Editing Perspectives on Touring (section)

=Planning:=

Starting from who you may contact within your home-base/region to present your work to, figuring out and expanding your networks and connections at to national and international level and leading intuitive and inquisitive research into following and understanding their elemental ways of presenting and partnering to Festivals, marketing/showcase events or specific venues.

Timing, and assessing the best way to approach, market or solicit your contact, being ready to have a press kit, a portfolio, website or having ready simply an invitation to see your live show.

Active connectivity and fast communication is a tool and asset in keeping track of your network, maintaining awareness and pursuing a line of possible activities for a tour!

From preparing at home and being ready to take your work on the road to making sure that your touring engagements are in synch between different cities, times, dates and modes of transportation, technical requirements or the distance of travel that you are undertaking is manageable for economical purposes as well as the environmental and health conditions of yourself and your group on tour.

Planning is an essential component that takes time, but will guarantee a proper understanding of your tour while on the road, to be prepared prior, while on tour, and after.

Who will fund the tour/expenses prior and during, what and where are the resources from?

The basic expenses I have covered in touring in different scenarios are: 
(Pre-tour expenses, Artist salary fees, transportations, accommodations, freight, per-diem, insurance etc).


The assessment of feasibility of taking your work to the road is essential and very important. In my case, I travel with either 1 person or multiples with the company cast and technicians depending on the touring piece and the load of that particular work to go out on the road.

Often time, artists and organizations have stated that touring barely makes money, or even loses money, but the experience was immense, having generated new audiences and built alliances and further connections.

Other times, you may partner with the right presenters or festivals that can buy the work properly or be produced in established festivals with more lucrative and financial resources that cover most of your touring costs and received proper fees.
In fact for other companies touring has been their main source of revenues.


I have been in many scenarios where artistic fees paid to a show or touring engagement have varied and depended on the presenter’s resources as well as geographical locations, assessed by the different levels of negotiation within Canada regionally and national, and to further distances overseas in Europe where you deal with higher currency, or in south America and Asia where currency are much lower. As well, in relation to the time, scope and schedules of the touring engagements and other activities related and involved with it.
You may deal with one engagement (1 show) or more (with outreach activities) in a touring engagement.