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All rights reserved.
Frequently Asked Questions |
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HOW MUCH DOES A PERFORMANCE COST?
The pricing for schools are $700 for a half-day; $1200 for a full day. Public Libraries booking Summer Reading Club events pay $300 for the first program and $200 for a second presentation at the same location on the same date. During the school year, evening and after school programs are usually $350, but there are requirements for booking these events. Contact us if you are interested. Mileage is charged as a flat rate based on which “zone” you are located in and mileage fees can be totally waived with enough consecutive full-day bookings!
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FULL-DAY AND A HALF-DAY?
Full-Day starts as early as you want and ends when the school day ends. This can be divided however you want, but usually it consists of 3-5 programs. It is possible to split the full-day between two or more schools with no additional charge, so that each school pays only a portion of a full-day fee. In other words, it is much cheaper to have two schools coordinate and split a full-day than for each of them to pay a half day fee. Half-Day runs either from the start of the school day until lunch time, or from just after lunch until the end of the school day. This allows for 1 or 2 programs.
HOW MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS CAN YOU DO IN ONE VISIT?
There are two factors that limit us: How many shows we can fit in the truck and the length of time it takes to strike one set, reset another, and change costumes. If you are planning a multi-day visit it is quite possible and rather easy to have a different program for each day, with a limit of the number of programs we can transport. This usually limits us to 2-3 programs depending on which shows you want (some have larger props and stage sets than others). If you want multiple programs during the same day realize that we will need at least an hour to strike one set, reset another, and change costumes. If you can plan a 90 minute lunch time for this to happen it shouldn't be a problem. If a full-day is split between two schools then this is pretty easy since the set will be broken down and reset anyway.
WHAT AGES AND GRADE LEVELS ARE THE PROGRAMS DESIGNED FOR?
PreK-5th. There are very slight variations in the presentations if you break them out by grade level but not much at all. I've done programs for 6th graders at the beginning of the school year, but after Spring Break, they are generally "too cool". I have other programs specifically designed for secondary students from 5th-12th grades, and you can split a day with a Middle School or High School just as easily as with another elementary school.
ARE YOUR PROGRAMS BETTER FOR YOUNGER OR OLDER STUDENTS?
The programs really have been designed by a team of professional educators with over 75 years of combined classroom teaching experience. It may seem impossible, particularly if you've had bad experiences in the past, to believe that one program can be just as entertaining to the older students as it is with the younger ones, or as educationally significant for the younger ones as it is for the older ones. But that is exactly what we offer. I've had schools tell me "Since you use puppets, we are going to let you present only to the younger children" and then I've been to others who said "Since your programs are so educational we are going to let you present only to the older students." Without fail they later tell me "Well I think the whole school would have benefited from that program. We'll have to have you back!" While I love to be invited back, it seems silly not to let everyone enjoy the program, particularly since I don't charge by the number of programs I present, or by the number of students in attendance.
HOW LONG ARE THE PROGRAMS?
45-55 minutes. Personally I prefer the 55 minute versions since I am able to cover more material, but we can work with whatever your scheduling needs are. The shows reset very quickly. I can be ready to go for another presentation before you can get one group of kids out and the next group in, but please plan for this time. If you schedule the start times 45 minutes apart (with no additional time for transitions), it actually means the programs will run about 30 minutes each. Usually 10-15 minutes is adequate time to change groups.
WHEN IS PAYMENT DUE?
This company was founded and continues to be run exclusively by former school teachers and librarians/Media Specialists. We are NOT prima donna performers who need the green M&Ms removed from our candy dish. We understand how to work with POs. We like to get paid on the day of the performance, but we understand that processing paperwork through payroll can be time consuming and frustrating. We know you don't need an uptight performer whining about how he needs to be paid TODAY or his car will be repossessed. YOU focus on getting approval and scheduling the program. WE will focus on entertaining and educating your students. We'll BOTH let your payroll department and our accounting department work out the money.
The pricing for schools are $700 for a half-day; $1200 for a full day. Public Libraries booking Summer Reading Club events pay $300 for the first program and $200 for a second presentation at the same location on the same date. During the school year, evening and after school programs are usually $350, but there are requirements for booking these events. Contact us if you are interested. Mileage is charged as a flat rate based on which “zone” you are located in and mileage fees can be totally waived with enough consecutive full-day bookings!
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FULL-DAY AND A HALF-DAY?
Full-Day starts as early as you want and ends when the school day ends. This can be divided however you want, but usually it consists of 3-5 programs. It is possible to split the full-day between two or more schools with no additional charge, so that each school pays only a portion of a full-day fee. In other words, it is much cheaper to have two schools coordinate and split a full-day than for each of them to pay a half day fee. Half-Day runs either from the start of the school day until lunch time, or from just after lunch until the end of the school day. This allows for 1 or 2 programs.
HOW MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS CAN YOU DO IN ONE VISIT?
There are two factors that limit us: How many shows we can fit in the truck and the length of time it takes to strike one set, reset another, and change costumes. If you are planning a multi-day visit it is quite possible and rather easy to have a different program for each day, with a limit of the number of programs we can transport. This usually limits us to 2-3 programs depending on which shows you want (some have larger props and stage sets than others). If you want multiple programs during the same day realize that we will need at least an hour to strike one set, reset another, and change costumes. If you can plan a 90 minute lunch time for this to happen it shouldn't be a problem. If a full-day is split between two schools then this is pretty easy since the set will be broken down and reset anyway.
WHAT AGES AND GRADE LEVELS ARE THE PROGRAMS DESIGNED FOR?
PreK-5th. There are very slight variations in the presentations if you break them out by grade level but not much at all. I've done programs for 6th graders at the beginning of the school year, but after Spring Break, they are generally "too cool". I have other programs specifically designed for secondary students from 5th-12th grades, and you can split a day with a Middle School or High School just as easily as with another elementary school.
ARE YOUR PROGRAMS BETTER FOR YOUNGER OR OLDER STUDENTS?
The programs really have been designed by a team of professional educators with over 75 years of combined classroom teaching experience. It may seem impossible, particularly if you've had bad experiences in the past, to believe that one program can be just as entertaining to the older students as it is with the younger ones, or as educationally significant for the younger ones as it is for the older ones. But that is exactly what we offer. I've had schools tell me "Since you use puppets, we are going to let you present only to the younger children" and then I've been to others who said "Since your programs are so educational we are going to let you present only to the older students." Without fail they later tell me "Well I think the whole school would have benefited from that program. We'll have to have you back!" While I love to be invited back, it seems silly not to let everyone enjoy the program, particularly since I don't charge by the number of programs I present, or by the number of students in attendance.
HOW LONG ARE THE PROGRAMS?
45-55 minutes. Personally I prefer the 55 minute versions since I am able to cover more material, but we can work with whatever your scheduling needs are. The shows reset very quickly. I can be ready to go for another presentation before you can get one group of kids out and the next group in, but please plan for this time. If you schedule the start times 45 minutes apart (with no additional time for transitions), it actually means the programs will run about 30 minutes each. Usually 10-15 minutes is adequate time to change groups.
WHEN IS PAYMENT DUE?
This company was founded and continues to be run exclusively by former school teachers and librarians/Media Specialists. We are NOT prima donna performers who need the green M&Ms removed from our candy dish. We understand how to work with POs. We like to get paid on the day of the performance, but we understand that processing paperwork through payroll can be time consuming and frustrating. We know you don't need an uptight performer whining about how he needs to be paid TODAY or his car will be repossessed. YOU focus on getting approval and scheduling the program. WE will focus on entertaining and educating your students. We'll BOTH let your payroll department and our accounting department work out the money.
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