History According to the Top Hat This is Darryl Wade, and as Creative Director of the Creative Edge it is my honor to welcome you to our site and to share a brief synopsis of our history.We came. We killed. We entertained. Okay, okay—I'll expound. In the early 1990s while working in college admissions for an Atlanta university three young men—Andy Geeter, Todd Shapiro and I—created a simple murder mystery script as a progressive dinner tour for a group of adult high school counselors visiting campus. The program was so well received that the threesome designed a similar program to entertain college and high school students attending campus visitation days. But in the case of the latter, we added into the mix an element of team-building which we hoped would help the students bond one with another. This too was an instant success. It became quickly apparent that what we had was the impetus for a business model that would appeal to both adults and young people, and that could be adapted to address a variety of client needs, including simple event entertainment and complex team-building or training programs. At the time the phrase "team-building" had become synonymous with "a waste of my time day;" the term "annual conference" with "long and boring;" and the phrase "evening office activity" with "going on the party bus or calling it an early night." I was sure I had a way we could give these events a creative edge over the same boring ole stuff. And while I may have been off when I once said, "Trust me, this email thing is a fad," I was right on target with The Creative Edge. In 1993, in collaboration with my former colleagues and our university's PR Director, Roby Hill, I formed The Creative Edge with the initial purpose of providing entertainment for college students and entertainment/training options for corporate Atlanta. And thanks to early repeat clients such as BellSouth and Deloitte & Touche the business quickly expanded to shows throughout the southeastern U.S. Within a few years an impressive team of folks had come together. And I think a unique team. Not only was each a gifted actor/actress with incredible presence, but each also took it upon him/herself to find whatever role he or she could to keep the Edge moving forward. That team largely remains to this day. So we combined a talented team with witty scripting, fun audience participation, and added one final element—personalizing our scripts to each client's organization and guests. And off we went. Since 1993 we have produced hundreds of events for corporate entertainment and team-building, for the general public and for dinner theaters specifically designed for college audiences. We've killed bosses across some seven states and become the vendor of choice for trainers and event planners within such companies as AT&T, Bank of America, Earthlink, Georgia Pacific, Starbucks, Turner Entertainment and SouthTrust Bank. We've made friends on campuses from Auburn, Alabama and Sewanee, Tennessee to Clemson, South Carolina ... perhaps because we let the students have the moment to shine. We've expanded our mystery offering by writing and honing a series of fully-scripted comedy and mystery shows which we offer in repertory. We've, nay I say, nearly perfected the art of personalizing our shows to your organization and guests. And we've had great fun at the one place I never would have imagined our show would fit—the public library—as places like the Charlotte Library System and the Spartanburg Main Library have discovered that through us they can offer their community fun, professional, clean comedy shows where guests can play a part and where the show is personalized to the experience of living in their own town. In 2000, with some training at the University of Southern California's Film School, we moved into the world of video production. We thought it would be fun for our corporate clients if we produced short comic films featuring their own managers—these were not only hits at their conferences, but we soon realized that the process of filming itself built up the self-confidence of those managers, and the final product could even change the way some were perceived. Shortly thereafter we moved into the production of college admission and marketing video CDs/DVDs—a natural progression for us as seven of our team came from higher education backgrounds. We were sure we could offer a creative edge over the typical products schools were sending out and, yes indeedy, we were right again—thanks to fun scripts, inventive shooting, energetic editing, and, above all else, our ability to put student and adult subjects at ease in interview settings where we might better capture the very best of their personalities and stories. So here we are, a long ways from 1993, still following an original concept that has proved dead on; yet, continually reinventing ourselves with new live shows and characters and exciting video opportunities. The Creative Edge has brought all of us great joy, fun, success and laughter in our work, and I could not be more thrilled at the number of clients and guests over the years who have said we did the same for them. If you're ready to laugh at live, audience-interactive entertainment, custom-designed to your event goals, personalized to your organization, and just stinkin' funny, then please contact us so we can serve you. And so from Inspector NoClue and all the gang at the Creative Edge, we hope to kill for you soon. |
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The Creative Edge | Atlanta, GA | 678.923.8265 Home | About The Creative Edge | Contact The Creative Edge |
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