Hints for Selecting the Best Entertainers for Your Event
1. Get a recommendation from a friend that you trust. Ask someone who has similar interests and values about past experiences with the types of entertainers that you are about to search for. If they cannot remember the performer's name, maybe the act was not what you're looking for. You may need to rely more on the following steps.
2. Make sure that the act has an online video for your convenience. If they tell you that it's "only a birthday party" you'll have a better idea of what kind of situation you're dealing with. For the prices that most acts charge for these smaller events, you deserve to know what you are getting for your money. In this day and age, any performer who is credible will have online video that you can use to evaluate the quality and appropriateness for your event.
3. Do not rely on letters of recommendation or quotes from 3rd parties that cannot be verified. These are just way too easy to fake or get from people who may have never actually seen the act, or who may just be too polite to give them a credible assessment.
4. Do not assume that higher price equals higher quality. There are some incredibly persuasive sales going on with some not so incredible performers. Make sure that the best performance that you get isn't the one that happens over the phone when you get talked into paying triple what the act is worth. Seeing video is the first sure way to prevent this. The other way is to find out if the person on the other end of the phone is listening to what YOU want for your party. Be especially cautious of "If you book this RIGHT NOW, the special price will be..." An act with a full dance card and confidence in his product will welcome scrutiny and consideration of his competition. Here is a huge misconception - "We probably can't afford this guy, or he won't be available at this short notice." If you see a great act, don't be afraid to call and get a price or availability. You might be surprised. In the current economy, miracles can happen. Even a last minute cancellation could land you a thousand dollar act for a birthday party price! Or, a magician who doesn't do the type of performance that you're looking for may give you a credible, objective recommendation of someone who is competent and appropriate.
5. The more advertising that an act has in the Yellow Pages and local publications, the more you're paying for advertising, and the less that you're getting from the performer. A good performer in a city the size of Houston should NOT have to advertise as much as the ones that have the largest ads in these publications. Word of mouth is enough to keep any act busy, and there should be no need to push the product as hard or as expensively as many of these marketers are.
6. The lowest price is also not always the best, either. You may end up with a performer who is TOO busy to show up at your party AT ALL. On a day that they're running behind, these slash and burn acts may use YOUR time slot to get BACK on schedule for a few shows scheduled after yours. Add to that the possibility of burnout, and your guests are left feeling that they're being "Hit and Run" by someone who needs or wants to be somewhere else.
7. Beware of agencies that are booking EVERYTHING. Especially if they are booking syndicated, copyrighted costumed characters alongside of magicians, jugglers, and other talent-based performers. They will almost always try to sell you over to a costumed character. These agencies NEVER have permission to use these costumes and promote these characters, and they push them so that they keep a large percentage of what you are paying and passing a small percentage to the high school student wearing the illegal costume. If you specifically want a costumed character, these agencies may be of value to you. But, if you want a performance type that requires talent or skill (magicians, jugglers, caricature artists), these agencies are more concerned with getting the larger part of the booking fee than providing the best performers available, and they will be happy to send one of the high school kids to your home with a few weeks practice to be the magician or juggler. Being a magician just doesn't work that way, and your party will suffer through something very uncomfortable. In the information age, the internet has enough information to make most of the local agencies obsolete. Most of these agencies don't even have video of the acts that they represent on their websites. If they're not willing to put that much effort into their product, why should you pay their commissions when you can find performers and agencies online with video to verify the quality of their product? In a matter of minutes, YOU can have more knowledge about talent in your area than most of the agencies in your town. If you found this website, you're totally capable of finding the best acts.
If a performer charges over $165 for a children's birthday party, ask them for a video to show what they do within these 30 to 45 minutes that would justify this price.
If a performer charges over $125 per hour for a strolling/close-up magic performance, ask them for a video or demonstration to show what they do to justify this price.
If a performer charges over $300 for an adult or evening stand-up event, ask them for a video to show what they do that would justify this price.
If a performer charges over $500 for a corporate event, ask them for a video to show what they do that would justify this price.
And why not ask for a video of an act that is priced BELOW the ones in this guideline? Remember, you may just find diamonds in the rough with a little knowledge and a lot of bandwidth!
8. Most agencies have NEVER seen the acts that they are recommending. This is an outrage, and it is unacceptable. In many cases, the agencies are actually performers who are more concerned about booking themselves on EVERYTHING, regardless of whether they are the best act for the job. If you are searching for a magician or juggler, ask the person that you are talking to if they have ever seen the act. Then, ask what the show begins with, and how it ends. If they can't tell you, either they haven't really seen the act, or it wasn't that memorable. Actually, we've heard of acts posing as agents themselves, and STILL weren't sure how they were going to begin or end their own act.
9. There are online agencies that are booking acts in YOUR town that are actually located in Canada. Most of the time, they have never seen the acts that they are offering to you, and they only pay the acts HALF of what you are paying. In many states, the legal limit of commission that goes to the agency is 20% of the total. This does not apply to Canada, so they set up large online booking advertisement schemes, and use well trained phone sales experts to appeal to unknowing consumers. These experts are knowledgeable about sales, but usually they have not seen the acts that they are selling, and they have no clue what you are buying. How motivated will the performer be if he's being paid half of what you are paying the Canadian agency? This really affects morale, and your guests, especially the children, are likely to pick up on these feelings.
10. Ask questions like "Is the performer creative enough to invent his own effects?" or "Does the performer use animals in the magic act?" and "Does the performer perform nationally?" and "Does the performer use body loads instead of store bought boxes and self working effects?" Body load acts are the higher difficulty methods used by the better acts in Las Vegas, and by the best local acts. The less accomplished magicians will always be holding or standing next to a box or cabinet when the animal appears or disappears. The majority of local magicians use self working, store bought tricks that simply don't have the same impact as those of a seasoned, trained performer. These things usually show up on the video. Also, don't count on credentials that emphasize membership in fraternal organizations or clubs. The requirements for membership in these groups are so low, and the political goings-on are so counterproductive that inclusion is usually meaningless. Heavy involvement in these groups (as officers or leaders) may even indicate a more inferior capability as a performer than those professionals who avoid ANY involvement in these organizations. A great performer doesn't need to control other people in the hierarchy of a club... He's too busy motivating people in audiences!
11. If the performer tells you that they are qualitatively the best, usually they're not. A professional lets his audience decide who is the best. Being a good magician is a very subjective evaluation. Look for a performer who emphasizes quantitative elements of the act that can be verified with video and credentials. Most people can look at two videos of performers, and see which one is a better act for their event. If someone tries to tell you that their act is better than another act, but they don't have video to verify their 'opinion,' then they're probably trying to sell you. They may even believe their own story, but video remains the true test of quality.
12. Remember, a Jack-of-all-Trades is usually a master of none. A performer who tries to be everything to everyone usually ends up being spread too thin to be effective. If you're looking for an act who is going to stand up and perform on stage, get one who has the video of that show. If you want a strolling magician to perform close-up magic to small groups of guests, make sure that he either auditions for you, or at least has a demo video of that type of work. If a close-up magician tries to tell you that he can do the stand-up portion of your banquet or event, and he doesn't have video of any past performances... be warned. He just doesn't have what it takes to be booked for this kind of demanding work.
These are just guidelines and suggestions to help you in considering the next act that you book for an upcoming event. Most of all, trust your instincts over the phone. If someone is condescending or rude on the phone, chances are they won't be cured of these antisocial behaviors between the time of the call and the time that they end up in front of your guests. Pay attention to these impressions.
Once you've selected an artist to perform for your group, avoid trying to overly customize his costuming or the theme of his show. If he's an accomplished performer with a polished act, each of your alterations changes his sure-fire expertise that has taken decades to perfect. Let the performer do what he does best, and try to accommodate him to receive optimum value. Most top-notch performers will do anything that it takes to make a successful event. Just let them do their best, and they will shine. The sure sign that you've hired an amateur is the stressed out performer getting the show ready. He or she is frazzled, and for good reason. They haven't done this very often, and they're not sure what to expect. The other cause for stress is that they've charged as much, if not more than the act who CAN pull it off. When this happens, you can be pretty sure that you probably didn't hire a performer who had video available. Set aside a little bit of time, a list of guidelines like this one, and find a true pro! You may be surprised at what you can get when you're going in with your eyes open, and you use a little bit of the knowledge found here.