General Site
Questions
Questions about
performers.net services
Performing
Questions
Bulletin Board
Questions
More Questions?
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Why are there are no performers listed anywhere?
I'm looking for an entertainer....
Although
several performers have web sites hosted here, performers.net is primarily
a meeting place for performers. Performers with web sites here do not
wish to be listed in a database along side several other performers.
If you are looking for a database of performers, check out The
Performers Yellowpages. If you need an entertainer and would like to announce
a gig opportunity, post a message on the Gig Opportunities Board in
our Forums.
This site is browsed by hundreds of variety acts every week. If you're looking
for an act, post a message and you'll definitely get responses.
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Can
I get an article published in the performers.net library?
We
are always accepting articles for the resource library. If you have an interesting
written piece you think will be of value to the performing community, please
submit it here. After review, it may be posted in
the library.
Ideas for articles we'd love to see here:
Description of a street performing pitch in your town
Description of any street performing pitch not written about yet
Promo/Marketing tips
Thoughts on getting started performing
Thoughts on hat lines
Thoughts on getting material/identifying your character
Reviews of an ongoing festival
Reviews of a particular market (i.e. schools, colleges, corporate, cruise ships)
Travel tips for busking through a particular country or continent
It's up to you! performers.net is only as valuable as the contributions YOU
make to it. Add to the library or at least post to the bulletin boards. Just
PARTICIPATE!
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One
of the links on your links page won't work...
What
else is new? The web is a dynamic place. Web sites change servers and domain
names daily, even hourly! The links page is kept as up to date as possible.
If you find a dead link it would be helpful for us if you track down the new
link and submit it (rather
than just sending an email announcing the dead link.) We simply don't have time
to monitor the links page all day. If you have a link to add or change, do
it here. Thanks!
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I'd
like to suggest a link for your links page...
We do
not accept links to personal web sites unless they are of value to the performing
community. Do not ask us to link your band's web site on the links page. If
you want to list your agency / personal act / band / group act /etc. please
go to The
Performers Yellowpages.
The kinds of links we gladly post on this site are:
Performer Prop Makers
Costume Makers
Performer Promo/Photo Printers
Performer-specializing photographers/videographers
Audio suppliers
Festivals
Entertainer Directories
Gig Directories
And more....
Submit anything else and if it is appropriate we'll
put it up.
All links are posted for free, with the hope that the link is exchanged by the
linked site!
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What
is busking?
If your're
asking, you must be American. "To Busk" is the verb. It is what everyone
in the world except the USA calls street performing. In the states, there are
"street performers" who "street perform" at "street
performing festivals." In Canada, Europe, and most other countries, there
are "buskers" who "busk" at "busking festivals."
No one is quite sure where the term came from. Some say it came from the "buskin"
shoes street entertainers wore back in the old days. Others say it came from
the root word "buscar" meaning "to look for, search" in
several European romance languages.
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Can
I PLEASE send money to help support the site?
This
site is NOT non-profit, and it is also NOT generating big bucks. Server
costs are paid by one person, out of pocket. All site design, construction
and maintenence
is also done by one person (the same person!) and that adds up to several hours
per week to keep performers.net running. There have also recently been some
improvements to the site and there were costs involved. (The new bulletin board
system wasn't free!) Below are some thoughts on contributions:
This site is sort of like a street show. It's free to use. There are no membership
dues or fees for browsing the site. However, if you feel like you've gotten
something from it, donations are always welcome...
LINKS:
An easy (and free) way to give something back is simply by giving us a
link. Grab a performers.net banner and direct people to the front door. Increased
traffic to performers.net is good for all of us. More people visiting means
more people contributing information which means the site grows and gets more
interesting. Grab a banner here!
COMMISSION:
Have
you gotten a gig directly because of the site? Is a 2-3% donation back to the
site too much to suggest? We're
not an agency and would never require it, but a nominal commission from each
gig attained by the gig board would not only keep the site going, but would
allow your host (Jim) to spend lots more time enhancing the site.
If you don't want to send money, a simple thank-you note would be nice!
SERVICES:
An email-map is FREE and using one will
passively generate traffic back to the site. A web
doorway page costs just $25/year. Web hosting
starts at just $25/year for a one page 'Web Business Card' with a photo and
a performers.net/yourname domain name. These services
all directly support the site and keep it free to use.
DONATE:
If you simply love that performers.net exists and are a big fan of 'shareware'
computing, you can always just send a few bucks
in to help out. You know... donate whatever it's worth to you. No pressure...
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Can
I get a cool Email Address for FREE?
Yes.
We offer email mapping (forwarding) to your current email address for FREE.
You keep your email account where it is, check it as you normally do, but tell
people to send email to your new permanent address:
yourname@performers.net
If your email address changes in the future, we can just change the mapping
so you don't have to re-print your promo materials. Great for the traveling
performer! We can forward to any email account including Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo
accounts. Setup is usually in less than 24 hours.
Reserve a new address now... Details are here!
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Can
I get a cool Web Address for only $25.00 per year?
Yes!
If you have a long, unmemorable, or constantly changing web address (URL) we
can give you a simple, permanent address and doorway page linked to anywhere
you want.
Instead of telling people to go to:
http://www.geocities.angelfire.com/users/45375/~happytheclown
Just tell them to go to:
performers.net/happy
You don't even need the 'www'! We create a doorway page
at performers.net/yourname and link it
to your existing web site. The hosting
fee is just $25.00 per year
and there is NO set-up charge! We'll even use a logo and color scheme to match
your existing site! Set-up is usually in 24 hours.
Own a more professional address that's easier to remember! Great for a traveling
performer! The details are here!
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Can
performers.net Host my web site?
We
currently host a few web sites and numerous doorway pages. Most of the web
sites are small (3-5 pages with just a few graphics) and the doorway pages
are one page/one graphic each.
We currently offer two building/hosting plans with set prices:
The performers.net Online Business Card
(one page of text, one graphic, one photo)
$25.00
setup fee (all scanning, graphics, and layout based on a general template.)
$25.00 per year hosting fee (Paid in advance, One year minimum.)
Hosted under our server (performers.net/yourname)
[See sample page]
The performers.net '3+3+1 Special'
(3 pages of text + 3 photos + 1 header graphic - repeating each page)
$75.00 setup fee (all scanning, graphics, and layout)
$75.00 per year hosting fee (Paid in advance, One year minimum)
Hosted under our server (performers.net/yourname)
[See sample site]
Full hosting details are here
We have the ability to host a site of any size. Anything larger than the two
plans described above will be priced accordingly. Contact
us for a quote. We can only host your site under our domain so your address
would be (performers.net/yourname)
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Can
you BUILD my web site?
We
have two basic web building/hosting plans to get you started on the web. See
the above answer for brief descriptions or check out the full
descriptions here.
If you're looking for an elaborate multi-page site, contact
us for a free consultation. We (Jim) are very busy and building a complete
site takes weeks or even months. If
it's a really big project and I'm unavailable, I can probably suggest someone
who will do a good job for you.
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How
do I get started performing?
Rex
Boyd has a few good articles on this topic in the Library,
but basically, you just have to get on stage and try it... every single chance
you get. (Open mic nights, birthday parties, coffeehouses, company parties,
picnics, on the sidewalk, in the park, in your living room... anywhere.) It
will be humiliating and difficult for about a year. Then it will stop being
humiliating and just be difficult for the second year. Then it starts to get
easier, but it may start getting humiliating again.
Performing is a lot of work. If you love it, you'll naturally stick with it
and get better at it. If you don't love it, you'll probably lose interest and
go back to your real job. If the passion to improve is there, talk to other
performers, ask lots of specific questions, hang out in a few of the forums
in the bulletin board section. You will get better. It just takes time... and
hundreds of performances under your belt. Be patient and have fun!
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I'm
traveling through country . Where are some good places
to perform?
Rex
Boyd has a couple of articles on this topic in the Library.
Also try poking around through the bulletin board forums.
Currently there is no master list of places that are busker friendly. Rex's
list is a good starting point, but there aren't too many specific details there.
One of the current goals of performers.net is to compile a master list of worldwide
busking locations with permit, liscense, audition and regulatory information
on each pitch. If anyone wants to help on this project, please contact
Jim.
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How
do I get my props across the border between countries?
If
you're legally contracted to work in a country, you will most likely have the
appropriate documentation to bring your 'business items' in with you. However,
there may be liscense or work-visa fees. I suggest you offer to pay them with
no hesitation. Border guards can smell if you're lying about entering their
country to work. I personally would rather pay the $100 or so dollars it costs
for visas and permits and avoid the 4 hour interrogation and luggage rummaging.
If you really want to enter a country with the intention of busking, but the
story that you're 'just visiting friends for a week' You should ship your props
ahead of time. When crossing the border, make sure there is NOTHING on your
person, in your luggage, in your wallet or in your pockets that identifies you
as an entertainer. (Business cards, t-shirts, promo materials, ticket stubs,
etc) When they ask what you do for a living, you better have your answers down
pat. I've heard of many performers being stopped at the border, put right back
on the plane they came in and shipped home because they had no contracts to
work in the country. I'm sure many other people many different opinions about
this question. Check out the bulletin board forums.
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I'm
not a performer, can I still post to the boards?
We
know that several non-performer people lurk here and read the bulletin board
posts. If you really feel compelled to join in a conversation, please do so
if you have something constructive to add. This is a meeting place for performers,
but we all need an alternative perspective once in a while. If you do decide
to post, please explain who you are and that you are not a performer so we know
who we're dealing with.
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I'm
a festival producer. Can I add to the festival discussions?
Absolutely.
Although this is a meeting place for performers, it IS a forum for discussing
all performing issues. As a festival producer, you bring to the conversation
an important perspective. We'd love to discuss your festival with you, offer
suggestions and constructive criticism. Please be warned, as performers, we
do have opinions and we voice them without hesitation. The forum moderator will
do their best to control flames, but honest opinions will be posted.
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I'm
an agent. Can I add to the agent discussions?
Absolutely.
Although this is a meeting place for performers, it IS a forum for discussing
all performing issues. As an agent, you bring to the conversation an important
perspective. We'd love to discuss agent-related issues with you, offer suggestions
and constructive criticism. Please be warned, as performers, we do have opinions
and we voice them without hesitation. The forum moderator will do their best
to control flames, but honest opinions will be posted.
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The
bulletin board isn't working.
The
bulletin board system is powered by vBulletin®.
vBulletin was installed on performers.net in its entirety.
We did not design the system so we're not experts at fixing
it. If you're having a problem posting a message, there
are a few things you should check out:
1. You must be registered to post a message. Registration is free. You
may register with your stage name as a username, but you MUST HAVE a valid
email address. Keep in mind, the username you choose cannot be changed later.
What you type in the first time is permanent.
2. You
must have your browser configured to accept cookies. The system works by
identifying you with a 'cookie' sent to your browser so you don't have to type
your username and password in every time you want to post. Make sure you have
your browser preferences set to accept cookies!
3. Try reading the vBulletin Built-In
FAQ. The system is self contained and has a specific
FAQ page installed. Another place to visit is the vBulletin
community
support page on their site.
If you are still having problems posting or if the system is down and you cannot
even read posts, please contact Jim.
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