Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Phantom Sheep!? The original Phantom Sheep is actually a puppet! It is a character that we developed while working as puppeteers at Riverside (now Six Flags New England) and soon became a character in the first original script sold by Eric and Kevin. We first used it as a production company name on the first episode of our local TV show The New RRN (Rubber Room News), where the sheep appeared in nearly every episode (We never expected the character to become that popular). He lurks in the shadows, he haunts, he taunts. He is cute, adorable, and a master of disguise (kinda). He appeared in PuppetWorks stage shows featured at Six Flags for over 11 years, reoccurring segments on RRN, several LaughCrafters cameos, and even performed in front of a full house at Northampton's famed Academy of Music. In recent years, the troupe has simply been known as "Phantom Sheep", clarifying "Players" when referring to the improv and sketch performers, or "Productions" when referring to the overall company. We kept it as the name of the company for a few reasons:
What do
you Do?
We are creators
of original quality entertainment and Arts education for
schools & corporate events.
Our services
and talents include:
- Write/Perform comedy (specialty in sketch, improv, satire, and parody along with emcee services)
- Conduct workshops in skills such as comedy improv, acting, and team building!
- Voice overs (many forms and characters)
- Video production (our own sketch comedy and available to help produce industrials, promos, and training videos)
- Creative direction and custom show production
- Consultation and design for theatrical/media events and attractions
What is LaughCrafters? LaughCrafters is the brand name given to our original created comedy short scenes. It originally referred to our improv show, which is "comedy created right before your eyes". It was then extended to our improvisation workshops, and eventually the show grew to include more scripted and pre-recorded sketches mixed in. Most of those sketches originated from improvised scenes. We enjoy LaughCrafters because it is our showcase of the comedy arts and a method how we create. The troupe boasts over 250 scripted sketches produced and countless improvised scenes! You can see it live on stage, clips online, compiled on DVD, and fun workshops being taught to your group.
Who are the Phantom Sheep Players? The Phantom Sheep Players is the repertoire troupe of improv writer/performers that are seen in such shows as "LaughCrafters", and form the basic inner creative team of all our shows and productions. Currently the core players include Eric Boucher, Tommy Lynch, Jesse Redmond, Jeff Tingley, Paige Stawasz, Aaron Reynolds, Josh Prouser, and Stevie Norman. You may still see special appearances by featured alumni such as Devin Horan, Jessica Lamoureux, Greg Seymour, Jenny Taylor, and Kevin "Zippy" Zabawa. There have actually only been 17 Phantom Sheep Players in the troupe's long history. The majority of the current cast has been working together for over a decade, and some since the late 90's.
Where is your troupe based? We are based in Western Mass, a haven for the Arts and we are the longest running professional comedy troupe in the area. We mostly work throughout the New England and New York region focusing in Hampden and Hartford counties. Since 2019, we have partnered with Unity House Players in Springfield, MA as a home base location for our public shows, classes, and more.
Are your shows and programs suitable for kids? For many shows, yes. For some shows, it depends. Some of our work is political parody or social satire that may be more appropriate for teens and adults. We avoid excessive gratuitous cursing and cheap sex jokes. We may go "PG-13" at times, but rarely "R" level. We want to make theater enjoyable for as many audiences as possible, but you know your child best and what they can handle.
We also have extensive experience working with kids in schools and libraries and have decades of experience producing family entertainment for the theme park industry. These shows are usually enjoyed by kids and adults alike with fun music, witty writing, pardodies, and clever characters. We're really good at adapting our shows to who is in the room.
For Workshops- we have been Arts educators serving ages 5 to 75 and can customize an age and skill appropriate program for your group.
What kind of workshops do you offer?
We are proud to offer several workshops and classes to enhance your organization's skills, customer service, and sometimes just to motivate and entertain. Professional instructors in the entertainment industry will work closely with your group for a unique and fun event sharing their experience and coaching so that everyone has a great time and learns new skills. Most members of our troupe have worked more than a decade as trainers in a corporate entertainment setting and have developed programs that became company standards.
Our most popular workshop is LaughCrafters:Comedy Improv. These are excellent for ages teen to adults, both for theater and non-theater students. Our "Laugh Out Loud in the Library" series has been very successful part of many teen programs throughout New England. We have also used exercises and games from our improv repertoire to teach workshops in Team Building, Communication, and being able to interact with co-workers and customers.
We have also proudly partnered with Unity House Players to offer weekly classes in improv.
Other classes and workshops we offer include:
All of our workshops and classes are taught with humor and encouragement with lots of coaching and interactive participation of the students.
We pride ourselves in being able to showcase the best in everyone and often the "shy" ones are breakout stars amazed at their own brilliance.
We can customize a workshop to serve the goals and needs of your organization!
What is the age range for your classes?
What is the pricing of Shows and Workshops?
- Our
pricing is competitive and customizable to work with your
goals and budget.
- Our
touring shows range anywhere from $450-$1200 per
performance. Factors to determine cost include show
needs such as cast size, show length, props, sets, travel,
etc.
- We also
consider options including box office share and services
trade. This is useful for fundraising and non-profit
events.
- We can
more accurately answer this question if we know more
details about your event so we can customize the best
production and value to you. Contact us to request a bid or proposal!
- Classes/Workshops:
- For
individuals: Teen and adult classes open to the
public are now available. Cost usually ranges from
$25 per person/per class to $150 for an multi-week
intensive series.
- For
Groups: Can be a series of classes, workshops, jam sessions, or a single afternoon. This is an affordable and controllable option for most groups ranging from $425 to $3800 depending on number of days, number of participants, number of instructors, materials, and travel. It is up to you if you charge participants or not.
- After School Youth Programs: The pricing varies depending on the school or organization with several package options available. Tuition is usually paid directly to the school. Please contact the sponsoring venue for pricing and registration information. If you are a school who is interested in our programming, please contact us for availability and details.
- Financial Assistance: To make classes and workshops accessible, we do offer scholarships and tuition assistance for our programs at Unity House Players. Contact us for more info or click here to apply.
- Scripts and other writing services: If you are looking to purchase the rights of one of our existing scripts, or our services such as writing, directing, video, or design, then please contact us so we may set up a production schedule for you. We can also assist with casting and production consultation. Most of our live stage shows do best in audiences ranging from 50-550 people, but can be designed to accommodate more. Fees range depending on the venue, purpose of production, and length of run.
- Got an Idea!? We are also great making clients concepts come to life with our creative team. We have an excellent record of accommodating theme parks, community theaters, and colleges with everything from production design to original scripting to reach the goals they envision. We've been comedy consultants, puppeteer trainers, game show creators, prop builders, set designers, video producers, and emcee talent! Let us know what you have in mind and we'll help you add that professional theatrical edge!
What is your payment and refund policy?
- Adult classes for individuals:
- We are very flexible and able to set up payment plans in most situations. Typically we ask for at least 30% of the tuition to be paid by week 1 of a class session and the full amount to be paid within 2 weeks of the class conclusion. We accept checks (made payable to the instructor),cash, venmo, or paypal. Contact us for more info.
- Refunds may be given up to 7 days prior to the start of class or event. Once the class begins, there are no refunds. If the student must drop out within 1 week prior or 1 week after session starts, 50% of their tuition is still due. If the student drops out after week 2, there is no refund. In special cases of medical concerns or other emergencies, we can possibly apply credit to future classes.
- If you need financial
assistance, we do offer a scholarship program
for our UHP classes to help make arts education
accessible to all. Click
here to apply or contact us for more info.
- For most after-school and other youth programs, registration and payment is handled through the sponsoring venue. Please consult them for more details.
- Groups and companies booking our shows and workshops:
- Payment is usually due within 30 days after the event. Tax and other vendor info can be supplied as needed.
- If event must be cancelled with
less than 14 days notice, 50% of fee will still
be due. If event is cancelled with less than 48
hours notice, 75% of fee will still be due. Of
course, we will always work with organizers to
reschedule an event if needed. There is no
additional charge if event is rescheduled with
at least 2 weeks notice of original date, but
will be pro-rated accordingly if less notice is
given and depending on how far new date is
set.
- More details are in our standard performance agreement most organizations receive upon booking or by request.
How can I see a PSP show!?
Who are some of your past clients, groups, venues that you've worked with? A few of our favorite groups and partners we have repeatedly worked with include:
How do I audition and/or get to be part of your troupe? We are lucky to work with so many talented people who help make our work look so good from their performances and craftsmanship; however the actual troupe itself purposely remains small as a core group of colleagues and friends who have worked together for MANY years. We do not have "open call auditions" nor are we accepting applications, submissions, or resumes for troupe members at this time.
How can I get Phantom Sheep shows, workshops, performers at my theater, library, school, venue, park, club, network, etc.? The first step is to CONTACT US ! Send us an email info@phantomsheep.com! Tell us more about your group, venue, event, and what you're looking for. We can then send you any information you need including proposals, bids, pricing guides, or chat directly about the opportunity to work together. If you are in charge of coordinating shows, events, workshops or talent... we want to meet and talk with you!