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Professional Entertaining

by Art Jennings, IJA Founding Member

The first dictionary definition of "entertaining" is "to hold attention, to amuse."

The key word is attention. It is your task, as an entertainer, to grasp the audience and take them on a delightful journey and never drop them.

As an entertainer you have a definite responsibility to the audience - to give the audience, be it thousands or a few, a pleasant experience.

First you must get their undivided attention. Every member of the audience, not just a few. It has been well said that you never have a second chance to make a first impression. You must know what that first impression should be. The audience will judge you in the first few seconds. Only after you have that attention should you actually begin. To do so can be likened to a vessel leaving the dock before it is loaded.

Once you have taken command you have the power to make them laugh, to cry if need be, to make them gasp, to share with you your emotions. You must never relinquish that power because they have put their trust in your ability to treat their feelings and their emotions with respect and care.

You must be considerate and realize that each individual is just that, an individual. If you are to give them a pleasant experience you should never offend, knowing that they are vulnerable. While your offering should seem spontaneous it dare not be. Every word, every phrase, every motion should have been examined lest it be misinterpreted. Should you lose one member of that audience you are losing control, and that blight can spread.

It is your responsibility as an entertainer to plan your presentation so that it is a complete whole, with a beginning, a middle and an ending. It should be designed so that when the presentation is complete the audience feels better and back "home," never left hanging.

As the audience is paying attention to you they are giving you their energy. You must be able to reflect that energy back to them so that they can respond to your performance. If you, the entertainer, are having fun, then the audience can share that feeling.

If your performance conveys the feeling that you are exerting a lot of energy then you may expect the audience to get tired. If the audience is tired at the conclusion of your performance how can they fully express their enthusiasm? Just as you have been "charged up" by their attention they should be equally "charged up" by what you have given them. Then they can lift you to the heights with their response.

When you become thoroughly aware of your responsibilities then and only then can you properly plan your presentation. It makes no difference what your "discipline" might be. You must first exercise complete discipline over yourself. Are you an "entertainer," or simply showing off your ability or lack of it? It has often been said that the difference between a "professional" and a performer who is not is that the professional knows exactly what he or she is doing! The professional is one who can do his or her best when not feeling the least like doing it. A professional does not practice in public. When performing before an audience a professional does only that which can be done as close to perfection as humanly possible.

A professional is prepared for the unexpected. Be like a Boy Scout, be prepared. If you are prepared the unexpected will be so covered that the audience will be unaware of the mishaps. The great Houdini actually broke his ankle during a performance and the audience was not aware of it. That's a true professional!