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Mya Angel Special Assistant California 1396 Posts |
Hi TC,
:hrmph: I hear you do lectures on MCing, how did you get involved in that? Do you enjoy it?
There is nothing that remains so constant as change. Don't end up like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.
He who slings mud will surely lose ground. |
tctahoe V.I.P. Lakeland Fl. 733 Posts |
My career as an MC came about by accident.
I was working at a magic themed club, (Magic Island, New Port Beach, CA), doing, I think my Stand-up act, when the management asked if I could introduce the acts in the stage show. Someone had made a mistake and booked three silent acts. The rest, as they say, is history. What did I know about MCing that first night? Nothin’! What did I learn from my first time? I learned that I didn’t think I would like to do it again. Instead of just going up and remembering my act, I had to know three other acts. As I introduced the third act, the second act was packing up and the first act was already gone. So how and why did I end up doing more and more of it? Insecurity mostly. I started working a lot of comedy clubs, I was doing the middle spot for a long time. It was and still is my favorite spot. You don’t have the job of “warming-up” the crowd and you don’t have the responsibility of closing the show. After I would “middle” a club a few times they started asking me to headline. I convinced several clubs to let me headline throughout the show. I would end up doing forty-five minutes, the headliner time, but throughout the show. Doing the bulk of my act in the middle. It was during my time in the comedy clubs when I found out how important the MC is, and how many laymen don’t realize the full effects of a good one. Master of Ceremonies, MC, Compere, no mater how you say it, it's one of the most under-rated jobs in show business. You will find that the M.C. gets the blame for many things, "He did too long between acts, he made the show go over.”, Of course they don't know that there was a small mishap backstage so you had to "kill" time while things were "fixed" backstage. And of course don’t forget the MC will hardly ever get the credit if the show is great and runs smoothly. It is one of the few jobs that if you do it perfectly you will probably not get much credit. So why do it? Well, it is MCing that taught me so much about dealing with an audience, the interaction and by-play helped me to develop my show and make me feel and look much more comfortable on stage. Remember, MCing a show is not just going up, doing your act, and introducing the others on the bill. No, you have to find out what others are doing and make sure you aren't doing anything similar. If you are, you have to drop the item, the acts come first. You are there to make them look good. In fact, I often use a line like that when I’m MCing. I do a goofy trick that doesn’t go right and say, “Keep in mind the whole reason I’m up here is to make the other acts look really, really good.” If you want to try MCing, one of the most helpful things is to look at those who are good at it. Great MC's Past and Present: Groucho Marx (His work in the movies and "You Bet Your Life" His interplay with guest, audience and his announcing was masterful.) Bob Barker (The perfect example of a host that never loses control of his audience. The people on the Price is Right are hyper and excited yet Mr. Barker nerve loses control of the situation) Ed Sullivan (A good example of what you can do if people like you. Ed mumbled and got names wrong but the people liked him so it did not matter.) And one of my all time favorites… Kermit the Frog (The master at the introduction, just watch the old "Muppet Shows. Kermit gets very excited about his guests. If the audience likes you and likes what you do and they see you get excited about the act you are introducing, that excitement can not help but be transferred to them.) When MCing you will encounter emergencies, how you deal with them can make or break the show. Emergencies: 1) Make sure you have extra "stuff" ready. 2) Announcements are great time fillers. Find out upcoming events, performers etc. 3) Never be out of earshot during the show. You never know when an act will be short. 4) Always have a glass of water nearby, even the best get cotton-mouth. 5) Have jokes and stories that you can make longer or shorter. One of my favorite jokes that can be used anywhere is… ”It’s great to be here in Azusa” (fill in with name of the town or city you are visiting), “On the way here my friend and I were arguing over how to pronounce the name of your city, so by the time we got here neither one of us had any idea how to say the name. We stopped for a bite to eat and I asked the girl behind the counter ‘Can you tell me, slowly, how you pronounce the name of this place? She looked at me and said…” Then as slowly as you can, say “B-U-R-G-E-R K-I-N-G !” 6) I often have a newspaper nearby; it's a great way to get into jokes. |
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