Category: News

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Variety Performance is Growing

There are more and more event producers seeking variety performers for their shows.  Many of them have produced burlesque exclusively but are expanding the kind of entertainment in their shows.  This is good for everyone; however, what they consider variety usually involves circus or vaudeville type acts.  They of course do not define what they mean by vaudeville acts.  VaudVil hopes define what this means.  A vaudeville act could be any kind of performance art.  It could be standup comedy, an actor reciting a monologue, someone who juggles and uses the balls to play the piano while he juggles…anything!

What these producers are likely searching for is something that has not been seen or done before.  It is very easy to find a standup comedian but how often do you find a comedy duo?  What about comedians who also play guitars during their act?  Where are the Abbott & Costello type comedians?  Where are the Smothers Brothers type comedians/musicians?  Where are any ventriloquists?  These are not likely found in Tucson and probably not in Phoenix either.  How does one nurture this kind of performance art?  Where are the people who are interested in learning these kinds of performance art?

VaudVil is going through a rough year but we hope to find ways to help would-be performance artists learn new trades and crafts.  There are few magicians in southern Arizona (I am only aware of four and only know of three who actually get work).  But again the question is how does one nurture this kind of performance art?  We at VaudVil are currently researching all the things we need to have buskers in Tucson.  Busker is a fancy word for street performers.  This will hopefully encourage more variety performers to crawl out of the woodwork and enhance the entertainment of Tucson and southern Arizona.

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Branding Tips for Individuals and Businesses

What is Branding?  Branding is a person’s gut feeling about a person, place, or product.  Brands can be positive or negative and people opinions of a brand can change over time.  Branding yourself or your business can involve many things, such as; slogans and trademarks, online presence, and social media usage.  How you or your business interacts with the public is also a major part of branding.  Your customer service can create a positive or negative brand so it is always important to strive for excellent customer service.

It is important in branding to describe what you do in as few words as possible.  This is not a slogan or catchphrase.  Try to develop a short phrase around two to five words that sums up yourself or your business.  For example; when people ask me about what VaudVil is, I tell them it is “Tucson’s Source for Variety Entertainment!”  The worst that could happen when I tell people this is they may ask “What is variety entertainment?”  Another example; you have an Italian restaurant, someone asks what you do and you say “Authentic Italian Cuisine.”  Too easy!  You can develop a catchphrase or a slogan to build upon your brand, think of Nike’s “Just Do It,” but you first have to figure out what it is that you or your business does.

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The State of Entertainment in Tucson

Entertainment is a very broad term.  Before we can appropriately analyze this we have to be more specific of what exactly we are talking about.  When I discuss entertainment in Tucson, I am not referring to sports, I am not referring to national tours, I am not referring to seminars or festivals, I am not referring to films or movie theaters, and I am not referring to contests.  So what am I referring to?

We are talking specifically about the local entertainment and local talent right here in Tucson, AZ.  We are talking about local musicians, local singers, local actors, local dancers, local performers, and local entertainment.  Over the last five years there has been a surge of local talent in Tucson and it continues to grow every year.  Tucson has become a hub for Burlesque performance.  One can easily throw a rock and hit three people who perform or have performed burlesque at a local bar or other venue in Tucson.  And that is the problem.  There are so many performers but not enough shows or venues for all of them to perform.

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