg9wU3Rg&feature=player_embedded#at=13

Shouts to all the performers who were there; an awesome bunch. I had lots of laughs, and I’m gonna miss you all; put your two cents in if you’re reading.

May your kit be light and your hats full of paper.

[EmeraldCircus.com]

Great news! and agreed that's an awsome video, very well put together and a great advert for next year which we'll hopefully be involved with again cause we have a lot of ideas and can have a lot of cool things for people to see and do while at the same time promoting the local juggling and street talent we have here.

[Noel]

I'd never been to the SPWC before, but I had spoken to quite a few of the performers who were there in 2010. Their feedback was mixed, as you might expect, but I did generally get the impression that the organisers accepted that there were problems, and were genuinely open to the criticisms that were levelled at them.

I was there this year ('11), and would pretty much echo everything that Ross posted above. I felt well taken care of, right from receiving the itinerary before I left home, to the communications of thanks and so on that I've received since coming back. There was always someone on hand wanting to help in any way they could, and even when there were problems everyone involved seemed to go the extra mile in terms of sorting them out. The day in Portlaois was a case in point - despite the fact that the outdoor event was cancelled due to the weather, a venue was found and an ad hoc event quickly arranged, with the help of the liasons, volunteers, organisers and artists.

The audiences were fantastic and enthusiastic in spite of any rain, and I certainly enjoyed every show. I understand that some people had some problems with pitch location or scheduling, but I couldn't really comment on that - I didn't have any issues myself.

All in all, I had a great time. Any new event is bound to encounter some stumbling blocks as it grows and establishes itself, the real danger would be having organisers who were unwilling to speak or listen to those involved. To me, it seems that couldn't be further from the truth here. Hopefully they'll go from strength to strength.

[martin ewen]

A bit of history, taking a hat or a percentage of group hats started with Jodi round 10 years ago. She's discontinued that. There's just something jarring about having people come from all over the world to work for you and then taking their earnings. Very 'pimp'. if they wore ostrich feathered hats and snake skin boots I'd be cool with it but they don't so I'm not.

What festivals need is guidance. The festival thing has been going long enough now to show what works and what doesn't and when people try and reinvent the wheel at each festival, well it's a little tiresome but we as performers need to step up and provide constructive blueprints of the festivals that make us proud.

There are enough of our number with that deconstructive gland that breaks down the elements of organisation that surround us to get together, with the directors of some of the more experienced festivals *cough-edmonton *cough christchurch who can from their perspective return the favor and tell us what their unnecessary headaches are concerning ways we could make things easier and perhaps we could produce a helpful guide.

Just a thought.

[jesus]

Everything I have heard about the 2011 festival has been positive. And that's good to hear.
I am sure there are some if us from 2010 that will never be asked back, but if our honesty help Mark and Connor get things back on track, then I am happy to have fallen on my sword.
Congrats to Mark and Connor on a good year and best wishes for the future.

[vodvill]

As an organizer of a much smaller American Busker festival and a performer I identify with all the responses on this thread. It is very hard for me to not feel sympathetic to both producer and performer.

As a producer, let me say that a free to attend festival is a rotten business model. If you don't sell tickets you have to be very good at getting sponsors which turns into a year long effort. If sponsors don't show up or give less then you have to rely on merchandise, food and other vendors. IF they don't show up, then you have to ask the performers to cut their fees, cover their expenses and donate shows.

As a performer, I work for one purpose which is my own show. However, I can get out of that frame of mind if I am treated respectfully, listened too and not asked to do things outside of the original agreement. Expectations play a lot into how I perform and if I am clear about what I expect and the producer is too then there are fewer "f-this" moments. It's an old lesson that Doctors have learned - if you stay in touch with your patients and admit your mistakes you are much less likely to get sued.

Thanks one and all for your feedback here. I will take these experiences into account as we plan our event.

[Frisbee]

Sorry for my late chime in here.

The SPWC 2011 was fantastic, Ross and Noel said it all really well above. I want to add that all the volunteers, organizers, artist liasons, Shell, Clare, Mark and Conor the entire team were really great, every detail was taken care of, the press was great and the Festival has grown quite a bit since that first year, it is amazing what it has become.

Even with the economy down, the shows were big and I felt the crowds were still generous.

All the acts were great, we all got along really well and it just made a really great vibe to go out and perform in and wanna hang around on our off time.

looking forward to be a part again someday.