This KidKountry.com article is about one of the most important aspects of your young career. Live performance. This is where you are judged by the world. The place that you must make the grade. There is an old saying that goes, "you are only as good as your last show." This means that, if you give an outstanding performance on Monday, your audience will rave about you on Tuesday. If you then give a poor performance on Wednesday, you will be remembered only for that poor performance on Thursday. This is why it is so important to put 100% into your work at every show.

If there are 10,000 people or only 10 in the audience, you must deliver 100% for them. If you are unhappy because all your friends are at a pool party that you have to miss due to the show, you cannot let your audience detect your unhappiness. As a performer you will have to learn that you must sometimes smile through sadness. It is important to learn now that show business is an illusion.

This article will cover some of the common ways to present the illusion with success. Illusion is one of the concepts that I employ with Rocker Girl Sarah Hoffman stage show. It is the idea of taking something big, interpreting the idea, and scaling it down. In other words, let's say you see a big act on MTV with seven or eight hundred stage lights. Unless your father owns a stage lighting company it is unlikely that you will be bringing this caliber of lighting show to your next gig. But the concept is still there. It's the use of lights. The aiming (focusing) of the lights and how they are used can still be employed on a smaller scale. Same idea, less lights. Equipment is an issue that we will address in this column, but first lets start with what should go on before the show.

ADVANCING THE SHOW
Advancing the show simply means taking care of all the details prior to the show. It is best to do this before the actual day of the show. Details such as what time you will perform and for just how long are things that should be confirmed with the show's promoter then re-confirmed a few days before the show.

If you have the opportunity, it is extremely helpful to visit the location where your performance will be held. Try and do this several days before the show. Here you can find out such things as how big the stage is, if there is a stage. You can see how big the room is and if there is a dressing room. You will discover time saving things such as where to load in your equipment and details about parking. You don't want to waste time bringing things like a hair dryer and other items that you couldn't use without the privacy of a dressing room.

Another important thing to check when advancing the show is the electrical outlets. How close to the stage are they? How many are there? You may need to buy additional extension cords. You don't want to discover this the morning of the performance. Keep in mind that 99% of the people that invite you out to perform are not themselves professional show promoters. One time with Reflection I failed to physically go and check out the show site. The day of the show I found the electrical power was so far away, that it required running extra extension chords. By doing this, I under-powered the P.A. system and blew up some expensive speakers, not to mention that it didn't help the band's sound very much. Be sure to hang on to those warranty agreements. They come in handy in cases like this.

Arrive at the show EARLY. If it takes two hours to set up your show you should allow yourself twice that amount of time in order to fix unexpected problems and deal with both common and unexpected delays. I have been given funny looks and been the subject of many jokes with the other band member's parents for arriving at shows eight hours early and baking in the Florida sun. But, when we went on stage, we were ready. Running around doing things at the last minute will cause stress that can only act against you when it is time to take the stage.

PROMOTION
Promote, Promote, Promote. You should constantly be promoting your act. Flyers are one of the best ways of doing this, and it can often be accomplished at very low cost. Many libraries or schools have computers that you can use to generate your own flyers for little more than the cost of the paper. Be sure that the flyer includes the following information: the date, time, and location of the show, and the name of your act, and what type of act it is.

It helps to also put your picture on the flyer. Just produce a master copy of the flyer with the actual photo then duplicate that. Use a photo that makes you look like show business. It should reflect the personality of your act and the type of music you perform. If you don't have a good photo, ask your parents to take one. Be sure to take good care of the photo, as you will need it often if you follow the advice from my article Learn How to Get Discovered. If you have a web site (and if you don't you can get one here at KidKountry.com) be sure to include that address on the flyer.

Get permission to hand these flyers out to your classmates. Post them on local bulletin boards. Send them to local promoters of talent. Keep them in the car that you ride in so that you can hand them out to the people that you meet day to day. Flyers are also a great way to promote yourself at the show. If you an unknown act this works really well as it gets people to wonder who you are.

If the event includes a local radio station, have your agent (your parents) contact them and see if they will mention your act. Be sure to bring other promotional items to the show, such as business cards and a press release. Lots of people will come up to you wanting contact information. Often they will tell you that they want to hire you in the future. Sometimes they actually call you with an offer. Don't be disappointed if they don't. The majority of the time you don't here from them. Many times they are just people who want to talk to you. It's just part of being a celebrity weather it be on a local or larger basis. You will eventually learn to tell who is sincere and who is not but sometimes you just don't know. That's show business.

A press release should have all the information about your act. It should give a prospective promoter, or people from the press, most of the information that they need about you. It should state how you got started, what type of entertainment you offer, where you have performed, and what type of equipment you use. This is just the minimum information it should include.

As you gain more experience you will have more to tell. Be sure to include a photo. As you can see, photos are very important. Set up a home photo shoot with your parents.

THE SHOW. SPICE IT UP.
We have discussed the fact that show business is an illusion. Your promotion will give the "bigger than life" illusion if you construct it properly, In addition it will help get you gigs and stay in the spotlight. Now lets talk about feeding the illusion through a properly put together yet affordable plan.

Keep in mind that many of the places you will appear are not dedicated to performance. It is unlikely if you are performing at the grand opening of car dealership, that they will provide a stage. This is also true of many festivals and outdoor events. Another example is the school dance. It is a sure bet that it will occur in the gymnasium with no stage. Recently our band Reflection was invited to play for one of the largest classic rock radio stations in Central Florida. Not only was there no stage, but we were squeezed onto a small sidewalk. It is important that as a performer you be able to define and separate your area from the audiences area and be able to dress it up some.

A simple method is to carry a piece of carpet that's large enough to give you your required space. This may not sound like much, but believe me it adds 100% to the show. Our show carries four large rolls of carpet. One defines our stage for the keyboards, guitars, and singer. The other is placed below the drum riser and acts as a stage extension. Another sits on top of the drum riser and the other is to cover cables that may become a hazard to people walking by.

Lighting is another important consideration.
If you are a solo singer, two professional stage lights placed in the front will normally be enough for a small show. These lights are normally refereed to as PAR cans. They come in differed sizes, with different bulb wattage. I recommend the larger PAR 64 can with a bulb that carries a medium flood, 500 watt rating.

This may sound like another language to you, but at least when you go into the store you will have an idea what to look for and the salesperson will be able to better assist you. These light fixtures retail for about $80-$100 with the bulb. A more affordable and highly effective light is the PAR 56. It's circumference is somewhat smaller and they retail for about $50-$60. The color filters (jells) that slip into these lights are normally $5.00 per sheet. One sheet can color four PAR 64 cans, or six PAR 56 cans. You will need to construct stands for these lights as well, but until you do they can be placed on the ground facing up. This works well but can sometimes be annoying if not correctly placed.

Front lights should always be crossed. In other words, the light on the left side of the stage is used to light the right side of the stage, and the light on the right is used to light the left. This prevents any dark spots on the faces. If you are a band just getting started, a minimum of four lights will work to light up most small areas. Two are used to light the front of the stage, and two are used to light the drummer. This is the absolute bare minimum for a band, and should be expanded on as time goes by. Many of the school stages have small lights, probably PAR 38s. They don't have a location on the fixture to add a color frame. In this case you can take a piece of jell paper and tape it to the light to add color. Be careful! This normally requires the use of a ladder and should be left to adults.

Adding lighting to your show will add a great deal to your presentation. Since you will not be using a great number of lights, I recommend that you avoid dark colors such as deep blue and purple. It is best to stay with lighter shades of red, amber, and yellow. White light is traditionally used for mood or effect. If you have the opportunity to use color, do it. If you plan on purchasing lights, there are certain power, wattage, and safety requirements you most follow.

Smoke or fog is also a great effect providing you do not suffer from asthma. These machines range in price, normally starting at about $100. This is another item that calls for power and safety requirements. Other effects include moving lights or strobe lights. Strobe lights can be very disorienting, so be sure to try one out at rehearsal first. Only use it for a limited portion of the song. Strobe lights range from $50 on up. It is important that you try and stay cool (as in 'not sweaty') during your performance. A properly placed floor fan will accomplish this, as well as giving the "blowing hair effect." This is also often used in videos.

These are all ideas that can help add dramatics and life to your show when used tastefully. They are not unreasonably priced and give a profound effect for the money. Remember, if it gets hot or uses electricity it requires special safety considerations. Have your parents consult a professional. Entertainers under the age of eighteen are advised never to hook up electrical equipment or to climb on ladders! All of this equipment can also be rented from a sound and lighting-production company at a very low cost.

DURING THE SHOW
When an entertainer stands on stage and nothing is happening, it is referred to it as dead air. A certain amount of dead air is going to occur, but try to keep it to a minimum. If you are a solo singer using karaoke it is a good idea to have your music tracks playing as you walk out on stage. This should also help to reduce any tension that you may be feeling. If you are a band, try having a tape or CD play as you take your place. Reflection used a the Star Wars theme as they took to the stage.

Have some idea what you are going to say in-between songs. Make a cheat sheet and tape it on the ground in front of you. Take a moment to thank the prompter of the show for inviting you out. Give recognition to the act that performed before you. This way you can get the audience involved as YOU ask them to clap for the other act.

After another song tell them who is coming on next. Deliver positive messages. This audience interaction develops you as a personality as well as a singer. If they like your personality as well as your singing you have twice as much going for you.

I hope this article has been helpful to you as you advance your career as a performer. It should be able to lead you down a more professional path. Your presentation and how you go about it is as important as your talent. Just knowing how to sing or play an instrument is not enough in the very competitive world of show business. You have to be well rounded.