What is Jump with Jill, again?
Jump with Jill is a school assembly that travels the country transforming nutrition education into a rock & roll nutrition concert. Armed with catchy songs, upbeat dance moves, and a hip wardrobe, Jump with Jill uses the same tools normally used to sell junk food and keep kids sedentary into a powerful tool for teaching healthy habits. Created by registered dietitian and musician Jill Jayne, the show leaves kids with nine take-away messages: respect your body; eat breakfast daily; eat vegetables to keep skin, hair, muscles, eyes, and bones healthy; choose naturally sweet fruit instead of candy; fuel your body with healthy food for sustained energy; exercise frequently; drink water instead of sugary drinks; get enough calcium; and look closer at foods promising free toys and touting cartoons. Jill’s interactive teaching style of these important topics not only makes eating breakfast and drinking water cool, but helps increase retention of these important health messages.
How do we book Jump with Jill?
To tell us about your location, number of students, and dates that might work for you, complete the booking form at jumpwithjill.com or contact Communications Manager Mark Jayne directly by email or 800-531-0760 (Fax: (877)919-1382). To guarantee your date, you will be asked to sign a contract that you can return by scan and email, fax toll-free 877.919.1382, or snail mail 805 Ninth Street, Oakmont, PA 15139.
Who should attend the show?
Jump with Jill is not just kids stuff – target the kids, and adults will follow. Jump with Jill is not just kids stuff – consider inviting parents to the performance to get the messages home; staff is asked to participate in the performance to model the behaviors we ask of the students. The show and the CD provide teachers with reinforcement tools for future lessons. Jump with Jill is an experience. Invite everyone who plays a role in your school or community to attend the show. You can shape health culture, not just individual habits.
How much does the show cost?
The cost of the show is based on your location – Jump with Jill corporate headquarters are based in Pittsburgh, PA with casts throughout the country to serve your geography. We make every effort to cluster dates per geographic area to make the cost as reasonable as possible. To this end, we offer discounts when venues share, for example when a school can refer to other schools in their district. Shows are priced at a flat rate, so there will never be additional travel expenses or fees on top of your quoted price. The show cost includes a sound system, travel, the performance fee, and media appearances.
How will we ever afford a show?
Schools can pay for the show privately through PTA funds for assemblies or fundraisers. Discounts are available to schools that join forces and book the show in the same area at the same time.
You can also explore external sources of funding to support our fees partially or in full. Try these:
- Local and state health departments have funding earmarked for wellness. Specifically, health departments have a pool of money called “tobacco free” money from cigarette companies. Call your county health department and speak to their wellness coordinator to inquire about the availability of these funds.
- Contact your state or local “Council for the Arts.” Many of the councils have grants for teachers to bring in artists like Jill. Contact your county educational services board that regulates your teaching standards and curriculum. In New York, for example, the BOCES (Board of County Educational Services) provides funding in full for Jump with Jill! Ask specifically for the “arts in education coser.”
- Reach out to healthy companies in your area that might be interested in sponsoring or co-sponsoring the show in your school. The company will be featured in all of our media materials and in the show in your area―providing a unique advertising opportunity for them and a free show for you. Connect them with us and we can work out the finer details.
- Apply for a grant. Try these: Fuel Up to Play 60 , PEP, and The Experimental Television Center. Other companies, like Walmart, offer grants for wellness programming. The National Dairy Council and the American Dietetic Association offer a series of grants with their Kids Eat Right Campaign.
When can the show be available to us?
We generally book one month to six months in advance. Shows booked within a 2-3 hour driving distance of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Detroit can have a shorter lead time than shows requiring planes. When you give us an idea of your location, we can propose some dates that make sense for the touring cast and also factor in freight time for equipment to ship. Feel free to suggest dates and we can start building a tour around your date. Check out our current tour schedule to see when we might be in your area.
How long is a show?
Please allot one full hour for a show. Although the entertainment time is only 50 minutes, a full hour provides enough time to get students in and out of the room and time to enjoy the show. It takes time to seat a student body, so start bringing students in to be seated fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of the show so we can start on time.
Depending on the size of your largest room, and your student body, you can have one large rock show for K-5, or two smaller shows back-to-back for K-2 and 3-5. Please keep in mind that two back-to-back shows are more expensive, and for the health of our performers, encourage you to book single shows. Shows are performed for as many kids as your facility can safely and comfortably accommodate at one time. A stage is recommended for the performance so that everyone can see.
Where should we have the show—gym, auditorium or our weird cafetorium?
Choose the room with the stage. This maximizes visibility for the entire audience and also has the acoustics designed for music. It is best if there is a set of stairs at the front of the stage – use a choral riser or the set created for the last school play. If Jill cannot get up and down from the stage safely, the gym is the second best choice. Consider setting up platform risers to create a stage so Jill can be elevated. Given the aerobic nature of the show, kids will be seated on the floor, so no need to set up chairs for students or fold out bleachers.
We booked the show! What do I need to have ready so that my school can properly rock out?
Jump with Jill is a professional theatrical production that has been performed 850 times for more than 250,000 kids all over the United States. Our biggest variable is a constantly changing performance space. We need your assistance with the following to maintain the quality of our show and ensure the safety of all in attendance.
HYPE THE SHOW
You can build hype for the show by playing the Jump with Jill CD we mail in advance of the show over the morning announcements or in your PE or music class. We will also email a tour poster for you to display around school to get kids ready to rock. Kids can start learning the dance moves by watching free educational videos at www.jumpwithjill.com. If the event is open to the public, please email any links or registration information to us so Jill can mobilize her fanbase.
HOW TO SET UP THE PERFORMANCE SPACE
We come with our own sound system and wireless microphones, but could use your help to:
- Clear off the stage, using the space behind the back curtain for storage.
- Set a row of chairs for teachers on each side with room and create a 4-foot aisle down the middle with PE cones.
- If your stage is shared with your cafeteria, fold up and safely store any cafeteria tables. Mopping may be necessary, so please engage support staff early so the floor has time to dry.
- If there is something on the stage or behind the stage (like a bathroom) that is normally used when there is not a show, create a plan to detour foot traffic from crossing the stage. Inform Jill of these changes so she can offer instructions.
WHEN WE WILL ARRIVE
We arrive an hour and a half before starting a show to load in our equipment. Please have someone at your school prepared to let us into the performance space at this time. If you have an additional dolly available, please provide it to expedite load-in.
MEET WITH JILL
Once we have unloaded and before Jill starts setting up the show, Jill will meet with you. Plan to:
- Discuss the best setup for the show.
- Receive an autographed flier for each student. These should be distributed by class to teachers’ mailboxes.
- Confirm that you have received the CDs in advance of the show.
- Confirm the start and end times of the show, emphasizing any essential deadlines like the start of lunch or dismissal.
- Provide any specific references to your wellness efforts (e.g. All Sports Day, new item on the school menu) and the proper people to thank for bringing in the show. Jill does not need an introduction. She spends the time while students are filling the performance space to warm up, introduce herself, and review proper audience behavior for the show.
- Provide the cast with drinking water.
- Recommend a place nearby where we can find a healthy and fast lunch after the show.
BEFORE KIDS ENTER THE ROOM
Before you start letting kids into the performance space, give Jill a yell that you are ready to open the house. We may be in the middle of sound check and setting the stage to rock.
Will Jill be played by Jill Jayne, Kristina Psitos, or another “Jill”?
When you are booking the show, Communications Manager Mark Jayne will make expectations clear as to which performer you will be getting for your performance, barring any actress illness or injury. Rest assured that any Jill is interchangeable, as they are all hand selected and trained by Jill Jayne herself.
Will there be any publicity when the show comes to our school?
Mark Jayne, Communications Manager for Jump with Jill, is your contact for arranging media interviews with Jill. This is a great way to inform the community of how your school or organization is actively stepping up to help prevent childhood obesity. Mark can work alone, or, can support your PR representative. As a result, print or TV reporters may come to your school or workplace to publicize the event with little or no advance notice. If special permission is needed for media to be present and photograph or film parts of the show at your event, please obtain necessary permissions ahead of time. If you plan do do your own media outreach, including coordination of media interviews with Jill or other public relations activities, please alert Mark to avoid any overlap of media outreach. Email Mark or call 1-800-531-0760.
What happens after the show leaves?
Follow-up exposure to the music and messages improves the impact of the live show. We offer the CDs at discounted rates for your staff and students, or as a highly profitable fundraiser. Visit www.jumpwithjill.com/healthy-fundraisers for the order forms.
We offer many tools on-line through our Nutrition Rock Invasion curriculum. Find out more on both at http://www.jumpwithjill.com/nutrition-education-reinforcement-items/.
When news stories run, we ask that you send us a copy so we can promote the good work your school is doing. You will hear from our team after the performance with an invoice with all payment information, with any photos taken during the performance, and links to anything we posted onto our website or social media.
