We’re proud as punch to be running what we believe to be Australia’s and the world’s first and only entertainment agency JUST FOR PUPPETS!
We’ve called it Puppet Central and, if you’re a puppeteer or puppet builder, you’re invited to be part of it.
List your puppetry service on Puppet Central
Already convinced? Fill in the form now.
At Puppet Central, our goal is to represent and promote puppeteers and puppet builders all over the world.
We’re not just going to invisibly and passively sit back, see if someone books you then take a cut of funds. We know how that works – and it doesn’t. Instead, our passion is to actively promote puppetry as an entertainment option in your local areas for schools, childcare centres, festivals, libraries, theatres, shopping centres, parties, local councils and TV networks.
We are keen to get you more gigs or – if you already get plenty of gigs – simply be another trusted avenue where you can be found.
To be listed on Puppet Central, sign up now.
How is Puppet Central radically different from other entertainment agencies?
We will send you the full booking information, including the client’s details: Unlike other entertainment agencies who keep these details hidden until the very last minute, we share this info with you straight away so you can assess whether the gig is truly right for you. And you deal directly with them by providing them your invoice, insurance info and child safety info. Logistically this is also handy as you can have a proper chat together about location, space and load in – and even upsell them if that floats your boat! All we ask is you send us a Finders Fee that you think is fair.
We don’t mind if a client contacts you directly: No really. If a client contacts Puppet Central and contacts you directly and you and the client both want to deal with each other directly, regardless of whether it’s before or after contacting Puppet Central, we don’t care. You are most welcome to deal with the client directly. Why? Because our goal is for both you and the client to be so happy with Puppet Central’s service that you actually want to deal with us rather than be forced into it. It’s also our goal for entertainers to be getting gigs. We know what it’s like. We are entertainers ourselves.
We just ask – and trust – that you send us a Finders Fee. I mean, we’ll see that you’re doing the gig anyway, so why make it weird?
We understand that this is a radical offer, but we love to see our puppeteers and puppet builders flourishing in their businesses without the constraints that old-school entertainment agencies tend to demand.
To be clear, we don’t facilitate the booking enquiry from beginning to end. Once we receive an enquiry, it’s up to you to book it all in. Once it’s all booked in, we provide you with the client’s full details. It’s only at that point that our terms and conditions require a firm commitment. For example, you can’t cancel a booking with Puppet Central then rebook directly with the client. That would just be weird and, given the small amount of money involved, not really worth the time anyway. For both puppeteers and puppet builders, we facilitate the introduction then request a finder’s fee. Being excellent at doing both of these things is how we earn our management fee.
We don’t mind if you deal with a client directly next time: Not. Even. Kidding. If a client wants to deal with you directly into the future for gigs after the first gig facilitated via Puppet Central, you are most welcome to offer that opportunity to your client. Why? Because we’re pretty confident that you’ll leave the relationship management to us. We trust that our service will be so smooth, so personalised and so top notch that both you and your client will choose to continue to facilitate bookings with Puppet Central.
And if you don’t, which is TOTALLY fine too, we just ask – and trust – that you send us a Part Finders Fee. Again, because we take a close interest in what you’re up to and we’re not just an Internet bot, we’ll see that you’ve managed to secure an ongoing relationship with the client, so let’s celebrate that win – together!
We understand this is another radical offer, but as a contemporary entertainment agency run by entertainers, we are here to make the booking process and the process of getting gigs easier for you rather than harder. So we reckon you’ll stick with us as a true partner and support the investment that we’ve made in you. At least, we hope you do. You’re just not contractually obliged to. We don’t have any secret, old-school terms and conditions that require it.
We don’t just sit back online looking pretty: We don’t demand your loyalty. We earn it. Despite being a fully online entertainment agency, we don’t just sit back looking pretty taking bookings using an automated online service that your clients fill in after stumbling across your Puppet Central listing online via Google. A human rather than a robot manually looks after booking enquiries and we put work into promoting you, training you and supporting you.
We want you to love working with us so much that you will want us to look after you in the short-term and the long-term. Sure, we have terms and conditions, but they are radically different from those of traditional entertainment agencies. And we are proud of that.
What else will Puppet Central offer?
Puppet Central is owned and managed by Brett Hansen and Elissa Jenkins who live in Queensland, Australia. As you may be aware, Brett also works full-time in his puppet business, Larrikin Puppets, with his wife and co-puppeteer Elissa. We regularly receives booking enquiries for puppet gigs all over Australia and around the world and have done so for the last 10 years.
Puppeteers often ask us if they can come and work for Larrikin Puppets. Clients often ask us if we’re going to franchise Larrikin Puppets. But we’re not interested in hiring staff or franchising our puppetry arts business, brand or characters. Instead, we want you to earn a living from your own puppetry arts business, your own brand and your own characters, supporting you to make your own dreams come true. It takes passion, persistence and patience but it is definitely possible. We’ve even set up a training program for emerging puppeteers who are keen to fast track this goal.
As well as providing representation and marketing, Puppet Central will also soon feature:
- a shop where we can set up and sell your merchandise (and we both get a cut!);
- an events section where you can promote any ticketed theatre events you might be hosting;
- a space where puppeteers can buy and sell puppet show scripts to each other; plus
- plenty of training opportunities in puppetry, puppetry business management and puppetry marketing.
For Australian puppet shows, workshops, film and tv gigs and puppet builds, as your agent, it’s simply a one-off Full Finders Fee for the first gig booked with any new client then a Part Finders Fee for any future gigs booked with that same client.
We manage the sales, marketing and booking process and, once the client accepts, we connect you directly with the client. You just invoice the client how you normally invoice and simply bill the Finders Fee into your invoice on top of what you would normally charge. Or you can just charge what you normally charge and consider our service part of the cost of doing business – in this case marketing your services. Once the client has paid you in full, you pay our invoice. Simple huh?
If you’re based in Australia, we invoice you the Finders Fee then you pay the invoice via direct bank transfer or via Stripe.
If you’re based outside of Australia, you pay the Finders Fee via Stripe.
When we receive a booking enquiry via Puppet Central, we will contact you for a quote. Most of the time we will simply just contact the right puppeteer or puppet builder in the right location who’s the right fit for the gig. But if we do scout around, we will not be contacting more than three puppeteers or puppet builders for quotes. This is not an auction nor a race to the bottom dollar!
Full Finders Fee
You pay Puppet Central a Full Finders Fee when you secure the first booking with a new client through Puppet Central, directly or indirectly.
Full Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $100-$1000: AU $50
Full Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $100-$1000: US $50
Full Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $1000-$2000: AU $75
Full Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $1000-$2000: US $75
Full Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $2000-$5000: AU $100
Full Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $2000-$5000: US $100
Full Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $5000-$10,000: AU $500
Full Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $2000-$5000: US $500
Full Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $10,000-$20,000: AU $800
Full Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $10,000-$20,000: US $800
Part Finders Fee
You pay Puppet Central a Part Finders Fee when you secure any future bookings with a client that was first booked through Puppet Central, directly or indirectly.
Part Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $100-$1000: AU $25
Part Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $100-$1000: US $25
Part Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $1000-$2000: AU $50
Part Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $1000-$2000: US $50
Part Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $2000-$5000: AU $75
Part Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $2000-$5000: US $75
Part Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $5000-$10,000: AU $200
Part Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $2000-$5000: US $200
Part Finders Fee Australia for bookings valued $10,000-$20,000: AU $400
Part Finders Fee Global (Outside of Australia) for bookings valued $10,000-$20,000: US $400
Want us to write your listing for you?
Time poor? Find marketing boring?
If you already have a website for your puppetry business or listings and photos all over the Internet, don’t worry – we’re happy to put something together for you.
Just fill in the quick, easy bits on the listing form then leave the description and photo sections blank and we’ll look after it for you.
Add your puppeteer listing now.
Puppet Central on social media
You can follow what we’re doing at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PuppetCentralAgency
Instagram: www.instagram.com/puppetcentralagency
We hope you love the sound of Puppet Central and we look forward to working with you!
Brett & Elissa.
