Moisture Festival co-founder Tim Furst on how the Festival’s unique share
system came about
By Steve
Wacker
Laughter can be private, but it’s best when shared. And as
it turns out, the Seattle Moisture Festival’s unique compensation system is
also based on the concept of sharing.
As awareness of the Moisture Festival increases, its various
venues generate increasing amounts of merriment. We laugh at the comedy, as
well as at self-consciousness and stuffiness. But how does such a system – which
operates on a shoestring budget and is almost completely run by volunteers
– manage to bring together such amazing
artists every year to perform for us lucky Seattleites? That is, how does it
work?
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| photo by Sandy Lam Photography |
Part of the answer lies in the egalitarian philosophy the
Festival maintains with regard to how performers are compensated. In a recent
conversation, Moisture Festival co-founder Tim Furst said that the Moisture
Festival’s share system is one of the things that sets the Festival apart and
makes it possible. “We decided to deal with all performers equally as
individuals, and to give every performer one share for each show in which they
perform,” says Furst.
It works like this: All income goes into the same pot. At
the end of the Festival, after all hard expenses are paid (such as
transportation, insurance, theater rental, and food) and enough money is put
aside to cover the year-round operating costs, the remainder is divided among
all performers and some of the key technical people. In this way, the value of
a share is set AFTER the Festival, after expenses are paid, which keeps the Festival
out of debt. Performers are told they will receive a stipend that is based
on how well the Festival does. Because all the money from all shows is pooled,
it means that the performers are compensated equally, and not based on the
ticket sales for a given night’s show.
Furst also pointed out the share system means that Festival
organizers don’t have to negotiate separate fees for every act, which would be
a lot of work. For example, the 2016 season featured more than 125 different
acts. Eliminating the need for fee negotiation saves the volunteer staff a lot
of time and effort.
Another unique aspect of how the Moisture Festival conducts
business is the way it relates to performers. “We tell performers that if
they’re booked at the Festival and they get an opportunity for a well-paying
gig that they feel it’s in their best interests to take, it’s fine to cancel.
We won’t hold them to their commitment if they need to take another gig.”
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| photo by Sandy Lam Photography |
Furst was a full-time professional performer for more than
20 years (with the Flying Karamazov Brothers), and he knows what it’s like to deal
with contracts, exclusivity agreements, and the like. “We don’t promote the Festival
based on individual performers, and we let performers know they can perform in
Seattle before, during, and after the Festival. We promote the Festival as a
whole, and we arrange performers’ schedules around other things they might want
to do in Seattle, such as catch another show, dine with relatives, or whatever.
We want them to enjoy their time in Seattle.”
In addition, the Moisture Festival philosophy is to treat all
performers equally. “We have a full range of performers, from people just starting
out to seasoned professionals who typically earn thousands of dollars for their
performances elsewhere,” says Furst. “We’ve had Cirque de Soleil performers get
in touch and say that they have a week off, and that they’d like to come out. Also,
each performer gets a full share. It’s not one share per act, but one share per
performer. In traditional vaudeville, different size acts would get paid
different amounts, and a performer’s experience might also affect their pay.
With Moisture Festival, it’s truly a one-size-fits-all model. You perform, you
get a share. You do lights, you get a share. It’s served us well.”
The idea for the share system emerged in about 1976, says
Furst. “A number of performers would come to the Oregon Country Fair (OCF),
some of whom would receive a stipend, but basically performers were paid in
accordance with their ability to pass the hat at their own shows. Then a number
of us who performed on the one vaudeville stage decided to put on a big
combined show, which meant we would all be passing the hat for the same show. We
had lengthy discussions about how the “hat” should be divided, and we decided
that we should just split it equally among everyone who was in the show.”
Furst also noted that for a number of years, the OCF served
as a gathering place for many new vaudeville performers, especially those on
the West Coast. However, the OCF didn’t pay travel expenses and only provided
small stipends. “There were some performers who couldn’t afford to spend a week
in the woods with their friends and lose money, because it would cost too much
to fly out and give up other work, so over the years the OCF became less of a
gathering place for vaudeville performers. A number of us missed that
camaraderie and wanted to create a gathering place for performers.”
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| photo by Sandy Lam Photography |
This desire to create a gathering place was part of the
inspiration for the Moisture Festival. Also, Furst had made many friends during
his 20+ years of touring. “I wanted to provide a place for us all to get
together and enjoy each other. For example, there are many vaudeville
performers in New England, very few of whom had any contact with the West Coast.
So we thought maybe we could connect similar performers and provide a place for
them to hang out.”
Performers appreciate the Moisture Festival philosophy.
“They don’t make very much money, but we pay their transportation expenses, and
we house and feed them,” says Furst. “Feeding performers is not unique, but
it’s not that common either. We provide a full dinner every night for all
performers and tech people.”
As a touring performer, Furst learned that when he was
treated decently – when basic needs were met – it was much more enjoyable. And
if the performers are enjoying themselves, the quality of the performance is
enhanced – the audience can feel it. “So I pushed hard in the early years. If Moisture
Festival was going to work, and we were going to get performers to come in and
perform without any guarantee, we needed to house them, feed them, and treat
them well.”
Moisture Festival audiences can attest to the success of
that philosophy. If the performers seem to really be enjoying themselves,
that’s because they probably are. The Moisture Festival is unique, and we hope
its success will continue for many years to come. "When I stopped touring
after 20+ years, I missed spending time with performer friends from around the
world. I thought I’d start a festival so I could get my friends to come to me,”
says Furst. And we’re glad he did.
Seattle's
Moisture Festival of Comedy/Varietè, founded in 2004, is the largest and
longest running comedy/varietè festival in the world. Learn more at http://www.moisturefestival.org/.
Thanks to
Kirby Lindsay for background information.
The Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow, Scotland is the oldest surviving Music Hall. It is the theater where Stan Laurel, of Laurel and Hardy, first performed in 1906. One element of the festival's mission is to educate the public about the rich history of the variety arts. Music Halls were a major part of that history. To help with this restoration project is the chance of a lifetime. 
According to Moisture Festival co-founder and current Artistic Director Ron W. Bailey, music halls flourished during the Industrial Revolution when populations in cities like Glasgow practically tripled overnight. Over time, the Britannia's bill was expanded to include novelty acts, child performers, acrobats, comedians, high-wire artists, and trapeze artists. Stan Laurel worked there as a janitor while his father performed on stage. Stan was encouraged to try his hand at performing, he made his first public appearance after the hall was rechristened the Grand Panopticon in 1906 and the rest is history. He eventually went to Hollywood with his friend Charlie Chaplin. There, Stan partnered with Oliver Hardy to become Laurel and Hardy, the well-loved comedians of silent film
"One element of the Moisture Festival's mission is to educate the public about the rich history of the variety arts, and music halls were a major part of that history," said Bailey. "To help with this restoration project is the chance of a lifetime. We will use the funds to provide transportation for artists (some from North America and some from Europe) and per diem for them while in Glasgow for 10 days. We will perform in three different venues, and then donate the ticket money to the trust that is in place to restore the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall!"
