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, rock stars. Reggie Dawson here, your host of the Being On Stage podcast. What is going on, my friends? Thank you so much for tuning in. Welcome back. And if this is your first time tuning in, welcome. Welcome, I guess. Listen, I want to give you like an inside look at what I do when I watch a performance. And, you know, I've been called cocky. I've been called egotistical. I've been called an a-hole. I've been called all sorts. I've been called all sorts of things, overly critical, controlling, like, you name it, I've been called it. But bottom line, I cannot help what it is that I do when I see a performance. Because of what I do, it puts me in a position to help the performer in the most honest way possible. I'm a performer myself. I've performed for about 20 years off and on different areas, probably areas that you may not even consider. I worked with drag queens. I did lip sync myself. As a man, which is something new and different, which is kind of cool. And I also did a puppet team when I was an adolescent into my teenage and adult years. And then when I was younger, I froze on stage completely and totally and bombed in front of like 150 people. And that just scarred me for life. Hence the puppet team behind the stage stuff. Nowadays, I emcee at festivals, weddings, you name it. I just get in front of people and talk. And that's. That's why I have a podcast. I enjoy talking and I enjoy talking about performing. So when I go see a show, and it doesn't matter what it is, concert, drag show, burlesque show, circus show, Cirque du Soleil even. I mean, I didn't. I've never seen it live. I want to, but I saw the movie they came out with. Amazing, amazing movie. Anyways, when I go see a show, I can't help it. I'm very observant. I'm part people watcher. I'm part performer. So I watch what the performer does, but I also watch how the audience reacts to it. And commonly, if you watch me watch a performance, I'm like an owl. Like my head's always moving like in a swivel pattern. I'm watching the audience. I'm watching the performer where they move, how the audience reacts when they're in front of them, how the audience reacts when they're away from them, how the audience across the stage is reacting to them. And, you know, all this time. And, you know, my. I have ADD, and that kind of helps me because my brain can process multiple things at one time. Do not ask me to listen to you while I'm typing, and do not ask me to talk to you while I'm watching a movie. But aside from that, my brain can process multiple things at a time. It's a really cool thing that you get with ADD. It's like the only cool thing you get with ADD. That's also why this podcast is kind of all over the place sometimes. When I'm on an ADD. ADD trip. That's Attention Deficit Disorder. So I'm watching the performance, and I'm observing the performer and what they're doing on stage. And as they approach the audience, you know, I'll kind of glance at the audience that they're approaching. I'll see how they're anticipating that interaction. I'll watch the interaction happen. Man, I watch the timing. And I got to tell you, timing is huge when you're on stage. And I'm not saying just, like, what time you go on. I mean, your actual timing. Timing throughout your show, like how you move to the time of the show. Even if you're a speaker, even if you're singing a cappella, even if you're a comedian, your movements have a certain rhythm to them, as does the words that come out of your mouth. You know, comedians, you know what I'm talking about. Singers, speakers, you have a rhythm to the way you talk. And how you move should match the rhythm of how you're speaking. I mean, dancers, circus performers, everything. Everybody that performs. There's a rhythm behind your performance. It may change, it may fluctuate, but there is a rhythm. And at times, the rhythm is steady. And your body, your movement's got to match that internal rhythm that you have going on on stage. That has an impact to the audience. The other thing is when the artist or when the performer approaches the audience, and when they actually have that more personal interaction where they're right in front of the audience, and it doesn't matter who it is, if it's a big celebrity, I saw Three Doors Down last spring. Oh my god, one of my favorite bands of all time, honestly. A lot of their music just kind of, it meant a lot to me, you know? It means a lot to me and everything. Even them, and I couldn't help it, because I'm such a fan, but watching how they perform, I couldn't help but this brain-critiquing thing I do. I'm not critiquing celebrity performances, I'm not going there. Anyways, so when the performer is actually interacting with the audience, I watch how the audience face is reacting, and then I also look at how the audience is reacting further away. Are they attentive to what this artist is doing? Is it drawing other people in? And that's what stage presence is, by the way. Stage presence is that ability to draw people in to what you're doing. So if I'm all the way on stage left, interacting with maybe a group of people over on stage left, are the people in far stage right, are they tuned in? Are they checking out what's going on with what I'm doing over on stage left? And I gotta tell you, if you can do that, if you can make that happen on stage, if you can make every part of the audience tune in and attentive to what you're doing on stage, even if you're not interacting with them, even if you're way upstage, back by the back wall, I call it the back wall, that's where we used to enter where I performed, was the back wall. There's like a door behind a curtain. It was kind of all like a secret entrance to the dressing room. Oh, gosh. Oh, the memories. Anyways, so yeah, like back by upstage and everything, if they're attentive to what you're doing, you have incredible stage presence. And that can really, really help you in your career, especially if you put your stage presence with your timing 100% golden every time. So that's what I watch. I watch how other parts. I watch how other parts of the audience are reacting to what the artist is doing on stage or what the artist is doing with the group of audience that they're interacting with. And then, this is the cool part, and then I watch how the audience reacts when they pull away from them. Okay? So after you're done interacting with, you know, maybe you're up to the center stage and you're interacting with maybe there's like a, I don't know, maybe there's a group of people celebrating a birthday. Let's go there. So you're interacting with them. You do a little performance. Maybe you grab a hand. Or you just do a little look and point. It depends on what you're doing. Like, obviously, if you're doing a choreographed dance, you may just be up there and just kind of eye contact and facial expression at a gesture. But, you know, even if you're talking to them, whatever you're doing on stage, like this, by the way, podcast, not biased. I love all performers equally, and I help all performers equally. I think you're all fantastic. Everyone deserves to be on stage. Truthfully, I think everyone has a talent somewhere inside them that they can put on stage. Let's do it, by the way. Let's get you on stage. Keep listening to this podcast. Shoot me an email. Instagram, all that stuff, at beingonstage. Email is reggie at beingonstage.com. Let's do it. Why not? So anyhow, I watch how the audience reacts when they are moving on. So after you're done interacting, you know, you've got to move on at some point. You can't do your entire show for the people at Downstage Center. And if you do your entire show for Downstage Center, move around. Branch out. Love on some of the other audience members. They need your love, too. So after you're moving on, I look at how they react to when you're walking away. Because that tells you a lot about how that interaction went. It's kind of like after the first date. You know, when you're making that first phone call, you can kind of tell in her tone. Like, if she, and I'm saying she. I mean, ladies, it could be he, of course. But for me, it's like, you know, if she's like, oh, hey. Yeah, you. It's like, no. Not a chance. This girl is not going out with me again. So it's kind of like that with the audience as well. If you kind of walk away and they're like, okay, yeah, so back to what we were doing. There's no impact there. And that means you're up close game. You're up close interaction. May need a little bit of work. It has to do with reading people, you know. You got to, and that anticipation. So there's a process when you approach people that makes them kind of attract when you walk away. And what I mean by attract. So if a performer walks away and the audience, like their, their attention or even, I mean, I've had people actually follow me on stage, truthfully, but their attention follows you. You had that impact, you know, so, but it starts with the approach. It starts with the approach. It all starts with the approach. Like, yeah, my favorite part is how they react when you walk away because they should follow you. Like their gaze, their attention. It should follow you to where you go. They should be cheering. that if they talk to each other or get distracted, it should be only to say, my God, that was amazing. But yeah, that's how you want them to react when you walk away. If they just go back to their cell phones or back to their conversation, then, you know, maybe it's the approach you got to work on. The approach is the part that gets their attention. The approach is the part that gathers them. I've seen performers rush up into interacting with the audience and listen, I understand the excitement. I'm excited too. It's great to interact with your audience, but if you bombard them and you catch them by surprise when they're, even if they're not paying attention and they're on their phones, if you catch them by surprise, they are already turned off. So you got to kind of go at it a little slow. If there's a group of people that you plan on interacting with, you got to do kind of like a roundabout. It's, it's, you know, it's, it's almost, it really is like dating and it really is approaching that girl in the bar. You know, you don't just walk straight up to the hot girl or the hot guy. You don't just walk up straight to the hot person. In the bar, you know, you kind of like you meander a little bit. You try to catch their gaze from across the room, you know, and then you kind of like go in a little, like a, almost like a zigzag pattern till you get there. Like you're meeting up with other people, but you're not really there. You're really focused on trying to get to them. That anticipation is what pulls people in. It happens quick. This is not like a all show. Your whole show is spent on getting one group's attention. It happens quick. So you come on stage, you find the person, people that you want to interact with, right? Okay. This, this is what I look for. This is, this is the mark. This is what I've noticed. Audiences react to the best. They get the most followers. I even go find them and follow them. Like this is what is the impressive part about performers. Okay. Performer comes out, you find the group or the person that you're going to interact with first. Okay. You just, as soon as you're on stage, you pick. Okay. Once you pick, you make eye contact from wherever you're standing and then you circle around, you go somewhere else and you go to the next person. And then you go to them. Maybe not right away, but maybe you make two moves. I'm saying moves like you're going to walk in one direction and walk to another direction and you're going to get to them. Or you're going to look in another direction and another direction and then get to them. Okay. Once you get to them, you smile, you interact, you grab their hand, you point to them, you gesture, whatever your interaction would be, you do it. And then when you pull away, always look back, always look back and make some sort of facial expression. A smile, a smirk, I stuck my tongue out at people, stupid stuff, whatever, whatever you feel in the moment, always look back, make a facial expression. They are yours. Most of the time, most of the time they're yours. They're going to at least pay attention to you for another few minutes or another couple of minutes, or, you know, maybe even for the rest of the show, if you have that strong of an impact on them, that's where the stage presence comes in. But yeah, that whole process that I just described, I know I went through it super, super fast. It's because I know I'm running low on time. I was super excited to talk about this. Like I was just watching some performances, thinking about some performances. And then I realized, man, I've never shared like my process of when I see a show and what goes through my mind. So there it is, you know, that's it. But yeah, stage presence and, and, you know, getting out there and choosing your target, choose your target wisely, do a Hail Mary zigzag pattern, approach them. Have a strong interaction with them. Smile, be genuine. Like, and again, it depends on what you do on stage. Obviously, if you're doing some sort of choreography, it may just be a glance or a look, but that's still an interaction. You still have to do, do it the same way. So if you're not able to move, then you have to shift your attention away and then back. And if you can physically get closer to them, it will help. That's it. That's the secret to really interacting with your audience. And then you just do that over and over and over and over and over again. So what I would do is I'd go out there and I'd choose a target and then I do my zigzag pattern. As I'm doing my zigzag pattern, I choose my second target. So then I get to this person and as I'm walking away, I'm glancing at the next person who I've already chosen for my zigzag pattern. And I look back to this person and then I'm moving on to the next person. And I do the same thing. Have a good interaction with them. On my way to them, I've chosen my next target. So now I'm second target in. And as I'm moving away, I look back to them. And then I do the same thing. I smile, move on to the third target. As I'm moving on, I'm choosing my next target. Sometimes I'll take a deviation if I have like a strong point in the song, like I've chosen my target. But instead of going right to them, I'll go center, center stage, do my strong movement, and then back into my audience interaction. So you can change it up. You can throw stuff in there in the middle. It makes it look more spontaneous, but it's kind of how you plan your show while you're on stage. If you have that freedom to do so, singers, comedians, speakers, if you have that freedom to move about the stage like that. And even if you don't, the looks and the facial expressions, they do everything for your audience. All right, I'm going to wrap this bad boy up. I'm actually about to go to lunch with my family. So by the time this is up, it's probably going to be like dinner. But anyways, thanks for tuning in. Much appreciated. As always, if you want more being on stage, you can follow on Instagram at being on stage. You can go to Facebook at being on stage. Or you can join the free Facebook group being on stage dot com slash group made it easy to get there. Or you can just search the being on stage group on Facebook. I'm in there every Monday and Wednesday. I'm trying to add another day, but my schedule is kind of crazy this week. I'm on vacation. So it's like freedom. That's why it's been so long since my podcast. We've been out and about doing stuff and big changes are coming. Listen, episode 100. I'm going to tell you all about all the changes that are coming. And some of the things that are changing up on the podcast and why change is good and what it means for you. So if you're interested in that or if you just like the podcast, please hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you really, really like me, I mean, if you like me and if you love me, you can also go into iTunes and leave a five star rating and drop me a comment. Let me know what you think. Thank you so much again for tuning in. Everybody around the world. We're in like 42 countries now. It is awesome. Thanks again. You know how we do it here being on stage. Keep on shining.
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