I've been promising to do this for a long time and now is the time. While things are still fresh in my memory, I wanted to get some of the highlights of our winter meeting out. Now, I don't want people to expect too much. Put fifteen solo performers in a room, let them all talk at once and try to take notes. I'm sure a court stenographer with four cups of expresso would have a nervous break down. I'm not any kind of stenographer and I can't drink coffee after noon, but I'll do my best.
Who was there in order of when they signed the attendance sheet:
In the past some have mentioned the opening "What are you up to?" part of the meeting has gotten a little out of control, so we tried setting a time limit of four minutes for each member. This worked fairly well, granting a little leeway for questions and answers. All of the longtimers seem to be working fairly regularly. One point that did come up though was the need to keep marketing. Stephen Collins noted he had let up while he worked toward getting his teaching certification and his bookings have fallen off. He also wanted to remind people to check their email regularly. His AOL account had gotten out of whack and he actually had people trying to contact him who had been waiting for responses for bookings they had sent via email. Jim Cooke gave a short dissertation on the value of email as well, noting he had landed several bookings in the Chicago area with a little email effort. One of the great points Jim added, which seems obvious after you hear it is to watch for ANY mention of you character, in the press, on the web, on TV, etc. and fire off an email to the source. You may discover a job or at least start to be thought of as the email expert on your character. Jim also talked about his Ask the President web page (http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/cooke/). It helps with new ideas of what people want to know for his program, get his name out and make him look like an all around smart guy. Belinda mentioned the Mass Cultural Council is putting together a listing of performers available in Massachusetts for schools, libraries, etc. This apparently is going to be an un-audited list, so no auditions or references should be needed, visit their web site or call them for more information.
After "What are you up to?" the discussion turned to video and audio tapes, how to make them and how to use them. Jim has a full educational tape he made with the Coolidge library. While it is Jim as Calvin, he was not too sure it was the kind of thing we need as solo performers. It was made as an educational tool, but what we need is something that gives a feeling of what our programs are like. Jim also has an audio version of Calvin's autobiography, which Jim narrated as Calvin that he sells or gives if he needs to nudge someone over the book/not book edge. It sounded like it worked best to show that Jim is a pro and worthy of hiring. Adam had a seven minute promo he's been working on, on his laptop that we all watched. It showed Midge and Madge in action at various venues, audience reactions and the all important contact information. One of the things he wanted to emphasize is the need to get someone who really knows how to use a video set up to shoot you program. You could see the differences in quality in the different cuts. He also had a two minute segment from a broadcast news program about the flea circus, that showed exactly what could be done with professional set up. If you're thinking about putting together a video demo you should really think about contacting Jim and Adam to pick their brains. Stephen also is in the middle of putting together a professionally produced video version of his Whitman. We couldn't see it yet, but he is very enthusiastic. His video will actually be sold to schools and libraries as well as being available for him to send to colleges, libraries and other venues who want a full preview. He'll let us know how this works out when it's done. One great idea for anyone who wants to try to put something together, but doesn't know how they might fund such a project (it can cost several thousand dollars) is to visit a local college that has a film/video department, there are often students looking for project ideas and they can often produce WGBH results for Building 19 prices.
If you weren't at the meeting you also missed quite a visual experience. Sir Tom of Warwick (aka Paul Manning) in his chain mail and armor sat right next to the glass wall for all of the Bentley students to view as they entered the library. Paul does prop intensive programs and this costume is very impressive. In case you don't know who Sir Tom of Warwick is, at the end of Camelot, King Arthur tells a young boy to leave the battle field to spread the story of the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Tom is now grown and goes to schools, libraries, etc. to tell his story. Paul is holding an astronomy day up in Tewksbery in May and will be having several historical characters there, so watch the calendar for info.
Well that is about everything. If you were at the meeting and think of something I missed drop me a note and I'll pass it along. If you weren't at the meeting, start planning to attend the next, which will be the annual Potluck Supper , tentatively scheduled to be at Celia's, May or June date and other important information to come. If you haven't visited the web page lately, drop by and forward any suggestions for things we might want to add. Also send me your performance schedules and I'll put them on the calendar.
Mike Francis