Award-winning entertainer Tracey Bell is excited to host the 2014 Women in Film & Television Spotlight Awards and 25th Anniversary Gala on April 30th at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright St – Granville Island).

Bell will be changing wigs and costumes in seconds to become show business legends Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Julie Andrews, Celine Dion, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland and more.

Previously recognized as the 2005 Canadian Special Event Industry’s “Entertainer of the Year” and the 2009 BC Event Industry Awards’ “Entertainer of the Year”, Bell performs internationally at private corporate events, charity galas and in billionaires’ homes and has just celebrated her 25th Anniversary as an Entertainment Entrepreneur in the Special Events industry.

Bell recently returned from China where she performed for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai using colourful energy, lightning fast costume changes, and abundant audience participation that her signature one-woman show, 8 Divas in 44 Minutes, is known for.

The 2014 Women in Film & Television Spotlight Awards and 25th Anniversary Gala takes place on April 30th at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright St – Granville Island) at 7pm. Tickets are $30 for WIFTV Members ($40 for non-members) and are available now at WomeninFilm.ca.

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Corporate events, in and of themselves, are activities to look forward to. They signify a milestone crossed for a company, a celebration of a meeting a goal, or a step in a new direction. Employees look forward to these times when they have the chance to let their hair down and socialize with their colleagues without deadlines and projects looming in the near future. Corporate events, especially those that are held offsite, are some of the only times that employees reveal their true selves to the people they work with.

Selecting entertainment for a corporate event requires careful planning. Unlike venue or entertainment specific events, there is a lot of latitude allowed when the type of entertainment to perform. Comedians, magicians, musical acts, solo singers, variety acts, ventriloquists, traveling petting zoos, impersonators– there is a wide array of talent to choose from in the corporate event environment. However, with that flexibility brings additional concerns to the table. Here are three tips to consider when looking for talent to perform at your next corporate event:

Type of Entertainment

The chief concern when planning a corporate event is the type of material that will be presented.  There is virtually no way to please every single person in the company with a specific performer.  Being faced with that reality can present a challenge. Do you hire a male performer every year? Maybe you should consider a female comedian this time.  Sticking with the basics will make the decision easier.  Music that combines a mix of the popular genres, magicians, and clean comedians are choices that will satisfy a wide range of people. Interactive shows are especially memorable.

Material Covered

Once you have decided to go with a specific entertainment type, confirming that the material is appropriate for the audience is important. With people from coming from all walks of life and with no other common factory than employment at the company to share between them, it can be tricky to gauge levels of appropriateness.

Relevance of Material

Will the jokes make sense to the vast majority of your employees? If you’ve employed a cover band, will the music be recognizable? This is where knowing your employees will come into play. Understand the age ranges of the people employed in your business before you audition talent. If you have a young employee base, hire an act that will speak to their sensibilities and interests and vice versa. If the crowd is mixed, so should your talent be. Hire a DJ that can spin records spanning four decades or hire a comedian that talks about past and present situations.

Planning a corporate event can be an exciting activity. Having the opportunity to employee local talent, introduce your team members to a performer they may never have heard of before, and treating your employees to a company party is a perfect opportunity celebrate your teams accomplishments and show your company’s appreciation.

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Choosing the proper entertainment to perform at a corporate event can be an exciting undertaking. Searching for the talent, reading their reviews, watching their videos and making the final decision can make you feel like you are preparing the cast for the next big play on Broadway. In a way, you are performing a similar task to a casting agent and, while the audience for the corporate event will be considerably smaller than for a Broadway play, there will be several personalities to take into account when deciding on the finished product.

There are many things that must be considered when hiring a corporate entertainer. Here are 5 key questions that should be asked as part of the vetting process:

What type of material do you perform?

There are several types of performances that are perfect in the corporate setting. You need to determine how large the gathering will be to choose an appropriate act. Magicians, comedians, musicians, and impersonators do well for large groups. Ventriloquists, close-up magicians, artists, and solo acoustic performers do well with more intimate groups.

What size of audience have you performed in front of before?

This information will allow you to gauge how polished the act is before they come in for an audition. While the amount of performances is not indicative of ability (everyone has to start somewhere), knowing this information will allow you to properly compare acts when you do your final analysis.

What type of material do you cover in your act?

Knowing this ahead of time may seem like it spoils the fun, but it is imperative that you know ahead of time what kind of material the act will perform for your corporate audience. Considering the human resources ramifications of illicit material being presented in such a setting, you must choose your act with great care in this regard. Suggestive lyrics, profanity, and adult material should be tempered. While you won’t please everyone, you must ensure that you don’t offend anyone.

How long is your act?

Knowing the amount of time the performer plans to be on stage will allow you to plan the other aspects of the evening, such as food and speakers.

How much do you charge?

Money is an important aspect of the vetting process. As with every aspect of the event, a budget must be adhered to. Knowing the fee required by the talent will allow you to make the proper decisions about use, such as choosing local bands over well-known event performers.

Planning a corporate event allows you to create a special show for your colleagues. Since many corporate events are thrown as a way to say thanks for a job well done, the choice of performer is a very important part of that sentiment. Research and planning will aid the search for the perfect event performer. These questions will get you started on your way to finding the perfect match for your company.

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As a new member of the International Special Events Society, Tracey Bell went all-out to immerse herself with the burlesque theme of the organization’s recent event, The 2011 Spectacular.

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