You want to throw a party that's a memorable blow out - something way better than your neighbor's lame ugly sweater party. Congratulations, you had the cool idea of bringing in live entertainment to give it a special kick. Here are a few pro tips to consider before reaching out to the talent.
TOP 13 (BECAUSE WE THOUGHT OF MORE THAN JUST 10) THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE BOOKING AN ENTERTAINER
- Decide on the size of your guest list. An intimate group of 8-12 people is a very different vibe than larger gatherings of 30+ people.
- Think about who will be on your guest list. Your friends from growing up and the neighborhood might like a college themed beer pong party. Whereas, that might not fly with people you know from work, in fact you might just be better off with that ugly sweater party after all.
- If you're planning a 40th birthday party, a comedian, hypnotist or karaoke host could be fun. For corporate events, comedians can play clean, but if you’re still nervous about standup comedy, then a live musician, mentalist, or magician are a "safer" bet. (We recently learned magicians and mentalists are basically the same thing. It's about marketing or branding or something like that. Who knew?!) Side note: we want to reinforce that professional comedians know how to feel out a room and prepare appropriate material, but we aren’t here to push ourselves on you, too much, lol
- Budget is something to consider and what is included in the budget. Does the performer require equipment rentals, travel costs, insurance, or gratuities? If there are gratuities and you hire a ventriloquist do you have to tip both of the acts? These are good questions to ask in advance, well except the last one.
- They say in real estate location, location, location. The same goes for parties. If you’re having a party in your one bedroom apartment for 2 other couples, then an eight person live band might be too much. But for a 100+ person party in a rented loft space - all of a sudden that’s a good idea. In fact, if you got that much space you can hire dueling eight piece bands!
- Timing is important. If you rented out 2 hours in a private room in a restaurant perhaps a three-hour murder mystery show might not be a good fit. But having a wine sommelier or mixologist stop by for a brief tasting would work.
- Ask about cancellation policies and backup plans - weather, illness, or last-minute emergencies happen, so find out your options if something doesn’t go as planned. We once did a private comedy show outdoors and all of a sudden there was rain and lighting. As they do in baseball, the minute there is lighting, the game got rescheduled. Same goes for any entertainment that requires electronic equipment.
- What’s the set up going to be? It’s not just about square footage. You also want to think about a lighting, what the "stage area" for the performer will be, chairs for the audience and acoustics (high vaulted ceilings in cathedrals are not ideal for comedy).
- Think about the timing of the performance in relation to dinner, food and drinks. It wouldn’t be ideal if a poet or spoken word artist is creating a specific moment by building tension with silence. And in the middle of that quiet moment, you hear the crack of a lobster leg. Awkward. But if the show happens too late, then you have to deal with guests who had a few too many drinks and may start talking during the comedian's set, playing on the band’s drum set during their break, or flirting with the magician so much you will wish your guest would disappear.
- Consider your neighbors and noise levels - even indoor entertainment can get loud, especially when people are laughing at comedians, singing during karaoke, and dancing to loud music during a pole dancing lesson. The best bet is to invite your neighbors to the fiesta so no one will complain.
- Now, if there will be kids, then that affects your choice of entertainer. Comedians can do family friendly shows, but if the amount of kids is more than the adults then it turns into a different type of show. In that case you might want to consider a balloon artist, face painter or juggler.
- Think about the occasion for the party. It might be fun to have a fortune teller or tarot card reader for an engagement party. The guests can ask questions about the future of the couple. Just make sure the answers are positive.
- Full disclosure: we wrote this post to help you brainstorm different ideas and for you to also consider standup comedy at your next event. If you're opposed to traditional standup comedy, you could hire a roast master or musical comedian.
Now if you are seriously anti-comedy because at a comedy club, a comedian got off stage during their set, took a pass at your husband, resulting in the two of them falling in love and you filing for divorce - then fine we understand. (Though we have done divorce parties in the past.) Well, in that very specific example forget comedy. Instead hire a balloon twister, storyteller, drag performer, or trivia host who can ask questions about why comedians are jerks. Double full disclosure: in addition to writing this post to help you in your party planning process we did it for SEO purposes. That being said: feel free to hire a game show host, dancing instructor, circus performer or clown. But don’t forget about us comedians. 🙂