What's my relation to my audience?

[DRaven]

I keep hearing it from many people, and reading it in different books, yet, it's all the different variants what make this such an interesting question. I figured it would be interesting to get it on the board, and hear the opinions of the many seasoned performers here:

How do you relate to your audience? What (in your personal opinions) are the advantages or disadvantages of the many different styles (confrontational, sarcastic, friendly, mentor-like, comical, etc.)?

Do you make them feel like guests at your house, or like you are in their house amusing them? Etc.

I know that there is no one style that will work for everyone, that they mostly depend on the personality of the individual. I also know that each style may work on some circumstances and not in others. But what I'm really interested is in knowing how and why we all approach this subject. I would even like to know if there are some out there that have never even given this some thought. Hopefully this will start some interesting discussions and bring in some stories.

I'm personally not confrontational at all, and keep my lines as lighthearted humor. But then again, I do not have enough experience to feel fully confident with any one decision I have taken so far...

Later,
~ ~DRaven~ ~

[This message has been edited by DRaven (edited 07-23-2001).]

[BFlat]

Interesting question indeed. In my case, (I play saxophone) it's kind of hard to interact with the crowd since I'm limited, I can't use my arms or say some jokes while I'm playing. Playing sax on the street is a low-profile kind of thing. Also, there is the 'saxophone stereotype'; people expect a saxophonist, to be cool, laid-back, nonchalant even, on top of things and hard to get to kind of person. This doesn't help much.

But I try to communicate with the crowd still. Eye contact is very important I find. I feel that people have to know that I'm there playing for them, and not just there playing. There are street musicians who play with partitions and others who don't use partitions. I do both but I got rid of my music stand cause I found that having a music stand between the performer and the audience creates a barrier. And also the fact of having a music sheet in front of you does that you are always looking at it. Not very good for the eye contact thing. Most songs I play, I play them off by heart and improvise with them. And those songs I don't really know by hart, I put my music book flat on the ground and I use it as a reference. I can't read from that distance, so I'm faking the tunes. For me this works good. Improvising and faking tunes forces anyone to be themselves, to give their own personal interpretation of the song. And that's great I find, for communicating with the crowd.

However, when I see other performers who can speak to their audience and who have some act putted together, I really envy them. I whish I could find a way to interact more with the crowd on that level. Maybe I'm lacking imagination, cause I don't know what else to do. Also, if it wasn't for the saxophone being such a 'serious' instrument that's associated with such a 'serious' type of music, maybe it would be easier.

There is this sax player in my town who plays on stilts and is wearing a colourful costume. He really catches the eye and attention. But on the down side, he's not much of a sax player. I guess that it's a choice that has to be made. Either you choose to catch the eye or you choose to play and perfect your playing. But it seems hard to do both.

Anyway, that's my point of view. Great subject by the way.


[This message has been edited by BFlat (edited 07-23-2001).]

[martin ewen]

If you have a mixed audience, families etc, and they’re all cousins then keep an eye on the exits and at the very least for stuff you can use as weapons.
This has all the hallmarks of a campfire conversation.
An audience is a group construct linked by a common focus.
You-as the common focus are either a performer or someone exibiting unusual behaviour for some other reason.
Your audience are primarily collectively curious.
How you deal with that defines your “relationship”
Metaphors are there so you can cope.
Treat them like one person, treat them like they’re a cake your baking, treat them as sad shallow individuals whose sense of wonder can easily be accommodated by a thumbtip, treat them as prospective friends.
They’re a group of people who have collectively given you responsibility over what happens next.
Their expectations (in my opinion) are their own, unless they have purchased tickets,
If they have then you obviously need to give them their moneys worth and you are by definition a retailer of sensation.
If they havn’t then you’re in the clear, they are yours as long as your curiousity interests them.
With 20 years experience I’m proud to report that without linear content but still keeping structured change you can keep people confused but transfixed for up to 13 minutes. (It takes them that long to form an opinion in the face of changing absurd content that keeps changing reference)
Your relationship to your audience is either of your own making or you can alternatively amuse yourself with a cocktail of group dynamic architypes and stock patter.
People in my experience evolve from the latter towards the former as they realise they have very little to loose and that mathmatics is fundimentally boring.

[nick nickolas]

"mathmatics is fundimentally boring".
--------------------
yes Martin it can be..............but the fact is everything can be broken down to mathmatics....so....well......mmmmmmmmm

is it all boring?

or is that just what the people do..

fund...a....mental???

whether a stick is juggled or a paper is turned, the eye is in the beholder of the mathmatics experianced.....

the best thing about it all is the positive +++++++++++++++++

Nick Nick

p.s. 365 words Martin....How many days in a year??? weird eh !

[Stretch]

WHAT!!!! YOU'RE ASKING A CLOWN!!!!?????

Stretch

Stretch's Lair

[Stephon]

Oh course; what, you never heard of a clown getting a "pi" in the face?