Entertainment Must Come First
“I realised that nobody really cares about the skill as they do about just sitting there and laughing. The juggler who’s entertaining to me is one who tells jokes.”
In making a decision to book an after dinner act, the over-riding consideration should be: are they entertaining? People do not want earnest lectures or recitations from Shakespearian tragedies after dinner. There are functions which are specifically geared up for work or business related addresses: this is fine so long as those attending are aware of that in advance. Guests do not want to feel trapped or tricked into listening to a serious talk when they have just enjoyed a good meal.
The exception perhaps is when a well known personality, or somebody who has achieved something outstanding, is speaking. Just hearing their story, or anecdotes about their life, might be sufficiently appealing to hold an audience’s attention.
If you feel obliged to make the participants attending your meal listen to a humourless speech, then keep it as short as possible. Remember that after a few drinks the chances of anybody retaining much of what is said is minimal. Better still, think about re-scheduling it. Power point presentations, announcement of results, motivational talks and new strategy pronouncements should be confined to the daytime or pre-dinner agenda.
Two Types of After Dinner Act
“I never rely on anyone in the audience because a lot of times I have to work to an empty house.”
The choice for after dinner entertainment essentially falls into two broad areas: an After Dinner Speaker or a Cabaret Act. From now on the word ‘act’ will cover both categories.
After Dinner Speakers comprise:
- Comedians
- Sports personalities
- Celebrities
- Those with unusual occupations; or with an unusual take on an occupation
- Achievers and Motivators
Cabaret Acts comprise:
- Comedians
- Magicians
- Hypnotists
- Ventriloquists
- Jugglers
- Mind Readers
- Multi-instrumentalists
- Singers
Perhaps a little unfairly, After Dinner Speakers tend to have more kudos in the corporate market than Cabaret Acts. The reason for this is that they are more likely to be celebrities or experts in another field outside show business: indeed that is part of the appeal of booking them. Cabaret Acts, by contrast, are usually straight entertainers.
Conventionally an After Dinner Speaker has the following characteristics:
- They eat with the other guests.
- They stand up and speak at the end of the meal.
- Their speech can be serious or funny; or a combination of the two.
- They often make reference to the function or the organisation in some manner; and can (but certainly do not always) tailor their speech according to the event.
- They will dress in a similar style to the rest of the guests attending the function.
- They are usually responding to, or speaking on behalf of, some people attending the function. The connection though can be tenuous.
- They mainly speak from the table where they have been eating; although some like to walk around the room.
Cabaret Acts traditionally:
- Do not eat or socialise with the guests prior to their performance.
- Have their own area where they perform, which is away from the tables.
- Can use props and display skills other than just talking and telling jokes.
- May have a distinctive costume.
- Concentrate wholly on being entertaining and doing their act ‘as known’.
- Tend to interact more directly with the guests and often use audience participation.
In practise it can be difficult to differentiate between the two because many acts are quite capable of doing both. A comedian can probably do his act in the form of speech or as a cabaret: the chances are that the performance in both cases would be the same. However with some acts it is clear what category they fall into. A juggler could hardly be deemed an After Dinner Speaker. And some speakers, particularly of a serious nature, would resent being referred to as a Cabaret Act.
There is no particular advantage in booking one sort of act over the other. Both are quite capable of being equally entertaining and equally suitable for any function. The exception is if you want somebody to “inform” or “inspire” as well as “entertain”. In which case you would be advised to opt for an After Dinner Speaker. But as noted above, for an after dinner function “entertain” should always take priority.
