closed door pitches

[nick nickolas]

Hey everyone,

I understand there are pitches where travelling acts can't (or find in near impossible) to work now,
Victoria BC- locked down- no new acts ever
Key West- Seniority key System
Toronto- April Audition or No Go
Surfers Paradise OZ- Once a year auditions or no go (have to have a QLD address to even apply?)
Edinburgh Fest- You've gotta pay to play(and be told where and when to play)

I have played all the above in the past by just turning up and playing,,

What is the story now ? will all the pitches in the world end up being locked out and just be for local acts only? Is that good for new performers? Is that good for travelling performers?

Is this good for our craft? Is this good for the people?

Just wondering on peoples views especially on the above pitches..

Nick

[stickman]

"Key West- Seniority key System"

True though efforts are made to let new acts perform in peak season it can be rough and accommodation can be expensive.

"Toronto- April Audition or No Go"

True for the harbor front, but not necessarily the rest of the city.
Dundas Square has it's own system as does the city of Toronto itself, which aren't limited by the April deadline.

If your the right type of act in the right time you can do alright. This is my home city, but I tend to wander then stay local.



"Edinburgh Fest- You've gotta pay to play(and be told where and when to play)"

True though the efforts of many regulars the amount has been locked at 50 quid. "Herbie Treehead, and many others"

Also Andy who inherited the problem mentioned it's under consideration to switch to donation system instead. All the performers used to donate to the fringe stewards night out every year. That stopped promptly the year we were told we were required to pay a fee.

Can't say anything about the other pitches since it's been years since I've been to them if at all.

As a travelling performer I of course prefer to see pitches stay open! Requires respect shown for the people and conditions that originally opened/reopened them however.

Stickman

[martin ewen]

buy, 'closeddoorpitches.com' and put up a wall of shame.
Then wait for the googlebots to respond to the keywords various administrations have as common practice to follow news of their fair cities.

everyone who can put a link somewhere on their websites to the url and make a point of having the URL in your blog or somewhere new once a month.

Be careful of libel laws but apart from that go to town. Mentioning actual individuals responsible for the rules is added effectiveness.

Watch what happens. enjoy and play with the damage control, which because of inate bureaucratic insecurity is a sure fire byproduct of the excercise.

They are named while you/we are not, keep the domain reg info confidential and private.
Approx cost $10 for the domain and an afternoons collective writing and basic html design and maybe another $20/35 for the hosting.

Fun times....

[gav]

Add Brisbane mall and Southbank to the list.
I can't even go back to my home town where my career started and do a show.
Southbank refused to except my CV and promo video, and references instead of auditioning at a time of year I wouldn't be there.
I wonder if it's the local performers that lobby for it to be that way, or if it's just the people in charge that have no idea what they're doing.
There has been some word that things might be changing for those Queensland pitches though.

[Lee Nelson]

I think it is local performers that do it. As street performers get married and have kids the life on the road style doesnt really suit anymore so they seek a stable pitch. Then one day 5 outside acts show up and they dont get a show and maybe they dont make rent. So they find a way to guarantee themselves.
The powers that be make the rules but I think that the local performers are in their ear.
It isnt healthy.

[Guy]

Fanueil Hall in Boston, April audition. Baltimore Inner Harbour, March audition. To perform on the streets of Key West you need a licence only issued in November costing $100-00. Pretty soon the people in control are going to start asking for DNA tests, then a finger........,.

[Dallas]

Or your first born!!!

[Mr Qwirk]

Ive done all I can to open up my current home pitches, of Surfers and Brisbane. (I easily could have gone the other way - which is where management was heading) But I like to travel, and believe I should be able to work wherever. Not to mention the pitch gets stale with the same acts working it all the time.

and Nick, Surfers has auditions 4x a year, and I live in NSW, so theres no problems with address.

Ive also done a few shows in Toronto without any problems. not down in the HarbourFront mind you.

[The Twine]

Surfers paradise..or sufferers parasite, as we buskers call it. What a joke. The rules are so strict, it is ridiculous.

[stickman]

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Update:

This is NO LONGER a pay to play festival once again. They've gone back to requesting donations, and added a weekly group show for those performers who wish to take part. It will remain a 10 am draw for circle shows, with a 45min time limit.

Not sure the status of the alcove/statue acts however.

Good news in my opinion.

Stickman

[martin ewen]

well it's as important to encourage those who bend a bit as it is to be uppity when doors close. Just a wee political reminder.
Cos just as some organisers are assholes so it must be admitted are some of us and sometimes hardarse rules are the result of hardarse performers poisoning the well.
That said people who work administratively who listen IMO should be given their due.

[Ed Fringe]

We're an open festival!

We're an open festival, pretty much. We do a bit of scheduling to make it fair for the 230 buskers that will turn up and we do have specific spots but apart from that anyone can come and we encourage you to do so.

Just go to the edfringe.com website, download and fill in a form so we can get everything sorted for you when you arrive.

Come back Nick!

Edinburgh Fringe Street Events

[harmonicakev]

Boston outside of Faneuil Hall Marketplace is technically open, i.e , no regulations...I don't really busk any more, so I'm not sure how worthwhile it might be.
Kevin M.

[ALAKAZAM]

You are hard pressed to find a pitch without a license these days. It's everywhere you go.
The freedom of the traveling street performer is no more, but it isn't the performers who live in that town's fault. It is the increasingly long list of rules, regulations and insurance demands by the cities and property managers.

Even 10 years ago i used to just skip from city to city and rarely had any trouble, but just last year i attempted to do the same in canada and was unable to perform pretty much anywhere and had to buy a ticket to london just so i could work.

The last free pitch in canada, Ottawa is now gone. New licensing system, no amps and no shows on what is considered the main pitch.

I'm proud to say Circular Quay and Darling Harbour in Sydney will still give you a license if you come there, you do need insurance but we all have it these days.

[nick nickolas]

Thanks everyone for the replies,
Good to hear from you all,,

not too worried 'bout licencing Al just some places you can't work.
I am told Victoria B.C. has half a dozen acts and no-one can work there 'till someone dies,, that is what started me off on the post really. Still not sure if that is true.. anyone from there wanna reply..

Melbourne/Perth/Adelaide can be worked no worries and NZ and most of Europe, it seems most of the restrictions are in the good ol' USA (the land of the free lol) and Canada..

anyone from Vic B.C. out there?

cheers and happy freedom to all

Nick