How rude

[fbhjr]

I like doing the shows we do in Pensacola and Mobile. The main reason is
because the people who run the shows are very nice people. One of the
reasons I feel this way is they often go out of their way to do the right
thing.
The main organizer is a lawyer and we get VERY specific contracts that give
minimum number of performers, minimum number of shows per day, minimum
number of minutes per show and all sorts of other things.
But, despite all the legal paperwork, when you actually get there he is
much more “do a good show and I don’t care” attitude. He doesn’t count how
many people I have on stage, how many minutes I run or anything like that.
He just wants the crowd to be happy.

The contract also says we won’t do any other shows within 100 miles. Not
normally a problem for us living 1300 miles away, but a couple of years ago
we got a call from a mother who wanted some sword fighting at her son’s
party there in Pensacola. I called to see if I could be let out of our
contract for that.
“A ten year old’s birthday party?” the organizer asked. “OF COURSE you
should be there! Don’t disappoint a kid! Stop by here first and I’ll give
you a bunch of discount coupons for all of his friends and a free ticket
for him and his mom.”
We did the birthday party show. The kids were happy.
There are lots of other examples like that over the last 13 years we’ve
done shows for those people.

I guess one of the other towns in the local area wanted to have a faire
like this one. They contacted the organizer and asked to meet with him to
discuss it.
“We can run it for you if you want,” the organizer said. “Pay us a fee to
produce it and we can provide you with acts, vendors and anything else you
would need.”
The town turned him down and is now having their own faire anyhow.

OK. I understand that happens. They don’t want to pay someone else to run
their faire and think they can do it themselves.
I’ve got no problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is this:
The town sent their person who is going to organize it to the faire we were
doing.
They dressed as a king with a crown and all.
Their tabard was a big sign saying the date, time and place of their faire.
And, the guy went from booth to booth, act to act, trying to recruit people
to come be at his faire.

It’s one thing not to hire someone to do something for you.
It’s another to go to that person’s thing wearing a billboard of what you
wouldn’t hire him to do and try and hire what he has away.
That’s just rude.

The faire organizer we work with could have gone to people and waved the
contract at them.
Instead he went and talked with people. He explained why they had the
clause and why it would hurt his faire if folks he had contracted to be
unique started doing other events nearby.
But, he ended with “you have to do what you have to do to get your
paycheck.” Not “I’ll sue you for breach of contract” or anything like it.

So, I still like and respect the guy we work for.
I don’t think highly of the folks at this other faire.