Guidelines for Performers

DO:

• Tell a personal story about your experiences with the sex industry
• Be honest – the best stories don’t have to be 100% true, but being honest with yourself and your audience goes a long way
• Know that the crowd at these events is open minded, and ready to hear stories from people in the sex business. Dive right in!
• Give details: personality characteristics, outfits, weird moments – these really make stories come alive

DON’T:

• Try to make a grand conclusion about the sex industry. Let the story do its thing
• Tell the entire history of your experiences in the sex trade. Pick a moment or a particular interaction
• Read poetry or something abstract. It doesn’t go over that well with this particular crowd. Narrative pieces work much better
• Tell an erotic story or read a sexual fantasy. There are great spaces for erotic readings, however the Red Umbrella Diaries is not meant to turn the audience on, but rather to give real life perspectives

STUCK?

• Stories of peculiar requests or memorable personalities always go over really well. If you have gotten clients via email, sometimes reading a thread of emails or weird fantasies clients send you can get a great response

Each performer at the Red Umbrella Diaries gets 7-10 minutes to do their thing.

If you’re interested in performing at an upcoming event, email your pitch (and preferred date) to stories@redumbrellaproject.com.