Ensure Your Entertainer is Successful

Setting up an entertainer for success involves careful planning and consideration to ensure they can perform at their best. Here are some key steps to achieve this:

Pre-Event Preparation

1. Understand the Performer’s Needs:

   • Technical Requirements: Obtain a rider or list of technical requirements from the entertainer. This might include sound systems, lighting, stage size, and specific equipment.

   • Performance Space: Ensure the performance area meets the entertainer’s specifications. It should be safe, appropriately sized, and conducive to their act.

Event Day Coordination

1. Technical Setup:

   • Sound Check: Schedule a sound check or rehearsal time to ensure all equipment works correctly and meets the performer’s needs.

   • Lighting and Effects: Coordinate with lighting and effects teams to create the desired ambiance and meet the entertainer’s specifications.

2. Hospitality:

• Green Room: Provide a comfortable space for the entertainer to relax and prepare. This may include refreshments and any specific items they’ve requested.

• Point of Contact: Assign a dedicated person to assist the entertainer with any needs and address any issues that arise.

Event Set-Up

1. Ensuring your audience is close to the performance area of the entertainer can greatly enhance the overall experience for both the performer and the audience.

1. Here are several reasons why proximity is important:

   1. Enhanced Engagement

   • Better Interaction: Close proximity allows for more direct interaction between the entertainer and the audience, which can make the performance more dynamic and engaging.

   • Increased Energy: The closer the audience, the more the performer can feed off their energy, creating a more vibrant and exciting atmosphere.

   • Active Participation: Proximity can encourage more active participation and responsiveness from the audience, such as clapping, or laughing.

In the world of entertainers a large dance floor between the performers and stage is commonly referred to the "Dance Floor of Death." This empty space doesn't allow to performer to build connections with the audience. The further back in the room the people are, the more disconnected they become from the performance.

Just Prior to Performance

Having someone of authority introduce your entertainer can significantly enhance the overall impact and professionalism of the event. Here are several reasons why this practice is beneficial:

1. Establishing Credibility

• Enhances Performer’s Status: An authoritative figure introducing the entertainer can lend credibility and prestige to the performance. It signals to the audience that the entertainer is respected and valued.

• Audience Trust: The audience is more likely to have a positive perception and higher expectations when someone they trust and respect introduces the performer.

• Commanding Attention: An authoritative figure is more likely to command the audience’s attention, ensuring that everyone is focused and ready for the performance.

• Sets Expectations: The introduction can set the audience’s expectations appropriately, preparing them for the type of performance and how they should engage or respond.

During the Performance

1. Supportive Environment:

   • Crowd Management: Ensure the audience is well-behaved and engaged. If necessary, have security to handle any disruptions.

   • Feedback System: Have a way to communicate with the performer during the act for any adjustments (like sound levels).

2. Professionalism:

   • Respect: Treat the entertainer with professionalism and respect. Ensure all agreements are honored, including payment and any post-performance requirements.

3. Distractions:

Ensuring there are no distractions during a performance is crucial for both the entertainer and the audience. Serving food, clearing plates, refilling drinks are all events which are distracting and should be completed before or delayed until after the performance.

Here are several reasons why minimizing distractions is essential:

1. Enhanced Audience Engagement

• Focused Attention: A distraction-free environment helps the audience maintain their focus on the performance, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the experience.

• Emotional Connection: Continuous engagement without interruptions helps the audience connect emotionally with the performance, which is key to a memorable experience.

2. Atmosphere and Ambiance

• Creating a Mood: Performances often rely on building a certain mood or atmosphere. Distractions can break this ambiance, reducing the overall impact of the performance.

• Maintaining Suspension of Disbelief: For performances that involve storytelling or theatrical elements, distractions can pull the audience out of the narrative, diminishing the immersive experience.

It is impossible for an entertainer to create atmosphere and mood when people are using the Photo Booth, or going to and from the open bar.

Additional Tips

• Marketing and Promotion: Properly promote the entertainer before the event to create buzz, and excitement. The more you convey your excitement the more you will create excitement in others

• Backup Plan: Always have a contingency plan in case of technical failures or unforeseen issues.

By paying attention to these details, you can create an environment that allows the entertainer to perform at their best, ensuring a successful and memorable event for everyone involved.