music act – MagicShow.Tips

Watching Acts…

One of the great things about performing at fairs is you get to work with all sorts of acts. Not just various styles of acts, but act all from different points or their careers. Sometimes you’ll get a newer local act, and huge, international headliners and sometimes you’ll get an amazing act that’s retired, but lives in town and that’s the one gig a year they do…and everything in between.

When I’m at the fair, I try to watch everyone’s show. There’s so much to learn from the any act you watch.

I’ve written about this before, but I got reminded of why having a “high” show is important and why you need to keep all the action in your show (in most venues) above your belly button.
The importance of having some sort of music in the background (in most routines).
Why to keep backups of props that could break…because they will!
And finally to play every gig like it’s a sold out show…even if it’s raining and the bleachers are uncovered and virtually empty.

All four of these things are things that I already know, but it’s a good reminder to see them and having them moved to the front of my brain!
-Louie

Using Music…

Not too long ago I worked with an act that was a talking act, but used music. He did used music as a background to talking pieces and also did acts to music. The music should have added a lot to his show, however it didn’t. The way he used the music wasn’t “seamless” and it wasn’t loud enough.

Let’s tackle the last problem first, since it’s the easiest. There are times when you want music quiet, there are times when you want it loud, and there are times when you want it to vary. The simple solution is to re-record your music tracks at the approximate levels you want them. Background music tracks are quieter than tracks for acts to the music. Simple…Yes, however I’m always amazed more acts don’t do this.

Now for the problem of using music seamlessly. The act I saw had an ipod in their case, and whenever they needed to play music, they had to stop what they were doing, run to the case and change the music. This created a lot of dead time and took the audience out of the moment. The first solution is to use a cue sheet and give it to the sound person. The next solution is to use a remote control. This is one of the better solutions because you can make sure your cues happen when you want them to. It also allows you the freedom to go off script.

Using music effectively from a technical standpoint is easier than ever to do. Years ago recording your tracks with varying audio would have been insanely expensive and using a remote control is simple and reliable now.

Production Value

One of the things that has blown me away is the production value of the acts at the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny. While some acts (like me) go out and talk and do our thing, the younger acts play much bigger. This is due soley to music.

All of the younger people’s acts has music components, and most were timed to the music. The act was to the music like a dance routine, instead of just hitting a couple of beats. This makes the whole thing look more like a show, than someone just doing a trick or a stunt.

Once you add another production element or two, like lighting, or a set piece and these have become theater shows, not bar shows. How can you add production value to your show to make it a show?