Following a successful KIDabra conference, Chapter #2 returned to our monthly meeting schedule. We met in the beautiful new home of Tess Andrews on Sunday, Sept. 10th. In attendance were Tess Andrews, Tate Elliott, Gary Haddon, Jeff Jones, Danny Reeves and Skip Way.

There was no old business to discuss. New Business included:

Presentation of the beautifully framed KIDabra! International Charter by Tess Andrews. We're official!

Setting a regular meeting date and time. The group settled on the second Sunday afternoon of each month at 5:00 PM. It was felt that this tme was convenient to most working performers and allowed for a leisurely after-meeting, family welcome dinner at a local restaurant. The option will be presented to the full membership in the monthly newsletter.

The group also opened nominations for the officer positions of president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and sergeant-at-arms. Nominations will be accepted by email and a vote will be taken at the October meeting. Details are in the chapter newsletter going out today.

The group recommended establishing annual dues for the Chapter at $20.00 per year per member. These funds will be used to help bring in guest speakers and to fund Chapter events. It was recommended that dues be paid during the month of January each year, prorated by $5.00 per quarter for new members during the year. This proposal will be presented to the membership for approval.

Membership benefits will include a KIDabra! International Chapter Membership Certificate, ID Card, monthly newsletter and reduced or free admission to KIDabra! International Chapter #2 sponsored events.

It was proposed that we invite balloon & humor specialist and author David "Mr. Rainbow" Bartlett as our first chapter lecturer at a future date. Details are pending.

The Chapter is currently seeking a permanent location for our meetings and lectures. We've approached the owners of Charlie Goodnight's Comedy Club in Raleigh. The club hosts Family Fun Saturdays and Clean Comedy Mondays, both events that the Chapter would be happy to support in return for a stable meeting site. Action is pending.

The remainder of meeting was spent demonstrating and discussing various Kidshow warm-ups.

Skip Way presented his signature "Ralph the Rope" routine. He also demonstrated his techiques for entertaining a group of children witha simple wooden egg.

Tate Elliott presented his two unique Eddy the Monkey warm-ups; one using an animatronic monkey and the other a puppet version. He also demonstrated his techniques for entertaining children with a simple balloon.

Gary Hadden presented his incredible Wilting Flower Applause Meter warm-up.

Jeff Jones presented his high-energy musical warm-up and had the entire group hopping and spinning all around the room. A brilliant and well-structured opening piece.

Jeff Jones demonstrated his new and amazing instant backdrop. We were all amazed to see a gorgeous theatrical backdrop blossom from a 45" bag into an 8' x 10' wall-covering display in 30 seconds. A remarkable product! Jeff is selling his new backdrop at http://www.magicbackdrop.com

Jeff also discussed the greatly anticipated iJet RF remote for the iPod due out sometime this month. This new remote will greatly simply the ability to remotely control your iPod Nano for a cost of around $70.00. Details can be found at http://www.abtech2.com

The meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM and everyone gathered at a local Perkin's Restaurant for a casual Sunday dinner. Barring changes, the next Chapter meeting will be Sunday, October 8th at 5:00 at the home of Tess Andrews. Details will be in the September Newsletter.

Skip

Correctionon the iJet Two-Way RF Remote review. The webste is
http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=iJet

The magicbackdrop link above does not work.

Apparently, it's temporarily offline, Dennis. It worked when I posted the link. I believe that Jeff is updating the site. I'll check on it. Thanks.

Skip

Skip left a letter out of the website name. Jeff's website is http://www.magicbackdrops.com

Hope this helps.

Tate

I seriously debated the pro's & con's of submitting my name for the KIDabra! Triangle top leadership role for 2008. The pro's (and apparently utter insanity) clearly tipped the scale. You apparently agreed that you wanted me in the position. Well, hang on tight cause I intend to take us places some of us have never seen.

I want this group to prosper with the goals originally set for it; Namely, to enhance the professional skills, image and stature of the Triangle's kidshow artists. With this in mind and with your approval, I present my 2008 KIDabra! Triangle agenda:

Beginning in January, our KIDabra sessions will consist of four sections:

1) Business (5 minutes or less)

2) Product Reviews - Have you purchased a product, book or DVD that you either absolutely love or totally hate? Bring it in and tell us why. Help your peers find the gems and avoid the trash. Each review will be limited to a maximum three (3) minute overview of why you will or will not recommend it.

3) Creative Corner – I’m asking each member to present some totally new, modified or experimental bit of creative energy for each meeting. Any direction. Any topic. As long as the overall concept is new and innovative. Even if the initial idea is a bust – the combined skills of the members present may be able to help you find a way to make it work.

The goal is to challenge each of us to create at least 10 new kidshow ideas, routines, products, promotions, marketing ideas, presentations, balloon sculptures - whatever – for 2008. Presentations will be limited to a maximum three (3) minute block including discussion. Further discussion can continue after the scheduled meeting.

At some point, we’ll choose the best ideas presented and create a KIDabra! Triangle New Idea Feature similar to the I.B.M.’s Linking Ring Parade Feature for the KIDabra Journal or Yearbook with full credit.

Sound like a lot of work? Let’s face it – if coming up with less than a dozen totally new 3-minute ideas over the space of a year is beyond your ability – maybe KIDshow performing is not for you. I double-dip-down-and-dirty-dog-dare you to stand and prove to me how wrong I am!

4) KIDshow Enhancement - The remainder of the meeting will be spent in an open roundtable discussion and demonstration of a specific performance or marketing goal. These are not your usual "Here's what I do" discussions. I'd like to see more of a "Here's where I would like to go" or "Here's what I've been working on" format. I would like to see each of us take the offered topics then challenge ourselves and one another to push through the "blah-blah" envelope; to break through to some totally new and creative ideas in kidshow entertainment! None of us have time to waste on discussing "the usual!" This is NOT a “Sit back and Quietly Soak It All In” session. Every member is expected to contribute and challenge the other.

At the moment, the scheduled topics are:

January – National Whatever Month! How many fun and profitable marketing opportunities are we missing by not targeting national awareness months, weeks and days? Come prepared to present your top presentation, scheduling and marketing ideas for promoting custom show topics to prospective clients such as Children’s Dental Health Month – Presenting a series of FREE children’s magic, puppet and lcown circus showcases at a local theatre focused on dental health education sponsored by area dentists. These are projects that we as a group can produce, present and profit from – while building our name recognition and images within the professional community. This presentation will result in solid group and individual profit-building ideas for every month of the coming year and beyond!

February - Developing new Marketable Easter Programs. Easter is approaching and children's events are in demand. How can you take advantage of this market with an Easter-focused program. Bring your best Easter balloons, routines, characterizations, facepainting designs (Pre-painted or photographed, please), costume character ideas, egg-hunt suggestions for harried community organizers, jokes, stage and showcase decor, storylines...whatever you develop to make your show stand out this season.

March - Really Advanced Birthday Party Opportunities. We all do them...but can we do more? How can we place ourselves in the $300-$400 barrier with smiling give-me-more clients? Do you have a single basic character or format or do you promote different themes? What methods do you use to promote and manage the different themes? Do you and should you offer add-on purchases such as goody bags, party games, pinatas, party supplies and more? Is it really worth the trouble? What about hiring a teenage "party coordinator" to work with you in setting up, controlling the children, managing games & gift-tracking, cleaning up - adding that extra touch of professional service for a higher paycheck and upper crust image? Let's also touch on indoor/outdoor parties and how you manage them - or avoid them.

April - Using Advanced Music Techniques with your Performances. How do you use music in your appearances? Do you play or have you played an instrument? Do you use music to enhance your performance? How can music be put to work to enhance your shows? MP3, iPod, MiniDisk or Laptop - what works for you and why? Do you prefer royalty-free or commercial music & why? What resources are out there for quality kidshow royalty-free music? You have plenty of time to create a video example of music at work in your show - or develop ideas where you would like to use music and ask the group for help.

May - Gameshows! Gameshow programs are sweeping the business! Trade shows, schools, libararies, corporations, fairs & festivals, craft shows - they're all ideal candidates for sponsor-focused family-structured gameshows! How do you set one up? How do you run it? Where do the questions come from? What prizes do you offer? How do you package and market this concept for maximum effect and a viable profit?

June - Developing new Marketable Summer and July 4th Programs. One item to look at really closely here – July is National Ice Cream Month. July 15th is National Ice Cream Day. The time to kick this promotion off is NOW! I’ll present a marketing package that will allow us as a group or you as an individual to develop a knock-em-dead neighborhood or shopping center ice cream social event that will bring clients back year after year. Bring your best methods for staying cool and operational at outdoor events. Bring your hottest new summer and patriotic balloons, magic routines, jokes, storylines, wardrobe tips and more!

July – Puppets! For the creative kidshow entertainers, puppets offer a world of entertainment value. Some of you may not realize the true potential hidden beneath these bits of cloth and vinyl. We’ll explore the various types of puppets from big mouth and marionette to rod and mechanical. We’ll look at ways of incorporating these characters into your show (and back-of-room sales) for big laughs and bigger profits. We’ll also explore several profitable promotional and walk-around ideas that work for trade shows, festivals and more. We’ll peek at creative new ideas for puppet stages, presentation and handling to peak your showmanship and income, as well. Not into puppets? Not your thing? I’ll bet ya this session will change your mind!

August – KIDabra! Conference! While we’re there, I want our chapter to host a late night Fair & Festival Workshop – This is the right time to start promoting for the 2009 fair & festival trade shows and season. How do we reach out to these markets? What does it really take to break into the various markets? Bring your best resources, tips and promotions. The savvy festival planners rely on personal recommendations from known and trusted performers - let's start getting our names out there. We have the top festival minds at KIDabra…let’s get them to help us help one another!

September – Developing a Custom and Highly Marketable Halloween Program! Have you ever considered marketing a rapid-reset séance program to the various haunted houses in the area? Hosting your own magical séance through a local theatre or pub? Customizing your current show to fit a profitable haunting theme. Private Halloween parties abound – how do you reach them? What about your own version of David Kaye’s Dr. Blood program for the Tween market – a wide-open, in-demand market very few performers are interested in. Then we’ll shift gears and look at the Christian Harvest and commercial “ghoul-free” markets and how you can reach out to these lucrative profit centers. Bring your hottest Halloween routines, effects, balloons, costume ideas and more!

October – Christmas & First Night are right around the corner! This is the right time to start reaching out for those tight holiday dollars! Bring your hottest and most creative Christmas and New Year’s routines, effects, balloons and marketing ideas. How can we help the local malls bring Santa to the kids (and bucks into your pockets) with a magical holiday production? What are local merchants looking for to draw big bucks into their stores? How can we draw on current trends and fads to enhance your image in this very hot market?
It is my intention to produce a live family magic showcase towards the end of November or in early December for either the Toys for Tots or the Coats for Kids programs. This is a chance for KIDabra! Triangle to strut and serve a strong community need while enhancing our professional images. We’ll take this past year of creative thought and create a professional holiday comedy & magic stage show complete with corporate and commercial sponsors. Admission will be granted for a new unwrapped toy or gently used child’s coat per family.
I also plan to establish a strong volunteer entertainment presence for children stuck in the area hospitals over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Hopefully, this will develop into an annual Goodwill tradition for KIDabra! Triangle. NOW is the time to start planning these two vital projects.

November – A Retrospective Evening! We’re all working pro’s at one level or another and December is an overwhelmingly busy month for each of us. So, November will be the last meeting for 2008. I would like to use this session to look back on the past 10 months and evaluate how effective this plan was for you as a working pro. If it worked for you, I’d like to use this time to plan for the coming 2009 year drawing from the successes and session influences that best empowered you to advance within the Triangle Kidshow Market. Now that we’ve seen what CAN be done, let’s keep that momentum alive and pushing all of us forward to new creative heights.

December – Okay, I said November would be the last meeting…and I meant it. But I would also like to start an annual tradition for a Celebratory and Congratulatory Dinner for members and our families. Instead of meeting as usual, we’ll gather at a local restaurant to dine, socialize, reminisce over the past year and look forward to a new and even more exciting year.

Other plans for the year include:

1) An enhanced membership drive to draw other working kidshow pro’s and enthusiasts to KIDabra! International and KIDabra! Triangle

2) Creation of a tighter intersupportive bond between KIDabra! International and our local peer groups, Ring #199 of the Int’l Brotherhood of Magicians and the Jolly Raleigh Clown Alley

3) Creation of a quality monthly KIDshow Pro e-newsletter that will go out to the general public to promote our members and their public appearances

4) Enhanced news media coverage of area KIDshow performers and projects

These are my 2008 plans and goals as president of KIDabra! Triangle Chapter 2. I can’t do any of it without YOU! The fact is that there is not one thing here that will benefit you without your direct involvement and support. Together, let’s break away from the “Business-as-Usual” stigma and rediscover the ENERGY that first attracted each one of us to KIDabra!

It’s time for KIDabra! Triangle to come together, step forward and become a recognized entertainment entity within our community! Follow Me or Lead the Way! You decide.

Wow, this is what it's all about. You have a plan, and a fantastic one at that, it matches what is learned at the KIDabra Annual conferences, A litte marketing, a little creativitity, a variety of talent, and so much more. I would love to come to a meeting, but it's much to far for me!

You have the format and forumula, provide the enthusium and work towards becoming a family which will lead to lifetime friends, fun and excitement.

You are perfect for the Helm Captain!

Dennis

Great job Skip. Very exciting. You are really using your talent and skill to enhance the profession. I have no doubt that your hard work will touch many lives.