Applying to perform in 2008
How to apply
Here is a step plan for how to apply to perform at Underbelly venues:
- Read our FAQ and the information on the website or download our venue information pack (7.2MB)
- Decide what time and performance space you want
- Fill in our online application form by 31 March 2008
That's it!
We do not operate a first-come first-served policy and so there is no advantage in applying particularly early - we would rather you applied nearer the time with more certain information.
I've applied, what now?
Once we have your application, we will contact you when we start the programming process to discuss your show in more detail and if we think your production will fit into our programme, we will discuss prices and times. Once you have been selected, we will ask you to sign a venue contract which set outs the agreed rental fee and guarantee and describes what you can expect from us and what we will expect from you.
Prices
Our rental fee is based on a box office split with guarantee. The split tends to be 60/40 in your favour. The guarantee is paid in three instalments before the Festival begins. Our starting point for calculating the guarantee is to take our 40% split of what your gross ticket sales would be if you sold 40% of your tickets every night (at your average ticket price), though this may be different depending on the time of day and length of your slot.
We therefore first discuss with you the length of your run and ticket prices and from that work out your estimated gross. From this we calculate your guarantee. The total rental fee at the end will be the higher of (i) the guarantee; or (ii) 40% of your actual gross box office sales. As an example, if your guarantee is £2000 and 40% of your actual gross box office sales comes to £2100, then we will keep £100 on top of the £2000 guarantee we already have and return the rest of the net box office receipts to you. If 40% comes to less than your guarantee we take nothing from your box office.
In addition to this we also charge a publicity fee of £500 (subject to review). This covers the cost of entry into our brochure and all related distribution in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 2007, 200,000 copies of our joint brochure with the Gilded Balloon were distributed, including approximately 95,000 copies in the Scotland on Sunday.
All prices, inlcuding the box office split are exclusive of value added tax at 17.5%.
Get-in and get-out
One recurring problem companies have is with get-in and get-out times. Your slot length has to include enough time to set-up your show and allow the audience time to seat themselves at the start as well as time for the audience to leave and time for you to remove all your set and props at the end.
Companies often under-estimate the time required because they do not want to pay for a longer slot-length to allow plenty of time. If companies then find that they are over-running, that causes subsequent shows to start late. This is not fair on the other companies and so we have to be very strict on timings. Please ensure that you have included enough time in your application for get-in and get-out.
Allow at least 5 minutes for the audience to come in and leave at each of the start and finish on top of your set-up time and make this 10-15 minutes if you think you will be a sell-out or are in one of the larger venues such as E4 UdderBELLY or Cow Barn.