Performance artists: booking commission and hire calls

Give programmers, curators and companies a simple way to start a conversation: a first call they book online, with one service for commissions and another for hiring an existing piece. Ask before the call for the context, the dates, the venue and the budget range, send your technical rider afterwards, and book the performance date yourself as one slot once everything is agreed. You spend less time on email back-and-forth, and every call starts with the information you need to say yes or no.

A commission call is about a new piece: the theme, the space, the timeline, the fee and the rights. A hire call is about an existing work: the dates, the technical needs and the conditions. Separate services keep each call focused. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own, and say whether fees are negotiated after the call.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the booker's calendar file. Ask in each description for:

Invite bookers to email plans, photos of the space or a brief before the call, so you can come with ideas rather than questions.

Programmers may be in another city or country. Book doesn't create video links: put a fixed meeting link in the description, or send it by email after booking. Say in the description which time zone your slots are in.

Add your booking link to your portfolio, your email signature and the press kit you send to programmers, and mention it in festival applications. A programmer who can book a call in two clicks while reading your dossier is easier to reach than one waiting for a reply to an email.

Open a few call slots on set weekdays, away from rehearsal days and travel. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date. When you're touring or in creation, end the series and say in the description when calls reopen. A booked slot leaves your page, so your rehearsal time stays protected.

Send a short written summary: what was discussed, your technical rider, a fee proposal and the next step. For a site-specific commission, book a site visit yourself from your calendar; first and last name are required, email and phone optional, and the booker receives a confirmation with a calendar file if you enter their email. Book doesn't send reminders, so dates already in their calendar keep the project moving.

Once contract and fee are agreed, create a slot on the performance date with one place and book the organiser into it yourself, so the date leaves your page and can't be booked twice. Put the venue, get-in time and contact in the booking note. If you perform on several dates, book each one; slots of different services can overlap, so check your calendar for clashes before you confirm.

Commissions raise questions of rights, credits, documentation and fees that belong in a written agreement, not in a booking. Use the booking for the conversation and the dates, and keep the terms in your contract.

Bookers can't move or cancel online: they contact you, and you move the call or the date from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book doesn't take payments, so fees are invoiced as agreed in your contract. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.