by David Jack, a three-time Parent's Choice award-winning, national children's recording artist. Find out information about him and his wildly-popular school assemblies at http://www.elementaryassembly.com.
It's 10 a.m. As the kids file into the multipurpose room, you wait nervously in the back. They don't know what to expect of this welcome break from studying the three "R's" but they know it'll be something different. Hopefully -- something fun. The principal quiets the children, makes a small speech thanking the Home and School association for sponsoring their school assemblies and then he introduces the presenter. Within a minute into the performance, the realization hits you - "Uh, oh... I think this was a mistake."
Hiring a school assembly presenter is one of the toughest jobs around. In the words of Forest Gump "You never know what you're gonna get!" As the cultural arts representative of your Home and School Association or your Parent-Teacher Organization, you have the daunting task of sifting through the mountain of promotional materials that's been sent to your school by presenters from every corner of the country via U.S. Postal Service or these days - via email.
By the end of the school year, you finally have a grasp on the "who to hire" and "how to hire" an assembly presenter, but sometimes by then, it's too late. Next years' cultural arts person will start where you started -- at the beginning.
Having been a successful school assembly performer and presenter for nearly 20 years, what follows will be the number one secret that home and school representatives can use when hiring a performer that promises to at least give you some measure of confidence that your school assembly will be a success.
Ready for the secret? Hire experience. Although you may have been to a birthday party and the twelve kids there were mesmerized by a magician while the parents enjoyed their coffee, doesn't mean that the guy can do the same at your school. Handling an auditorium of elementary-aged kids can be difficult for even a seasoned educator.
Think back to when you were in elementary school. Do you remember the day your substitute teacher walked through the door? The happiness and glee you and your classmates felt because you were about to abuse that poor guy for the rest of the day?! You don't want the same situation to occur during your school assembly program. An experienced, professional presenter is one that has hundreds (yes -- hundreds) of school performances under the belt. Not five, not ten, not even twenty. I've seen countless young presenters fresh out of college that, although they might be unbelievable performers, can't handle this type of young audience. They get frustrated and the situation can turn from bad to worse. Another natural progression of experience is longevity. Typically you'll find that one of the reasons that a performer has been in the school assembly business for a long time is because he or she does a pretty good show. Although this work can (at times) be extremely difficult, it is ultimately extremely rewarding and if you're not offering quality school assemblies performances, you probably won't work that much and ultimately will be forced to leave the business.
A successful booking can never be guaranteed. But -- If you can keep this advice in mind when searching for your next school assembly, then you'll at least get the odds in your favor that the show you're bringing to your school will be a good one. Who knows? You might be responsible for their best show ever!
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