Re: [Harp-L] Stage Presence

[Robert Paparozzi <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've read some REAL interesting posts on this subject this past week....a
nice topic and pertinent to anyone who ever sets foot on a stage....

I've been known to set foot on few in my time and I can honestly say EVERY
stage and EVERY audience has it's own uniqueness. But as Bob L so poignantly
pointed in his post, our audience does to a certain extent, live vicariously
via  US, the entertainer.

Yes, I think I'm a  good entertainer, but was I born a "natural"? I think
NOT ..I've worked AS HARD on my STAGE skills as I have on TB, Vibrato, Sight
Reading and on and on....I was so shy as a teenager I never thought I'd be
able to project on a stage...but it was just my luck to end up being the a
Singer that launched me into the FRONT MAN role.....that was the LAST thing
I saw myself as...being so quiet and withdrawn!

    So I watched and took note of all the things that I LIKED in a
performance....I studied my peers like Bruce Springsteen and saw how he
could light up a stage before he even had a record deal....I talked to BB
King at concert that my band did with him in 1971 and asked him questions
and studying him on stage..he is a beautiful human being.

   In 1969 I opened for Sly Stone and watched his arrogance and learned a
lot from watching a man with so much talent but NOT a genuine performer as
I could see he looked DOWN on his audience instead of treating them with
respect....learned a lot that night...

  Yes I learned volumes opening at these concerts as a teenage
performer....but I learned the MOST on the smaller GIGS the weddings the
Bars and Pubs.....there's a certain closeness at these venues that allows
you to really understand (Verstehen) and can put yourself in the audiences
shoes so to speak....This is where my degree in Sociology came in
handy...The study of individuals in a Group...wow, learned volumes from
Emile Durkheim and Max Weber theories.  interpretive sociology - trying to
understand the meaning of a social action from the viewpoint of social
actors and therefore its cause. Weber called it Verstehen,  this form of
understanding - placing oneself in the other's place to see the operative
social force that determined action.

  I started to find that the size of my audience made very little difference
it was how THEY perceived and reacted to ME that made a Good , Mediocre, bad
or TERRIFIC show...

   I continued watching and studying at concerts I went to...artists that
projected for me were not just singers...it was HOW they projected to their
crowd...Gary Burton, Donny Hathaway, Blackie Shackner, Taj Mahal, Bobby
Darin, Elvis, Eddie Floyd, Joe Tex, Soloman Burke.....all knocked me out.
Then there were comedians, I watched their delivery and timing....so many to
learn from...Prof Irwin Corey to Abbott & Costello!

    Now I'm 55 and I still feel I'm learning LOTS out there on the road at
big shows and in the local clubs at home....I feel I'm getting better each
time and the hardest part is to walk out on any stage and SIZE up that
audience...FEEL THEM OUT....GET THEIR VIBE and run with it....you've only
got a few hours if that, to do it...so the works begins as soon as you hit
the spotlight....

    Here's a few brief pointers that work well for me before a show:

1) Warm up before your show...Warm down after it...Stretch, Drink lots of
Water and Mentally get yourself in a Meditative ZONE of ONENESS with
yourself about 20 minutes before show time....cast aside your problems of
the day and get inside your performance ZONE...the stage will command YOU at
this point.

2) Really SHED your MUSIC, WORDS, arrangements in advance...thinking of this
on stage will detract from your interaction with your listeners....be in
command of your MUSIC and the audience with FEEL that confidence with you.

3)  Take the time to warm down get off stage dry off drink more water and
sit quietly for a few moments before going out to connect and chat with your
friends and fans....

4) Don't FORCE anything be it jokes, chit chat etc...let it be natural if
your not in a talking mood DON'T say it with your HORN! The crowd will react
if it's REAL and from the HEART......

I think Stage Presence is earned and learned just like the instruments we
put endless hours IN on.....it takes practice....but the payoff when it's
RIGHT is pretty SWEET....and worth all the hard work to see those BIG smiles
your sending people home with!

Take the time to find what works for YOU up there and the reward of a good
performance between you and your audience is PRICELESS!

My 47 cents.....Have Fun...,-)

PS....I'll be at the "Liberty Theatre" this Sat Nite in Astoria, Oregon...if
your in the area come out and say HI and let me know how I did,-)

All the best,
Rob Paparozzi
http://www.myspace.com/hudsonriverrats