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APPLY TO PERFORM AT PHYZGIG
The East Coast's largest vaudeville festival.
Nurturing the spirit of vaudeville by presenting the best variety entertainers working in the field today
December 26 to 31, 2011
Portland and Westbrook, Maine
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If you wish to perform at the 2011 Phyzgig Festival (our fourteenth edition), please review the information below for more details about the festival. Our application deadline is October 1st, and we expect to make our selections within two weeks after that time. Thank you for your interest!
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THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF SHOWS AT PHYZGIG
Vaudeville Shows
Vaudeville shows feature 4 or 5 performers in evening length shows. Each performers does up to 20 minutes in one or two entrances. All vaudeville shows are at Portland Stage a 290 seat theater in the heart of Portland's Arts District. There is a live band and a full rep plot for all vaudeville shows.
Phyzkidz
Phyzkid shows are held at Space Gallery, and open space in downtown Portland, and feature 3 performers, each doing 15 minutes in one or two entrances. Kids sit on the floor in front of the stage. Lighting and sound are minimal.
Burlesque Show
An adults-only show that allows the performers to employ a more sophisticated brand of humor.
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COMPENSATION FOR PHYZGIG ARTISTS
Performers are paid strictly on a share system based on the net ticket sales for the whole festival. Performers receive one share for each show in which they appear (1/2 share for a second show in the same venue on the same day). Acts that involve more than one artist also receive an additional 1/2 share per additional person. Compensation is based solely on ticket sales, and a modest amount of fundraising. Your payment may feel more like an honorarium than a performer fee, but Phyzgig does offer performers opportunities to network, see one another perform, and showcase your talents in a first-class professional theater facility in front of a knowledgable and appreciative audience.
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HOW THE SHOWS WORK
All Phyzgig shows are presented in a variety show format, meaning entertainers are being booked for 10 to 20 minutes of material, not for entire shows. Depending on the nature of the material and the type of show you are booked for, you would either perform one continuous segment of material, or appear once in each act for those shows with an intermission. Each show features a different mixture of performers ensuring that no two line-ups are the same, and acts may appear as many as five or six times or as few as two depending on your availability. Vaudeville shows at the Portland Stage Company theater are accompanied by a live pit band, and performers are encouraged to work live music into their routine whenever possible. Most acts at Phyzgig are presented with minimal tech support, though Portland Stage is able to accomodate aerial acts and we do schedule a technical rehearsal with the Phyzgig tech director on stage prior to your first appearance in the festival.
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TRANSPORTATION
Phyzgig does provide limited funding for artists coming from away. We try to cover gas, or the major part of an airline ticket.
HOUSING
While in residence here in Portland, accommodations are provided in a private home, usually within walking distance of the theatr venues. Performers are also welcome to arrange their own housing during your residency period with friends or in a downtown hotel.
CATERING
The festival also provides backstage food backstage for all performers; lunch at the Phyzkidz shows and dinner at Portland Stage Company.
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HOW TO APPLY
If you have performed at Phyzgig before, there is no need to send us a performance video, but we still ask you to complete an application for our records. If we are not familiar with your work, or if you have new numbers, please mail us a DVD or email a link to a web-based video. Please try to supply at least 10 minutes of continuous footage - videos that consist of a series of short clips are not acceptable.
If you are primarily a street performer, please supply footage of yourself performing in a theater setting (indoors or outdoors), if available. Phyzgig is not a street festival - no performances take place outside, nor can performers pass the hat after their shows. ALL ARTISTS NEED TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FORM. Of particular importance is technical information, especially if your show requires as part of the act something over and above lights up and lights down.
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Phyzgig celebrates a grand vaudeville tradition that dates back hundreds of years
The physical comedy festival began with a series of performances of Avner the Eccentric in 1997. During the next few years, the festival expanded to the point where it now offers Portland audiences a great opportunity to chase away post-holiday blues with a family-oriented week of music and magic, mirth and mayhem. Each performance is a mini-festival unto itself, showcasing the work of three to seven vaudeville entertainers.
Phyzgig is presented by Acorn Productions, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
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Phyzgig 2010 performers
Jamie Adkins
Ambidextrous
Avner the Eccentric
Daniel Forlano
Shane Miclon and Aaron DeWitt
Karen Montanaro
Norman Ng
Drew Richardson
Phil Smith
Michael Trautman
Yo-Yo People
Zany Umbrella Circus
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