Audience Size Matters

Richard Cox — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:40 +0000

Recently I wrote about emceeing improv shows which gave some good guidelines for emceeing any show. But the venue, audience size, and even audience temperament can change things quite a bit.

The one main rule I use is simple.

Stick with the truth of the show.

SMALL AUDIENCE

Acknowledge if the audience is small, and make that fun and happy. “You will be getting a custom show” etc. Don’t wear them out or present as if the theater is full. Maybe get their names so you can talk to them 1:1 if there are only a few.

LARGE AUDIENCE

The truth in a large audience may be that they will be better off coming down together up front if they are spread out. That you need to talk to 10′s of people in a different way to get the same thing across.

VERY LARGE AUDIENCE

The truth of a very large or unruly group is that you have more crowd management (or discipline in the case of student groups, etc.) Don’t let them run the show, but add some filler as you talk so by the time they are listening you are just getting the the meat of things – I call this a verbal step-down and use it in corporate work and larger classes.

Verbal-stepdown Example:

In a Theatersports show you might start with something like “Ok that closed out the round and we are ready for another challenge here as the teams come out” if they are rowdy. By the time you get something like that out (which really says nothing of consequence yet) they will, in most cases, be moving to pay attention and be quiet. Then you can go forward with “Team X, it’s your turn to challenge Team Y for the next scene” which is the real announcement.

. info@improvnotebook.com

How to Host an Improv Show

Richard Cox — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:58 +0000

The lights come up, there is music playing, you are sitting in your comfy theater seat and waiting for something to happen. Who is the next person you see? The MC. The emcee. The Master of Ceremonies.The host of the evening.

The emcee is like the host of a party and the theater is their house.

For me emceeing in two simple rules that cover almost everything.

The two underlying rules of emceeing

Help the audience enjoy the show.
You are not the focus.

Emceeing a show? Here are some guidelines that might help

take your time and be calm (or present being calm)
fill in the setup for the games if the players miss pieces, so the audience knows what to do
keep the stage warm/hot – fill in big spaces during transitions when the energy drops, so the audience knows what to look at
there is no need to “cap” each scene, or add your own jokes or comments on what we just saw
you can help the show by calling lights to “save” scenes
if things go wonky, you can help by being lighthearted and adding what is needed or just acknowledge it
step on the tail of the applause with the next action
in Theatersports jump on getting the scores and announcing the challenges
in Freestyle or Micetro jump on calling out the next players
in Theatersports you can make emcee challenges to help with shape of show
help facilitate the “schtick” for players/teams in costume but also help contain it (the balance is easier from offstage)
add enthusiasm to the show with good presence on your emcee duties
being shy drains the energy
being gaggy or “funny” will bleed energy and distract the show
keep the pace of the show, move things along

That’s my take on it – what is yours?

What do you think – What makes a good emcee?

Leave your comments below, we want to know!