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| Members of the Welcome Club of Northern Virginia enjoyed my entertaining anecdotes. |
In the two years that I have performed my Hypnotic
Experience show I have had the pleasure of participating at community
festivals, street fairs, charitable fundraisers and parties with a group of
exceptional entertainers.
I’ve shared the stage with comedians, musicians, dancers,
clowns, magicians, puppeteers, sword swallowers, jugglers and…yes…even mimes. The best of the lot have two things in
common: 1) they are professional and
well prepared; and 2) they know the audience.
I have taken this to heart and follow a well defined
process when gearing up for a show:
1.
Schedule a prep discussion with the event host to confirm logistics, audience
demographics and size, and expectations. For instance, the organizer of tomorrow’s “J
Fest” at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia spent 30 minutes
on the phone with me to ensure I am well set for success.
2.
Based on the prep call, I map out the structure and content of the Hypnotic
Experience show.
I’ll identify which jokes to use, skits to incorporate and, if needed,
write new material. I spiced up my
recent hypnosis demonstration at Walter Johnson High School by writing a
couple of “in good fun” jokes about a rival high school.
3.
Prepare for the unexpected.
I sweated through my mid-July show for Professionals in the City because
the temperature touched the high 90s. At
the Bradley
Farm Haunted House show I encountered an audience younger than I
anticipated. There are curves at nearly
every performance and you have to learn to roll with it.
I love to perform and find positive feedback to be
incredibly gratifying.
However, the most
important lesson I’ve taken away from other performers is that a successful show
is about the audience. When they come
away with a smile and having enjoyed themselves, then it’s all good.
