Speaker 1Shut up, and sit down. Welcome to Being On Stage, the only podcast that gives you motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. No matter how you entertain, sing, dance, band, comedian, public speaking, MC, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you. Hey, rock stars, it's your host, Reggie Dawson, and again, this is the Being On Stage podcast, giving you motivation, inspiration, and confidence, helping you be better on stage, connect with your audience, and be confident while doing it. Be confident in yourself and confident in your art. I want you to share your talents, and you know, when you're first developing your talents, and you're first developing your gifts, and you're discovering that maybe you want to hop on stage and show off a little bit and show other people what you can do, which I do. I don't say this often, but my mentality is everyone should be on stage. Everyone should perform. No matter what your talent is, we can find a way to get it on stage and make it entertaining. You've seen shows like America's Got Talent. Anything can be made to be entertaining. Anyways, when you're first starting to think about getting on stage, and you want to take that leap to get in front of an audience and present yourself, one of the things that may help, and even if you're kind of an older artist, one of the things that may help you, kind of crack open a new shell, or crack open your shell to present like a new performer that can help you renew yourself, is creating a persona, creating a character that you're going to play on stage. A lot of times, you know, actors and actresses, the reason that they are able to so freely perform is because they're a different character. They're not being themselves. So they can do things that they would never do as themselves because the character is doing it, not them. They're acting. So in a way, we all need to be actors because we all need to take on that persona or that character or that role that we want the audience to see, that we want to share. Sometimes it helps you get out of your shell. It helps you kind of loosen up a little bit and know that you have a little more freedom with what you do. I'm not talking about more of the more risque arts. I'm just saying in general, you know, I created a persona when I was performing because for me, I was always shy. I wasn't really like, a ladies man and I was kind of a nerd. I was a little awkward in social situations. You'd never guess it now, but I was completely shy. I didn't really talk a whole lot. And now I have a podcast. I didn't want any attention on me. Like I used to go to the school dances and I'd like dance a little bit in the corner. And the moment I saw someone walking, watching me like I would run to the bathroom like I was that scared kid. And the thought of performing in front of people just freaked me out. Part of it was because. Of, you know, being bullied and everything. I was always overweight, so I was always bullied. I was always that awkward kid. You know, my mom was a single mom, so I didn't really have like that male role model to to masculinize me in anything. So I was that that awkward kid that no one was really friends with and that, you know, people made fun of. So the thought of being in, you know, performing and doing anything in front of people just freaked me out. And so I've told the story before of how I became an entertainer. And one of the things I did was through my church. Growing up, I joined a puppet team and that allowed me to kind of start it, start to explore my creativity because I was behind the stage. I had a puppet, you know, put your arms straight up above your shoulder and I was behind stage. I wasn't it wasn't like ventriloquism with me and the puppet. It was the puppet was performing and no one could see me through exploring that creativity. I did learn that, you know, I enjoyed being in front of people and I enjoyed the thrill of entertaining. I just couldn't do it as myself. I couldn't do it as as Reggie. Dawson. So when I got older and I started going into the nightclub scene, I fell in love with drag. I didn't perform as a drag queen. I actually performed as a drag king, which is the masculine side. You know, so I was a man performing as a man. But I did lip sync and, you know, I wore flashy outfits and I would do, you know, I would do weird things with my hair and I would make my different outfits and I would just, you know, I would perform and like really enjoy it. One of the things that I had to do to kind of get comfortable. Was I had to create a persona and I had to create a character, my character. He had his own name and his own attitude. And because of my shyness and because of where I came from growing up, I created kind of like a playboy, ladies man, bad boy. And by doing that, it allowed me to kind of express things that I, you know, I had to suppress because of my fear. And it all comes from fear. It always comes from fear. But sometimes having that persona and that character. It allows. It allows. It allows you to express yourself in different ways that maybe you normally wouldn't. So, you know, I could go out there and I could walk right up to the cutest girl there and I could dance with her. I could go out there and I could do a dance and I could, you know, do more risque dance moves and I could perform and I could really get passionate and really get into my shows because it didn't matter if what anybody thought because it wasn't me. It wasn't Reggie Dawson. It was my persona. It was my character. That was performing. You know, it was my character that was doing the flirtatious dance moves with the women. And it was my character that was out there, you know, making a fool out of myself, out of himself. It wasn't me. And so by having this character, by having this persona, it allowed me to kind of expand a little bit more. And as I started to expand, you know, I met other entertainers and everyone I knew had a character that they play like they would be a different person off stage than they are on stage. And that's OK. It's not. It's not like you're being fake. It's not like you're not being yourself. You're just having the character allows you to be the most authentic version of yourself. It allows you to put yourself out there in a way that you may not do if you didn't have that character. I mean, look at look at some celebrities that are out there. I mean, look at this. OK, she goes out there as Katie Hudson or she goes out there as Katie Perry. She changed her name. George Paniotu or George Michael. And I know I like completely butchered his name. Declan Patrick McManus or Elvis Costello. Lucille LeSueur or Joan Crawford. These are people that they have that character and that that person, that persona that they created. You know, Frances Gumm or Judy Garland. You know, Frederick Austerlitz or Fred Astaire. Peter Gene Hernandez or Bruno Mars. All these people have these characters. Eileen Regina Edwards, Shania Twain. All these people. All these people have these characters and names that they've created that not only I mean, not only is a little easier to remember and a little more catchy, which you want, but it also allows them to kind of step outside of who they were and become who they are as a performer and become who they are as an entertainer. It allows them to connect with their audience in a way that one is easy to pronounce and two, it allows their audience to remember them, not just because of the name. But also because of them being real and raw in a way that they would not be if they were something else or someone else. Having that persona and creating that persona allows you to take on a character that you can make entirely your own. You can you can create this character and this persona from the ground up. You can be exactly who you want to be on that stage and you don't need anyone's permission. You don't need anyone else's guidance. Either. I mean, some things you want to think about when you're creating your persona is what type of attitude are you going to have? What type of, you know, what type of character is this? How energetic is your persona? These things you want to consider. But really, the sky's the limit. You can create any character that you want with any personality and any vibe or any aura or whatever that you want to have as long as it helps you get out there and get real and get raw. And yes, I've talked about being authentic and being yourself. This is not necessarily separate from that. This is still you being authentic and being yourself. But by having the character and the persona, it allows you to be the truest form of yourself without embarrassment, without persecution, without anything. And your audience will remember you because you have that catchy name or that persona because you have that that vibe that they love on stage. Even if you keep your name, even if you keep your real name. When you go on stage, which for the record, I don't recommend and I'll tell you why in a minute. But even if you keep your real name on stage, you still need to have a persona of who you're going to be as an artist. There's a whole podcast about what ifs. But what if you get that shot? What if you're amazing and it just happens for you? Who are you? Who are you going to be? You need to make these decisions ahead of time because that persona that you create now, you're going to be building upon for the rest of your life. For the rest of your career. I said a moment ago that I do not recommend keeping just your real name on stage. So here's why. One, yes, it makes it easier for billing and, you know, for the clubs and everything or the bars or the venues to pay you. But people are crazy. The world is a crazy place. OK, you make one one wrong move, one misstep. You've used your real name on stage. They can find you. And I'm not talking crazy fans. I'm not talking stalkers. I'm talking maybe you accidentally spill. a beer on somebody, maybe you knocked into somebody. People are nuts. protect yourself with the persona. Protect yourself by having a stage name. It's not just about making it easier to remember or easier to pronounce. It's also about protecting yourself because the internet is there for anyone to use any way that they want to. And a lot of people, a lot more people than you may think, have skills of locating individuals. So all you need to do is give your real name and someone can find your address, your family, and all this stuff. And I know this is kind of turning a little dark and that wasn't the intention, but protect yourself. Allow yourself that freedom and allow yourself to create those memories with the audience and really connect with them through this character, but also use it to protect yourself and to protect your personal information because that's important too. Just because you're out there to perform, just because you are the entertainment for the evening, doesn't mean that you need to use your real name because that does also put you at risk. And we don't want that. We don't want anyone to be at risk when they step on stage. So please, create a persona. Make something of your own. Create this character that you've always wanted to become. Close your eyes. Let's do an exercise class. Anyways, close your eyes. If you're driving, don't close your eyes. But if you're not driving, close your eyes. Picture yourself on stage and five years. How are you acting? What are you wearing? Who are you engaging with? Are you the throw the microphone, stand around type of entertainer? Are you the emotional singer that's going to stand there and really convey with your facial expressions and your emotion? Are you that dancer that is standoffish and that mysterious type? What type of character do you see yourself as on stage? Create that character from the ground up. Make it your own because that character, that persona, that is you and you are it. Keep on shining.
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