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 Rockstars, it is
Speaker 2your host Reggie Dawson, and again this is the Being On Stage podcast. Welcome back, I want to thank you for tuning in for your episode 25. Ironically enough, 25 is my favorite number, and I'm kind of excited about this episode. Today we're talking about three things that every entertainer really wants to happen on stage. Whether they admit it or not, there are three things that every entertainer, no matter what you do on stage, sing, dance, if you're in a band, maybe you do burlesque, maybe you are a drag queen or a drag king, maybe you do clowning. No matter what you do on stage, there's three things that everybody wants to happen. And I found that to be true, just through talking with entertainers, meeting up with entertainers, observing entertainers. Everyone wants the same three things to happen. Before we dive into that, a little identification for who you're listening to, this is a Being On Stage podcast. The only podcast that gives you the motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. You can catch us online at www.beingonstage.com. Where you can get your free copy of my ebook, Confidence On Stage: Navigating The Three Levels Of Stage Fright. When you do that, you'll also be subscribed to my newsletter, The Rockstar Lounge. It comes out roughly every couple of episodes. It's not a big marketing email, it's just kind of a deeper dive into certain podcasts, and this may, in fact, be one of them. You can also find us on Instagram and Twitter @beingonstage. And of course, we are up on the Facebook. You can like our page, Being On Stage. I do have a Facebook page, beingonstage.com. We have a Facebook group coming up. We'll be announcing that probably in the next few episodes, more towards the middle to end of May. But diving in today, again, those three things that every entertainer wants to happen when you're on stage. Number one, let's be honest. I mean, we step on stage because we want to have an impact on the audience. Number one, we want the audience to cheer. I know it sounds so incredibly simple. But until you've had that show where there's like just a vague little. When you've had that show, you're going to really appreciate when the audience cheers for you, when they actually go nuts and give you some true, like, real love on stage. We all want the audience to cheer. Like, sometimes we're performing in a venue where the audience didn't necessarily show up to see us. They showed up for, you know, maybe just a general talent contest. Maybe they just showed up to have dinner, and we're a guy with guitar in the corner. Maybe you're an opening act for somebody else. All of this is A-OK. I mean, we all have different levels we're at. We all have to start somewhere. Maybe you're performing at an open mic night, and people are just coming really just to have a beer after work. Bottom line is, when you're in these environments, especially in these environments, number one, you want your audience to cheer. You want your audience to feel what you're putting out. And how do you make that happen? How do you make your audience cheer for you? Actually, I'm going to get into that on number three, is how you make your audience cheer for you. All of these are very much connected. And number three is the most important. But number one, we want our audience to cheer. Number two, we want to get noticed. Now, this could be noticed in one of two ways. We either want to get noticed in a way that actually benefits our career. You know, we get discovered. You know, maybe there's a talent scout, an agent. Maybe it's just someone that wants to book us for another gig. You know, I've had that happen. I've had that happen where someone notices me and says, "Hey, listen, you'd be a great fit for this night that I'm putting together." We want to get noticed. We want something to happen that benefits us. This may make us feel a little self-absorbed when we admit this to ourselves. But you know what? That's okay, man. You want to excel at what you're doing. So you're going to want to be noticed for it. Think about when you're in school. You want your teacher to notice how much work you're putting into your grades. Think about when you have a job. You know, you want your boss to notice how well you're doing at your job. The number one reason people quit their job is because they don't like their boss. So it stands to reason you want that acceptance from people. And you want that notice and recognition from someone that you view above you, you view as a superior. And, you know, an agent or a scout or a promoter or anything like that that could benefit us slightly, yeah, there's a part of us inside that really wants that to happen. So how do you make that happen? Again, we're going to get to number three, and that's going to put it all together for you. I mentioned that, you know, it's get noticed in one of two ways. The second way you could get noticed is having an impact on somebody else. One thing I remember happening to me. In a way, I got noticed by someone that was out of town. They were out of town. They happened to show up at a show that I was doing. It was just one of those, like, she wasn't really there to see me, but I happened to be there. You know, she approached me after the show, and she said, "Listen, I do a lot of, you know, circus entertaining, and I do a lot of variety acts in Boston." Now, I'm nowhere near Boston. I'm not even in Massachusetts. I'm not even up north. Like, I'm in some small town in Florida on the east coast. Like, I'm not really in a place like that. She said, you know, what you do on stage and the presence that you have, you can compete with the best in a big city like Boston. I could see you there. If you're ever in Boston, you know, I want to work with you. I want to get you a show or anything like that. Unfortunately, you know, I never made it to Boston, but it was one of those things that you get noticed. You know, like, you just get noticed by someone that feels what you're putting out. Another way I got noticed was when I performed at a bar in Massachusetts. My girlfriend's from Massachusetts, so I've been to Massachusetts, but this actually happened. Like, I was pretty persistent in trying to get this gig. I did it absolutely for free. I went up there to visit her and her family, and while I was up there, I surprised her by getting a booking at this bar that she used to frequent all the time. And I offered to do it for free. I sent them a couple emails. I said, "Listen, I'm going to be in the area. This is what I do. This is where I've performed. You know, I'd love to come out and do something for your crowd. It would mean a lot to my girlfriend." I sent them, like, two or three emails like that. I was pretty persistent. They finally said, you know, "Hey, listen. Here's a good date. Let's make it happen." I made it happen. You know, I went up there. And at the end of the night, like, the manager pulls me aside and introduces me to the owner. And the owner told me basically, like, I was worth so much more than free. And they handed me an envelope with, like, 100 bucks in it or something. Like, I don't remember the exact amount, but they handed me an envelope with, you know, with pay, like a pay for that night. That's one of those things that you just don't expect. And it meant so much to me to have that happen because I wasn't going up there expecting anything. I was going up there just to -- and this is where we get into number three. This is number three. I was going up there to have fun. Every entertainer, when they step on stage, wants to have fun. Yes, you're going to be nervous. Yes, you're worried about what the audience is going to think because you still have number one leaning over you. Yes, you're going to worry about what people think and how people are going to perceive what you're doing because you've got number two to worry about. The way all three of these things work together is it all hinges on number three. If you can go out there and you can genuinely have fun, put yourself on stage, have fun showing the audience and showing all the people that are there what is inside you, showing them the artistic and creative abilities that you have when you put out yourself on stage, one and two, hands down, they're always going to happen. If you can get past the fear. Peel back those layers of the fear of going on stage. Peel back the nervousness. Get through the first three seconds of any show and then have fun. Let your heart race for three seconds and then forget it. You're already out there. You might as well have fun. You might as well go -- pardon my language -- balls to the wall, have fun with it, and just do the damn thing. If you're out there for five minutes or if you're out there for an hour, just go out there and have an absolute blast. Because think about it. Number one, audience will cheer. Number two, someone's going to notice or you're going to have an impact on somebody. And number three, you're already having fun. You're giving it energy. You're going to get the audience reaction. Just let loose and have fun. Because when all three of these things happen, when the audience cheers, you get noticed or have an impact, and you have fun doing it, when all three of these things happen, it is magic on stage. You can literally produce magic on stage. Just by getting all three of these things by happening. And it all hinges on you having fun. We all want these things to happen every single time. And some nights, it's going to happen. Some nights, you're just going to feel it. You're going to have a blast. Audience's energy and your energy is just going to mesh so well. It's going to be an amazing night. Some nights, not so much. But you always have to go out there with the intention of having fun. Anyone can entertain. If you go out there and you have fun. If you're motivated, you're inspired, and you have the confidence to go out there and have fun, anyone can do this. Anyone can create magic on stage with any kind of act. It doesn't matter. Just like the intro says, it doesn't matter how you entertain. You can go out there and have fun, and you can get that audience cheer. You can get that audience reaction. You can get noticed, and you can have an impact on somebody. You never know who's going to be in that audience. While you're on stage, you're the best person out there. Go out there, have fun with it, and keep on shining.
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