Thread: Driving and burlesque

I do not drive, and have been increasingly wondering if I should learn. Im suspecting that it makes it harder to use the train to travel to gigs, lugging stuff about, restricts prop size, and its not just getting on the train, its getting the bus to and from the station either end. What do people think, does it really make performing life massively easier if you have car? (not had a car in my life since I was 13).

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I passed my test about 6 months ago and I'm SO glad I can drive, it makes things so much easier! I've done shows I probably wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.

I'm debuting an act next year with a fairly large prop and I wouldn't have even considered it if I didn't have my car!

So yeah, for me personally, it's made a mahoosive difference

xx

For many years I had quite serious epilepsy (now cured) so couldn't learn to drive. I guess it makes getting to some gigs a little harder.

Might just mean I should only do the kind of gigs where they'll send me a limo.

I don't drive and so far it hasn't impacted my performing career.

Occasionally when lugging my huge red suitcase from one end of the country to the other I wonder whether it would be easier if I drove but as I can't really afford to run a car and live in a city with decent public transport links (London), at the moment there aren't enough benefits for me.

I do deliberately create acts with as few props as possible for transportability, but as the nature of my style of burlesque lends itself to these I've never felt I have to sacrifice an act concept that I loved because I'd never be able to transport the prop for it.

And on the plus side, I have well-toned arm muscles

I can drive, but don't own a car just now. I've lugged props on 10 hour bus journeys and around subways and undergrounds. Still it's better than trying to find a bloody parking space in London.

I think as well as prop size it depend where you live.
I have a giant suitcase which is a nightmare on foot but as I do most of my travelling on the coach they just stow it underneath.

The big problem for me that forced me to learn (passed a week and a half ago - going to see potential new car in a couple of hours - can't wait!) was that from Nottingham so many destinations involve changing coach/trains half way through and this is my pet peeve. I hate changing.

I also like to get into the right mood to perform during the day and being on a smelly coach or train with a bunch of reprobates and then having to lug my case around either side doesn't do it for this little blonde girl.

Of course road rage and getting lost might be just as bad... in a few months I will probably have a whole new set of travel gripes!

Originally Posted by Mat Ricardo

Might just mean I should only do the kind of gigs where they'll send me a limo.

That sounds like a reasonable compromise to me

Theres a few things that have stopped me doing it, the expense of lessons, then a car, then insurance- reallly no clue how people afford it! And also, I am not a natural driver, more of the "drive down the street the wrong way" type, so theres an element of fear holding me back!

A few things to note with driving:

1. Insurance
If performing is your main job, cheap car insurance is very hard to find. Entertainers are considered "high risk" and our job can and does push up premiums.

2. Car Parking
So, you have a large prop, you're booked for a gig off the back of it, the gig's in central London and pays £80. You spend £20 on fuel (10p per mile), and being at the venue for 4 hours, you spend £36 on car parking... You leave the gig with £24. When you put this through your accounts, you may find that *technically* you've made a loss on this booking, as tax rate mileage is 40p per mile... Is the addition to the CV/exposure/networking ops worth it?

3. Large props generally
Many large props, if they fit in a car, are collapsable... and I've seen few large props that are both collapsable AND look good. Vicky Butterfly 's theatre is a good example of a large prop that folds down much smaller, but I've seen many others that simply look cheap and home-made. Surely the point of a large prop is to add value to your burlesque brand? And if this is the aim, surely the large prop has to look valuable?!

4. Driving home
Don't forget that after a show finishes, you've packed up AND you've been paid, you'll either have to drive home, or get yourself to a promoter's house. I've certainly driven 2.5 hours to get home at 2am in the past. Maybe I'm a bit loopy.

I've started taking the train whenever I can as it's often more profitable to my business than taking the car. However, I use my car for relatively local shows, when I want to get home and sleep in my own bed after work.