You want something bankable and fun for your AHIMA's Opening Session.



Here's our 3-part formula for making an impact with association audiences...

  1. 1
    Material that was written with the goal in mind.

    You invest in entertainment for a reason. We get it. That's why, from the beginning, we designed The Water Coolers act to help deliver on some of key association goals: building a bond among attendees, connecting them to the your organization, strengthening loyalty, and making your attendees want to come back. 
  2. 2
    Top notch writing.

    Our writing team mixes professional comedy writers with people working in the "real world" to deliver an authentic and funny take on work. The team is headed up by one of the creators of New York's longest running comedy hit ever, "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" whose other comedy credits include numerous appearances on The Conan O'Brien Show, and voicing Peanut on the Cartoon Network's cult hit, "Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law," also starring Stephen Colbert and Gary Cole. You can even commission something written just for your audience -- a special song that reminds them they're in a room filled with "their people," and shows them that you get what they're going through day in and day out.
  3. 3
    Simply outstanding performers.

    The performing cast is made up of NYC pros with resumes including top comedy clubs like Igby's, the Improv, the Comic Strip, and the Icehouse as well Broadway's hippest and hottest shows, including "KPOP: The Musical," "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical," Gloria Estefan's "On Your Feet," “Wicked,” “Rock of Ages,” "Jersey Boys," Carole King's "Beautiful," “Chicago,” “Hair,” “Pippin”, “In The Heights,” and "The Boy from Oz," with Hugh Jackman. 

And here are a few videos that show you some of what we're talking about...

1

Award-winning singing comedy about life and work...


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Maybe add a song written just for your audience?

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Or an over-the-top nod to a key sponsor.

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And since your OGS includes some awards, you might even want to add a few short songs to pay tribute to your big winners or award categories.

Customer stories

Tracy Tomson - Executive Director, Restaurant Facility Management Association (RFMA)

"What an absolute pleasure it was to work with the Water Coolers, from beginning to end. They worked closely with us to get the information they needed to develop custom songs for our organization and award winners. Their performance at our general session (the non-custom part of the performance) included a Broadway-caliber cast of talented performers and was simply fantastic. It was so well-received by our attendees that I don’t know how we will be able to top them next year! Thanks for being one of the highlights of our conference."

Anne Blouin, CAE, Chief Learning Officer, ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership

“The Water Coolers performed a phenomenal keynote for our closing session. Wow! I think the standing ovation says it all. I would recommend The Water Coolers to any organization. Attendees will be talking about it for a long time. Our only challenge – how do we top it next year?"

Ray Bassett - VP & Chief Underwriting Officer, Travelers Insurance Company of Canada (sponsored performance at Canadian Contractors Association)

“Home run! Feedback has been overwhelming. In spite of a little delay getting started, cramped performance space, no lapel mics and an early departure next day, you were consummate pro's and nailed it when the lights went up. The specialized lyrics were spot on. I'm sure you could feel the energy from the room ‐ people still have cramps from laughing! Thanks again for pulling this together and for adding so much to the experience for our clients and partners.”

A few of our association clients...

Air Traffic Controllers Association

Airports Council International

American Academy of Audiology

American Academy of Neurology

American Business Women’s Association

American Payroll Association

ASAE

Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors

Association of State Dam Safety Officials

Association of Water Technologies

Bearing Specialists

California Association of Community Managers

Canadian Construction Association

Community Bankers Association of Oklahoma

Convention Industry Council

Delaware State Bar Association

Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce

Flexible Packaging Association

Grocery Manufacturer’s Association


Help Desk Institute

International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association

International Association of Exhibitions and Events

International Facilities Management Association

Iowa State University Research Foundation

Million Dollar Round Table

MPI World Education Conference

National Business Officers Association 

National Alcohol Beverage Control Association

National Association of Community Health Centers

National Association of Corporate Directors

National Association of Federally Impacted Schools

National Association of Subrogation Professionals

National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare

National Exchange Carrier Association

Restaurant Facility Management Association

South Carolina Chamber of Commerce

Washington Healthcare Association


A few extras we can include....

  • A short teaser performance on the day of our show to create excitement and build session attendance.  Clients will often use this to kick off the Opening General Session so they get a double payoff -- an OGS launch that focuses and energizes the room and a teaser that bumps up excitement for later in the day.
  • An exceptional version of the National Anthem, if you include that at some point on the day of our performance.
  • Help marketing in advance of the event with videos like these we created for the International Association of Venue Managers.

executive producer and co-creator

co-creator

Sally allen

Sally started her professional life as an association conference planner. In fact, she had those experiences in mind when she and her husband created The Water Coolers together. She knows that associations have to attract attendees, create the kind of conference experience that delivers ROI to them, and that, ultimately, it's also important that the conference contribute revenue to the organization to support member services.


In short: she gets it.


So, even though The Water Coolers was ultimately recruited to create an Off Broadway version of the act and toured theaters across the U.S., it remains true to it's origins -- a highly relevant, uncommonly funny, never inappropriate comedy act that's perfect for conferences and events. 

Here are some additional, slightly longer performance clips to give you a feel for how our core show will work for your audience. We'd talk a little more about your audience members' day-to-day lives before hand picking the best set list for them.

I Want It Back

A song for anyone who's every desperately Googled, "retrieve sent email."

We Can Do Anything You Want (But We Won't Do That)

A hilarious look at passive-aggressive change resistance set to Meatloaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”.

Working In The Meeting

A tribute to that place where we all go to catch up on all our work.

Game Show 

A fast-pace, fun, audience participatory look at team-building in the guise of a musical game show. The game show questions are customized and the client chooses the participants.  We EXCEL at creating an experience where the participants look like rock stars and the audience has a ball.  NOTE: this clip is from a virtual show.

The Loiterer

Our tribute to that guy who struggles with subtle hints.  Like "get out."

Iphonee

Blackberry (or iPhone or Android)

Remember when being away from the office meant being out of reach?  Yeah, me neither.

(Note: We don't have live performance footage, but this is incredibly popular in the live show. Here's a video we created for social media.)

Loud Talker

Something for that colleague who has never grasped the concept of an "indoor voice."

Backstabber

Et tu Brute?  This is a green screen video we created for social media -- I don't have performance footage on this one either.  Audiences LOVE it.

We'd love to work together. Let's make it happen!