hatting at paid gigs

[mini mansell]

i was working last week at a traditional sporting event. it wa like the 200 aniversary of an event where people wrestle. or run over mountains.

the public pay to enter. so all the entertainent inside is considered paid for.

i was there are tent master. ensuring none of the marquees came down. pegs where firmly hammered in etc.

plus all the other bits of use that an experienced festival organiser can be of.

i asked the organisers if i could play a new show. and was told they would love it (more entertainment for the public)

and was told i could hat as well.

i did a 30 minute show (brand new.) i took the opportunity to try out some new material. did not need to crowd gather either. there where 10000 people desperate to be entertained.

i am rubbish at estimating a crowd size but my circle was 5 or 6 deep. so it felt good.

but.

my hat was only 70 dollars (70 euro, 45 uk sterling)

i am putting it down to the fact that the public had paid to get in, and where not comfortable being asked to pay for anythign else.

if anyone has any advice on how to increase the hat at events where people ahve already paid admission.i woulod LOVE to hear it

mini

[caricatureguy]

I've done this before but what I do is a bit different. I do really well at wine tastings or charity events where people are drinking. During a "sober" day show I can't see it working out too well. That's my $.02

[Evan Young]

people pay through the nose to get into ren fairs, and there are tons of shows that still make major $bank$ passing the hat inside.

it might be you, it might be the crowd.. don't know


also, my biggest audiences have never set my biggest hats.

[Evan Young]

oh yeah, when there is any kind of festival going on, even if it's just some city festival that happens to be near a normal pitch, I allways add in that I'm either not part of the festival or I'm not getting paid by the festival.


and I do commonly see a drop in per person hat donations when a festival is going on..... even if it's a fest that's going on half a mile away and I'm getting the spill over.