A while ago, I was booked to perform at a festival, doing short spots after bands. The booker wanted the variety acts to be a surprise, and we were… to everyone, including the MC, backstage crew, and sound techs!
This is never good.
The booker had us send in intros, and tech needs, but none of that made it to the people who would need that stuff. That made it a struggle to get basic things like a microphone that wasn’t in use.
It also made show flow really rough, as the MC didn’t know what to do.
If you know in advance that your act will be a surprise, in my experience 95% of the time that surprise will end up making your job as a performer harder and not raise the audience’s enjoyment.
-Louie
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