Toolkit
Your toolkit is where you store everything you need, organised for efficiency. Once your toolkit is stocked you will have everything in one place ready to go. Your circus toolkit is digital, you’ll need a computer at hand: create a new folder on your computer and let’s get started.
Your circus folder will contain anything and everything relevant to your career as a circus performer, lots of it may sit unused for months but when the time comes that you need it you will be glad you spent the time putting it all together.
This is something that will be immensely useful for starting your career in circus, staying organised and being prepared gives you a head start in finding work for yourself.
Client stressing about insurance? No problem, documents and risk assessments ready to send.
Job wants promo shots? Lucky me, saved them all in one place, categorised for efficient sending.
Need tailor made costumes? Well, guess who has their measurements on file, good ol’ preparation eh?
Photos
Gather all available photos and stick them in one place, sort them as you see fit within their relevant categories.
E.g. Studio Photoshoots, Live performances, Walkabout Act, etc.
Keep in mind you will have ‘go to’ images that you most frequently send to your clients. You’ll find out what they are over time depending on what you are being employed for the most. Put these in the folder easiest to access to send them out more efficiently.
Videos
Save all videos together, this will be great as a reference and as a stockpile of clips for making a show-reel. Actively try to collect as much footage as possible from every occasion, you never know when you might need it. Also keep all your video editing files here so nothing gets lost.
If you like filming your training, that too will be organised here, be warned though video files can take up a lot of space so eventually you may have to get an external hard drive.
Tip: With videos and all your files get into a recurring labelling structure, for your individual files. Don’t get too creative about how you name things they will be harder to find and look messy. E.g. ‘Backflipfrom roof’, ‘My back tuck’ & ‘bflip’ vs ‘Backflip 1', ‘Backflip 2' & ‘Backflip 3'.
Invoices
Keep all your invoices in one place, your computer will be able to sort them by date which could prove useful when it comes to tax.
You won’t need to save each invoice’s editable file as well as the PDF but it will be useful to create one editable ‘invoice template’ for you to quickly edit and fill in for different jobs.
Again, be sensible when you name your files, stick to a set structure, if you get too creative you will regret it in the future.
Fill in an invoice template with all your details so you will be ready when the time comes to send an invoice for work.
Measurements
Sooner or later you will have a job where the costume department take your measurements professionally. Ask them if you can have a copy, scan it and keep it safe in your folder.
Failing that, you can download a measurement sheet from the internet and fill it in with a measuring tape and some help from a friend. This will be useful to have on hand for the future and you will save yourself a lot of trouble by just getting it done and keeping it safe.
Risk Assessments
The bane of every performer’s life, it’s all fun and games until someone asks for a risk assessment.
Essentially a risk assessment is a document in which you describe the health and safety aspects of your act. Possible hazards, who or what problems they may cause and the steps you have done to minimise the risk.
It’s certainly worth making one for an act you perform all the time. In general it’s great just to have a template ready to be filled in because you never know what obscure job will ask for them and if you are not prepared it can turn into quite a hassle.
To get started, you can download a template from the web and fill it out with the information relevant to your main act.
Insurance
You will definitely want to be insured when you start to perform professionally, this can protect you from a range of problems including accidents hurting yourself or others, damage to props, injury cover, etc.
Make sure you read through what your chosen insurers are offering as circus performance is quite specific, UK based artists often choose to go with ‘Equity’ as the insurance they offer has specific benefits for stage performers.
Keep all of your documents in one place within this folder. One of the most important will be your PLI (Public Liability Insurance) document. If you are not already insured you can get it on www.equity.org.uk (UK ONLY).
Downloads
Separate your work and personal downloaded files. Different jobs will send you different documents and files, many of which you will not necessarily need to keep. However things like contracts, schedules and other important information will be useful to organise here. As they build up you may consider making subfolders for these categories.
Act music
A couple of songs, downloaded and stored here forever, no matter how frequently you perform the act.
Tip: Make sure you have a memory stick, blank CD and iPod/phone ready with your act music on to take to different jobs (you’ll only need to use one of the three but it’s safer to have options in case of any technical mix ups).
CV/Resume
An overview of your skills and your professional experience, keep it clean and concise. Briefly describe yourself, list your training and background then leave the bulk of the page for your most notable job credits and roles.
Don’t forget to keep updating it as your career progresses. You can also categorise these by the sort of job you are applying for, depending on how you want to portray yourself and if there’s something you specifically want to highlight.
E.g. For festivals, television, cabaret, corporate shows.
If you haven’t got a CV you can use this template to give you an idea of how to create your own.
Business plan:
You are venturing into the world of professional work; no business would jump in the deep end without a solid plan, why should it be any different for you? Be smart about it and you will be thankful in the future.
Just creating a basic one page business plan will help you focus and allow you to take a more efficient and productive approach to finding work.
Still having difficulties understanding some of these subjects? We will be covering invoices and risk assessments in greater detail as part of our 10-part free guide. This will be released in the upcoming weeks.
These free guides all build up to the complete e-book ‘Circus Business – Starting Out’ where we will expand on what we’ve covered and much more. For updates and information feel free to sign up to our mailing list and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Instagram.
