Right now I’m mid-run of performing twelve days at a state fair. The stage that I’m on is MASSIVE and I’m working my butt off to not get visually lost on the stage. When I arrived I immediately knew that I would have to cut the middle out of my object in ball in yarn routine as no one would be able to see the mismade bill. That’s not a big deal, but it’s very helpful to be aware of things like that.
The other thing I learned after my first show is that because the venue is very large, my voice echos and it’s hard to understand me unless I talk very slowly. I feel like I’m talking 50% slower than normal. Being aware of the echo by watching the act after me, it made me aware of the necessary adjustments.
This is why it’s important if you’re working with other acts, to watch at least part of their show to notice things like echo, or any sightline issues that you can correct that will make your show play better!
-Louie
Tag: echo
Echo…Echo…
Doing a stage show in a room that’s not designed for a show can be rough on the performer. Last night I did a show in a very echoy venue. It’s hard to perform in places like that. I really need to slow down my rate of speech for venues where there is an echo. … Continue reading “Echo…Echo…”
Doing a stage show in a room that’s not designed for a show can be rough on the performer. Last night I did a show in a very echoy venue. It’s hard to perform in places like that. I really need to slow down my rate of speech for venues where there is an echo.
One of the things that I need to remember is to keep my rate of speech slow and take a lot of pauses at the periods and commas. That will help what I’m saying not step on the echo, and let the whole audience get what I’m saying and have time to process it before I talk again.
One helpful thing I did was walk around the venue while I was mic’d to hear what I sounded like. Sound does change a lot once you have a room full of people, however it gave me a feel for how the audio might sound.
The key is to be aware of the situation and not to complain. The event can’t remove the echo from the room, so you’ve got to be a pro and deal with it.