Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean and Dani St. Germain.
Hi Sean and Dani, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Hi! We are Sean and Dani St Germain. We met in 2010 while Sean was stage managing and Dani was performing in a musical production at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater in Claremont, CA. We are now married with two crazy wonderful kids and are the owners of Phantom Panda Productions. Phantom Panda unofficially started in 2014 when a show Dani was doing for Disney called The Mad T Party was put on hiatus. It was a live rock band themed like Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland. The cast was incredibly talented and truly became a family over the course of the run. When Disney closed the show, we all still wanted to perform together. Dani jokingly said we should form a band called Hiatus and start doing shows. All of a sudden, we were producing our first show at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We sold over 500 tickets and realized that this joke could actually be a thing. We ended up producing six more shows at that venue before it shut down. Then we moved elsewhere, producing a Halloween show at The Grove of Anaheim and a scripted Christmas show/concert that remains one of the most difficult and exhilarating experiences of our lives. We didn’t always make money, and at times, it was incredibly stressful, but these shows always scratched the creative itch and filled our hearts with so much joy. They were successful because of the incredible family of performers who practically donated their time and talent and the wonderful audience that supported us through all of it.
As the years went by, we took on or created more bands, namely The Suffragettes and Girl’s Night Out. While we haven’t produced an original show since the pandemic, all three bands work throughout the year at Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland, The Irvine Spectrum, and at various private corporate events or weddings throughout the country.
We didn’t officially form Phantom Panda Productions, however, until we added in the technical aspects of the company. Sean has experience in a wide range of event production. He has been a stage manager, sound engineer, sound designer, set carpenter, rigger, and technical director to name a few. He started working for Disney in 2010 as a technician, and in 2016 was flown out to Shanghai to design the sound for the televised grand opening of Disney’s newest and biggest theme park, Shanghai Disneyland.
In 2016, we invested in audio equipment, officially started Phantom Panda, and began technically producing events for various companies around California. For several years, as our business grew, Sean balanced an exciting, though demanding, schedule of working full-time for Disney and running our company. Finally, in 2018, we got pregnant with our first child and decided it was time for him to focus on Phantom Panda full-time.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, we added a voice-over component to the company. Dani began recording commercials, corporate videos, e-learnings, and video games and fell in love with the industry. What started as a studio in a tiny coat closet is now a professional-grade vocal booth in the garage. We are excited to see where this aspect of Phantom Panda leads us.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly, the first couple years, things seemed to grow naturally. Without searching for them, we had a lot of great projects fall into our laps, not to say it was easy…We experienced plenty of very steep learning curves. Owning your own business is no joke. We both enjoy the creative side of entertainment but have struggled to figure out the business of the business. That struggle is absolutely ongoing.
We started the company in 2016, dove in headfirst in 2018, doubled our profits in 2019, and were on track to double that in 2020.
The pandemic brought everything to an abrupt halt. Live entertainment of all kinds disappeared, and so did 100% of our work. It was an incredibly dark time professionally, but we gave birth to our second child in October of 2020 and were grateful to be together and healthy.
As for the company, we took out loans and did everything we could to stay afloat. We didn’t know if we were going to make it until Knott’s Berry Farm hired Hiatus and The Suffragettes bands to perform at their Summer Nights event from May to September of 2021. That gig was the lifeline we needed.
Since then, entertainment has slowly crawled back. Several of our pre-pandemic yearly gigs have returned, and 2024 is shaping up to be the first year since 2019 that we see a growth potential again.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
We are a creative entertainment company. We own and manage cover bands that perform throughout the country. We technically design and produce live events of all kinds, from car shows to national cheer competitions, to Christmas tree lightings to food and wine tasting events, to Minnie Mouse getting her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and more. Sean recently designed and installed the sound system for a Japanese Whiskey bar in Fountain Valley. For several years, we have created a tree lighting show for Pier 39 in San Francisco that runs from just after Thanksgiving until the first week of January. It’s a choreographed light show in a 60-foot live tree…making it the only show of its kind in the country. We are also super grateful to continue our work with Disney in various events outside of the parks. So far this year, we have technically supported New Year’s Eve in DTD, along with several other events on and off property, and provided technical support for Run Disney’s 5k, 10k, and half marathons.
Dani’s voice-over work has grown exponentially, voicing commercials, e-learnings, meditation apps, corporate presentations, and anything else that comes her way. She has several repeat clients, and we are excited for the growth trajectory to continue!
We take immense joy in the creativity of event production, and our years of experience working first FOR and now beside major companies have given us the practical knowledge necessary to provide excellent service to a wide variety of projects.
While the company is run by the two of us, we have literally the best of the best employed on a per-project basis. This company would not exist if it were not for the talented and hardworking technicians and musicians that choose to work with us.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We believe live entertainment will always be an important part of society. Obviously, the pandemic forced a huge surge in digital offerings, but Zoom or even virtual reality still can’t compare to seeing someone face-to-face or attending a concert in person. Right now, we are seeing a desire for a wider variety of live entertainment offerings, such as themed pop-up cocktail bars and experiences, immersive theater, etc. We are excited to explore our creative potential in the coming years with large-scale seasonal offerings, original shows, collaborations with local theme parks, and whatever corporate or private events come our way!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.phantom-panda.com
- Instagram: phantom_panda_productions
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/teampandaproductions
- Youtube: @PhantomPandaProductions
- Other: www.danistgermain.com
Image Credits
Heather Dingess
Rachel Brogan
Joyus King
