Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Variety Is the Spice of Life

I didn’t start out providing corporate entertainment to Fortune 500 companies. No one ever does. There were a lot of steps between my first performance at the Cochocton County Fair and the clients I work for today. But with each performance came invaluable knowledge that helped with every step that followed.

Learn to Communicate With Your Audience

Every time you step in front of an audience, it’s an opportunity to learn about people.  You can have anywhere between 2 and 2,000 in a crowd – that’s a lot of chances to learn about how people think, react, and INTERACT with one another! I consider the theater to be the world’s most exciting social laboratory, with a chance to change the variables each time…sometimes adding an extra moment’s pause after a joke, or getting two audience members to work together onstage…in order to reach my goal of maximizing everyone’s enjoyment of the show.

Different Strokes

There’s a reason the phrase “Know Your Audience” exists…because if you have that knowledge, you can “plug in” to the necessary wavelength instantaneously. If you are doing a show for a State Fair, the demographic you design a show for can be quite different than one for a cancer fundraiser. Deciding on what kind of messaging and style will be easy if you know what the tastes and attitudes of those in the audience are. The only way to know the differences, though, is through experience. Speaking of which…

Party On!

Whether it be a corporate event, or just a holiday gathering at your house, if there’s a party, get in there! No, I’m not suggesting you pull a “Wedding Crashers”  (though I am guilty of doing that once), but I am saying that you should put yourself in front of all kinds of crowds. It’s the quickest, most rewarding, and FUN way to shake things up. As an entertainer/speaker/presenter, you get to do what you love to do, so SHARE IT! It’s the greatest gift you can give to the world, while satisfying your own passion at the same time.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

How to Travel Worry-Free

Traveling can be a blast. In fact, it’s one of the biggest reasons I got into performing.  New places, new faces, and getting out of the daily routine at home make hitting the road a great experience.

There are those days, though, where all of your travel plans go awry. Keeping sane in some cases can be more than a mortal can do, but like with so many things in life, it’s all about making the best of a bad situation.  Coming back from the last gig falls into this category.