Within the world of live entertainment, there is a wide range of experience levels, performance types, and ways of doing business. Each entertainer is a unique individual with their own set of skills, and every event is special, too, with its own requirements and restrictions. That said, there are some things that you should always look for from anyone you are hiring to entertain at your event.
Sample work
About Faces Entertainment as a rule won’t book any entertainer who cannot show us a portfolio of previous work that has clearly been done in a live event setting. An artist may have a robust portfolio of beautiful studio work, but that is not enough to be sure they will be a good fit for events. Drawing in an art studio is completely different from drawing at a festival with a line of people waiting to be drawn next. Being able to handle crowds and be pleasant and professional is a separate skill in addition to the artwork itself.
To verify that your entertainer is ready to handle an event, make sure they provide you with samples. You want to see photos that show you what is clearly a live event setting, and not taken in someone’s home. Look out for bad lighting (most event venues have great light), poor photo quality (may be very old), or if all photos come from the same location (they may have only done 1 event before).
Equipment
Professional artists have very minimal requirements for their event set-up, typically just the furniture (tables/chairs) which they cannot bring in themselves. If you are exploring booking an entertainer who requires that materials be provided for them to do their work, that’s a pretty good red flag that they are not prepared to make a good impression.
Boundaries!
Professional talent receive far more offers to work than there are hours in the day. They are almost without exception able to be “choosy” about the events that they will accept, the rates that they will charge, and the requirements for having them on-site. Firm and clear boundaries from artists are an indication that they are experienced and committed to providing quality services for you and your guests.
Here are some boundaries from artists that set up “green flags” for us at About Faces:
- A face painter who will not paint a child with open cuts or sores, or children under 3 (due to their sensitive skin)
- A caricature artist who will not draw more than four guests into a portrait (to keep the line moving and serve the max number of guests)
- A juggler who will not use knives, fire, or heavy juggling equipment when strolling (due to safety concerns)
If you are booking entertainment, and the answer to every single request is an unqualified “Yes!”, that may be an indication that your artist is not considering all of the variables at play in live bookings.
Rates
There’s nothing suspicious about a beginning artist charging less per-hour than an experienced entertainer with a strong network of clients – that’s just business. However, we happen to know through experience that the price range in specific areas never varies too much amongst professionals. Suspiciously low pricing sets up some red flags for us, and it should for you, too.
About Faces does tend to work with artists on the higher end of local pricing scales due to our commitment to professionalism and high quality artwork. We understand that for some events and clients, the extra expense of working with an agency-affiliated artist doesn’t make sense, and we are always happy to hear it if they are taken care of by a lower-cost option that works independently. There is more than enough business, we aren’t stingy! But we are tenderhearted, and wish to warn the reader of predatory businesses which will undercut local rates and not follow through on their bookings.
If you are offered a price which is significantly (30%+) lower than what other local artists are quoting you, be wary of that option. Oftentimes these significantly cheaper options are scam artists posing as entertainers, or just unscrupulous entrepreneurs who will double-book, no show, or not perform up to standard.
Too Accommodating
If you find an artist who is willing to commit to your event without a signature on a contract, or any kind of deposit/payment agreement in writing, they probably are only going to show up if a better opportunity doesn’t come along. These are the most common situations where people end up calling us the day before their event, desperate to find a replacement for an artist who has backed out at the last minute. While it is convenient to skip the contract, professional artists will not be willing to do so. The agreement or deposit offers protection to both parties, and artists who use nothing to confirm their bookings are generally not reliable.
We hope these tips help you discern among entertainers when you are considering booking. When in doubt, consider using an agency like us, as we have a lot of experience and information to help create great experiences!
