First and foremost, please don’t approach this as a paid gig or a
money making booking because there is no financial guarantee.
The Moisture Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and the festival operates financially as a performers' cooperative, with each performer getting one small share for each show in which they perform. At the end of the festival, after all the hard expenses have been paid, the remaining funds are divided among all the performers, the bands and technicians on a share basis. You are likely to get a token amount of money, but it will be more of an honorarium than a fee. Also, please note that hat-passing is not allowed at the festival. The festival creators, staff, volunteers and willing performers work together to achieve a community festival that provides great audiences and a gathering place for Comedy/Varietè artists. The ticket prices are kept intentionally low so that more people can afford to attend and appreciate the Varietè arts. The Moisture Festival books acts by invitation only. Our policy is to only book performers whom the organizers or their associates have personally seen in live performance. However, in the interest of real variety, we save a few slots for performers with whom we are not yet familiar.

How the shows at the Moisture Festival work:

* All shows are in a Varietè format, with a live show band and six to ten acts in every show. Most acts perform between three and eight minutes, although in rare cases some acts may run eight to twelve minutes. There is one intermission.

* We are not currently booking individuals or groups to do full shows - we book acts, which we put together with other acts to create a two-hour variety show.

* Every show features a different mix of acts - no two shows are the same. Acts may appear anywhere from once to ten times over the month-long course of the festival. No one performs in every show. Out-of-town acts usually come in for one or two weeks, and perform in some (but not all) shows during their time in Seattle.

* All acts need to be set up and torn down very quickly and in view of the audience while an MC talks - there is no "act curtain." (For aerial acts that require rigging, the rigging must be done at least two hours before the start of the show.) There is generally no tech rehearsal, although we try to accommodate a quick sound check and/or light check when necessary - in which case your needs are communicated to the lighting and sound operators one hour before the show. This is a fast-moving festival, so acts that require extensive technical rehearsal are not advised.

* Varietè shows happen in venues where there is theatrical lighting, a sound system, technicians, shared dressing rooms, etc, but the theaters are not equipped to handle complicated technical demands.

* Shows are general seating in some venues and assigned seating in others, and ticket prices range from $5 to $25. Food and beer are sold at the theatres during the show. The majority of the shows are all-ages. Exceptions are late night shows 21+ and Burlesque shows 18+.

How Transportation and Housing work:
Performers coming from outside of the greater Seattle area will usually get their transportation expenses reimbursed, although we rarely fly in acts with more than two people. If you are not a United States citizen, let us know if you would need a work visa to enter the country. This may or may not be possible for us to obtain. Housing will be provided in the home of a host unless you wish to arrange your own housing at your own expense.

Now that you have an understanding of how this festival operates, if you still want to perform in the Moisture Festival, please send an email to Booking @MoistureFestival. org

Be sure to give us your name, your stage name and/or the name of your act, your email address, and a contact phone number. Please include a link to an online video, and the URL of your website (if any). Please note that information on Facebook, or any site which requires membership, is not useful to us.

Also, please give us some basic information in writing about what you do. For example: what type of act, how many people are involved, how many minutes the act runs, what are the act's technical requirements, and any other relevant information we should know about.

If your act is a music act or a dance act, please explain why it would fit in and enhance a Varietè show. Music acts perform only two songs in the Varietè format. Dance numbers are usually three to five minutes.

The use of fire is extremely limited. If you want to use fire in your act, please let us know exactly what you want to do, what props you want to use, and what fuel you use. We will let you know if it is possible in any of the venues.

Please be specific as to which dates during the festival you would be available to perform, tell us where you would be traveling from, and whether you would need your transportation expenses reimbursed. If you will be performing on the West Coast before the festival, please let us know the details and one of us will try to catch your act in person.

DVDs and additional promo materials may be mailed to:
Moisture Festival attn: Booking Coordinator
PO Box 17484
Seattle, WA 98127