So the answer to the question "On your current budgetary estimates, will the charity make more money in donations than the total costs for the show?" is No, then?

Will you be paying £250 yourself?

If you want to put on a show, put on a show. Charge the right amount so that you can pay your performers an appropriate fee. This whole thing seems entirely strange if it's intended as a charity event, which would be put together in the way Bea has already explained - that is, with performers and venues donating their time.

Well you have to be 'business minded',is what we are trying to convey,ie professional,what we dont want is somebody thinking thats a good idea,making it their own and purely for selfish reasons,i think hush hush is a misconception,everything is being done in a transparent way,but there will be people looking to take advantage of things,but if people ARE seriously interested send an email,or better yet pick up the phone,we think its a good platform for people to get a break in a saturated market

I'm also rather confused about this £250 thing. MoB is co-promoting Burlesque Against Breast Cancer and nobody is asking for a penny. The venues are not charging, the performers are not charging and pretty much EVERY PENNY is going to the Macmillan Charity.

If you are looking to raise money to pay for venues, then dare I say that you should look for a different venue who will provide their services for free.

Our event also has guaranteed press coverage from the lovely Emily Dubberly (the founder of Scarlet Magazine) and her huge network of journalists and none of this is costing any money at all.

You say that you think this is 'a good platform for performers to get a break in a saturated market', but having to pay £250 for the privilege is not a good deal for performers for two reasons:

1. Without headliners, there will be very little media interest.
2. Without the media interest, there is no impetus for newer performers to pay £250 for publicity that isn't guaranteed.

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,would you prefer if we had people trailing the country to perform at events on the promise of a fee they never get?as is common place?have we personaly afronted you somehow?or do you just dislike the idea of experienced talented people trying to make a Positive contribution for all,without consulting yourself?you dont like it,you dont want to help,dont get involved,its that simple but dont tear other people down for trying something good,is that cynical people have become?its a shame

erm.... its more that this sounds like a scam, performing for free or for expenses is bad enough as a new performer, when you're struggling to find money for costumes and props etc but being asked to pay £250 to perform is ridiculous, i wouldn't care if that £250 guarenteed me the next cover of bizarre mag!

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I have to agree. As a very novice performer who is trying to get more gigs and coverage I wouldn't even think of touching this one. £250 to perform in an unamed location, no guarentee of coverage, no named charity and no willingness to be open just screams scam.

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Hello,james Here From Soulgroover,kinda Staggered That My Colleagues Getting Kicking Here,if You Feel So Passionate,help Us Find A Venue,design Company For Marketing,etc Prepared To Give For Free,seriously,help Us,i Would Strongly Caution You On Words Like Scam Tho,or You May Find Yourself Compromised With Libel,

We'd all be happy to offer advice if you'd be more open about exactly what it is you're trying to do... I get the impression that the whole thing might just need a little more thought putting into it.

There are a number of pressing concerns. We're not setting out to insult you or belittle you. We like burlesque events, all of us. But if you're serious about this event (and I do not doubt for a second that you are), then you need to think about the following issues:

- What is the money needed for, exactly?
- Will this event actually be beneficial for the charity - that is, will it make more money than it costs to put on?
- Why shouldn't people willing to pay £250 for charity just give it straight to them? Why are you putting together a charity event otherwise?
- If you're presenting this as a media/networking/exposure type thing for newbies, exactly what coverage and exposure are you offering?
- Are you personally paying £250 of your own money? If not, why not?
- Why aren't ticket costs sufficient to cover expenses?

As I said, you're asking people to pay a weeks' wages up-front, with no transparency of what the money is paying for. This is highly unusual on the burlesque circuit, and if these kind of responses have surprised you then I think you really do need to get back to the drawing board and put a little more thought into exactly what you're planning. I'm sure if someone asked you for £250 for an unspecific purpose, you'd have some concerns, even (and maybe especially?) if it was "for charity".

We all want to help these types of events in any way we can - indeed, as James and Bea have explained, posters here can and often do put together and perform at charity events - and so please don't take anything said here as an insult.

I might have fixed the thread now. I had to delete a couple of the posts as I thought this was the problem. As it turned out, it wasn't the problem - sorry about that!

Hopefully all sorted now though.

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Seems to be working again! Thanks!