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Top Tips on Getting the Best Out Of Your Wedding Entertainment

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After the wedding dress, your wedding entertainment is the next thing your guests will remember about your wedding, so make sure their memories are good ones!

Don’t go cheap! Professional entertainment is like any other service… you get what you pay for. Remember if you pay peanuts you will get monkeys.

Booking a Band, DJ or Photo Booth just because they give you the cheapest quote, very rarely has a happy ending. Red Masque receive calls regularly from brides who have been let down by their entertainment supplier, often this is less than a week before the big day. You don’t want that worry for the sake of sometimes only a couple of hundred pounds.

Make sure you have a contract, which clearly states what their price includes. This contract should clearly state: arrival, start, performance and finish times and if you are booking a musical entertainer, make sure you know if they will be supplying the speakers and lights and any other necessary equipment for the performance.

Insurance! Anyone you book (even a non-musical entertainer should have public liability insurance. If they don’t, you run the risk of the venue not allowing them to perform. Check with your venue how much cover they will need, most venues will ask for cover between £2,000,000 – £5,000,000 some larger more prestigious venues will ask for cover up to £10,000,000.  This we may add is very important.

Find out what system they have in place if a member of the act is unable to perform. We all get ill from time to time and are unable to do our job. Most professional acts have ‘substitute’ performers in place can step in at short notice to replace the missing performer.

If you’re booking a band, choose one that will try and suit everybody’s musical tastes. You may be the biggest fan of heavy metal and plan to mosh on the dance floor all night long, but the chances of older guests wanting to listen to this is slim! By just choosing a band according to your own tastes, you may end up with a very quiet dance floor. Instead you may want to consider choosing entertainers who can play some of the music you love but also a mixture of classic floor fillers. We like to call these bands ‘Versatile Function Bands’.

Do look after your entertainer(s) to enable them to put on a better show. For an evening performance a band will typically arrive at around 5.30pm to set up and are not usually on the road again until after 1.00am. That’s a minimum of 7 ½ hours at your venue, not to mention the time it took them to get there and the time it will take them to get home.

A basic hot meal, soft drinks and a room to get changed in and chill-out in when they are not performing can make the world of difference to any hard working performer. No one can work to their full potential on an empty stomach or look their best by getting changed in their car. If you want to get the best out of your entertainers, treat them (almost) like they are a guest.

Check the minimum stage size that the entertainer(s) needs to perform. Stage areas that are the wrong size can cause problems for many performers and can sometime mean they cannot perform to their full potential.

How to attract more visitors to your event

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One of the smartest ways to attract visitors in a trade show and convert them from prospects to sales and, consequently, loyal followers, is to have a magician on your stand! In fact, it has been evidenced that live entertainment and demonstrations comprise a powerful and highly effective marketing tool that help engage visitors in an exhibition hall. That aside, Magicians that perform a bespoke presentation can successfully communicate your brand’s messages and goals in the most fun, interactive, and engaging way. Ideal when product recognition and identification is the need!

What do you want when participating in a trade show or exhibition? Make the difference. Stand out from your competitors. Let the world know of your amazing product or service. Boost your sales. Inform. The list of objectives could be long, but bottom line, you want recognition and an unbeatable way people will remember you by. Then, the road is open for more aggressive marketing; marketing that will increase your revenue and help you create a database of loyal clients, who will refer you to others. Trade Show Magicians can achieve exactly that for you. It really is amazing how much you can accomplish with just a few inches of space on the edge of your stand!

In a nutshell, with Magicians you can:

  • Attract three times more people to your stand.
  • Keep your prospects warm when your sales team is busy, minimising the number of lost leads.
  • Create brand awareness and promote your corporate image.
  • Entertain your existing clients.

Engage and Inform prospects in a fun way that doesn’t feel like a struggle to promote your company and make a sale.

Boost your sales (guaranteed)

To encourage mingling, start the party off with some exciting party entertainment. This is a particularly good time to break the ice in those awkward moments when you have only just met other guests and family for the first time. Chosen Events can supply you with something completely unexpected, such as a magician, fortune teller, celebrity lookalikes, or a caricaturist. Guests will be drawn together to discuss what is going on, which will get them interacting with each other.

If you choose caricaturists, it also creates the opportunity to send your guests home with a truly unique party favour.

Whether you are planning a Private Party, Wedding, Prom, Bar Mitzvah, or Corporate Event, you can’t go wrong by hiring a live band. While it’s true that most guests are content with a party DJ, anyone who has ever attended a party with a live band will tell you that it made the night so much better. In fact, it is not unusual for guests or even the person the party is honouring to admit that a live band is what made the night truly unforgettable.

After all, live party bands will get your guests excited and pumped up. While not everyone likes to dance, even the most ardent anti dancer won’t be able to stop themselves when a great live band is performing classic and modern party songs.

Staying ahead of the game

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Event planners need to stay ahead of the game when booking entertainment to ensure that their event is fresh, talked about (for the right reasons!) and most of all, impresses all the right people. 

To assist event planners in choosing fresh and unique entertainment, we have compiled a list of Top 10 entertainment ideas for the here and now. As well as being unique and exciting, we are predicting that these acts will be hugely sought after for events this year!

DJ’ing & VJ’ing

Simultaneously mixing music and visuals, this concept really is the future of club-style entertainment. Bringing music to life, this entertainment option can also add a social media element that allows guests to tweet their requests! The DJ can also include logos, videos and company visuals, making this the ideal entertainment for corporate events and launch parties! 

IPad Magician

For technology and gadget lovers/events, iPad magicians are the perfect act to amaze and entertain your guests. IPad magicians perform bespoke shows that include, of course, magic and the use of an iPad! This is entertainment for the digital age, and many high profile brands and events are eager to experience this unique brand of magical entertainment.

LED Dance shows

LED dance shows are proving to be a big hit so far this year, as event planners strive to find acts and performers that are unique and have added ‘wow factor’. LED dance shows are currently much sought after for launches, corporate events and concerts as they offer high tech entertainment that can include logos. 

This entertainment option takes the urban dance act (so popular for the last few years thanks to shows like the ‘Got Talent’ franchise) to the next level! 

Aroma DJ

They say that smells trigger memories right? Well why not ensure your guests remember your event with an aroma DJ! Using an ‘aroma laboratory’, these new and exciting DJs mix a blend of oils, incense and real pheromones; “controlling the vibes of the dancefloor by mixing a seamless blend of scents!” 

Some of the celebrities/brands that have experienced this “journey through the world of fragrance” include Isabella Rossellini, Vogue and Christian Dior. Great alternative entertainment for product launches, club nights and festivals!

 

Motion capture – animated digital character

Bringing technology to life for trade shows, conventions and exhibition events! Using the latest technology of pre-programmed motion capture, an actor controls the animated character allowing full audience interaction! 

Motion capture acts offer a choice of existing animated characters to choose from, or the option to create a bespoke animation if required. This is a must-have for technology related events or for those that are looking for modern entertainment that will impress audiences.

Shadow Performers

As seen on the most recent series of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, this new and exciting form of entertainment is predicted to be hot this year! Shadow shows are, of course, part shadow act, part dance and part circus. 

This entertainment option, in its current form, originated in the US and uses projected images and front-of-screen choreography to amazing effect! Ideal for product launches and other events, this is definitely one to watch this year!

Urban Street Entertainment

Urban street entertainment has been experiencing a surge in popularity over recent years thanks to talent competition-style shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’ or Sky One’s ‘Got to Dance’. But new forms of urban street performance are evolving to keep up with demand for new and unique entertainment that has added ‘wow factor’. Urban Street entertainment that is fresh and exciting, or is predicted to be big this year:

• Beatboxers who perform with an instrument (i.e. harmonica, flute etc.), performing up-tempo music that is combined with beatboxing and covers a range of genres from classical to movie soundtracks!

• Martial arts moves combined with urban street dance and ‘tricking’ (for those not in the know, ‘tricking’ is a kind of extreme sport where the performers do artistic flips and kicks). This entertainment option is great for launches, festivals, event openings and corporate events.

• Mixed urban dance and percussion groups whose shows include original, high-energy music (performed on everyday items like garbage cans and ladders) and choreography, as well as Cirque Du Soleil Style Acrobat’s and Gymnastics, Silk Aerialist’s, Jumping Boot Air Men and Contortionist’s! Be warned though: this show contains serious ‘wow factor’. 

IPad Caricaturist

Pen and paper is so last century! This year’s hot new thing is iPad caricaturists who will draw guests on handheld devices that can be printed, emailed or posted to social media sites instantly! 

Popular as walk-around entertainment for corporate events, parties and weddings; or to help increase footfall at trade shows and conventions. Brands using iPad caricaturists include Google and Apple.

 

3D Laser Man

A popular entertainment option for the first quarter of 2013, these futuristic shows push the boundaries of new 3d laser technology to great effect. Beams of light are manipulated and logos and images can also be incorporated into the show for corporate events. Brands using 3D laser man include Ferrari, Hyatt Hotels and IBM.

Vertical Performance Team

This is a unique and exciting entertainment option that will take high-profile launches and special events to dizzying new heights! Vertical performance shows offer something a little out of the ordinary; how about a troupe of acrobats who perform aerial routines whilst dangling from the side of a high-rise building?

These acts will thrill audiences with vertical spectacular productions and outstanding live shows!

Have some BBQ fun

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The sun is shining; the radio is turned up to full volume and the smell of BBQ’s start to fill the summer air.

The BBQ Party season has started. That’s when you know it’s time to bring out the BBQ and host your own party. But why not make your BBQ party unique and fun by incorporating some BBQ Party Ideas in the form of entertainment and games throughout the day and evening.

Underneath are a few simple ideas to make your BBQ party the highlight of the summer.

BBQ Party Entertainment 

 BBQ Party Games

Become a child again at your BBQ party by hiring some large outdoor games such as giant jenga, archery, giant connect 4 and even twister. This will keep your guests entertained throughout the BBQ party and will give them a chance to mix and mingle as well. Giant games are such an easy and effective style of entertainment that will definitely make your BBQ party the talk of the street. Other BBQ Party ideas could include bouncy castles, rodeo, or even bubble machines.

BBQ Drinks Delight

Beverages at a BBQ party are of high importance. Here are some BBQ party ideas to make your catering that little something different. To save you money and time ask your guests to bring their own drink. Or try out the new craze sweeping across the nation relating to beverage catering at BBQ parties, your very own Cocktail artist and bar. Hire a cocktail artist to greet your guests with some freshly made cocktails at your BBQ party. You could even name the cocktails to fit in with your summer BBQ. Trust me when I say this… you and your guests will love sipping on a cold cocktail in the warm sunshine.

BBQ Party Music

Every BBQ party needs music. But sometimes a playlist being played on a MP3 player can be quite monotonous and played out. So why not put that extra spark (pun intended) into your BBQ party and hire a musician or a DJ. A classical guitarist would create the perfect atmosphere at your BBQ party and give it that extra wow factor… seriously, how many BBQ’s have you been to with a professional guitarist playing just for you. Not many, so get on it. Also hire a local DJ to provide the evening music, this gives you the chance to mingle with your guests knowing that the music is in safe hands.

 BBQ Party Ideas – Extra Tips

. Send invites 2 weeks before the BBQ party
. Make a note of any special dietary requirements
. Ensure you have all necessary equipment (plates, cups, cutlery, BBQ!!)
. Purchase the food the day before the BBQ party and prep as much as you can.
. Overall, have fun, smile and enjoy your party!

So kick off the summer season in style with a fun and lively BBQ party. Take some inspiration from our BBQ Party Ideas and enjoy the long evenings with your closest friends and family. Summer won’t last forever so if you’re going to have a BBQ party, have it in style. 

Restaurant Entertainment

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Ideas can be a necessity when either opening a restaurant, having a themed night in a restaurant or to just attract new customers to your restaurant. So choosing the perfect entertainment is vital. Restaurant Entertainment can be quite tricky as it has to create the right ambience. If you want a band or musician, be aware that the music can’t be too loud or your customers will not be able to speak amongst each other, and well that would be awkward. Also make sure your entertainment fits into your venue you don’t want to hire a big 6 piece live jazz band, to only squeeze them into a corner so ask the and how much space they need and work it into your restaurant layout. If you want dancers outside the restaurant building as your entertainment firstly make sure you are allowed. There are some rules and regulations surrounding having dancers on a street, especially if you have hired fire dancers. So always just double check what you are and aren’t allowed. Better being safe than sorry. 

1. Live Band- Whether your band range from a 2 piece to an 8 piece, live bands are a great source of entertainment. Your customers will love listening to some smooth jazz, or even some modern hits played live in the background. Having a live band may also keep your customers at the restaurant after they have had their dinner. Offer them a seat at the bar, where they can order more drinks and listen to the band, even dance to the band if they wish.

2. Solo musicians. Give your restaurant that classical elegant and sophisticated feeling by having a solo musician play beautiful music in the corner of the restaurant. You could choose from a solo saxophonist, a solo classical guitarist or the beautiful sounds of the piano. All would suit any restaurant as this style of music is pleasing to most people.

3. Dancers – Dancers can really bring your restaurant to life with the vibrant colours, the fast paced music and of course the exciting dance moves. Have your dancers situated outside the restaurant building to make your customers experience start from when they literally walk in the door. Plus, think of the exposure you will get from the public taking photos with your restaurant logo behind.

4. Fun Casino – Attract your customers by hiring a fun casino in your restaurant. The Fun Casino is a great source of entertainment as it is interactive. The casino tables will be set up around your restaurant with professional croupiers explaining and dealing each game. The Fun Casino gives your guests the opportunity to mix and mingle and will also keep your customers inside your restaurant. Why not add in a live jazz band to really bring a Las Vegas theme together.

5. Magicians – Magicians are great restaurant entertainment as they can meet and greet your guests. The magician can also walk around and do some table magic which your customers would thoroughly enjoy. It also means they would not have to move about much and can enjoy the entertainment from the comfort of their own table with their family and friends.

If you choose Restaurant Entertainment you will most definitely see your customers happier and even your staff happier. It will bring a new lease of life into your restaurant and should attract some new customers. So give restaurant entertainment ago, you never know what it could do for your business.

Give a little more thought on the venue…

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Planning a special event is exciting- and more than a little rough on the nerves. For the love of God, you never want your event to be remembered for the ‘AWFUL venue, entertainment, food, atmosphere etc.’

You’ve already found great entertainment. But finding the right entertainment venue is one of the more traditionally tricky aspects of party planning. In the interests of making that process a little less fraught, here are a few tips to help you make the best decision.

Consider the season. You may have the absolute perfect venue in mind, but if it’s most charming features can only be enjoyed in warmer weather, and you’ve got a February event, keep looking.

Can the venue accommodate the kind of entertainment you have in mind? Do they have in-house tech people to set up the stage, or will the performers need to bring all their own equipment and tech people?

Is the venue relatively convenient for the majority of the guests? Of course, for special occasions most people don’t mind going a bit out of their way, but you don’t want your guests to become mired in complex travel arrangements- unless you’re prepared to organise and pay for it all, of course!

Is the venue actually available at the time you have in mind? Many first time party planners mistakenly believe that a couple of months-notice is more than enough. Very popular venues, however, can be booked out in peak months well over a year in advance. Before you get too carried away with the planning, ensure your venue of choice is actually available.

The beginnings of Opera…

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Find the best Opera singers and performers available for hire in the UK today. From solo artists to a large scale celebration of classical music. Enjoy the perfect assortment of arias from the world’s most famous operas such as Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” and Verdi’s “La Traviata” to perfectly complement your event.

Opera was born in Italy at the end of the 16th century. A group of Florentine musicians and intellectuals were fascinated by Ancient Greece and opposed to the excesses of Renaissance polyphonic music. They wanted to revive what was thought to be the simplicity of ancient tragedy. In the first operas (400 years ago), the intention was to make music subservient to the words. They were made up of successive recitatives with a small instrumental accompaniment, punctuated by musical interludes. After Florence and Rome, Venice rapidly became the centre of opera, where the first commercial opera house opened in 1637, thus making the art form accessible to a wider public. Opera soon spread throughout Europe, and in 1700 Naples, Vienna, Paris and London were major operatic centres.

In Italy, the voice remained predominant. The bel canto tradition went on, combined with opera buffa characters and themes. Examples are Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (1816), Bellini’s Norma (1831) or Donizetti’s The Love Potion, 1832). Giuseppe Verdi was the last great Italian composer of the 19th century. In a passionate and vigorous style, he wrote pieces which allied spectacular show and subtle emotions (La Traviata, 1853, Aïda, 1871).

The 20th century: the rise of individuals;
The beginning of the 20th century continued the trends of the late 19th. Puccini was the last great Italian composer, who wrote among others Tosca (1900), Madam Butterfly (1904) and Turandot (1926). Other famous operas of the time were Pelleas and Melisande by Debussy (1902), Salome by Strauss (1905), and The Cunning Little Vixen by Janacek (1924).

Later, individual works rather than general trends appeared. Alban Berg’s operas (Wozzeck, 1925, Lulu, 1937) contrasted with Kurt Weill’s works, inspired from jazz and other popular music (The Threepenny Opera, 1928). Benjamin Britten composed ‘traditional’ operas like Peter Grimes (1945), but also chamber operas.

The 21st century: a score still to be written…
Today, the operatic offer is more varied than ever. Staging and settings have become key elements of new productions. The great pieces of the repertoire are repeatedly reinterpreted and still very successful. They are presented next to new contemporary operas and earlier rediscovered works. In this way, opera is in permanent evolution, for the enjoyment of the widest public.

A love for Puppets

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British children’s television in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s made stars of some puppets, from the marionettes ‘Muffin the Mule’, ‘Andy Pandy’, ‘Bill and Ben’, ‘Lady Penelope’, ‘Parker’, ‘Troy Tempest’ and ‘Captain Scarlet’ to the glove puppets ‘Sooty and Sweep’ and ‘Basil Brush’ as well as the American sock puppet ‘Lamb Chop’ (who was still operated by hand). The Pipkins’ ‘Hartley Hare’ was a rod puppet and Jim Henson created many different types of puppets for ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘The Muppets’ which British audiences loved.

Britain’s first purpose-built puppet theatre, The Harlequin Theatre, was opened by Eric Bramall at Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales in 1958, followed by John Wright’s Little Angel Theatre in Islington in 1961, Ray and Joan DaSilva’s Norwich Puppet Theatre in 1980, Gren and Juliet Middleton’s Puppet Theatre Barge on the Regent’s Canal in 1982, and The Biggar Puppet Theatre, opened near Edinburgh by The Purves Puppets in 1986. Artist and Illustrator Mary Shillabeer created various full-scale marionette shows in the 1970s and 1980s, some of which appeared during the Edinburgh Festival, including ‘Peter and the Wolf’, ‘Boite a Jou-Jou’ (The Toy Box) and ‘Babar the Elephant’.

‘Spitting Image’ puppets, created for television in the 1980s by Peter Fluck and Roger Law, renewed the 18th-century tradition of satirical puppetry at a time when many innovative British touring puppet show companies were established, and theatre companies such as Forkbeard Fantasy began using large scale puppetry in their work.

Muffin the Mule, the first marionette to become a television star, is seen here with his presenter Annette Mills.

Muffin was carved in 1934 by Fred Tickner, a famous maker of Punch and Judy puppets, for Ann Hogarth and her husband Jan Bussell, who formed The Hogarth Puppets in 1932. For their show they wanted a comic-looking mule with a big head that could kick his back legs at a marionette clown.

When television started again after the war in 1946, Annette Mills – sister of the actor John Mills – asked the Hogarth’s if they would make some puppets to go with her songs for the programme ‘For the Children’. The Hogarth’s suggested she used some of their puppets instead, so she wrote new songs to go with the puppets she chose – the mule and clown – which she called Muffin and Crumpet.

Muffin was later joined by other marionettes including Mr Peregrine Esquire, Louise the Lamb and Oswald the Ostrich. The act consisted of Annette Mills talking to Muffin and singing songs at the grand piano while he and his friends clattered around on its lid. His operator, Ann Hogarth, also stood there, hidden by a partition.

A few dedicated puppet theatres survive in Britain, often in the face of financial indifference from local authorities, but puppetry in 21st-century Britain is also finding new audiences with companies and productions incorporating puppetry into their work, and of course the beloved ‘Punch and Judy’ is still as popular today as ever for both young and older generations.

What is a mime?

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Mime is a form of acting and drama where the actor uses his body and gestures and also facial expressions rather than words to express his role. Drama started before the Greek times, it was created as a form of entertainment for the local people. In the past, Greeks would hold a festival to celebrate their god Dionysus. She was the god of wine, fertility and celebration. During these festivals, Greeks would entertain the public by holding drama based performances on either comedy or tragedy. Mime artists are called mimics; they exaggerate every move they make so it defines what they are trying to show. A mimic is an actor that acts without words and their entire performance is based on their non-verbal gesture and bodily movements. Mime artists usually act a story through their body; there have been many famous mime artists through the years.

Mime has been around since the ancient Geek and Roman period. It all began when Greek’s started having festivals and carnivals in honour of Dionysus, who is the Greek god of theatre. In the olden days actors would concentrate on their character a lot more than the actual plot of the story this is how mime became an exaggerated form of acting where self-expression is highly important. In Greek times, they had two main genres of drama, one was comedy and one was tragedy, this developed in Athens. During all of these performances in the Greek period, the Catholic Church showed great opposition to mime and drama as a whole, they thought that doing performances about comedies and tragedies shouldn’t be allowed and that performances should be about religion. This is when Mystery and Morality plays started to come in focus which were religious plays. A religious play would be about Jesus Christ and Morality plays would have a good moral and teaching to the story. 

Famous Mime artists.

Charlie Chaplin was a famous English comedian and was also a successful film director. Most of his films had slapstick comedy but were also based on social themes of the time. Charlie Chaplin was inspired by a French silent film comedian called Max Linder. Chaplin was hugely influenced by him and later dedicated one of his films to him. Chaplin was an actor for 75 years and he started acting at a very young age. Charlie Chaplin was known for his acting and his great films; he is one of the best mime artists in the world and is currently a legend. Many people get inspired by his work.

Marcel Marceau was a famous French mime artist who died recently on 22nd September 2007. Marcel Marceau was known for his striped pull over and his battered silk opera hat. This was his costume for one of his characters “Bip”. Marcel Marceau performed all around the world and was known by many people, his mime acts where inspiring and he wanted to spread the “art of silence” all around the world so people could learn to appreciate it. 

Mr Bean is a British television programme, and Rowan Atkinson is the main character. His character is based on a child’s mind in an adults body, this character was developed when Rowan Atkinson was in university. Rowan Atkinson plays his character in a mime with random sounds that complete the character and the atmosphere of the performance. Rowan Atkinson is one of the best mime artists now and he is known for his character all throughout England.

Professional entertainers are second to none…

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You need to put on a show or want a different kind of ‘wow’ factor to greet your guests, or you want to use as a distraction when you are changing scenery. Well why not hire Acrobats that can put on an amazing choreographed performance jumping over your crowd or through fire.  

Another act to consider is Ariel performers which can be quite beautiful.  Imagine the scene, your guests have sat in their seats a few hoops or ribbons come down over your guest heads and the most dazzling display of performers gracefully move in sync like ballerinas in the sky. 

A tightrope walker could also be considered where they too walk high up over your crowd’s heads taking entertaining to another level 

Do you want to have a circus in your own back garden? Or you may be hiring a piece of land that could have a circus erected, everyone loves the excitement of a circus and if you wanted to hire one then we have the right circus at Red Masque directory for you to hire.

You could be holding an extravagant party for somebody or it could be for a corporate evening.  The choices are endless; it’s good to know that Red Masque only advertise the best of the best.

You may want to hold a children’s party where a clown is needed to entertain the children whilst you sit back and have a well-deserved break.  Our clowns advertised come in many shapes and sizes, some can do magic, balloon modelling or some that do good old fashioned ‘slap stick’ humour. Whatever you would like your clown to do we have the best advertised on our Red Masque entertainment directory.  

Fill out an online booking form so your chosen act is able to contact you to take things further.