From: Jimgamble-AT-aol.com Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 03:10:24 EST Subject: PUPT: Re: About International Touring Dear Puppeteers, I was asked a number of questions regarding International Touring by a small puppet company contemplating touring. Following is my reply for any of you who might want to wade through all this. If you are not interested, JUST DELETE!!! I've been fortunate over the years to do a lot of International Touring, usually under sponsorship of an organization or booked through an agent (for some organizations), or for a festival of some sort. Two weeks ago, for example I went to Honduras to perform for the victims of Hurricane "Mitch" but it was sponsored by a foundation and TV talk show hostess. The San Diego ABC- TV (CH 10) affiliate station sent a camera crew to create a four-part report on the trip and my shows. My appearances in Iran were at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Iran Puppetry org. My shows in Singapore were part of the fringe festival and sponsored by a shopping center, but booked by one of my agents. In Hong Kong last year, I played theaters, booked by an agent. Others from my company performed in Japan & again in Singapore in 1998, & these connections were made from pervious tours. In 1988, I was invited to perform for the International Unima festival in Japan. Thereafter, I was invited to Korea and other places by puppeteers and organizers who saw me in Japan. Earlier, I did tours for Continental Airlines to Micronesia, New Zealand and Australia as a promotional tour...and even in the Viet Nam refugee camps on Guam. In South America while in college, I went to South America as part of a Methodist Youth Caravan. So you see, I've had many different trips, some due to previous trips, appearances at other festivals, and some booked by my agents. But I've been doing this a long time, and have many contacts. Upcoming....I've been invited to Bulgaria and Viet Nam, and will tour again in June 99 in Japan....for a different organization from previous tours, but arranged by a person who is now retired from the earlier organization, now working with a new company. It's always nicer to be invited than to try to do it on your own. If you have Italian connections and family, write to them and tell them you would like to perform. Maybe they can set up a tour...If you are fairly new at this, you might just ask for ground transporation, room and board, and small honorarium to cover costs. I have done tours (even to Honduras) where I was paid nothing, but gave my time in exchange for a trip. Sometimes, I've had to pay my own way over, and sometimes I've been able to get a sponsor to underwrite my airfare in exchange for promos...(The LA Music Center was listed as a sponsor for my first tour to Japan to perform for the UNIMA Festival.) For all other Japanese tours, the sponsor paid me and covered airfare and ground transporation as well as room and board. Language is a major consideraton, but playing in English can be an advantage if the audience might be studying English. I've studied Japanese for 10 years, and perform entirely in Japanese while in Japan. But sometimes, they request that I use English as well. In Iran, I mixed Turkish, Farsi, French, German and Spanish....no one spoke Japanese there. I've tried to choose material that is not "culture dependent" nor dependent of clever play on words, slang or comedy...stuff that is not universally understood. I have watched too many disastrous shows in Hungarian, Georgian or Vietnamese languages playing to Japanese, Korean or English-speaking audiences. Best to study the culture in advance so as not to present something offensive. It is a mistake to force the audience to sit through a play that is unintelligable to them. With marionette variety acts, even pulled together in a some theme...e.g., A Circus theme....it's not so important to speak the language fluently. You may want to create a sound track on tape in the language of the country visited. We created a Cantonese version of "Peter and the Wolf" for my tour there...I performed to musical cues, but the sound came out in Cantonese! It varies from country to country, but touring aboard sometimes requires work permits...usually obtained by the sponsor. Iran required a special visa (but the paperwork was generated by the ministry of culture). If you're going for a festival, then it's a cultural exchange and no permits are normally required. For customs, I claim these are home-made dolls for my "hobby." Carnets are expensive and the paperwork is interminable. Depending upon the time of year and location, yes..some venues are outside. In answer to your question re: fees. You should determine your costs first, then factor in items that may be supplied by a sponsor or by several sponsors...meals, hotels, ground transportation, etc. I usually receive the same fees abroad as I would get at home...but these are not birthday party fees, but rather theater venue fees. My programs are 50-60 minutes, for families and with no intermission. Some cultures are used to 30 min, intermission & another 30 min. My shows play better straight through...but the intermission does sell video tapes. Air travel requires a lot of forethought. Shipping containers that exceed airline baggage limitations can cost a bundle to send. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a second airline ticket (to use the baggage allowance) then pay for each extra piece of luggage (or box of puppets.) Since deregulation, not all airlines charge the same, nor allow the same maximum size and weight dimensions. Airline consolidators offer the cheapest seats, as well as Internet-purchased tickets. Serving as a courier is another way to get a cheap ticket abroad, but couriers give up their baggage allowance...this is how the courier system works. Cargo is flown cheaper as baggage, then as unaccompanied cargo. I hope this has answered some of your questions. In fact, there may be others also interested in this stuff, so I'll post it on the bulletin board for any who are interested. Good Luck, Jim Gamble --- Personal replies to: Jimgamble-AT-aol.com --- List replies to: puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- Admin commands to: majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
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