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.
Speaker 2Hey Rockstars, Reggie Dawson, welcome back to the show. Thanks for tuning in. It has been a little bit longer than I like to go between podcasts. I had a little bit of family stuff go on. My mom was in the hospital. Holidays are coming up. It's a big time of year at my day job. We manage some insurance plans and it's an enrollment season right now. So it's been a little crazy couple of weeks, but the show must go on as they say. So here we are going on. About a week ago, maybe a little bit more, Hugh Jackman actually went on the Today Show and he announced that he was doing a World Arena Tour. Now, I thought it was kind of funny because the first thing he said was, it's not Wolverine the musical, which I think that would be pretty sick musical to be honest and to be fair. But he announced that he was going on a World Arena Tour. My wife and I, we looked up some of the dates and everything. We're going to try to go to. One around next summer, I think he's coming to Atlanta, which is. He's got like one in Atlanta and Tampa and both of those are fairly close. So we're going to try to go. But one of the things that really caught my attention about the interview and, you know, he's sitting there with like Hoda and Carson and Al Roker and, you know, the whole Today crew. And Hoda turns to him and she goes, you know, how do you make it feel intimate when you're in, you know, when you have a crowd of that size? And I have to say. I'm pretty sure I was jumping up and down and like cheering when he gave his answer because, first of all, the man's a genius. He's an incredibly talented actor, singer, artist. You know, the man's incredibly talented. But his answer to that was like I felt an immense connection when he gave his answer. He said that, you know, whether you have a crowd of 300 or 3,000 or 13,000, you have to treat it. Like a celebration. And he said, you know, when I come out on stage, I, you know, I immediately look down. I lock eyes with my wife. And then, you know, I treat everyone there as if they're a part of something and as if. And this is the part that got me. This is the part. This part gave me goosebumps. He said you have to. And I'm sorry. It's not a direct quote here. Like I'm paraphrasing everything because I'm so excited. And that's just what I do. I embellish. But along the lines of what he said was that. You have to make people. You have to make people feel like something can happen there that will only happen there. It will only happen that night. And I'm telling you, I get goosebumps right now. Like I'm getting goosebumps just talking about this response to the question. So like how do you make it feel intimate? And his answer was specific to like big arenas. I mean he's performing in front of, you know, Madison Square Garden, you know, American Airlines Arena. That's the one down south where I am. Just huge arenas. And I apologize. I can't even. I can't even think of all of them. But huge arenas. Think of the biggest arena near you. And, you know, that's where he's going to be. But he does these huge arenas. And that's where he's going. And how. So he's talking about how to make that feel intimate. And I think that that's great. I think it's. I think it's really great to know that you can make a large arena feel like an intimate show. And make that connection with thousands of people at once. Most of us, however, we may not know. We may not get that opportunity in our lives. And that's not because we're not talented. That's just because that is an incredible opportunity. And maybe one in a million people get to experience that. And maybe not even that. Maybe one in ten million people. You know, so a large arena. We may not all get to experience that. Not to say we're not talented. It's just. I mean, come on. It's, you know, the garden. Or Madison Square Garden. I always get them mixed up. So apologies for my Bostonians. And my New Yorkers. I always get the two gardens mixed up. So my apologies. But either way, he's actually going to be at both of them. So I guess it doesn't really matter which one I'm talking about. So I get excited. And when I get excited, I kind of babble a little bit. That's part of the reason I got a podcast. Anyways, so making it feel intimate in large arenas is wonderful. But not all of us get to experience that. And we're back on track. So for those of us, you know, that are not going to be performing in front of thousands of people at the garden or Madison Square Garden at the gardens, how do we make it feel intimate for us? And the thing that gets me is it's the same thing. Like, it is so much the same thing that you do in front of all your crowds. It's almost stupid how repetitive it can be. It's repetitive, but it's not repetitive. So every time you do a show, you have to. You have to repeatedly, you know, connect with the audience and treat them like something wonderful is going to happen and engage with them, talk to them, and ultimately make them feel like there is no other night or show that is like the one that they're seeing. And I think that the way he defined that is incredible to me. Like, it just, it put everything into perspective. And I wanted to kind of draw that out on this podcast because, you know, I talk a lot about how to connect with people. How to connect with your audience and how to make it a show and how to make it bigger and better and how to, you know, make sure your audience is engaged and make sure they, you know, want to follow you and they're connected to you and how to make your show really like great. And, you know, so this is the stuff that I talk about. So when he made that connection of make it feel like whatever happens there is only happening there. And the difference here. And the difference here is, you know, you think about the theater, okay? So, yeah, certain things could happen. A line could get missed. But think about the theater. Generally, if you go see a show at the theater, you're going to see really the same show each time you go. Each time you go to the theater, you're going to see about the same show. Like, if you see The Nutcracker once, you've seen it twice, you've seen it a thousand times. It may be different performers, but generally the show is the same. Okay? And I'm not bagging anyone that performs The Nutcracker. Don't get it wrong. It's just an example because of the time of year and it's on the mind. But when you're a performer and you have the ability to, you know, vary your performances and change it up every once in a while and treat the show as if it's entirely unique because generally that's what it is, you know? Each show that you do is unique. And your job as the entertainer, your job as the performer is to make the audience feel like that show is unique. Make them feel like that connection that you're making with them. The things that you're saying, the stories you're telling, the, you know, maybe you're joking around with someone in the front row, the whatever you're saying or doing or even some, you know, jam session that you do, it's got to feel like it is different every single time. That's why people keep coming back. And I'm going to refer back to my summertime experience. I went to see Dave Matthews' band for the first time. They're another one. Every single show you go to is different. They don't even do the same songs, truthfully. Most of the time, you know, when a band goes on tour, they generally do the same songs every night, but they vary up. Like maybe they'll have a jam session during this song. Maybe they'll have a jam session during that song. Maybe they'll, you know, do a little special intro here, whatever. But they, you know, Dave Matthews' band, they vary. Every single night is a different show. Like if you went to every single, this is my friends telling me this, like I'm only repeating things that I hear. But if you went to every single show on their tour, no two shows would be the same. And that is how you should make your audience feel. I mean, it may or may not be the case. Like truthfully, you may find yourself doing a repeat show and that's, that's okay. As long as, you know, it's a different venue, it's a different crowd, maybe even a different city, you know, things like that, that's, that's going to happen and that's okay. But you have to make them feel like it's a unique experience. You have to connect with them in a way that you're not going to connect with another audience. And it's not to say that, you know, one audience is better than another audience is better than another audience. It's to say that you, you have to connect with each audience as individual audiences. Does that, I hope this makes sense because I'm just kind of going on a rampage here because I just rewatched the interview with Hugh Jackman on the Today Show right before this podcast. Just kind of like refresh my memory. And so it's got me kind of like, whew, you know, it's got me kind of excited all over again. Um, because like, all right, let me level with you guys. Like I'm, I'm not some big pop star. I haven't toured the country. I haven't, you know, performing in front of millions of people. You know, I haven't done any of that. I'm just, I'm, I'm a local performer. I've kept it local my entire career. You know, I've never performed in front of more than probably a thousand people, but I share things that I see and I share things that I learned from others. And that's, that's the whole purpose of this podcast is, you know, sharing things and drawing things to light and you know I'm always learning I just want to share what I learned with you guys. So what I'm saying is, you know, I'm not this big star, you know, giving you guys this advice. So when I hear, you know, someone like Hugh Jackman or, you know, when I read the book by Livingston Taylor, Stage Performance, when I see and hear the things that I talk about and the things that I share being echoed and kind of like reinforced by celebrities and people that have been there and people that are performing in these huge arenas, like, it really, one, it really makes me feel good. It really makes me feel like I'm sharing stuff of substance. And it's all true, guys. Like, you can ask performers, you can look up videos and interviews of people that have talked about, you know, performing on stage and everything that I share, like, it's all it's all real, like, it's all real and it all works. And it's exciting to hear it, you know, reinforced and kind of echoed. And it's almost like validation in a way. And I'm, listen, I'm like a little kid in, like, a candy store right now, because I'm a Hugh Jackman fan, all right? It started with Wolverine, I'll be honest with you. I'm, I was, I was a Wolverine fan. But, you know, I like Hugh Jackman. And I really liked him in The Greatest Showman. I have to say, I think he did a phenomenal job. But, you know, storyline aside, like, I get the whole, the controversy and everything like that about the movie versus real life and history. But I think he did a phenomenal job with the movie and the performing. And, oh, God, just the idea of a whole circus and that whole thing coming together is just, oh, it was amazing. Anyways, the point here is that that intimacy that I was talking about and that he was talking about and making it feel intimate and connecting with that audience is, you know, one, he's right. You got to make it feel like a celebration. You got to make it feel like everyone there is there with you in this thing together. I'm going to sound a little, whoo, for a minute. But you're all in this together, man. Like, you and your audience and everybody, you're just, you're feeling this energy and you're experiencing this show together. Even though you're the performer, you know, you're in control and you kind of share yourself with them. And then, you know, you show them how to react and you connect with them through that emotion and everything. And it's like, it's almost like a song and dance. Like, you're almost like dancing with the audience just through your show. Like, it's, it's really, oh, it's phenomenal. I'm sorry, guys. It's been a while since I've been on stage. So this is like, this is like my itch, I guess. This is me going through withdrawals. But yeah, so you, you create that feeling, that energy and that connection. And that in turn is where you get that, you know, every show is unique. Treat this show like whatever's going to happen is not going to happen at any other show. Make your audience feel that way. Every show you do, it is unique. Because your audience is unique. So the feelings that you get and the energy that you exchange with your audience, it's always going to be different. It's always going to be changing. And it's always going to be something new. And you need to make sure your audience feels that way too. And how you do that is just through that connection. You know, the things you say to them, share with them, keep it loose, keep it relaxed. And just, you know, treat everyone like you're there for a big old party and everybody there is your best friend. Whether it's five people, 50 people, 500, 5,000, just treat them all like you're there. 50,000 of your closest friends. And whatever happens is not going to happen anywhere else at any other time with any other people than the people that are right there together, yourself included. Okay. I went along on this one. I'm a little crazy. I must knock something off my desk just now. But listen, if you want more being on stage, if you just can't get enough of all the craziness, if you want more head over to Facebook, you can go to the being on stage group. There's a few of us in there. I get in there every once in a while, share some stories and everything. It's there for networking and learning and collaborating, if you will. But yeah, you can also get there easily by going to beingonstage.com slash group, G-R-O-U-P. We'd love to have you in there. There's a couple of questions, just formality. You'll get in. Don't worry. I know the guy that runs the place. I can get you in. Also, if you head over to iTunes, you can click subscribe to make sure you get the latest. Which I promise will not be as far apart as the last one to this one. And while you're there, if you could do me a personal favor and leave a rating and a comment, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much again for tuning in. I want to give a special shout out to all our new listeners over the past couple of weeks. I hope you'll stick with it. I'm glad to have you here. And I look forward to seeing you all in the Facebook group. And as always, keep on shining.
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