[NEohioPAL]Berko commentary: ARTISTSCHAIR.COM

[Roy Berko]

ARTISTSCHAIR.COM TO OFFER NEW TALENT SERVICE IN AREA

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Until now if you were an actor, voice-over talent,
specialty entertainer, or musician, to get placements
you had to be a client of an agency, check the
audition announcements in the local papers,  or search
on-line at such places as NeohioPAL or Craigslist.org.
 Unfortunately, agencies don’t accept some very
capable people and searching on-line or in the
newspapers can be frustrating as many opportunities
aren’t listed.  If you were someone doing casting,
except for the agencies, present sources do not offer
direct access to the talent’s bios and head shots.

Jeon Francis, who was the publicist for Cleveland
Public Theatre, Playhouse Square Center's ’TONY N'
TINA'S WEDDING,’ and Charenton Theater Company's
Summer Park Bench & Cemetery Tours, has an idea he has
been working on for the last four years.  He has
assembled a team of creative, business and legal
professionals  to develop artistschair.com, a service
which he hopes to extend throughout the Northeast Ohio
region, including Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Mansfield,
and Youngstown.

The expressed purpose of the service is to empower
local artists, better promote the arts and culture
throughout our region, and allow those searching for
talent and resources to do so in a fast, free, and
easily accessible manner.

One of the questions asked by potential users is: 
“What is the cost to me?”  According to Francis, "We
intend to keep the services offered on the site free
to artists and our users for as long as possible. 
Revenue that will help pay for the costs incurred to
developed the site as well as to maintain it will come
in the form of advertising, corporate sponsorships,
and individual donations.”

Since the announcement of artistschair.com in early
March, Francis has processed 135 performer inquiries
from not only northeastern Ohio, but from out of
state.   He also received another 30-40 inquiries from
visual artists (sculptors, ceramic artists, painters)
who were interested in joining.  Unfortunately for
that group the service will not include their fields. 
There are plans, according to Francis, for working
with another service that specifically deals with
visual artists.

As for its relationship to NeohioPal, Francis says,
“I've been in contact with Fred Sternfeld (the force
behind the on-line service) and am excited that there
is much potential for future collaborations to help
one another cover even more ground to benefit local
artists and the artistic community.”  

Artistschair.com will provide a multi-disciplinary
directory that allows the user to search for whichever
particular talent field that may be of interested in
and then view comprehensive profiles of artists that
are available. 

Answers to questions regarding membership, photo and
profile logistics and other related queries can be
found by logging on to  www.artistschair.com.   The
service will become officially active on April 15.




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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