1.
Are you a professional performer? 2.
Do you carry public liability insurance? Accidents can and do happen.
3.
Are you CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) Police checked? You don't want a criminal at your children's party.
4.
What range entertainment do you provide? 5.
What games are played? Are the children "out" or involved throughout all the games? It's most important the children are not "out" as they'll have nothing to do while the rest of game continues.
6.
Is the entertainment varied? A one hour magic show is a long time for a child to sit through however good it may be.
However, split the show up with puppets, magic tricks and balloon modelling and even a disco and one or two hours will fly by.
7.
Are you a member of any magic societies or organisations like Equity? (Equity is the Union of Performers and Artists) Although this is not a guarantee of quality of work, it will be safer than hiring someone who is not a professional.
8.
Do you have a website? If so, have a look at it to see how professional the entertainer looks.
9.
Speak to the entertainer on the phone.
If they come across well on the phone, they should come across well on the day.
10.
Don't focus on price.
All of the things mentioned above, insurance, memberships etc cost money and have to be paid for so the professional performer will sometimes be a little more expensive than someone performing as a hobby.
This does not mean all amateur entertainers are bad, but if they are not insured or checked you could leave yourself open to a claim, or even worse have no entertainer on the day because their day job has taken preference over your booking.
I hope you have found this useful and of help in organising your party or event.