Kids Entertainer Podcast

Welcome to the final episode of Season 5! We have Annie Banannie today as a co-host with Zivi for this season finale. Today we talk about transportation, what are the recommended vehicles that kids entertainer use and their benefits. We also talked about balloon workshops and how to do it better using the tips from one of our courses. Last but not the least we discussed the hot topic of when to diversify or add a new service to your mix. All of this and more in this season finale, episode 115. Listen now!

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice:

Show Transportation - question from Brettso the Great

"Hello there! This is Brett Bolich aka Brettso the Great from Southern California. Thanks for answering my questions in regards to stage shows but I had a questions regards to transporting your show from venue to venue. Now I that a lot of you guys have vans, specifically the Nissan NV200 as well as the Ford Transit style vans and it was really popular, I currently have a Rav4 that I love but eventually I would love to upgrade to one of those because I'm getting to the point where I might have to carry more stuff in the near future. And I just want to get your thoughts on those style of vans, what to look out for, what to consider and maybe like a checklist of things that you would use say okay this is worth getting or just keeping your vehicle originally so anyway thanks again and talk to you guys soon!"

Annie currently uses a Toyota Corolla but before that she used to ride a Prius. Before she had an accident she was carrying a lot of stuff in her car and after that she started thinking why she's carrying too much stuff around. Now her rule is, "if it doesn't fit the car it doesn't go in her show".

Zivi on the other hand uses the Nissan NV200 where he can fit 1200 fully inflated modelling balloons. It's branded so he can easily identify his car and for people to see it. Branding your vehicle is another form of advertisement for you business that you can take advantage of.

We conducted a survey on Facebook to find out what people use for their business and here are the responses from our community. Check the episode bonus to see full discussion.

Tips from the Vault:

Tips on How To Do Workshops Better

Tips on how to do workshops better:

• Outside vs Inside - we strongly recommend doing it Inside
• The importance of the extra show
• Why two hours is too much
• Two a day with a normal size car
• Square baskets - instead of round baskets to maximize the space
• For Adults - basically just teaching them how to teach balloons to kids

Watch the video to see the tips on how to do better balloon workshops.

Hot Topic:

When to diversify and add a new service to your mix?

For Annie, she just started diversifying with her shows without using balloons, this is because she wants to grow and pushes herself to do any type of show but she will still continue to be serving her customers as the balloon storyteller.

If you're going to diversify just make sure that you know where you are going to in terms of marketing efforts.

One more decision filter on when is it a good time to diversify, which is related to foundation of anything we do which is our skills.

Welcome to episode 114 of Season 5 of the Kids Entertainer Hub! Regina Martinez is back to co-host with Zivi in this spectacular show. Today we talked about how to determine whether a trick is ready to be performed or not and how to ask for feedback. We also had a discussion about what to do when you get asked to stay longer and extend the show, plus our thoughts on performing in small apartments. Listen to this episode to learn more!

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice:

How do you know a trick is ready to go into your show and how do you ask for feedback - from Joris

"Hi, this is Joris! How do you know if you are ready to perform a new trick and how do you ask for feedback?"

A big part about that are these questions

How well do you know the trick?

Have you practiced it?

Have you ever recorded yourself?

Have you been able to watch the recording?

Do you look comfortable with it? Does the script flow?

It's better to look back at these questions before you perform it in your show and if the answer to these questions are YES, it means that you're ready to perform the trick!

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault:

How do you deal with a customer that asks you to stay longer?

Regina experienced this and probably most of you who are listening were already asked to stay longer. Regina shared her experience in one of her birthday parties where she developed a plan where she informs the booker about the upgrade options in case there's a need to extend the show. Zivi also has his own similar way to inform the customer about pre approved extension agreement by communicating it to the booker in advance.

Hot Topic:

Small apartments - can you actually perform in them?

Regina personally doesn't want it because there are so many distractions in a small space while Zivi is so used to this and loves the shows in small apartments because it is normal in Israel to have shows inside small homes. There are prerequisites though for Zivi, first is an elevator, he doesn't want to carry all his stuff to more than two floors, second is as long as there's no sugar for the kids so that there's no extra energy for them to run around and be jumpy, if these two are met then it's a go. Zivi also trains the moms to have the show parent free and adult free.

Hello! Welcome to episode 113 Season 5. Today we have Danny Schlesinger to brainstorm with Zivi in our exciting topics. We are starting with tackling a question about starting the show later when a customer request so suddenly at the event. We are sure you already experienced this so listen up to some ideas on how to avoid and deal with this. We also talked about goals and the 3 steps to follow to make sure you reach them. Lastly the hot topic that is going to affect 120% of kids entertainer that is worth the debate so tune in and listen to learn more.

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice:

Customer wants me to start later AFTER reaching the gig - Question from Christine.

"Good morning. This is Christine McKnoxville Party Magic in Tennessee. What really bothers me is after I've made every arrangement possible for a booker, I know what time I'll be there, how long my show is gonna last, everything is confirmed and then you get there and they realized that there's nobody there, they want you to wait, and they tried to make you feel bad because you're there and their guest aren't and you've got something else going on right after you cannot stay. I tried to be very kind to the people that have booked me but you know many times I've only received the deposit I have not received the full payment and I'm afraid that if I don't wait for their entire guest to be there that I am not get paid. So what's the best way to deal with something like this? Thank you very much I appreciate your response."

This situation has happened to Danny and it felt terrible. For him if you're a balloon artist you can use the waiting time to do you balloons but if your a magician you cannot do your magic or games. Zivi on the other hand experienced this situation in a surprise birthday show where the birthday boy was not there and got stuck in traffic. Ouch.

So what can you do to avoid this situation?

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault:

3 Steps to Reach Your Goals - Goal Setting from the Getting Started Course.

Here's the very methodical approach by Ken Kelly broken down by Zivi Kivi.

1. Know what your goals are.
2. Have a step by step plan on how to reach your goals
3. Implement the learning that will empower the momentum to

This video is a must watch if you want to start reaching your goals.

Hot Topic:

Using the coloring book - is it still OK to use it?

This coloring book is a self working magic trick and an entry level magic trick. Nowadays everybody is using it and everybody sees it but the principle is fantastic. There are already many other versions of the coloring book, you can even make your own version of it for your show.

If you're happy with the coloring book then go ahead and continue to use it, there's no problem in that as long as you make you audience happy but if you wanna be original there's a lot of options for you to choose from.

What can you add to the coloring book routine? How can you expand and make it more interesting? These are the questions that Danny wants to ask from you. And for him it's absolutely okay to use the coloring book routine.

Let us know what are you doing to improve the coloring book routine? Do you think it's okay to perform the same trick or you have a clever way of doing it. Share us your thoughts in our Facebook group!

Welcome to episode 112 of the Kids Entertainer Podcast. Today we have Annie Banannie as the co host. In this episode and we talked about the book Seriously Silly and the Repeat After Me principle. We wrapped this episode with an important discussion about the ecological nature of latex balloons. All of these exciting topics in episode 112. Listen now!

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice:

What are the differences between Seriously Silly the book, Seriously Silly the DVD, and the new book Super Sized Silly? By Robert Clarke

"Hey, good morning Zivi! It's Robert Clarke here, I just have a question mate. David Kaye's book Seriously Silly, I've come across Serious Silly that come with a DVD, but there's also one Seriously More Seriously Silly but doesn't come with a DVD is this the same book or is it two title different books? Love to know, thanks mate! And the website is http://escapadesentertainmentandpromotions.com.au/"

The new book book contains 150 routines from 104 different magicians. It shows the routines done by different magicians.

The first book shows what tricks work for specific age level and teaches what makes kids laugh and interact.

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault:

The Repeat After Me tactic - as shown in David DeVitto's lecture Bring in the Laughs to Bring in More Bookings

Zivi personally uses this principle in all of his shows, he teaches one magic trick in his show, either one with his magic bracelet or anything okay to share and he asks to do the magicians oath to never share the secret.

Example:

I, Zivi Kivi, promise, to never reveal, the secret, and, I will do, anything that, my mom tells me to do, and also, my dad, AMEN

Annie tends to use it for a safety pledge if she's gonna do something that looks dangerous. It's building the excitement but also reminds them about safety.

Hot Topic:

Can we help spread the word that balloons are eco friendly?

With the raising concerns about Balloons and the Environment… how do we spread the word about the misinformation (like people who say balloons are made of plastic) and get the real info out while still being amusing?

Annie thinks there's a lot of misinformation about balloons, she shared that it started in the 80's that it was reported that it's dangerous like plastic.

A latex balloon is made from materials from a rubber tree (each tree can last up to 40 years and keep producing materials).

Balloons are made from biodegradable materials.

What can we do in order to help this environment cause?

Part of our job is to educate people about balloons and we have so many tools we can use to share it with people. You can ask people to do a pledge about helping the balloon and environment cause.

Share with us if you do anything in your show about spreading awareness about balloons. Do that in our Facebook group, please!

Welcome to our 111th episode of Season 5. Our co-host for this episode is Regina Martinez a.k.a Silly Sparkles. Today we talk about how to land you first gig and tips on how to continue to improve after your first show. We also shared our thoughts on how to market yourself during your show. Plus, we also shared the Jingle Bell Monte magic trick for this coming holiday season. Stick around and listen to the episode.

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: NJ asked how to land the first ever gig

"Hi Zivi, In the topic that someone gets talked about.. I am a new kids entertainer, you know that's not true, but I'd like to know how do I get my first gig without having to use an agent, and will I get the gig without previous experience? Thank You!"

Regina shared how she started her career, she did not have an agent but she had some friends who are kids entertainer and referred some clients to her.

How can a children's entertainer get their FIRST EVER gig? Without using an agency?

Assuming you've already had a few practice gigs at family and friends parties and you're ready to test your skills at a complete stranger's party... how do you score that first gig? Here are some tips for you..

1. Showcase YOURSELF and your work
2. Network with entertainers SIDENOTE: Be generous and lend those newbies a hand!
3. Sign up for Thumbtack/Gig Salad/Gigmasters
4. Be prepared to receive that first inquiry.

Zivi doesn't recommend you call another kids entertainer and pretend to be a customer. Regina shared her experience when she tried to call one of the entertainers when she was starting out.

Both Zivi and Regina agrees that anybody can land a first gig, The most important thing is not to think about the first gig, the first gig will come, it's all about where do you wanna be 10 gigs later, 20 gigs later or 100 gigs later. You wanna be good, that good that people will want to talk about you. Know that it's 80% efforts on your skills and 20% on the business at the beginning. Work on your skills most of the time and don't worry much about other things.

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault:The Jingle Bell Monte Magic Trick

Here are some of the one liners from the video:

• Where does Santa go to learn how to get down chimneys? = A chimnasium
• What did one snowman say to another snowman = Can you smell carrots?
• "It was so cold on Christmas Eve that Santa had to jump-start three of his reindeer!"
• "One of Santa's little helpers was so sad… he had low elf-esteem."
• What do you call a chicken at the North Pole? = Lost!
• What do you call a polar bear with ear muffs? = Nothing, he can't hear you

Hot Topic: Is it OK to MARKET your business DURING YOUR show?

Absolutely, YES! Says Regina.

It's a lot easier to market yourself right after you just wowed them with a face paint, balloon, etc. If you're trying to market after a show, She finds it awkward if you just approach them with your card without them asking for it.

Regina doesn't like to do over marketing at the end of the party package because she's already been promoting herself the entire show. She repeats her name a lot during her show. She has silly tactics while face painting a kid - She tells them they can get sparkles but only if they remember her name. Here are some marketing tactics the regina use:

1. WORK YOUR NAME INTO YOUR PATTER
2. ZUCCHINI TIP
3. MIC NAME TEST
4. TALKING TO PARENTS AFTER SHOW

Welcome to the 110th episode of Season 5. Our co-host for this episode is Danny Schlesinger. We open the episode with a debate about Balloon Workshops. Particularly, when is the best time to inflate the balloons prior to the workshop. We also shared our thoughts about two mistakes in puppetry plus the hot topic of should you do charity work and how to get paid in doing it. Stick around and listen to the episode if these topics seems valuable.

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: Balloon workshops - when to inflate - a question by Devin (a.k.a the Dev)

"Hi everyone, this is Devin. My question for the podcast has to do with the balloon twisting workshop and curious to learn how long in advance can blow or pump up the balloons? Thanks!"

Balloon Workshop Blueprint

Danny has done balloon workshops before, both before and after he took the Balloon Workshop Blueprint. Both Zivi and Danny had changed the way they do workshops after they took the course. It gave them a system and script to follow.

Things to consider in the workshop

1. Venue arrival time
2. Size of your vehicle
3. Number of kids at the workshop
4. Method of Inflation
5. Make sure you have a separate room to inflate the balloons if you're gonna do that in the location.

Things to consider when in the event:

1. Hydrate
2. Headphones & Music
3. Cleanliness of inflation room
4. Getting help with inflating from volunteers at the venue or at home with teenagers

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault: The two biggest mistakes people do with puppets

Based on the webinar we did with Colin Dymond (which is available in the KEA Learning Circle, under lectures)

1. The Levitating puppet (puppet is held in mid air)
2. Talking with both thumb and rest of the hand moving (should move only the thumb down)

Also from the course "how to add a puppet to your show"

Making it believable by creating the illusion of another character on stage.

The Add a Puppet to Your Show is available for KEA members.

Hot Topic: Charity work for free? Is that a good idea or not?

Important things about doing charity works

• Where are you in your career?
• What other benefits can you gain from a free charity gig?
• Can you cancel?
• You may want to draw your own line in terms of the number of free charity gigs per year.
• If you do some charity work it will feel great and research shows that in fact it will make you healthier.
• What kind of people are going to the charity?
• What your heart is telling you is really important, it's all up to you. Listen to THE VOICE.

Welcome to Episode 109 and today we have Annie Banannie back in our show. In this episode we talked about marketing your stage shows. Annie and Zivi also talked about another lesson from the GMD Formula which explains why moms book you. Plus, the hot topic - when is it a good time to reveal a magic trick. All this and more in th

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: Marketing for Stage Shows

Brettso the Great (Brett Bolich from Southern California, USA) asked:

"Hello There, this is Brett Bolich aka Brettso the Great from Southern California. I had a question in regards to stage shows. Now, I've been personally reaching out to community theaters to try to put on my very own stage show, with some luck and most of them pretty much telling me that as much as they would love to have me they already have a theater season where they do broadway style plays or broadway style musicals and my question is to you guys, is there other avenues besides community theaters to reach out to, to do stage shows. Also if community theaters are a viable option, what would be a better way to approach them? My final question to this is, is what are some things or some pitfalls to avoid when actually getting your theater show running, you got the theater you're getting the show, what are the things like contractually that you should look out for to make sure you're not hurting yourself in the end? Thank you very much, talk to you guys soon and have a great rest of the podcast. Yeheyyy!"

Zivi and Annie shared some important tips and here are some of the points:

Anytime that you have in your market an event or a topic that everybody cares about that's great. For example, the Read Across America theme, if you work in Libraries.

Look at your market and if your market looks like it can support specific show like that then go for it because it's gonna push you creatively.

A lot of independently owned theaters exist and you can go to them without fear of the infamous committee.

Local Schools sometimes got fancy theaters.

Zivi and Annie also gave some advise with regard to contracts, the committee and colleagues.

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault: Why Moms Book You

• The tip is taken from the Games, Magic and Disco Formula (GMD Formula) in Kids Entertainer Academy - Module 9 Lesson 2
• Zivi and Annie discussed the reasons why you get booking from bookers and how you can make sure you book them right away.

Hot Topic: When is it ok to share The Secret of a magic trick?

• For Annie, there's two different sides to this question, sharing with performers and sharing with muggles.
• For Zivi, it troubles him where the boundaries are. There's a lot of gray area but you have to have a great reason why you are sharing something.

It's the 108th episode and Regina Martinez aka Silly Sparkles is back! Really exciting topics were discussed in this episode and life saver tips.

Do you work with agents or do you have an agent? If you are or if you're thinking of trying finding one, then you have to listen to this one. We also talked about a prop free game from one of the courses in the Kids Entertainer Academy that you can use in your show or play with your family. Last but not least, the hot topic of dealing with young hecklers. Lets begin:

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: Working with Agents

Yochi asked:

"Hey Zivi, I want to ask you guys a quick question about working with agents, did you cover that in any of you previous things, will you cover that? Question is working with agents."

Working with agents can really fill up your calendar especially when you are working with good agencies that can help you get more bookings and gigs.

More discussion and tips when you listen to the episode.

Tips from the Vault: The "What are you doing" game

Was taken from the course called the Comedy Masterclass - from an award winning street performer Uri Vice

This game works very well with school ages, for younger age you need to give a lot of examples and then they get it too.

You can get up to 10 mins of playing time through this game with two kids standing on stage. The first kid is miming drinking tea, and the second kid will just ask the question "what are you doing?". The first kid can say anything except for the actual thing that he's doing.

Watch the video in the episode bonus to learn the full rules of the game.

Hot Topic:

All entertainers must have experienced this situation and we all agree that it's very distracting. More of what Zivi and Silly Sparkles shared about their experience with hecklers in the episode.

It's our 107th episode and Danny is back to co-host! Are you an entertainer who has some challenges in dealing with different ages in a party? If that's you then you better listen to this episode, we'll help you answer your questions.

Zivi and Danny talked about the important things to consider in hosting a show, your preparation is key. And as always, we shared one of the lessons from the KEA membership which is about the parents talking to each other from the GMD Formula. And for the hot topic, this time is about transforming your show from a birthday settings to a library one.

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: Mixed ages in the same gig, different attention span and strategies in entertaining them.

Marvelous Marc asked:

"What are some strategies for keeping entertainment relevant for an audience of mixed ages so, like you can have children that you are doing the show for but they maybe ages 15 or all the way down to ages 2 or 3 and you have to deal with different attention spans and interesting content and what not, so what are some good strategies to deal with them?"

Zivi and Danny had a discussion about the important things in having a show for a mixed group and here are some of the points:

Having a really good show and skills means you have the ability to entertain everyone, even a mixed group of people from all ages.

Get the attention of the older kids by giving them tasks to do.

Being original is always the best option

Bottom line is that older kids need to be impressed.

Tips from the Vault: Parents Talking from GMD Formula Course

• The tip is taken from the Games, Magic and Disco Formula (GMD Formula) in Kids Entertainer Academy - Parent Talking
• Zivi shared the content of this course and Danny contributed on the things you can do in every situation.

Hot Topic:

Both Zivi and Danny agreed that this is a great opportunity for an entertainer and they brainstormed in the things to consider and the adjustments that you have to make in doing a library show.

It's episode 106 and Annie Bannanie is back to co host for this episode. If you are an artist or an entertainer, you do a lot of tricks and performances and sometimes you can't avoid having an injury so Zivi and Annie discussed what it's like to have an injury that affects your business and what you can do while you are healing. They also talked about sound systems and lightings plus the influence you can have to your customer on the food they serve and when to serve it.

In this episode we discuss:

In Your Voice: What would you do during a month of healing?

Dale Gideon asked:

"Hi, I'm really interested to know what aspect of business a person can focus on if they were unable to work for about a month due to injury, that injury being a sprained hand which is the working which means pretty much out of action. Yeah, just really eager to find out what sorts of things they could do during that time as they heal. Thank You!"

Annie shares her experience during the time she had an injury and these are the factors to consider:

Pain relief medicine.

Scheduled shows.

Can you perform with someone else?

And don't hesitate to ask help..

During downtime, do something productive and self improving stuff

Tips from the Vault: Sound Systems and Lighting Set Up

• The tip is taken from the Games, Magic and Disco Formula (GMD Formula) Lesson 8.1 in Kids Entertainer Academy - My Sound and Lighting Set Up
• Zivi and Annie discusses alternatives that might be better and cheaper and also gave the information on their own set up.
• Things to consider when performing outdoors were also taken into the discussion

Hot Topic:

• For Annie:There should be no food during the show - the kids are distracted by the food.
• Zivi tries to influence to have a healthy birthday party, like no sugary food in the first hour of the show. But at the end of the day it will still be the decision of the parents.