Touring is the bread and butter of most small-scale performance companies and as such, it’s necessary to get pretty good at it pretty quickly, even when touring internationally. Hilary Foster offers some shortcuts to successful touring abroad.
How to get that first overseas gig could be the subject of a whole article in itself, but once a company has had positive overtures from the international venue of its dreams, it’s time to start turning the dream into a reality. Theatre folklore holds that international touring is fraught with difficulties. There are some great stories about sets ending up in the wrong country, performers missing planes and childminders getting lost and ending up in jail. Perhaps it’s true that when things do go wrong, the consequences tend to be more dramatic a couple of thousand miles and a language away from home. However, careful planning can usually provide a way out of even the tightest corner.
Working the system
The first step is to develop Your System. Write lists, compile tables, draw Venn diagrams all over the walls – it doesn’t matter whether your system is based on Post-it notes or satellite technology, as long as it works for you. Your System can become a simple guide to everything; the only way to keep your scattered wits together when you’re struggling to remember your own name, never mind that of technician A at venue Z. And it’s even more important when you go international for the first time, because it’s your security blanket in an unfamiliar land.
The planning focus changes when co-ordinating an international tour. In the UK it’s the organisation and communication of information that takes time, rather than the practicalities. After all, it doesn’t take a genius to get three performers and a transit to arrive in Birmingham at approximately the same time. International hosts frequently take responsibility for many of these elements, which leaves the pre-production planning of an overseas visit dominated by the physical movement of people and objects.
Firstly, international promoters and particularly those in Europe may want to produce their own publicity. Sometimes it’s a language thing, but often a show will be part of a festival or season for which the promoter wants continuity. Then there’s accommodation. Even if they’re not paying for it, most venues have agreements with local hotels and are happy to reserve rooms. However, never forget to check the price.
As for travel, while UK companies may make their own arrangements, the level of help and hospitality is often pretty impressive. Promoters may offer to meet performers at the airport or the van at the city limits, to be guided in. In addition, venues talk to each other about travel and marketing, and have been known to help companies get more gigs in order to keep costs down for everyone.
Going global
Having said all that, there are geographical obstacles to overcome, greater distances to travel, other languages and cultures to consider, as well as different laws, tax systems and local customs. With so much to consider, here is a non-exhaustive list of a few things I find vital to keep in mind when touring overseas, some of which I had to learn the hard way.
• We already have the wheel…
…so don’t reinvent it. Unless you’re planning on being the first company to perform Chekhov in a kayak on the Amazon, the chances are someone’s been to that venue, or at least that country, before and will usually be happy to offer advice. Call the British Council (they’re very helpful), call that administrator you met at a networking event and get on the Internet.
• Quote unquote
While instinct may be to keep the budget low to get the gig, unless your team is made up of Olympic rowers who enjoy hitchhiking make sure your quotes and estimates are realistic.
• No, it’s not a holiday…
…but the same checklist can be useful. Passport, tickets, vaccinations, visas, currency, travel and health insurance. Remember contents and public liability insurance too.
• Can you repeat that please?
Holiday Spanish may be enough to get you a drink but be honest about your ability to communicate. Swallow your pride and ask for a translator, particularly if undertaking participatory work.
• Legally speaking
Get legal and financial documents properly translated, try your local Trade Partners UK for a good deal. If the venue is kind enough to do business in English, triple check anything that’s unclear. You really don’t want to hear “but I thought you were quoting in Euros” when you’ve already booked the flights. Make sure you understand the deal too; there are more ways of doing business than fees and box-office splits and not all of them are easy to follow.
• Technical hitches
If taking lights or electronic equipment, double check the power-supply in the host venues, and the type of plugs and sockets they use. Try to write a jargon-free technical sheet rather than using the vernacular for bits of kit, particularly if the hosts are providing it for you. If one German venue hadn’t checked what ‘Birdies’ are, we might have been lighting the show with the feathered variety.
• It’s a long, long road
Low-cost flight deals look great but can leave at inconvenient times and arrive at inconvenient places. Book far enough in advance to be able to get a good price on a scheduled flight that takes you where you actually want to go (try http://www.airline-network.co.uk). If driving, allow extra time to find a hire company that will allow its vehicles out of the country and expect to pay up to double the standard UK price. Check local traffic laws and regulations. In Spain, for example, anyone involved in a road accident is locked up until blame is established, but van hire companies can provide a kind of ‘get out of jail free’ document. And buy a map – bits of Europe are much further away than you think and yes, it may look like a trunk road but you can’t average 60mph over the Pyrenees.
• Handle with care
Personally, the thought of sending freight brings me out in a cold sweat, but when it works it’s great, as long as you’ve packaged your precious goods to withstand a typhoon and a stampede of angry hippos. Get a personal recommendation, and talk to the company well in advance, put absolutely everything in writing, and give the receiving venue contact details in case of problems at the other end. Whether shipping or driving your set, call your local Chamber of Commerce for advice and help with paperwork. They not only issue documents enabling travel, but are a veritable mine of information and advice.
• Assume nothing – always ask the question
A good motto for life, it serves well when approaching everything to do with touring, both here and abroad. The only stupid question is the unasked one.
There is no big secret to the logistically beautiful tour, beyond what is the secret to every successful event, from a holiday in Margate to military manoeuvres – anticipation, planning and communication. Being organised, competent and communicative alone won’t get you the next gig, but it might just give you the edge in a highly competitive market. Besides, it’s always nice to be told what a lovely, easy company you are to host.
Hilary Foster is Company Manager of Third Angel, a Sheffield-based performance, installation and film company.
t: 0114 281 2044;
e: hilary@thirdangel.co.uk
Third Angel is showing Pleasant Land at Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery until November.
Some useful contacts
The British Council – Arts Group
w: http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts;
t: 020 7389 3194; e: artweb@britishcouncil.org
Independent Theatre Commission (ITC)
w: http://www.itc-arts.org; t: 020 7403 1727;
e: admin@itc-arts.org
ITC runs a one-day course: Touring Abroad
Trade Partners UK w: http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk
Or call Business Link t: 0845 6009006
Creative Export w: http://www.creativexport.co.uk
British Chambers of Commerce
w: http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/