notesforartists

Catspaw

	Catspaw Authentic Entertainment - v ery special entertainment for special events. Check out our workshops - especially the range of story workshops. Or make your party an event to go down in history with one of our shows from the Dark Ages, Medieval, Viking, Elizabethan periods. Our wedding listings offer something a little different for stag and hen and wedding entertainments.

NOTES FOR ARTISTS

Most of this website is directed at Clients who wish to book a Catspaw act, however if you are a performer who would like to be represented by Catspaw please feel free to contact us after checking this information.

We ask that you have experience performing for a reasonable amount of time and that you provide us with opportunities to see you perform before we talk about signing you up.

We cannot represent anyone who we have not seen perform: We not only cannot tell if your professionalism and presentation is up to our standards, but more importantly we can't tell whether you are the kind of act we would consider a natural part of Catspaws offerings and therefore easy for us to sell. We sell by infectious natural enthusiasm, not the hard sell, so it is essential we have seen and enjoyed one of your gigs.

It may take me some time to get round to replying to you if you email me offering your services. Please bear with me and remember I am often busy and receive a steady flow (with some surges) of enquiries from performers looking for more people to work with/for, some are personal emails which people have clearly had the manners to check who they are talking to and have looked at this site and consider themselves appropriate, other have clearly used a webbot to find as many addresses to do with entertainment as possible and are spamming us all regardless.

Icurrently have a fairly long list of people who have done both of those, it's no reflection on what I think of your work if it takes a long time to respond or arrange to see you. I would love to see all of you perform, as soon as you have a show which fits into our diary, but it cannot take priority over clients and actual bookings or other work. It obviously helps if you are performing in the Devon area as it's easier for us to get to see you. Just keep us up to date on when you are playing where and one day there will be a suitable moment. Some acts it takes a month or so, some it has taken nearly a year, but I think no less of them for that, in fact I have more respect for their patience and professionalism.

What we are actively looking for:

If your act is particularly suited to Catspaw (ie: you are an historic musician, storyteller or other unusual and high quality performer) it is likely to be a faster response as I can prioritise you over some other work. If offer something we don't yet have but obviously should please let us know.

We're particularly on the look out at the moment for skilled professionals who could provide optional extra material/entertainments for our Viking Feasts, (or even reserve musicians who can dep when our regular musicians are fully booked for this) so anyone performing traditional Norse entertainments will probably get a fairly speedy and keen response. (You need to have costumes of re-enactor standard, not theatre and appropriate equipment). As one of our jugglers is currently considering leaving the country we are also keen to find good jugglers who are friendly, intelligent and can handle and audience well particularly useful if you cover the medieval period in costume and kit).

Limitations on representation:

If you are not in the UK, and therefore I am unlikely to be able to directly audition you as conveniently, then by all means please send us a DVD but you will not be represented on the web site or actively promoted until I have met and auditioned you. Your details will be kept and your DVD and charges will be filed. If we have suitable work which we have no pre-auditioned acts available for you may be put forward for the clients consideration through this route.

If you are a covers band (however good) or a tribute band, or offer DJ or mainstream services it is unlikely we will be able to list you.

If you email me the same information repeatedly, to multiple catspaw addresses; if you do not allow a reasonable time for replies (see above re being busy) unless it is about something specifically time dependent (eg: our gig you were going to audition us at is cancelled and we haven't heard back from you); if you send emails where you clearly haven't looked at what Catspaw does at all - let alone read these notes; you reduce your priority rather than increasing it. When you do those things all you are doing is wasting my time and bandwidth; making me believe you may be hard to work with; and in the case of some emails convincing me that there isn't a person interested in talking to me at the other end at all, just a spammer intent on deluging me with their Elvis poster (or whatever .gif you're sending) and you will be filtered appropriately.

Again I apologise for the delay in responding which is inevitable sometimes but please remember you are not the only act who wants to audition and I do other work other than auditioning new acts. Far better to concentrate on prompt responses to clients and registered performers about actual bookings.

Thanks for your interest, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

If you do sign up with us fees are charged on a percentage commission which is negotiable. and agreed in advance. Your prefered rates will be respected and reasonable riders accomodated where ever possible.

We do not have offices you can visit, however, if you need to meet up with us (usually just for registration) we can easily find a mutually convenient venue and time for this.

If you do join us I'll need your words describing your act, your own pictures and the opportunity to take a few Catspaw pictures (helps with consistancy of appearance in our material to have both).

We do not ask for exclusive representation (though for a couple of acts we are their sole agents) though will will ask that any repeat bookings and enquiries at a Catspaw event are sent to us (we wouldn't stay in business otherwise). I will use your website for my reference but we do not offer links to your existing website unless your only contact details point back to Catspaw - as we don't charge an up front fee to you to be on the Catspaw site we have to survive on our commission on bookings we get for you. If you have a problem with any of this please either explain why in your initial email. We are not a promotional agent, we are a booking agent, ie: we are not here to help you get famous but to put performers in place for our clients and offer you proper paid work.