GET TO KNOW US A LITTLE BETTER
Amanda Wisley
Owner/Creator
As the owner and creator I would like to share a little bit of information on my background and how the company was formed:
I grew up in Prince George’s County Maryland and attended K-8 Grade at St. Bernard’s in Riverdale, MD, High School at Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bladensburg, MD (Class of 2002), received my Associates Degree in General Studies at P.G. Community College in December of 2004 and lastly in May of 2008 I received my Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology at Bowie State University. I’m an Army wife, as my husband is a recruiter stationed in Annapolis, so I have easy access to any military base for events. I have always had a high-energy, fun, exciting personality that entertains people. In the past I have been nicknamed ‘Bubbles’ for my personality and when I did my first clown performance I was asked what my name was and the first thing that popped into my head was Bubbles, so I went by Bubbles the clown. Bubble Productions matches my personality and what I do.
My costume experience started at a young age. I was a girl scout in the St. Mary’s of Landover Hills troop and during my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade year of school, we performed ‘Bunny Duty’ at Capital Plaza Mall (when it was still around!) to raise money for the trip to Europe we took in 9th grade. Guess what? All 3 years in a row I was the Easter Bunny! Then in High School I was the mascot – The Road Runner – which was a huge professional mascot costume, which I wore with pride and had fun in! Likewise, I have been face painting since I was young as well. I started as a girl scout at different events we did as fundraisers. When I saw an ad on craigslist looking to hire princesses for parties, I thought, what a great idea and from there I grew my own business and expanded. It makes me so happy to hear all the positive feedback I get from events about how the kids and even adults loved the performance. This reason is the main reason why I love what I do. Most of my parties now are done by my wonderful performers we hire on so that I can be in the background and manage as much as possible to make sure everything goes smoothly.
And now I would like to introduce some people that are very important…
As of June 2011, my mother, Karen Wisley, came on to Bubbles Productions as my business partner. She handles the logistics of the actual company, whereas, I do the more hands on parts. She does attend some of the parties and is a good amateur photographer. She is also a PMP certified Project Manager and has always been an outstanding business woman in all aspects. This picture is in loving memory Craig, a man very important to both of us that made a great impact on our business and was enthusiastic for how successful we were becoming. You are always in our memories and hearts, Craig.
And now on to our wonderful staff of performers and artists…
Phil Wolfe
Business Partner
Phil joined forces with us in September 2017 when Bubbles Productions booth was stationed next to his concessions booth, Phamily Foods, at the Anne Arundel County Fair. We partnered up and he has brought concessions and bounce rentals to our business. He does everything from setting up inflatables, running the concessions, wearing mascots, face painting, balloon twisting, glitter tattoos, magic tricks, and does a great job at it! Phil is an outstanding partner to have and has helped us grow immensely overall!
Kristine Bodolay
Business Partner
Kristine is Amanda’s assistant and in addition to doing parties, she also helps us out by being the costume cleaner, organizer and doing other errands for the business. She has a happy personality and is well liked by those she entertains. She wears mascots, is a princess, party leads, does a little magic, face paints and balloon twists. She can do everything Amanda can do! She had a strong background in customer service as she was a server for several years before joining us full time. She attends AACC and is going for an Associates Degree in Anthropology. Kristine does a lot of events for us and has been doing so since August 2012. We are very fortunate to have her.
Mandy Gibson
Lead Face Painter
Mandy has been creating magic with her paint brush since 2011. She started her love of face painting when she painted for her daughter’s birthday and has not put the paint brush down since. Her art does not stop at face painting either. She has many talents, including body art, costume making, edgy photo shoots, hair & make-up, and her strongest talent: special FX make-up. Mandy has recently found a love of balloon twisting as well. When tasked to learn balloon twisting, she immediately excelled at this type of art as well. She is a well known and loved artist in the DMV area for her exceptional talent with face painting, particularly her FX skills. She loves to work with children, seeing as she has three little ones of her own. To see a child’s smile after being painted is a great reward to Mandy. She has been with Bubbles since mid 2014. She wishes to expand her talents for her ultimate goal of doing the make-up for the cast members of the film world. When she’s not painting, she is raising three wonderful kiddos which she calls her muses, for they are in fact her inspiration in all that she paints.
Corey Mcneill
Performer
Corey has been with us since early 2017 and has been an outstanding team member! He is not only loyal, energetic, reliable, and very pleasant, he is wonderful at making kids smile and have a great time! He wears mascots, sometimes does superheroes, balloon twists, works concessions, and does glitter tattoos! He always gets excellent feedback from events because he cares so much about what he does. He also works as a professional cook. Outside of work, he enjoys anime, games, and cosplaying!
Matt Van Dice
Performer
Matt joined us in May 2019. He loves portraying superheroes, mascots, balloon twisting, and is great at making kids have a good time! He is a kind-hearted, laid-back soul that puts his heart into what he does. He also has a great love of dogs, especially his awesome dog, Macy!
Tara Rivera
Performer
Tara joined the Bubbles Productions team in early 2015. She has been an outstanding addition to the crew ever since then. She does everything from exciting mascots to gorgeous princesses and is a wonderful face painter that can also twist balloons. She takes great pride at getting into character and dollying herself up for the events. She has two boys of her own that even help her out from time to time. In 2017, she started to take on a larger number of events for us and is our back-up lead princess.
Audrey Cunningham
Performer
Audrey has a passion for horses and horseback riding and is currently taking online courses in equine studies to earn a certification in horse training and stable managing. She is also a talented artist and designer including drawing and hand making costumes. She even has her own homemade costumes she wears to events and conventions! With her costume making skills she does most of the sewing and repair work for Bubbles. She has lots of experience with costume performance and is one of our main mascot performers, but is also a balloon twister and face painter. She has been with Bubbles since 2013 and has grown very much with us since she started. She is dedicated to the company and has a lot of fun at her job!
Shaun Dull
Juggling/Magician
And, here is Shaun Dull! He has been performing magic and juggling since he was about 15 years old. With over 10 years experience with juggling, he is still eager to learn new tricks. He taught himself how to do magic, quite a bit at that, and balloon twist as well, which he has become quite talented in as well. He can even make a balloon guitar! He has some unique abilities too, such as the ability to ride a unicycle and balance on a rolabola. He loves to entertain adults and children alike. He enjoys watching people’s faces light up when he finishes a magic a trick or is in the middle or a juggling set. Shaun also is our only stilt walker currently! So an overview of his talents are juggling, clown work, magic, balloon twisting and stilt walking! He is very talented indeed! He has been with Bubbles Productions since late 2012!
Yolanda Henson
Performer
Yolanda started working for Bubbles Productions and she currently resides in White Plains, Maryland. She has a strong background in dance, she choreographed for the College of Southern Maryland and is also an amature singer. As the lead Princess she is able to do balloon twisting, face painting, glitter tattoos and nails for your little princess! Having 12 nieces and nephews, she definitely knows how to keep kids smiling. She also has a true heart of gold as she has volunteered her time on many occasions for various charity functions, such as March of Dimes and Bowie’s Shop with a Cop program to name a few. She is one of our most dedicated workers that is not only talented at being many different princesses, but will do whatever is needed to help out and be a team player.
Crystal Reynolds
Entertainer
Crystal is a bubbly, upbeat person who does clown work along with some juggling, puppet interactions (pictures is her faithful puppet!) and beautiful face painting. She can also balloon twist. She is a great childrens’ entertainer and loves what she does. She has been with us since early 2011 and makes a lot of parties cheer for joy. She has a positive outlook on all with her strong Christian values. She also wears mascot costumes and likes to mimic their voices. Crystal is talented in many fields. Not only is she a wonderful entertainer, she is also a healer of the body as she is a skilled massage therapist as well. She is dedicated to making others joyful and we appreciate her for that. She has been entertaining since long before Bubbles as well so has many years of experience!