[Harp-L] Re: Stage presence

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've really enjoyed reading the posts on this topic, especially Rob Paparozzi's, Robert Bonfiglio's, and George Brooks's.

In addition to performing music, I do a lot of presentations in my day gig to audiences ranging from half a dozen to thousands of people.  I have a typical prep regime for these performances, which is similar to both Rob's and George's.  Like Rob, it starts with a review of the material.  I typically look at a presentation four times in the hour or so before I deliver it, twice just reading through to get a sense of the flow, the third time looking carefully for key moments in the piece, the fourth time focusing on the entrance, those key moments, and the exit.  I spend a lot of time on the entrance, because every study I know of on the topic has agreed that 90% of an audience's impression of the performer is formed in the first 15-30 seconds.  So it's critical, as Robert B said, to get the entrance right. 

Like George, I have a mantra that I repeat to myself before I go out to face the audience.  I've been using it for years.  Here it is:

Be brilliant
Be humble
Be myself
Exude confidence 

There's a little more, but that's the main part.  Brilliance is about delivering the best stuff I've got, every time.  Humility is about remembering that I'm there for the audience, not the other way around.  Being myself is about playing from the heart, and letting them see my heart--which is what all great art is about, even the art that's based on subterfuge.  Exuding confidence is about knowing that I know how to get the audience off, and I'm going to do it.

There's a story about Jim Morrison.  In the early 60s, before the Doors were a hit act, they were playing one night at the Whisky Au Go Go in LA.  There were maybe 5 people in the room, and Morrison put on a a wild performance, absolutely throwing himself into every word.  After the show, a friend asked Morrison why he'd put so much into entertaining 5 people.  Morrison said, "You never know which show is going to be your last."

If you remember what Morrison said, then every performance is the most important performance you ever gave, and the audience is sure to feel it.  You can't help but communicate that kind of commitment.  It radiates from the stage.

What we do is sacred.  

Thanks and regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s alway at http://broadjam.com/rhunter