“There’s no theatre, there’s no band, there’s no dressing room; but even though it’s not real show business, it ain’t bad.”
Having booked your act you want to make quite sure you get the best out of them. Equally it is in their interest to do the best possible job for you. This section considers how you can both help each other.
Prepare in Advance
If at all possible speak directly to the act before the event: even if you have booked the act through a third party. Unfortunately what you tell your agent does not always get passed onto the act. And the act’s requests also sometimes do not get through to yourself. The more managers, agents, PR companies, event organisations and other associations between yourself and the act, the more likely there will be a communication breakdown. You are paying for the act so it is a reasonable request to ask to speak to them in advance.
This might not always be possible, particularly if the act is a well known personality and the management company wants to protect their client from speaking to you. In which case put it clearly in writing what you are expecting: with clear instructions that it is to be forwarded to the act you have booked.
Information you want to know from the act is:
- Their Schedule of Requirements (this should include the type of microphone and stand they want, whether staging and lighting is needed; and any other additional needs: more about these below). The better known the act, the chance are the more demanding will be the Schedule of Requirements. Do make sure the act’s requirements are appropriate to the event. If there are only 50 in attendance, does the act really need a bank of lighting and a follow spot?
- Whether they require refreshments and a changing area.
- What time they are intending to arrive.
Information the act might want from you:
- Clarification of exactly what you are expecting from them: just to reiterate the point it is surprising how often details get lost when an intermediary passes on messages. Basic mistakes, like you are expecting an After Dinner Speaker and instead you get a Cabaret Act, can occur.
- Who they should contact initially at the venue.
- Some information about the company or association and the event.
- How many are attending the function.
- How long you are expecting them to perform or speak for.
- Type of dress: black tie, suit or smart casual to be worn by the attendees.
Even if all of the above is clearly stated on the contract, it is still worth touching base with each other prior to the event. For instance if the act needs to bring in a lot of equipment, then they might need to get to the venue earlier than the time of arrival stated. Also there might be last minute changes to the function details that the act needs to know about.
Sound System
“If I can be seen by everyone and heard by everyone, then I am half-way there.”
Whatever the act they will require a sound system of some sort. This comprises speakers, an amplifier and a microphone. The majority of acts expect this to be provided. The different microphone options are as follows:
- Hand held mike. These are the large mikes that an act will hold in their hand, place in a stand or have in a sling around their neck.
- Lapel clip mike. These are small in size and just clip onto the lapel or tie. It is the type of mikes that television presenters wear.
- Headset mike. These are held in place with a headband around the neck with the mike attached coming out near the mouth. Popular with pop singers who leap all over the stage.
Unless requested otherwise, always provide a hand held mike. They can be radio controlled or with a lead. All professional acts will be able to cope with these. If the act talks, then the microphone wants to be omni-directional: which means it will pick up your voice whichever way you are facing. With a uni-directional microphone, you have to talk directly into it to get the sound.
It is worth finding out if the act requires a mike stand. This is not, as the name might suggest, a microphone bolted to a standing podium: which are used by people giving lectures or presentations. These are not right for after dinner entertainment, even for after dinner speeches. A mike stand has a round, or three legged, base with a pole that goes up and down. It has a clip at the top for the microphone to be placed into. If the after dinner speaker is talking from the table, then a shortened mike stand resting on the table might be appropriate.
Do not necessarily rely on the hotel or function sound system, especially if the speakers are inbuilt into the walls or ceiling. Often these are only designed for giving lectures and presentations and are not robust enough for a professional after dinner entertainer. With the latter they have to handle much more volume as they will be talking over laughs (hopefully!) and other extraneous noise. Double check with the hotel in question: and if in any doubt ask the hotel, or your event organiser, to book an outside sound system.
Staging
“At all costs try to avoid the situation where you are stuck at one end of the room and the audience are at the other. That can be death to any act, however good they are.”
The vast majority of acts prefer to be as close to their audience as they possibly can. No act likes a huge expanse of dance floor between themselves and the first set of tables. Given this situation, many acts will opt to work on the dance floor instead of the stage.
The best place for an act is to be as central as possible with their back to the wall. It is better to be in the centre of the long side of a rectangular room than in the centre of one of the shorter sides. This is because they want all the tables to be as close to them as possible. No act, even a comedian, likes to work completely surrounded: it is difficult to engage with your audience if you have your back to them.
If an act has to be seen – which applies to all acts really apart from the stand-up comedian (and even they prefer to be seen!) – then it may be necessary to provide some sort of platform. As a rough rule of thumb:
- If there are between 100 and 200 people attending, then the platform should be about one foot high.
- Between 300 and 500 people the platform should be two feet high.
- For 700 people or more, the platform needs to be three feet high.
Quite often staging will be organised for the band and the Cabaret Act is forgotten about. Staging may therefore have to be erected especially for the act in the middle of the dance floor. Most large hotels have staging on the premises which can be very quickly wheeled in and out of the room.
Lighting
If an act requires special lighting then it is their responsibility to organise it. Most acts are capable of working with whatever lighting the function room or hotel provides. There is a saying in show business that when an act is asked what they require, they will state: “microphone on, lighting on and audiences in”. If there are spot lights available then the act might want to use these. Lighting should always be from the front, focusing on the act. No act wants spot lights behind them as this just casts a shadow over them.
When To Go On
“When your host says, ‘...and now in conclusion’, you will have about twenty minutes to go to the bathroom before you are introduced.”
The best time for an act to go on is at the end of the meal: as soon after the desert has finished as possible. Ideally the staff will clear the dessert dishes, coffee and liqueurs will be served and then they will leave the room. This is the right moment for the after dinner entertainment to begin. The later you leave it, the more likely people are to get restless and wander off.
It is a standing joke amongst most acts that they nearly always go on later than stated in their contract. The reasons for this can be numerous:
- People are late in arriving, so dinner is delayed.
- It takes longer than anticipated to get everybody seated.
- The hotel staff are slow in clearing dishes or people are tardy in eating: this is exacerbated by the general rule which seems to prevail of apparently not starting to clear the dishes until the very last person has finished their very last morsel.
- The kitchen is overrun by orders and there are delays between the courses.
- Somebody decides to make an impromptu speech in the middle of the meal.
- The person arranging the timetable has been unduly optimistic.
The only time this could cause a problem with the act is if they are ‘doubling up’ that night: in other words they have to go off to do another show. In which case they can insist on going on as stated in their contract. This is another reason for speaking to an act before the event to ensure they are flexible as to their exact timings.
Under no circumstances should you have some disco or dancing first and then bring the act on afterwards. People do not like to be stopped in mid dancing, made to sit down and watch the entertainment.
Acts do not like to go on just after the audience have been too hyped up. If you are offering some wonderful awards to employees or promising them a free trip to the Caribbean, best to do that after the act has been on or earlier in the evening.
Length Of Act
“A good 45 minute act seems like they have done 15; a bad 15 minute act seems like they have done 45.”
The majority of speeches last between 20 and 30 minutes; the majority of cabarets between 30 and 45 minutes. As a generalisation the larger the audience the shorter the act needs to be. Cabaret Acts tend to do longer because they offer more variety (for instance audience participation) to break up the possible monotony of somebody just talking. Most acts prefer to know how long they are required to do before they start. Contrary to belief acts do not welcome comments such as: “do as long as you feel comfortable with”; “you’re the professional, you will know when the audience have had enough”; and “if it’s going well, just carry on.”
There is a good rule in show business: always leave your audience wanting more. If some acts do have a fault, it is to outstay their welcome. Far better to state up front how long you want them to do.
If you have company speeches and presentations before the main act be particularly careful of your timings. The longest any audience really want to sit without moving is around an hour. Therefore if you have speeches and presentations that last for 45 minutes – and then straightway introduce the main act who you expect to do another 45 minutes – they may encounter a restless audience.
One way of overcoming this is to break it up. Perhaps do some of the presentations between the courses. Maybe have a comfort break after the awards and come back for the speeches and main act afterwards.
Announcing a comfort break before the after dinner entertainment is about to begin is a good device for making sure everybody is relaxed before the entertainment begins. It is always best to state a specific time when parties should return to their seats: comfort breaks tend to stretch interminably.
Introduction
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got an act here that I don’t think is going to be any good; but we’ve paid for it so we might as well have it anyway.”
All acts need to be introduced. At some events there will be a Master Of Ceremonies or compere who will know exactly what to do. Failing that, it is preferable if somebody from your company introduces the act. Do not use a member of the hotel staff or allow the DJ to make the introduction. The reason for this is that your guests may think it is an outsider who has provided the entertainment; and therefore not be so respectful towards the act. By making it clear that your organisation has booked the entertainment, the act will receive more attention.
The person who introduces the act has a number of responsibilities.
- To get everybody seated;
- To get everybody to shut up;
- To get everybody to face where the entertainment is to take place;
- To get everybody to anticipate they are about to see somebody special.
The introducer is also under an obligation not to try and upstage the after dinner entertainer. There are some people in some organisations who are very amusing speakers in their own right. But it is hardly fair to show off these skills just before introducing the paid comedian. The company person has lots of advantages in being funny; firstly the expectations of the audience are not so high; and secondly he knows the personnel well and therefore can make plenty of in-jokes. If you, or somebody else, wants to display your skills at stand-up comedy, then why book a professional?
It is always worth asking an act how they want to be introduced. Some will give you a card stating what they want said. It is better if you follow the wording exactly if that is the case. Most acts prefer a short and punchy introduction rather than a long list of their achievements. If an act insists on you reading out a complete biographical spiel then tactfully suggest that the audience have come to hear them, not you.
When an act has finished, somebody needs to take them off. All that is required are a few words: thank the act and tell the audience what happens next so they are not left sitting around wondering if anything else is about to take place. For instance: “the bar will remain open until midnight – so please feel free to stay and enjoy yourself.” If there is a band or disco straight after the act, then it is quite acceptable to segue straight into that after the act has finished. The DJ can then thank the act as they play the first record.
Some acts like to have an encore or a false tab. This means they expect someone to come on after their performance has apparently finished and ‘persuade’ them to come back and do some more. It is worth checking to see if the act wants this.
