Angie McMahon, CIC’s Executive Producer, has been a very vocal protester of the proposed Chicago Promoter’s Ordinance. She had a chat with Performink about it. A nice article came about, with some happy clarifications:
Things You Should Know about the Promoters Ordinance
BY CARRIE L. KAUFMAN
There is one thing we can say for sure about the proposed Event Promoters Ordinance: It will pass. The city council is bent on it. The mayor is bent on it. The city’s legal people have been working on it for years. The estimate is that it will likely become law in early September.
The other thing we can say for sure is that there will be unintended consequences.
But will it affect you?
Uh…maybe…probably not…unless somebody complains.
Clear?
Actually, what astonishes me most about the Promoters Ordinance is that many theatre people don’t know what it is or, if they know about it, they’re not sure how it will affect them.
The Event Promoters Ordinance has been five years in the making, and was a response to the E2 nightclub disaster, when 21 people were killed in a panic stampede. The owner and manager of the club were acquitted of wrongdoing. As was the event promoter. Yet, the city still feels that if the promoter, and others like him, had been licensed, the disaster wouldn’t have happened.
To get a license, potential promoters will have to be fingerprinted, have a criminal background check, and pay a biannual fee, ranging from $500 to $2000, depending on the size of the events the applicant wants to promote.
In addition, promoters will be required to have $300,000 worth of insurance—per event. That’s about $200-$400, depending on the event. According to Steve Paczolt, whose Paczolt Financial insures many theatres, there currently is no low cost insurance that for-profit companies or individuals can buy for multiple events at multiple venues. He’s looking to put together an annual package which will cost about $450 for five events.
It’s worth noting that many theatres and other performance venues already require renters to have insurance. And it’s a good idea for any business—especially one that deals with patrons—to have their own insurance.
The good news for theatres, as PerformInk previously reported, is that there are many exemptions in the ordinance. The most pertinent one is that non-profits are not required to get a license, “to the extent that the not-for-profit corporation personally plans, prepares or executes an amusement or event on its own behalf.”
That last part is what perplexes Angela McMahon of Chemically Imbalanced Comedy. They are non-profit, but they rent to a lot of improvisers and comedians who are not. Are those performers considered promoters? Do they have to kick in almost $1,000 to do their show, even before rent?
