I have a couple of questions and I would like an opinion if possible.
Now that my first burlesque show is done and can be filed under success, I am thinking about our next show. Keep in mind, this is a fund raiser so this is all volunteer and as little money put out as possible.

I have many ideas about what I want for the next show. I have a vision I guess and what I want to know is sort of how to go about making that vision a reality.

My question to event organizers is do you ever specify the acts you want to see in your show and hire performers only if they can/will do these specific acts? Is it reasonable for me to make specific requests of performers if they are not paid?

My question to performers is if you were to participate in a fund raiser, as a volunteer, would you want to keep control over what act you perform or would you be willing to work on an act according to what the event organizer wants?

I have tried to reword this a few times and this is the best i can do.

I hope that makes sense.

I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for certain acts. If you were having a themed show it would be strange if the performers did not suit the theme. I guess as long as you're not making outrageous demands (like, I expect you to hang up side down from the ceilings by your nipples and sing!) it shouldn't be a problem. Although, I have never organised a burlesque act so I guess it could be a little trickier then asking for a theme from belly dancers. I have only organised one charity event before. But I reckon if you've got any performers getting uppity about how they are not getting paid then its a good idea to remind them that it is for charity and that they made the choice to be in it.

I run a show with a vey limited budget. As a rule of thumb I only pay performers I have seen and like the acts, my wife has seen and likes the acts or has been recommended to us by a reliable source. If we have not seen someone perform or they have not been recommended by our trusted burly buddies then we offer them a newbie slot that is unpaid.

Sometimes we see performers and don't like what we see performance wise so we don't use them, that doesn't mean they are bad performers with nothing to offer, it just means that Angel and I don't enjoy what they do.

As we have a limited budget we have decided not to use any themes for our nights. We would rather get talented and entertaining performers doing what they want to do rather than lose people and struggle to put a show together. The reason why The Candy Box and The Cherry Pop Peep Show have themes is because they have the money to employ who they want.

If you do go with a theme then may I suggest something simple like Red Rocks. Red Rocks has a theme of red heads, whether the colour is natural, from a bottle or a red wig, and in one case it was red ribbon tied into the performers hair.

As for free performers, that is up to you. If your fundraiser is for a charity then you will find quite a few willing performers, especially if the charity is close to their heart. Please make sure in advance that the charity you want to support is interested, Angel and I had a nightmare getting the support of a charity we tried to make money for, in the end we scrapped the whole idea and the Silk Stocking Striptease Show was born.

__________________
Silk Stocking Striptease Show

In terms of asking for specific routines, it depends if you mean asking performers to do specific acts that you have seen, or if you are asking them to come up with a new act that fits the theme of your show. There's nothing wrong with saying, "Miss Such and Such I would like you to do your balloon dance and Miss So and So I would like you to do your comedy fan dance." Personally I think more event organisers SHOULD do this so they know exactly how to create the right flow of acts. If however you are saying "Miss Whatsername, I'd like you to do something involving a dolphin to fit my theme" I think it's more difficult as it can cost a lot of money and time to come up with a new act, and is not really fair to performers to expect them to create the acts without payment. (Unless of course they happen to be planning a dolphin act already and your request would spur them into action)

__________________
Castlist - One Site To Rule Them All

It isn't so much I have a theme, though a general theme would be interesting, it's more like I have heard a song or thought of a costume and would love to see it worked into an act. Since I'm not a performer I can't do this myself but I wasn't sure if it would be offensive to say to someone 'you are a great performer, I love this act that you do but do you think you might be interested in creating an act to this song? Here are my ideas.'
I am more than willing to arrange costumes and such, I know that can get expensive.

I guess there is no harm in asking.

This is all great advise, thank you. And on the note of the charity, it's my own 'charity' of sorts (we are creating, printing and mailing out pinup style photo's to our troops in Afghanistan) so I give myself full permission to support that.

I agree, I don't think its unreasonable to request a certain type of act at all! xxx

1. Yes - for my night I have specified 4 different acts so we don't end up with 4 striptease / tassle twirls...

2. I would play whatever music was asked of me, in the unlikely event of me ever being asked to DJ at a burlesque event!

__________________
Come to Bump 'N Grindhouse - Cambridge's Burlesque Noir night...
http://www.bump-n-grindhouse.co.uk