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scaress Veteran user salt lake city 337 Posts |
hi all,
I just thought it would be fun to hear about where one might find good bizarrist like yourselves performing. Details please. do you do private parties? if so, how do you advertize to the target bizarre-loveing audience? is there a theater Macabre in your town, where anyone might buy a ticket and listen to a story? how about festivals? do you meet in secret in old abandoned warehouses a-la fight club? (rule 1, you don't talk about bizarre club!) Clearly the entertainment hungry customer would not call the local party clown agency when he's in the mood to feel his spine tingle. |
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Clifford the Red Inner circle LA, California 1941 Posts |
You need a feeder system. Some use restaurants, some use fairs, it's really up to your imagination. In Salt Lake you have all of those church buildings just begging for a visit from Pizuzu.
"The universe is full of magical things, waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Eden Philpotts
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Robin DeWitt Regular user 187 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-10-09 20:17, Clifford the Red wrote: Uh, that's Pazuzu. Do a cleansing ritual. Pazuzu will not be mocked. Robin DeWitt
I am the fakir, you....
<BR>Robin DeWitt |
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
Oh, I thought for a moment that you were looking for me. Theatre Macabre was the name of my former troupe of bizarrists. And that is exactly what we did, put together a small theatre and sell tickets. That was, however, a strictly a seasonal event. I too would like to hear how others market their art.
Dave |
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egregor Veteran user The other side of the veil. 340 Posts |
I am absolutely fascinated with the Theatre Macabre concept. what sort of effects played well, did you do it in an old theater, how was attendance, what sort of ticket prices did you charge, did you use out of town bizarrists. I think this would be an ideal opportunity for us bizarrists to meet and network, exchange ideas, and financially support each other, and expand our chosen art.
My mom says I'm reprehensible, I think I'm perfectly hensible.
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
Well, I can tell you about what we did, and perhaps a little about the lessons learned. Several years ago I was talking the owner of the largest Haunted Attraction in the Pacific Northwest. I was describing to him what bizarre magic is (or at least my version of it). He offered me space in which to perform bizarre magic shows. It was an exciting opportunity, but I had to put it together on short notice. I posted notices on here, in magic shops, etc. looking for bizarre performers. In the end, five of us got together, formed an LLC, and "Theatre Macabre" was born.
We built two 40 - 50 seat theatres from the ground up. We were working in a large open space, so we had to build walls, stages, you name it. We set it up so that shows would run 25 minutes and, between the two theatres, a new show would start every 15 minutes. We offered five very different shows, with each performer responsible for producing their own shows. We charged $7.00 for a show, and a second show could be purchased for $5.00. Okay, what did we learn? First off, the schedule was grueling. A performer often ended up doing 8 shows a night with only five minutes between each one. It was very draining. Second, while our guests enjoyed our shows, I would not consider the haunted house crowd to be the prime target for bizarre performances, at least not at the same venue. Their expectations were simply out of line with what we were offering. Even though we got very good reviews and feedback, it did make it hard to market. Lastly, it is better to do longer, more upscale shows than try to push them through and go for volume. We ended up performing for over 2500 people (about 2200 paid tickets) and barely made a profit. It was a great experience, there is nothing like doing six shows a night to hone your performance skills, but if I had it to do over again, I would do it very differently. I have plans to create a new venue for bizarre magic in my area but that is still a long ways off yet. I know that there are others here who promote their own shows rather than market to clubs and parties. Who is doing this successfully? Dave |
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doctorrigormorto Loyal user Ottawa, Ontario Canada 284 Posts |
I am.
http://www.diablomanor.com
http://www.theparanormalshow.net http://www.carnivaldiablo.com Imagination is more important than Knowledge. Albert Einstein |
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Clifford the Red Inner circle LA, California 1941 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-10-09 22:10, Kardor wrote: Thank you Kardor! The malevolent Lamashtu caused me to exchange the incorrect vowel so she could mock the Great Pazuzu and as payback for all of my practical jokes on her. I'll get you Lamashtu!
"The universe is full of magical things, waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Eden Philpotts
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StrangeMagick Special user 635 Posts |
Well, I reside in the city next to Salem, MA the Halloween capitol of the world (or at least the US). A group of Bizarre Magickians and myself I generally perform Bizarre Magick this time of year in our own venue. We generally give a cut to the owner of the space, so we don't have to front the money. We've been doing this for 3 years now and have done fairly well, although it is a lot of work. Last weekend we did 13 - 14 half-hour shows at $10 a pop. We'll be doing a total of 12 days of shows this year (and I have a day job as a computer programmer). I'll get rest in November, I guess.
Last year we partnered with a Halloween themed art show. The art show alone had decent sales and I think his take from our shows alone paid the rent for him. I'm lucky that I live so close to such a historical and strange place, but I do recommend creating your own venue during the Halloween/Samhain season. You can build up a following from this and set up private parties once the word gets out. I also consider my Wizard act for children Bizarre Magick, although MUCH lighter than the Haloween shows. So, yup, Bizarre Magick can be marketable and commercial ... you just have to use what tourism periods you have in your area and create your own shows. Magickally, Dave Birtwell |
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Wiley New user St. Paul, Minnesota 33 Posts |
Dave!
Good to see you're still alive! I was one of Dave's merry band of bizarrists, and I can agree with all of his comments and lessons learned (yes, you can repeat Rick Maue's Combined Effort, with only a 5 minute reset, eight times in one night!) I really do think that an intimate theatre space, like we had, worked great for the kind of magic we did, even if the crowds often wanted more "boos" than build-up. I've recently moved to St. Paul, MN, so it's no longer practical to work with Dave (a real bummer! I really enjoyed working with you!), but I'd love to work on something similar here--just give me a more of a crowd with a more "theatrical" bent instead of screaming haunted house groupies, please.... Kevin |
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
Hey Kevin -- You have been here for all these years and only have 30 posts? Truly you are one of Baba's lurkers.
For those who don't know Kevin, his is an outstanding performer. At Theatre Macabre he did a wonderful job of adapting his show -- which started out as a very dark seance and became more light-hearted -- to the crowd we were drawing. At any rate, Scaress has given us a rare opportunity on this site, a chance to talk a little bit about the business side of bizarre magic. So, lets hear from the pros. How do you market yourself? Is a theatre for bizarre performers viable as a year round venue? What other venues do you play? What demographic do you target? Lets have a good discussion on the business side of the business. Dave |
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scaress Veteran user salt lake city 337 Posts |
Well said Dave.
I heard the term Thearter Macabre from a really bad horror movie where some guy would kill people on stage and the audience assumed it was fake. It was called 'Blood Sucking Freaks'. I've since heard the term used to discribe the concept (without killing people). I would like to do something similar here, if I can put a troup together and find a place. Clifford the Red, sorry I didn't understand your post. are you saying that I should fake demonic possession to make money in a big tent revival scam? cause that's a good idea! doctorrigormorto, I've seen your website, I'm definately buying a ticket to your show if I ever get north of the border. |
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Dr Spektor Eternal Order Carcanis 10781 Posts |
Ahhh.. Blood Sucking Freaks - a true classic or shlock gore horror of bad taste... especially the part of the mad dentist who likes to sticks straws into people's brains and suck and gurgle... hmm... you want to do something similar...? My advice is to get better looking nude assistants than Mordu and his dwarf assistant had.... egad. (Wow, the benfits of having had connections to a cult classic videostore - I watched wayyy to many whacked out vids)....
"They are lean and athirst!!!!"
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scaress Veteran user salt lake city 337 Posts |
I guess I had better start proof reading my posts...
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StrangeMagick Special user 635 Posts |
Well, I learned a lesson over the weekend ... make sure your venue passes code. We had the Salem, MA building inspector shut down our shows Saturday night after after running all day and the previous weekend (probably 20+ shows). Seem that they were planning to investigate the building, but since they saw it was open, they came inside and didn't like what they saw. What was missing were egress plans, some smoke detectors, lighted rear exit and lighted exit signs. We though everything was in order since there was already a business in this part of the building, and had been one for MANY years (a dance studio) and we ran a "fundraising event" for an organization which had been in the building for over 3 years. Apparently the fixes won't be too costly, but we're not sure if they will be fixed in time for this weekend, or even the Halloween weekend ... OUCH!!!!
So, just make sure your venue is up to code. In the future we will be requesting proof of inspection. Hopefully we'll be able to work something out or find a new venue. Magickally, Dave Birtwell |
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Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
Dave:
Sorry to hear about that. From what I've heard about your show, it was fantastic! (Or as some would say, Spooktackular.) Tony |
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
Dave,
Very sorry to hear about your venue. If the things you listed were the only violations, it should only be a few hours work to get it repaired. Be aware that, especially this time of year, any "spooky" entertainment is going to be viewed as a haunted attraction and the fire marshal is going to pay close attention. I highly recommend (though it doesn't help you this year) talking to the fire marshal early on whenever starting this kind of project. I have found that most of them are pretty reasonable if they are included in the planing stage, and it makes the inspections much easier. For example, I had a situation when building Theatre Macabre where I was going to have to violate code to make it work. I asked the fire marshal to come in, told him what I wanted to do, what measures I would do to make it safe, and why there was not danger. His response "build it." If I had built it and then tried to explain why it was safe during and inspection, I can almost guarantee he would have shut us down. Dave, I am not being critical, just hoping that others can learn from our experiences. I hope you get back up and running by the weekend. Dave |
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Mogwai II Veteran user The Alpes 314 Posts |
When I want to test new material, I useally will present it in a nightclub, where I know the owner. He knows what I do and likes it. So about once a month, I'm able to perform for lay people on an open place.
"You'll wonder when he comes, you'll wonder more when he's gone..."
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StrangeMagick Special user 635 Posts |
Ptbeast:
This is the 3rd year we've put on such shows (the first year was a theatrical seance). Also, we were working with an established organization in a building which already has several businesses. Apparently, the landlord did some painting a few years ago and didn't "put things back the way the were" after painting. Apparently, this building has been under the radar for a few years, but was on a list of places to check out by the building inspectors (and probably the fire marshall, as well). I agree that it would only take a little bit of time and money to fix things, but I/we assumed that since there were other businesses in the building (and had been for years), that everything was OK. I think there will be a bit of pressure by the businesses in the building to get things done ... especially the dance studio which has calsses almost every day. Believe me, next time before signing a contract (Note: currently our contact does not make us responsible for payment as long as the venue is unavailable) we will make sure it gets the building inspectors' AND fire marshall's approval. For anyone doing these type of shows, be aware that in many towns there are several "powers that be" who can shut down an event and they don't all play well with each other (especially in Salem). We've gone through some other issues dealing with us not informing EVERYONE that we were using a fire eater outside. Yea, there is a lot of homework to be done when doing a show and most people I know don't do everything necessary and hope for the best. We definitely didn't wish to rent our own space because of up-front cost and insurance issues. Dave |
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
Dave,
I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but I do think there is a lot to be learned from situations like this. What we all need to realize is that Seances, sideshows, spook shows, and other such events tend to get lumped in with haunted attractions by the powers that be. Rightly or wrongly, we are considered high risk. And, to put it bluntly, there are those who simply don't like what we do. Things that they might let slide with other businesses, they won't with us. The point is, just because other businesses are allowed to operate in a space, don't assume that you will be. Once again Dave, I am not trying to be critical of your situation. I am very sorry it happened and I really hope that you get to continue your performances. I simply wanted to take the opportunity to use your situation as an opportunity to help others avoid similar situations. Sorry, occupational hazard from my day job. Dave |
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