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, emcee, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you.
Speaker 2Hey Rockstars, Reggie Dawson here, your host of the Being On Stage podcast. Thank you for tuning in and let me start off with an apology. The audio quality on this episode is not going to be good. It's going to be a little rough and there's probably going to be some random sounds and noises that you hear, like some bumping or shifting or moving. And it kind of has to do, so the reason I introduced this and the reason I say this is it kind of has to do with what I'm, what the topic is. The topic of today's show is, and that is, you know, forgetting things or, you know, when things go wrong, really, and trying to move forward when things go wrong. The reason this episode is so choppy and random noise is, first, I'm recording in my car, which I find that recording in my car is kind of cool. The sound dampening in the car and just like the acoustics of the car is pretty perfect. There's no echo or anything. So I kind of like recording in my car sometimes, but I'm recording in my car. I was supposed to record into my computer, onto my microphone, but I forgot my microphone cord, the one that connects the microphone to the computer. So here I am, all set and ready. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I bring my girlfriend to class and I either work on the show notes and the website and the training programs or I record an episode in the car. And one of the things that hindered me today is I forgot the microphone. I forgot the microphone cord that connects the microphone to the computer. I know what you're thinking. It's a little awkward to be sitting in a car holding a microphone, but I find it to be a very good way to podcast. It gets it done, number one. And I preach about, you know, getting things done for your show or for your, well, even for a business, you know, while you're doing other things or finding the time to make things happen. And I happen to have an hour and a half every Tuesday and Thursday of downtime. So I usually make a. Make a podcast. So forgetting this microphone cord, I'm sitting here thinking like, oh God, I can't record this episode. And this was not what I was going to talk about. The next episode is going to be all about promoting yourself. That's what I was going to talk about. But this kind of just came to me. So I'm feeling like everyone's gone through this at some point where you get to the point where you're ready to do a show. For me, it's a podcast for you. It's a performance on stage. It's a dance, a spinning poi, acrobatics, circus. Circus, singing, juggling, you know, for me, it's a podcast. So I get to the point where I'm ready to podcast and pulling everything out of my bag. Got my microphone, got the condenser on top of it to keep my my peas in check is your peas tend to pop and then, you know, I'm pulling out the computer and everything and I go to connect them and that cord is missing and I'm frantic. I'm crazy. I'm like, oh, I can't record right now. What am I going to do? I can't believe I forgot this. You're such a dumb dummy. And, you know, it occurs to me, you know, I have this perfectly fine recording device that I walk around with in my pocket all the time. So this episode is recorded on my phone. And truthfully, this is how I started. Like before I got the microphone and before I even launched the podcast, I was recording a lot of content onto my phone in preparation of re recording it and producing it on the podcast. A lot of the things you've heard. Is. Stuff that I've pre recorded on my phone, gone back, listened to, made notes and then re recorded it. So it's kind of a little nostalgic for me going back to the beginning of being on stage. Actually, a year ago I was doing that. I was recording content on my phone, driving to work, driving home from work. And that's when I started making the notes for the show and really developing the show. So forgetting this cord is kind of kind of giving me a bit of nostalgia. It's kind of giving me a blast from the past and a a good picture of, you know, where I started. And where I came from. And I got to thinking when it comes to performing, this is not the first time that I have forgotten something that I needed in order to perform. As a matter of fact, there is a show I was doing in West Palm Beach. God, this must have been like 2007. Yeah, 2007. So I was doing a show in West Palm Beach and I had I had worked on this show for weeks. You know, I had I had rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed. I choreographed. It was the first show in which I was. It was really like dancing and I get to the venue and I'm unpacking my bag and I go out, I get my drink because I usually have like one drink before I go on. It's really more of a social thing and more of a patronizing the venue thing than a than a getting drunk thing. But, you know, I go out, have my drink or whatever. I'm coming back. I'm getting ready for the show. I'm putting on my clothes. I forgot my pants. I had specific pants that I was going to wear for the show. And I forgot them. And I mean, I don't mean like I just forgot them in the car. I mean, like they're an hour and a half away at my house and I go on in an hour. So there's no go go home and get them. There's, you know, I'm an hour and a half away. So a friend of mine runs to Wal-Mart, buys me a pair of just like black sweatpants or something like black jogging pants almost. And I mean, luckily, because it was more of a hip hop number, you know, black baggy jogging pants. It's tended to work. So, you know, I was able to accommodate my my mishap, my mistake that I made by a simple trip to Wal-Mart. I mean, there's been times that I have forgotten like safety pins. There's been times that I've forgotten pieces of my costume. There's one costume that I have that I have kind of like a I have a shoulder piece like a shoulder. It's almost like a piece of armor. It straps across my chest and around my back. And over my other shoulder. And it's really cool looking piece of piece of costume. And I had gotten to another show I was doing and I realized that was not in my bag. And it was like it was the focal point of my outfit. I was able to just go on and kind of make the show happen and really blow it away without that piece of costume. But it's still it's disappointing. And then you have other things that have like in life. People forget things. A friend of mine, they were getting married. They forgot. They forgot their bouquet at home that the bride supposed to walk down the aisle with. And I consider a wedding a show. And you can agree or disagree with me. But it's a performance. Anyways, the point of this is we've all had instances where we've forgotten something. We left a piece of our costume at home. Maybe we forgot the whole costume. That happened to a friend of mine. Like left the whole costume. Like completely grabbed the wrong bag. We're talking. And, you know, he was able to fish some stuff. Out of the dressing room that was like used and no one really knew whose it was. And he was able to borrow stuff from a couple of other performers and kind of piece together an outfit. And that's that's what I've seen happen to a lot of a lot of performers is they forget pieces of their outfits. And this is that's kind of the downside to having specific outfits to your show is once you create it and you design it, if you forget it. But, you know, I've seen people forget. Like I've seen guitar players forget their extra strings and they bust a string. So, you know, I've seen people forget. You know, I've seen musicians like forget critical pieces. There was a trumpet player once forgot his mouthpiece. Luckily, trumpet players are capable of playing without a mouthpiece. It's really difficult. You know, I've seen dancers forget like their specific shoes they're wearing. And it's all about making it work. So, you know, let me let me let me get to the focal point of everything that I'm telling. I could tell you story after story of how performers have forgotten things or things have fallen apart at the last minute. Things have just gone wrong. I mean, there's been outfit mishaps, things falling off on stage. But the point is, is when things go wrong or when things go awry, I like the word. I like that word, by the way, awry. When things go awry or things go wrong or things just don't happen the way you want them to and you forget stuff. And it's like sometimes before you go on stage, you feel like there is no possible way this show is going to be able to happen. But I challenge you to flip that thinking. Why are we dwelling on the things? That we can't change. Like we've already messed up. We've already forgot the outfit. We've already forgot this. We've already forgot that. You know, we one of our dancers is missing. Stella fell and broke her toe. She can't dance. You know, one of the other performers snapped a wrist. God forbid. Knock on wood. I hope this doesn't happen to any of you. But the point is, is things tend to go wrong at the last minute. And it is the most inconvenient and frustrating time for things to go wrong. But what I want you to do, instead of dwelling on all these negative things that's already happened and you can't change. Focus on the solution. Focus on how you're going to make the show and the performance work. The more you dwell on the negative and the more you dwell on the things that you can't possibly change or fix, the less time you have to focus on the solution. Something goes wrong, immediately start focusing on how you're going to correct it. How are you going to get around? this problem. First of all, is it necessary for the show. That's, that's the first thing to think with anything goes wrong. Is this necessary or can I just leave it out? Okay. Second thing you want to think about if it is necessary, what you need to do to accommodate. So piece of outfit, can you run to the store and get something? Does someone have something that you can borrow? You know, is there fabric laying around that you can cut up and safety pin to something else? Side note, always carry safety pins with you everywhere. Safety pins and duct tape. They will fix the world. Once you're thinking about the solution, your creativity will kick in. You remember the creative process that we talked about a few episodes back. I talked about going through the creative process and creating the show and visualizing what you want to see. When something goes wrong and you immediately focus on the positive and the solution and how you're going to fix it, that creative process and your creative juices, it'll just start to flow and solutions will just come to you. But you have to allow yourself to think that way. You cannot dwell on the things that are going wrong. You have got to think about the ways that you can make things right. It's a difficult thing to imagine yourself doing, but if you can really just in the moment, tell yourself, okay, I cannot fix this. How do I make this show? What can I do? Can I go to the store? Is there someone that can fill in? Can we fill the space where she would have stood? Can we quickly choreograph something that's going to accommodate for this? Can I make it without that piece of equipment or without that string? I have seen a guitar player go on with only four strings out of six, not a four string bass, four strings out of six and make it happen. So things can be fixed if you allow yourself the thought process, to fix them. And that's where I want to go today. You know, I forgot my microphone cord, you know, but I have this recording device in my pocket. I apologize to you for the sound because ultimately, what is it about? It's about getting the message out there. That's what it's about for me. For you, it's about getting your art and your talent out there. These small pieces that are falling apart and going wrong, it is not going to change the fact that you are a talented performer. All you have to do is change. Allow yourself to be. Stop dwelling on the negatives. You still get to share your talent with the world. And after all, that is what being on stage is all about. Sharing your talent with the audience, connecting with them and engaging with them. Have a great one, everybody. Thank you for dealing with the poor audio quality. I greatly appreciate it. Things go wrong. You got to make other, you got to make other things happen, right? That's what I'm preaching today. That's what I'm hoping you're taking away from this. Hey, if you want some more being on stage, you can join us on our free group on Facebook. I made it easy for you to get there. If you go to beingonstage.com slash group, G-R-O-U-P, you'll be right into the group. And once you hit join, there's a couple of questions to answer. It just helps us get to know you a little bit better. You can also subscribe to the Rockstar Lounge on beingonstage.com. Put in your name and email. I'll send you a free copy of my book, Confidence on Stage. As always, everybody, thank you so much again for tuning in. And I can't thank you enough for dealing with the poor audio quality. I hope you still got the hope you're taking something away from this episode. And as always, my rock stars, please keep on shining.
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