Tag Archive for "Name Entertainment"

Posts Tagged ‘Name Entertainment’

A few words about making the most of winter then enjoying the Spring!

Posted on: March 8th, 2017 by mark60480

Everyone knows how hard the Chicago winters are. What helps us get through them, besides the pioneer spirit? You should embrace what you can’t change! That can mean getting yourself good, sensible winter gear & go ice skating, skiing, shovel your elderly neighbors driveway or go for walks in the many parks. There is also a wealth of fabulous entertainment to choose from, with seasons that focus on the cold months: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, Broadway in Chicago, Chicago Symphony, Civic Opera Company, to name just a few. Outdoor activities help you physically & live theater tends the inner spirit.

All that being said, by the end of the long winter, we can’t wait for spring! If you’re planning an event, spring is a great time to schedule it. It’s easier & more dependable for guests to travel & people are ready to get out. For Corporate Sales Meetings, it’s a great time to motivate. You get a feeling of renewal & new enthusiasm.

Combining work with fun is also important. If Chicago is a destination for your company or corporate meeting, please consider providing entertainment, to enhance your goals & networking. Make that next Convention memorable for everyone attending by making it entertaining as well as informative!

What makes a Fundraiser successful? Stars usually makes people come out at night!

Posted on: June 11th, 2014 by mark60480

We were so proud to once again provide entertainment services for Make A Wish Foundation (wish.org) recently, which we have done for quite a few years. Over the years of our involvement, such Name Performers as Dana Carvey, David Spade, Martin Short & this year, Seth Meyer have performed to a packed house. Having a Star appear for your organization or foundation may just be the factor which makes people choose your event, in our challenging economic times.

Today, unfortunately, there is a tremendous competition for those charitable dollars. If you want to tempt the right people to your event, it has to be special & set apart from the rest. How do you do that, without spending more than you take in? That is the magic trick!

One way to circumvent the huge pricetag of the more irresistible Name Talent, is of course, to either find someone connected with your organization with a personal connection, or research Entertainers with a personal interest in your charity. That is somewhat obvious. Otherwise, a Production Company such as ours can help you to target Performers which would best impact your event & least impact your budget. For example, Comedians are in many ways the ideal Name Entertainment for Fundraisers. They have few production demands, can usually do the right amount of time for your format & they can generally be prevailed upon to do some personal meet & greet with your V.I.P.’s. However, it’s important to have good advice on what kind of Show your featured Artist does & whether that is appropriate for a general audience. Believe it or not, there are many well known performers that not only do not have material appropriate for your audience, but they may not even REALIZE what is acceptable.

Once your guests have (hopefully!) made generous donations, then enjoyed the Show, great dancing helps to unite the crowd & make them glad they came & want to come back the following year! The importance of enticing people to stay, when they’ve just sat through a meal, presentation & Show is paramount. This should be coordinated with your Production staff & Bandleader. Of course, having a fabulous Dance Show Band not only should convince your guests to enjoy the rest of the evening, but can also provide their own promotion of your event through their client following.

On the loss of two dependable Corporate Entertainers – Mickey Rooney & John Pinette

Posted on: April 29th, 2014 by mark60480

It’s strange to link two such well known performers, separated by four decades in birth but weeks in death. We had the privilege of working with both these men in the past. Certainly, they were very different Talents, but they each brought joy & entertainment to their audiences.

We worked with Mickey Rooney (www.mickeyrooney.com) when he was in his 80’s & doing his One Man Retrospective. The staging was manageable & required some sophisticated backline A/V specifics. In regards to working with him personally, he was in every way the professional you would expect. You might imagine that, given his kaleidoscopic 70+ years of Show Biz history, he might have earned the right to be a bit grumpy. On the contrary, he was bright, sharp & energetic, treating the audience to the highlights of his inimitable career & paying tribute to the other iconic performers he had worked with, most especially, a loving homage to Judy Garland. We’re so proud to have included his iconic name to our company’s rich history of Name Performers.

John Pinette (www.johnpinette.com) was a different kind of “Star” & naturally, he would be. Although a veteran of television, movies & standup, he was comfortable to stand alone on the stage & just make people laugh. Of course, if you know his act, you know that most of his humor was self-deprecating & focused on his size & weight. The very thing that brought him fame & fortune, tragically did him in. Sadly, he had to cancel the last show for which we had him contracted. Two weeks later following that cancelled performance date, he passed away.

Both these very talented & very different performers will be missed.

Do you dream about the Stars? Are the Stars right for you? Part 2

Posted on: April 15th, 2014 by mark60480

Would you like to have a Star perform at your event? OF COURSE. Nothing generates more excitement, than an iconic performer at your Big Event. So, what is criteria number one? That would be budget. Establish your overall budget parameters for Entertainment & we can begin. Second of all, what is your audience demographic. It’s important to accurately target the taste of the majority of your guests. However, if you really like a Band or Comedian & you’re footing the bill, GO FOR IT!! Third, is your site. What are the strengths & limitations of the facility you’ve chosen? These are all considerations, when determining the right Attraction for your event.

What are some of the added expenses of booking a Name Star? Besides the asking price of any given Attraction, the extras can add up pretty quickly. Generally speaking, these include airfare(s), accommodation (usually premium), ground transportation, hospitality, sound, lights, staging, security & in many cases, labor. Does this all sound daunting? Well, it can be. However, when you use a reputable Production Company, all these things are negotiated & taken care of for you.

If you come to our company & express an interest in having a Name Entertainer at your upcoming event, we begin with a variety of suggestions, after determining what you like, can accommodate at your facility & what is within your budget. Comedians can be the simplest to produce with the fewest production demands. However, it’s critical that sound, staging, lighting, multimedia & other production aspects match the magnitude of your Star.

Musical acts can be much more challenging, but certainly can have a higher impact. It’s important that you have advice as to what kind of Show a given Band performs, whether they are suitable for the Corporate market & if they are a good fit for your circumstances. Many Bands bring their musicians in from multiple destinations, require specific rental instruments & travel with entourage. They may also require supplemental highly skilled local musicians. This all requires the tremendous expertise of the Producer. That’s why you use us.

Can you have Elton John, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Joel or Maroon Five perform at your event? Yes. Do you need a reputable Production Company to make that happen? Yes again.

Do you dream about the Stars? Are the Stars right for you? What do you need to have Name Entertainment at your event. Part 1

Posted on: April 8th, 2014 by mark60480

Everyone knows about Jay Leno passing The Tonight Show baton this past month. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/jay-lenos-long-goodbye-ready-or-not-its-time-to-move-on/2014/02/05/62454b36-8d19-11e3-95dd-36ff657a4dae_story.html I have great affection for Jay, having seen him doing Standup in Hollywood, when I worked out there thirty years ago. It was the golden age of Comedy Clubs & I scouted out talent at the original Improv. It was there I first enjoyed Jay, along with Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Lewis, Jeff Foxworthy & countless other Comedians who would go on to great careers.

Back in Chicago in the mid 1980’s, I worked hard to convince our Corporate Clients to spend $1500.00 to bring Jerry Seinfeld in for their event. They’d never heard of him & that was a lot of money for a non-name. Later, after the first season of “Seinfeld”, one of those Clients called me & said “You know, I remember you mentioning Jerry Seinfeld. I think we’re ready to book him for our company Gala. I’m looking back on your quote…$1500.00 right?” Comedy is not the only thing that’s all about timing.

It was with great pleasure that we booked Jay Leno for a Corporate Client the first time. Over the years, I have produced Shows with a lot of Stars. Most of them are extremely professional, but a few have been tricky. I would have to say, the one common denominator would be their desire for privacy. We always provide security, to this end. Each time we’ve booked him, Jay has been accommodating to our Client in a Meet & Greet, happy to take pictures with people & to sign autographs. Not only that, but he often disconcerts his Security Guard, by making himself known wherever he goes! We have so many funny stories involving him & Italian Beef stands. Luckily, we always use off duty Chicago Policemen as Security, so they know where the best stands are. Anyway, Jay Leno has always been a delight to work with & does the perfect Corporate Show: funny, clean & fast paced.