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Jim Poor Special user Fairfax, VA 676 Posts |
I was talking to a working pro with many moons more experience than I have about issues that he has had to deal with. Such things as bad checks, etc. He also mentioned a gig in a really bad neighborhood where he basically had to be escorted in and out by "the one who ruled the turf" in order to be safe.
At this point, I can't see myself accepting a show in a neighborhood that I wouldn't feel safe in. If my living comes to depend completely on magic, my thoughts might change. Do any of you decline shows in such "bad" areas? How do you do so tactfully? Something like "That is outside of my travel area" maybe? Thanks Jim |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Interesting question. I've never lived where there was an area I was scared to go into. If there was I would likely just say that I was booked for that time period. I realize there are communities that outsiders are not wise entering I have just never, since starting to entertain, seen one and prior to that I was IN the area you would have been scared to enter. In fact I was one of those you would have been worried about. I'm nice now.
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Tony James Inner circle Cheshire UK 1398 Posts |
Easy Jim. You're already booked. Just go through the motions, recheck the date as you look in your diary and whether you're really booked or not - you're already booked! And thank you for asking me.
Easy.
Tony James
Still A Child At Heart |
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
No, I have gone, and I will go anywhere.
Al Angello
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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Jim Poor Special user Fairfax, VA 676 Posts |
Al,
You're braver than most of us though. |
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Tony James Inner circle Cheshire UK 1398 Posts |
And if you have a good address, the bad addresses don't tend to contact you.
However I did go through a year of unwelcome calls after yellow Pages gave me, unasked, a free entry in an adjoining directory. The far reaches of that were rough and I declined a few. I suppose most of us in our time have taken jobs (for the money) and come out relieved to find the wheels still on the car.
Tony James
Still A Child At Heart |
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Jim Poor Special user Fairfax, VA 676 Posts |
MagicSanta,
How could anyone be afraid of Santa? Tony, What happens when they say, "Ok, how about next week?" I can see the comedy routine when the guy asks out the girl, busy tomorrow, sorry. Next day? Busy, Next week? Busy... EDIT: We were posting at the same time. In the DC area, it is real easy to get into the not so nice areas. Even easier when I was in L.A. |
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Tony James Inner circle Cheshire UK 1398 Posts |
It will depend how many entertainers are in the directory. We have 60 here in our yellow pages. A lot of them arrived here from way out where because Mr & Mrs Beckham came to live here. magicians thought they were onto a money spinner. They fell over each other to reduce prices, just in the hope of getting star jobs. And they're still doing though Mr & Mrs B have long gone.
If you've got that many magicians in your YP they'll move on to someone else. If not, shift your entry to a better area directory. Or MOVE!!!! Many a magician has moved house to get better business in a better area. You wouldn't be the first.
Tony James
Still A Child At Heart |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Ol' Santa use to be a younger fellow who wasn't very jolly.
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
I never gave up a show in a bad area. I am willing to please those children with all my heart.
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iwillfoolu Special user Upstate NY, USA 746 Posts |
I am more worried about getting in trouble in an affluent area than a "bad" area. In a bad neighborhood they can only take what you have on you. A lawyer can take everything you will ever have (Sorry lawyers)
I have never turned a show down because of the neighborhood. (Isn't it illegal to do so?) Has anyone heard of the any real trouble? (bad checks do not count) Anyone been assaulted or robbed? Joe |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
You can refuse any show for any reason, to assume otherwise is taking PC too far. I'd do a show anywhere because I'm not afraid to go anywhere (the exception is parts of St. Louis, there are places there I wouldn't go if I was armed). That is a good point about lawyers though. The one time I had an issue was at a house in a private country club and a woman kept telling me if I did anything the children would try and hurt themselves I would hear about it and all that good stuff.
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Expertmagician Inner circle 2478 Posts |
I guess it depends upon how bad you want the money
While problems may occur in any neighborhood I think the deision is VERY personal.
Long Island,
New York |
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rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
Quote:
(Isn't it illegal to do so?) So ... the law says you have to go ANYWHERE? Like, maybe, Cleveland? The law (and my sense of ethics) forbids discrimination on the basis of race. I am unaware of a law that makes the Way-Out-In-The-Eastern-Suburbs Plumbing Company (or any other business) accept assignments way out in the Western suburbs, or any law that makes Domino's deliver 40 miles away. I used to go anywhere at all. It was a matter of needing the $$$ as much as anything. But after a while, as my price went up - most of us are selling a fairly expensive service - and it became clear that many parents in less affluent neighborhoods would either (a) book a show for Saturday, and decide on Friday that they couldn't afford it, or (b) become irritable and argumentative during the show with that "I'm spending all this money so he can do something that he has fun doing ... I don't think so," or (c) feel perfectly free to write a bad check. I have had people smile and tell me how wonderful the show was and praise me to the heavens while writing a check on a closed account. And I don't have enough time to spend days in court trying to get the money. Since my area is fairly spread-out, and each jurisdiction has its own characteristics, there was a clear way to decide where I'd go. I live in Virginia fairly close to Washington DC and Maryland, but I finally quit going to DC and Maryland - most parts of those areas are genuinely too far to travel to when most of the parties in Virginia are WAAAAY out in the other direction, without even having to take "what's the neighborhood like" into the equation. Now, of course I'm not going to TELL a caller "I won't go to your neighborhood." For callers from DC and Maryland, I'd tell them that "I only do Virginia," and if that didn't suit them, I'd amplify that "I'm only licensed to do business in Virginia." For parties I just got a bad feeling about ("the caller led off with 'how much yo' clow?' - these people are sure to cancel the day before") I'd just tell them I would check my schedule, and discover that I was doing an all-day event 50 miles away. Yeah, I love all the kids, and race doesn't enter into it - especially in a cosmopolitan area such as mine ("Okay, Billy, you stand next to Zaheed and hand the wand to Mai Lin, and watch what LaShonda does."). But I've paid my dues, and lately I have tended to "qualify my leads." |
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Back in my Yellow Page days, I'd get calls from less-than-desirable neighborhoods. I rarely booked them because my fees were beyond their range. I stopped accepting gigs in these areas when I was hired to appear in a certain dinosaur costume (like 20 years ago) and the housing units were so small I had to go across the street to change. As I was walking across in costume, a group of teens spotted me and came running. One flashed a gun, started joking to the others about making headlines then walked away laughing. As a trained cop, I managed to stay calm and play it off, but I half expected that bullet with every step I took. From that day to this, I'm always "booked" elsewhere when I receive the now rare call for flagged high-risk areas. Common sense needs to rule here.
I also avoid certain affluent cultural groups. One culture routinely celebrates a child's birthday with a catered adult function...the kids are actually pushed out of the way into a room with an entertainer who serves as a babysitter while the adults eat and drink. My contract requires at least two adults to be with me at all times. This particular culture simply ignores this expectation and, worse, the boys are expected to have free unsupervised reign. This is unacceptable to me. Another considers a suitable gift to be an envelope of cash tossed onto a table or counter as the adults enter. At two such parties a loaded pistol sat in the middle of the cash...another custom with which I want no association. I don't consider it racist to protect your personal interests. It's also important to know your limits. I personally don't accept bar or bat mitzvah's or parties for kids in this age range because I have difficulty holding their interest. The client deserves the best possible service and I'm simply not it in these cases. You have complete control over what you accept and decline. Prejudicial? Maybe...but, who's going to look out for your interest if you don't?
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Jim
I have gone everywhere, and I will go anywhere. That being said, if someone is rude to me over the phone I tell them I'm already booked that day, but I will do a show for any ethnic group, or economic level. There are nice people of every variety. I will even do a show for an Italian family if I must. Al Angello
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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Tony James Inner circle Cheshire UK 1398 Posts |
But not a Punch show, surely Al?
That really would be taking Punch to Naples.
Tony James
Still A Child At Heart |
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Jim Poor Special user Fairfax, VA 676 Posts |
Wow, a lot of interesting replies.
For me it is not so much about economic status and not at all about race. I've spent most of my adult life going into and out of places that were, shall we say, less than hospitable. I left the Army two years ago, and I choose to live a little safer. Yes, Yes, Airplanes are dangerous, but not as much as highways, etc etc. But I am speaking of more manageable risks. Just for example, my wife of 17 years has not met my mother because the lifestyle she leads makes going to visit her risky enough that I refuse to put my wife in that situation. I woke up to a full in box this morning. Wow! Best, Jim |
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derrick Inner circle I dug holes for 1044 Posts |
I've never turned down a show due to its location but I have packed up and left before my show began due to the horribly rude behavior of a child. This may be another reason to get your show into a venue with one trip. After returning to the performing area with my 2nd load, the birthday child had decided she needed to in inspect my props, half of which were scattered around the floor. I told her to stop what she was doing and that she needed to help me put everything back. She looked at me, then her parents (who were watching her do this) and said, "I don't have to mind." The parents didn't (wouldn't) correct her, so I finally said to her and her parents that if that were the case then I couldn't do the show. After getting my props packed up and away from the child, I left with no comments from the parents.
Posted: Feb 13, 2007 11:28am Oh, by the way. This was in a wealthy neighborhood. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-02-13 05:17, rossmacrae wrote: It would be good to get at least 50% deposit in advance. On the contract mention "no returns for deposits." It helps keeps the from canceling. If they do cancel, you still got something out of it. If the party is canceled for a good reason like terrible weather, still keep the deposit and mention a time to reschedule the show. |
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