Oh, I totally agree, Andrew, & have done much the same, asking for some
kind of fee just to remind whomever that in fact I'm a 'professional'
in my field. So, yes, to your final comments here, for sure. In the
case I pointed to, other writers are organizing the readings, & we are
all hoping to make the thing work so that funding agencies will support
a larger festival the following year. A specific situation....
And no charged admission....
Doug
On 13-Jul-06, at 8:58 AM, Andrew Burke wrote:
> Yes, Doug, the ASA list presents fees at the 'high' end, realistically
> speaking. But my thinking is that we shouldn't see them as such. When
> I did
> a reading in New South Wales a few years ago, (I was on a Residency)
> the
> festival committee of a nearby town originally weren't offering me a
> fee.
> When I requested one, I asked them a series of questions first: is
> there a
> poster for the show (a music and poetry eveing in a hotel)? When they
> answered Yes, I asked if the printer had been paid? They said, Yes.
> And will
> the bar staff be paid? Again, yes. Were they charging admission? Yes.
> So I
> felt it was reasonable that I ask for a fee - not a big one, mind you,
> but a
> fee. The barman made more that night, and he didn't do much. There was
> a
> further development to this saga: as I was the only one on the bill
> being
> paid, they requested I also compere the show! Ha ha ... I love a
> spotlight,
> I love an audience, so I was happy to do it.
>
> I have never been a greedy man, and often do gigs for nothing, just to
> kick
> start a program or help an existing program survive when their funding
> has
> run out, but I don't think it is a good policy in the majority of
> cases.
>
> Cheers -
>
> Andrew
Douglas Barbour
11655 - 72 Avenue NW
Edmonton Ab T6G 0B9
(780) 436 3320
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
Latest book: Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
Historical imagination gathers in the missing
Susan Howe
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