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. Reggie Dawson, your host of the Being On Stage podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. Welcome back. Sometimes we've got to do things as performers that we don't necessarily want to do, but we have to do. Oftentimes, we receive judgment for making those difficult choices. So two things we're going to cover is, one, to not be afraid to make those decisions, to do the things that you really don't want to do. Stop putting pressure on yourself to, you know, I have to do it this way. You can't put pressure on yourself. You know, as an artist, as a performer, you can't have the pressure on yourself that it has to be done a certain way or only your way. You have to be a little fluid. You have to be a little flexible. Second thing I want to cover is that judgment. How often are you judging another performer because of what they're doing with their talents? Maybe you don't approve of who they're performing with or who they're performing for or the audition that they took. Maybe you don't approve of a dancer being a backup dancer for a singer when they should be doing, you know, Broadway ballads. Just because you don't approve of what they're doing doesn't mean that they're not making it and doesn't mean that they're not making a way for themselves and happy. So those are the two things I want to cover is doing what you have to do and then not judging others for doing what they have to do. Those are two very important topics as performers. We're very judgy and it comes from being overly sensitive and all artists are pretty much overly sensitive. It's what helps create our art is that emotion that fuels us. you sign up for that. And if you haven't done so already, please go over to iTunes, rate, subscribe, and comment on the Being On Stage podcast. You can also go to beingonstage.com slash iTunes. That'll take you right into iTunes and you can subscribe and rate and comment right there. Isn't that fantastic? I'm always trying to make it easy for you. Speaking of easy, performing's not easy. Living the life of a performer, it's not an easy task. Sometimes you've got to do things that you don't necessarily want to do, that maybe you're not sure if it's in line with your passion, but you also can't hold yourself back from doing that either. Because remember, as an artist, we take in our surroundings, we take in our experiences, and then we create something to share with the world. For us as performers, that's the performance that creates the entertainment for the audience. Sometimes doing those things that you have to do just to get by or just to stay in those things that you have to do that you feel like, I really don't want to do this, but it's another step. Don't shy away from doing them. Like you said, it's another step. And sometimes doing the things that you have to do leads you to more things that you want to do and more things that you have to be passionate about. Have you ever had that happen where you've taken an opportunity that you weren't sure about and it opened up a whole world of opportunity and knowledge and just new experiences that you never imagined? If you've ever had that happen, then you're going to have to have that happen. I have. I've had it happen. When I was performing at the local bar, they wanted all of the house entertainers to come together for a fundraiser benefit. And that meant performing for free, doing a certain theme that I really didn't like. I really, really did not like performing country and comedy at the same time. But they wanted a country comedy night. And one, I don't really like to put comedy into my shows because normally I like it to mean something, you know, it's me sharing an intimate part of myself that I have trouble communicating with other people. Like I have trouble communicating my thoughts and my feelings about things. And I get really awkward in those intense political or social conversations about issues. So I put my views on issues and my stand, I put it into a performance. And so country and comedy really wasn't up my alley. So I wasn't comfortable with it, but it was insistent. It was basically, if you're going to continue to perform here, you're participating in this fundraiser, because every employee at the bar is participating. So I didn't consider myself an employee, but I guess they considered me an employee. So I had to participate. And I came up with this show. I ended up doing a song where I bought some kids clothes and I'm a big guy. So kids clothes would never fit me, but I bought some kids clothes and I cut them up a little bit. And I ended up doing a show where it was like, uh, I was like an adult child. I cut off some jeans just below my knees. I put on this little like Huckleberry Finn looking hat. Uh, I wore a Tonka truck t-shirt that like, because it was so small, it was a kid's like it cut off right at the middle of my rib cage. So I have my big belly sticking out underneath the shirt. And then I had a flannel shirt that I put on over it that also stopped mid stomach. So again, big belly poking out. I was rolling around on some kid's toy and I basically made, made it like fat kid funny. And some people don't find it funny, but that luckily that night for the comedy night, they found it hilarious. And it, it won over a lot of people. And I got so many people come up to me that night and told me that they had never seen me do anything like this. They didn't know that I was funny. And for me, like, I think I'm hilarious most of the times. Like I love making jokes and hanging out and doing stupid stuff and laughing about it. So to hear that people didn't think I was funny was like, what? So people didn't know I was funny. They didn't know that I was comedic on stage and neither did I. And I actually had a blast. Like truthfully, I did some more comedy. I coached other people on doing comedy on stage and it went over really, really well. Now it's not something that I'm incredibly passionate about. I'm not totally passionate about doing comedy on stage because again, I like my performances to, to have that depth and that meaning. But what also happened was I met a group of people that wanted me to perform with them out of town. And so that's actually, that's one of the ways I ended up being booked out of town was they came to that country comedy fundraiser and they asked me to perform with them out of town. And I ended up getting a couple of shows with them on the road. Nothing was comedy, but because they happened to be there and they happened to see that side of me and that fact that, Hey, this guy looks really fun. Like he's, he makes fun of himself. You know, first of all, if you're capable of making fun of yourself, you're automatically somebody that people just want to be around. If you can make fun of yourself, you are never going to be short on friends because people love people that can make fun of themselves. Not because they want to make fun of you, but because it shows that you have that confidence in yourself and you're not going to let anything really get to you. And people like that in a friend. They like people that are, you know, confident with themselves. And that's who I am. I'm confident. And because I was confident enough to go out there and kind of make fun of myself and make a joke out of being, you know, a fat kid, I gained bookings. I gained fans. I gained notoriety for being funny. And it also got me opportunities to start hosting, which turned me into, I don't do standup comedy, but I do like to tell some jokes and have fun while I'm hosting. You know, it's, it was a stepping stone and it also reminded me where I came from. The whole purpose of that show was to benefit children that were diagnosed with HIV so that they could go to a camp, a special camp. And, even though I was uncomfortable with the theme and with the performance that I had to put out there, I was doing it for a great cause. And that also reminded me of how I started because I started at a fundraiser for kids with HIV and AIDS. I started fundraising. That's how my first performance was a fundraiser. And so having that reminder of my roots and also being able to gain those fans and have those people come up to me and make those comments. I mean, part of it was, was an eye opener because, you know, people didn't realize that I was funny. People didn't, know that I could be comedic. People didn't know that I had that side of me and that showed them a new side of myself. And when your audience feels like they get to know different sides of you, they are drawn to you because it's another thing that you're doing. That's a surprise and that they don't expect. And not following expectations is huge when you're a performer because whatever people expect, if you give them the opposite or something different, they keep coming. If you keep giving them the same thing, giving them exactly what they expect, there's nothing exciting about you. You become boring very, very quickly. I've seen it happen. I'll talk about that another episode. So don't be afraid to do the things that you have to do because it may get you to do the things you want to do. Now, I talked about being forced into a fundraiser. Let's be real. There are performers out there that are literally starving artists and they have to make decisions to put food in their mouths and to have a roof over their head. I know a guy, I know a guy, he got kicked out of his parents' house because he was gay. He's training to be a contortionist, acrobat. arrow artist. Like he's trying to get into Cirque du Soleil stuff type stuff. He's a little bit younger than I am. And he's gotten judged so much because of what he's done with his art. He's done everything from, you know, choreography at a youth theater. He's teaches Zumba. He's done teaching fitness. You know, he trains at like one of those trampoline places. He's coached cheerleading. I mean, the things that he's done with his talents and with his gifts so that he can continue to stay in his field, number one, it's amazing the things that he's done. And the judgment that's received because these artists, you gotta think, people like him, people and performers that are, you know, maybe they're taking jobs that don't necessarily line up with what they want to do. Maybe they're working in an industry that they don't want to be in. Maybe they're performing in a way that they didn't think that they would perform or that you don't think that they should perform. Why the judgment? Because I got news for you. I'm sitting behind a desk 10 hours a day. He's living his dream 10 hours a day. Who do you want to be? Do you want to be the person that gets to perform every day, even if it's not exactly what you want to do? Or do you want to be the person that gave up a lot of opportunities because it wasn't what you wanted and ended up sitting behind a desk? I know what I would choose if I could go back. I would throw everything into my performing and screw the desk. I'll perform on top of a desk before I'd like to sit at a desk. But life doesn't work that way, you know? So when you see a performer take, you know, if you don't agree with the decision of another performer of what they decide to do with their talents, let me give you a piece of advice. It's none of your business. Be supportive of your fellow performers, because I'll say I've said it before. I've said it again. And it's no secret that performing arts, they're dying. And unless we do something, unless we come together and encourage each other and support each other, we're going to die off. Because we're being taken over by technology. Visual arts is available at the click of a button. And we're fussing about how people are making money and surviving and living their dream and what they choose to do with their talents and their passions. Please, you're sitting behind a desk and you're judging somebody that, you know, took a job as a backup dancer when they should be dancing for ballet. You're judging somebody that is teaching Zumba and coaching cheerleaders while being trained instead of, you know, going out for Cirque du Soleil. You can't judge people because of what they choose to do with their talents. Because remember, doing things that you have to do to put food in your mouth and keep the roof over your head and to keep performing, it's going to lead you to opportunities to do what you want to do. It's going to lead you to opportunities to discover new passions and new avenues and new ways to entertain and perform. And that's the goal here. That's the goal with this podcast. Just because, you know, a singer, a dancer, an aerial artist, a clown, a mime, a sword swallower, a belly dancer, and a Chinese puppet master can all come together and learn something from each other and create an amazing show. People like new stuff. We have to keep creating new stuff. And the only way we're going to do that is to support and lean on each other and keep encouraging each other and learn from each other. Take one thing from every performer that you know and every performer that you look up to. No matter what they do, take one thing that they do, emulate it, and I guarantee you'll be leaps and bounds ahead of where you are right now. Stop judging people because of what they're doing and start judging yourself because of what you're not doing. Keep on shining.
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