Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 @ 04:21 PM
We had a great day today, talking to school assembly coordinators from all over the greater Chicago area about our school assemblies! Today, of course, was the first of two days comprising the Center East Showcase at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois.
There were many, many school assembly and school assembly program performers in attendance here today, with showcase performances going on in the theatre all day. Meantime action was brisk outside in the lobby and in the main room, where booths were set up so that school representatives could visit with performers and schedule dates.
We met a lot of great people today and had a wonderful time. Dick Buchholz was here and his “critters” were a big hit with the crowd. Dick, of course, is our Chicago presenter for Animals and the Environment as well as Reptiles Are Cool. He had a whole slew of different snakes, turtles and lizards today. Who knows what he may bring tomorrow but I can’t wait to see!
Jeff Hoge was here today, too. Jeff is also resident in the greater Chicago area, and is the presenter for three of our programs here. He is the local presenter for Young Authors Day, one of my favorites of all of our programs, but he also is the creator and performer for our wonderful newer program on the environment, Our Changing Climate. Additionally, in the winter Jeff is also dynamite Abraham Lincoln impersonator.
It was great to see everyone today. The show continues tomorrow, so if you are in Chicago, or anywhere in North East Illinois, Southeast Wisconsin, Western Michigan or Northwestern Indiana, and looking for ideas for school assemblies, I encourage you to stop by. You won’t find an opportunity to shop around so many different presenters in one place like this very often. Tell ‘em Geoff sent you!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 @ 10:07 AM
Just a quick one today to remind all of our friends in Chicago and other nearby parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and western Michigan that this coming week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, The 
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts will host it’s annual School Assembly Performer Showcase in Skokie, Illinois.
I will be there to meet with customers and friends, along with two of our performers who live in the Chicago area. Dick Buchholz, performer for our Animals and The Environment, will be there with a number of his amazing animals, 
and so will Jeff Hoge who can explain all about his program Our Changing Climate, as well as the incredible Young Authors Day he offers to schools in Chicago and the surrounding areas.
So please stop by if you are in the area! It is a great place to shop around and meet numerous school assembly performers from all over the Midwest and get a lot of good ideas for school assemblies you might want to host this year or in the future.
But remember to bring your schedule or school calendar! Because along with my performers, and an offer for a free give away for some lucky school to win a free school assembly, I will also have a large number of our school assembly programs available at a huge discount to schools who can actually schedule their date with us on Tuesday or Wednesday! So if you are on a budget (and who isn’t this year?) this is a great opportunity to score some of our best programs at a really great deal of a price! I hope to see you in Skokie!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 11:10 AM
Some information to consider today about different types of school assembly performers. All different kinds of people are now involved in bringing programs to schools. We can divide them into some groups, though, in order to bring in some structure.
Some school assembly performers are what we often refer to as “Mom and Pop” operations. By this I mean that you have a presenter who travels to schools performing the show, while the spouse handles the scheduling. Sometimes there is just the presenter handling both their own scheduling and performing.
More often than not, this kind of show is local in nature and does not travel far. If they are willing to travel they usually will include additional fees to cover their travel expenses. Though the quality of performers such as this is all over the charts, from really great to really awful, one thing is usually a constant. 
They are usually hard to get hold of because they are usually performing when you call and so you must play some phone tag to reach them. On the other hand, if they are easy to reach it may mean they are not working much and that should send up red flags.
At the other end of the spectrum are regional “arts” agencies that often sport a range of acts and performers ranging into the hundreds. Often these agencies operate in large markets where many actors, musicians, singers and artists live. They are able to offer so many options (sometimes literally hundreds) because these performers, focused on an arts career, are using school programs just to supplement their sporadic income from other sources. Though often good, many of these performers work only on infrequent occasions and so may not be terribly experienced with student audiences or even polished in their own show. 
Also, the offerings are often esoteric and may or may not be curriculum related in any direct way (I once saw an act offering - no joke - Chinese railroad Songs of the 1800’s).
In the middle are the mid to large sized agencies, like Mobile Ed Productions, that travel the country. To be fair, programs from companies like ours may not always be available when you want them, as tours are usually routed through different states, and are available to you when they are in your area. One week a presenter may be performing school assemblies in Ohio, and then in Indiana the next, and Illinois the week after. However, performers for national agencies are usually very experienced and professional. They usually work every day (rather than once a month) and so become very polished in what they do. For example, an independent Ben Franklin may work anywhere from once a day to once every three months, whereas Dave Mitchell the gentleman who portrays our Ben Franklin, works up to ten times a week ( By the way, it’s Dave’s birthday today - Happy Birthday, Dave!) And, speaking at least for Mobile Ed performers, the programs are directly related to curriculum and carry no additional fees for travel expenses. One last benefit to national agencies is that they are usually easy to deal with. Since they almost always have a staffed office, you do not need to play phone tag waiting for a presenter to get back in touch with you, and if at any time you have questions about a presentation there is someone there who can assist you.
So, that's a basic guide to the business structure of most school assembly performers. Good shows can come from all three groups! But it is helpful to understand some of the pros and cons associated with each. If you would like to get some more information on this subject and are in the Chicago area, try and visit us next week at the Showcase in Skokie, Illinois!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 11:17 AM
Great news today, especially for those of you looking for school assemblies in California or in general on the West Coast.
Phil Wallace, a magnificently talented writer and school assembly performer has created a new program entitled The Dream Keeper.
Phil was instrumental in the creation of both our Martin Luther King school assembly and our Frederick Douglass school assembly, 
both of which have been extremely well received for many years now throughout the entire country! Now he has a new program intertwining the words, dreams, poetry and vision of not only Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglas, but also many other great writers and poets including Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Langston Hughes. 
This is not only a great program for someone looking for a school assembly relating to African American history but also to poetry and literature in general.
This exciting new program will explore the power of the written and spoken word, with inspirational songs, characters, poems and stories based on the lives of these great men.
Eventually we hope to offer this new program all around the country. For now the initial tour will be only on the west coast. But if you are looking for ideas for school assembly programs for San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose or just about anywhere on the left coast, we have a brand new treat for you!
Oh, and don't forget, if you are in the area of greater Chicago, next week is the big showcase in Skokie! I hope to see you there!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 @ 03:29 PM
Every Fall, teachers and parents find they have a new job. Somehow they wake up and find out they have been given the job of picking and scheduling the school assembly programs for their school. Yes, you know who you are!
Well, if you live in Illinois, North Western Indiana, South Western Michigan or Southern Wisconsin, and in particular, if you live in or near the Chicago area, you have a great advantage! At the beginning of each new school year Chicago-land residents have the opportunity to attend a showcase where they can not only meet with many different performing artists and their representatives, but watch short segments of many programs to see what they like.
There are two of these events that take place.
The great grand dame of showcases takes place at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois. 
Forty live performances enhance this two-day event, showcasing many great and a few … uh…not so great … presenters. All the while there are some 120 booths set up in the lobby and auxiliary area, where roughly 500 school assembly program coordinators and event planners meet with artists and companies discussing and getting ideas for school assembly programs to visit their schools during the coming year. A lot of actual scheduling is done at Skokie so bring your calendar! This year this event takes place August 31 and September 1. Don’t miss it!
The other event, and the “new kid on the block” is the Premier Showcase founded in 2005. The Premier Showcase is similar to Skokie, but is a one-day event that will take place this year on September 14, at the Carlisle in Oakbrook, which is very convenient for all the western suburbs.
Mobile Ed has attended both events in past years, and both are fine venues. We have always enjoyed the opportunity to meet and speak with the customers we can normally only hear on the phone! It is great to get a face to put with the voice!
This year we will be in attendance at the Skokie event on August 30 and September 1.
So if you are in the Chicago area and looking for ideas for school assemblies for this year come on by and say hi! I will be there along with two of our presenters, Dick Buchholz (animal expert extraordinaire! and star of Animals and the Environment) and Jeff Hoge (otherwise known as Dr. Exhaustus, star of Our Changing Climate, but sometimes known to perform a cracker jack, jim dandy Abraham Lincoln school assembly, too!) I will also be featuring a few items from different programs for your entertainment, and, even better, we will have some “show-specials” available, offering a limited number of school assembly dates at special reduced prices. These bargains will only be available if you schedule at the showcase, so if you are looking for a deal try to make it to Skokie! I will look forward to seeing you there!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 @ 02:16 PM
I read an article today that really did not surprise me. Did you know that Americans are basically illiterate when it comes to world geography? It’s true! Apparently, we are only interested in ourselves. A recent study showed that, despite the war, 63 percent of Americans aged 18-24 could not find Iraq on a map. Seventy percent didn’t know the whereabouts of Israel or Iran. And ninety percent failed to locate Afghanistan ... on a map of Asia!
It is a sad state of affairs when so many young people fail in this important area. That is why I so often recommend The Earth Dome to schools looking for ideas for school assembly programs. Sort of a giant Earth balloon, this program brings an inflatable planet Earth into the school for a day to teach our kids all about world geography in a way they cannot fail to like. 
The Earth balloon is twenty-two feet in diameter (that’s really big!) and is covered in high resolution photography of the planet’s surface.
In the Midwest Mobile Ed is fortunate to have Kathleen Day to bring this great program to schools throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and western Pennsylvania. Kathleen is a very talented, red headed lady of Irish descent, who hails from Springfield, Ohio right in the heart of America. And she has been winning the hearts and minds of midwestern kids and teachers alike for quite a few years now, bringing a greater understanding of the world we live in to schools all over the middle of the country. 
Other, equally fine presenters are employed to visit schools in other states, but where ever this program goes it is met with universal awe and delight. But, personally, I just like the fact that maybe ... just maybe ... the next time they take a survey on geographical ignorance in the United States we may do just a little better!
By the way, there are other companies that also offer this program ...but be advised ...they all charge a lot more than Mobile Ed!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 02:59 PM
Another story today about the experiences of one of our presenters, and the power of school assemblies to impact the lives of children!
Tom Barry is a great guy and presents two of our programs, The Earth Dome and The Sky Dome Planetarium. 
He is based on Long Island, and tours in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Our customers love this guy, and I hope you will see why.
This is from a letter Tom sent to me recently. The Italics are mine.
“A few years back I was teaching the Sky Dome program at an elementary school (like I do) and there was a group of autistic children there for one of the programs. They were a younger group of kids, probably first to third graders. Now, I am by no means an expert in classification of students but I would have to say that the children's autism was pretty profound--every ten or fifteen seconds a timer each aide had would go off and if the child had sat quietly in that amount of time, they were given a small piece of potato chip or snack--so, it was fairly severe. Obviously, with students with special needs at a program a certain amount of noise is not only tolerated, but expected and yet, with this group of autistic kids, there was hardly any noise at all (except for those timers).
We were going through the planets for the "solar-system-tour" part of the program and we were at the point where the discussion turned to Saturn's rings. I always like to make a little joke about how difficult the names of the rings are to remember, so I make a big production of saying each ring's name. . .Ring A, Ring B, Ring C, Ring D--now here's where it gets tricky--Ring E, Ring F and. . .oh, what was that next ring? Normally, children will laugh as I struggle to remember the next letter of the alphabet, but in this case, one of the children popped right up and said, "G!"
Many times children will call out the next letter in the sequence of rings so that in itself is no big deal however, the student who supplied this particular answer had apparently never before answered a question using words!
It was the first time he had spoken an answer to a question in his life!
Naturally, there was a whole lot of noise in the dome after that, but not from the students; nope, this noise was from the teachers and the aides as they all were cheering and crying for this student who had apparently just made a huge leap.
We can never underestimate the power or the impact we have not only on the students we teach, but on those in their lives as well--I guarantee that that evening, the child's parents shed a few tears of joy as well.”
I could not have said it better myself, Tom! This is the kind of story that we love to hear. It really reinforces how important school assemblies can be.
Those of you that live in New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, and who are looking for ideas for school assembly programs, might want to check whether or not Tom has any dates available in your area. Oh, and for the younger females, I am told Tom is considered quite “hot”, but relax, ladies, as this young man is happily engaged!
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 @ 02:57 PM
I thought some of you might have an interest in learning a little bit about how the whole business of school assemblies and school assembly programs got started.
Many years ago there really were no educational assembly programs for school that were also entertaining. Schools could choose between magicians or ventriloquists doing their “act” or dry (and often boring) lectures from visiting police, firemen or various “experts”.
In the 1970’s a performer in Michigan was having a great time. 
He was a teacher and administrator in the Livonia School District, but he was also working in live children’s television. His name was Larry Thompson. Early each morning Larry would go into a television studio and take on the role of Mr. Whoodinini, a magician who was sidekick to Bozo the Clown. The program was called Bozo’s Big Top and it played for years in the Detroit area. Larry and Bozo made many special appearances all over the country in those days, and enjoyed a huge popularity. 
Following the broadcast each morning, Larry would head over to school and teach his classes, sometimes still in makeup! His students thought it was so cool!
Well, part of his job at the school was to schedule assemblies and it drove him crazy that there was so little available that was both entertaining and educational. So in 1979 he took matters into his own hands, and created Mobile Ed Productions. The first assembly for schools he created was called The Amazing World of Light. Business was a little rickety the first year but the company survived! Other science programs about chemistry and physics were soon added. History and other subjects joining the fold, too, in the years that followed. My own Abraham Lincoln assembly began in January of 1989. Hands on workshops to augment the science assemblies began to be offered shortly after the start of the company, and have proven extremely popular.
That first year we sold sixty school assemblies, all in Michigan. Mobile Ed has grown steadily ever since. We still offer The Amazing World of Light though it has been updated many times since it’s original creation. Over the years we have employed some truly great school assembly performers (and, honestly, a few here and there who were not so great - though they never worked here for long!). Many have stayed with us for years and years. Many school assembly performers working today first learned about school assemblies while seated in an audience for one of our assemblies! Mobile Ed Productions is now the largest company in the country offering educational school assembly programs with performances in some 6,000 schools annually in more than 35 states. Over the years, literally millions of children have benefited from the programs started by Larry Thompson.
So the next time you are enjoying an assembly at your school, you just might want to say a mental "thank you" to Larry Thompson for helping to create a business that has brought so much joy and so much learning to so many kids over so many years. Part of his "act" was mind-reading, so the chances are - he just might hear you! 
As to the shows themselves, Larry still chuckles and says,
“They are going to have fun, that’s a given, but, if they are not careful, they also just might learn something!”
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 @ 02:06 PM
A little advise today for those seeking ideas for school assemblies. With all of the standard presentational type school assembly programs available, I found, when I was scheduling programs for my school, that something out of the ordinary was occasionally a great treat.
One time I brought in a gentleman whose assembly lasted ninety minutes and had him portraying a Leonardo Da Vinci. He actually used students as stand ins while he rebuilt a three dimensional representation of The Last Supper and then used lighting instruments to show students how the different angles of light affected the scene. It was so different and the kids and staff loved it!
Giant inflatables are also very well received... but I am not talking about Moon Bounces! The Earth Dome is a huge inflatable earth balloon that stands 19 feet tall and is completely covered in high resolution photography of the surface of our planet. It is used to teach students all about the geography, geology, and atmosphere of our planet and it makes for a wonderful environment assembly program, too. Overall, the kids are simply awestruck by the size of this earth balloon school assembly.
Similarly, The Sky Dome Planetarium utilizes a huge silver dome to teach astronomy and all about the heavens. Students enter through a tunnel and then sit in the dark while a digital star projector shows then the various constellations, full blown pictures that the Greeks saw in the night sky, the phases of the moon and so on. Again, a great favorite with kids and teachers alike, and certainly not your average presentational school assembly!
Posted by Geoff Beauchamp on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 12:22 PM
Just a quick one ... I just had to share this!
We just got a call in from Melissa Lawler, who recently hosted Lights Camera Action at Freehold Learning Center in Freehold, New Jersey. She was ecstatic about the program and in particular our school assembly performer, Michael Carrell.
“The program was awesome! We got a lot of great comments from kids, teachers and even the principal! Michael was extremely friendly, accommodating and professional! I am sure we will want to have him back again! Thanks!”
Lights Camera Action is a high tech show bringing television technology to schools and through hands on demonstrations teaching kids about their favorite medium.
Michael is a real asset to our company. Like most of our performers, he has been with us for many years and performs two school assemblies for us. In addition to Lights Camera Action, he also presents The Earth Dome, our giant Earth Balloon assembly for schools. Normally he works only on the East Coast for us, but this coming Fall he will also be available to bring his school assemblies to schools in Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. He doesn’t usually visit the Midwest, so if you are seeking school assembly ideas for the Fall and you live in one of those states you should consider giving him a try!
Of course, all our presenters are the best! ;-)
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of
science,
history,
writing,
astronomy,
natural science,
mathematics,
character issues and a variety of other
curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's
THE LIVING LINCOLN