On April 11th I put on my first ever virtual performance. It was a burlesque show called Burlesque & Chill (we’re doing another one June 13th if you’re into that sort of thing).
Here, I’ll share my assumptions that were validated as well as tips I learned along the way.
I know we’re all scrambling to be creative and sustain ourselves financially while practicing self-care and coping with the situation to the best of our abilities. In this blog, I do not wish to add any pressure to artists who already feel an immense obligation to create even when they don’t have the capacity to right now.
I simply want to freely share the knowledge I’ve gained from this new platform to any artist who wishes to leverage it.
Here are my top three takeaways from my successful virtual show and some mistakes I made along the way so you don’t have to make the same ones.
Embrace the Virtual Platform
This. Is. Key.
This was an inclination I had after seeing many virtual shows try to recreate the feeling of a live theatrical performance and unfortunately fall flat (no shade to the producers, we’re all learning here).
- Embrace the space you and your performers have available.
- Embrace the intimacy inherent in seeing a performer perform from home.
- Embrace the ability to frame your webcam like a film shot.
- Play with perspective and think about creating for “film” more so than the stage.
- Think deeply about the differences in your medium between in-person and on-screen.
For theatre performers: maybe this is writing a new play that’s setting is a Zoom chat. Check in with your performers to see what “sets” you have available in their homes. You could have multiple performers on-screen at once or feature one at a time.
Keep in mind that over video chats, when people talk over each other, the clarity of the audio is often lost. Make sure you write with this limitation in mind. Sometimes limitations breed the greatest inspiration and originality.
Embrace it!
For other performers: Lean into the intimate aspect of performing from home. Think of it like a peepshow or like you’re in a fish tank with your audience as spectators of your natural habitat. How can you utilize this new perspective to enhance your work rather than fight against it?
For visual artists: Team up with a great storyteller and/or musician to add an auditory element to a virtual exhibit. Bring other artists on board. Include a Q&A with audience members about your concept and method for making each piece.
If you do include a Q&A, I encourage you to figure out how to interact with those questions (as well as audience comments more generally) throughout your show at dedicated timeslots. This was very effective for audience engagement, participation, and investment in the show.
For musicians: Get creative about the visual element of your live stream performance. It could be incorporating prerecorded content or simply by taking some care in making your backdrop, lighting, and costuming more cinematic.
Think about how you’ll engage the audience throughout; whether in the comments or by taking requests and including Q&A segments or conversations between musicians.
I’m not saying these are the right ideas for you, just getting the wheels turning on how you can make the most out of this platform and the tools available to you.
Suggestion (Not a Rule):
Don’t make it about the pandemic and what’s going on right now. We’re in a depression era sort of moment. During the depression and into World War II, underdog storylines and Hollywood musicals thrived. We are constantly inundated with depressing news from media outlets, social media platforms, and family and friends. For the most part, audiences are looking for a happy distraction, not a morbid reminder of what’s going on.
Plus, commentary on a situation when it’s still an open wound can lack true depth and understanding. It isn’t until we’ve passed through these tough times and open wounds have healed over into beautiful scars that we are able to fully annunciate, analyze, and openly interact with the trauma we’ve all lived through. Serve your audience some sunshine through the storm clouds.
However, acknowledge the situation like how you appreciate people supporting the arts in this hard time, or your gratitude that out of the millions of distractions on the internet they committed to tuning in with you.
Engage with Your Virtual Audience Members
This cannot be an afterthought or assumed that it will just happen. It needs to be built in. Part of the fun of a virtual show is your ability to react and interact in real-time with the performers in a way a theatrical show can never quite replicate. Lean into this exciting aspect!
Have a host who can ask your viewers questions and reply to their comments. Or host it yourself.
The greatest silver-lining in a virtual show – to me – is your ability to reach an audience all over the country, and potentially the globe. Ask them where they’re all from.
We had a completely Los Angeles based cast, yet we had viewers in Oregon, Nevada, Texas, and even Florida! Ask them what they’re drinking, what they think of the performances, etc. Then, reply to their comments in real-time.
Lesson Learned:
Get one or two people to work behind the scenes to respond to requests in the comments and mitigate burning questions.
This was something I had taken for granted pre-show but saw how important it really is during the show and after when I caught the replay and was able to read more of what was happening in the comments.
Luckily, half-way through dress rehearsal, I realized that I couldn’t handle hosting, music, and behind-the-scenes tech all on my own and enlisted my partner to help. God. Send. I truly couldn’t have done it without him.
He was able to drop the Instagram handle of every performer in the comments, continually drop the Venmo tip jar information, mute and disable the cameras of audience members who accidently unmuted themselves or turned their cams on, and so much more.
It wouldn’t have gone half as smooth without that support. Think of this role as your stage manager role. Critical to a successful performance of any kind. Don’t be like me, plan to have someone in this role from the beginning.
Take it one step further:
If I’m able to, this time around, I’ll even have a friend be dedicated to the comments who is separate from the “stage manager” role.
Luckily, I had a friend jump into the comments to answer quick questions and drop the Venmo handle when my stage manager was busy with a technical element. This time, I’ll just ask them to do it formally so my stage manager can stay focused on their work and my audience engagement director(?) can focus on the comments.
Throw a Cast Party
I’m an introvert, but I even become the biggest social butterfly in the room after a show.
The biggest mistake I made with my virtual show was not planning a post-show Zoom cast party where the performers and I could let out some of that pent-up adrenaline and celebrate the successful show we had just put on.
This was a huge miss and honestly hurt my mental health a bit. I was up until nearly three in the morning, refreshing my Instagram feed, starved for interaction.
For my next show, I’m intent on organizing an after-show cast party to connect with my performers and congratulate them all on their success. This would have made the show a true success and much more fulfilling for me as an artist.
Celebrate your victory with your fellow performers! You all deserve a nice cheers as you put down the instrument, finish the virtual exhibit, take off your lashes, get comfortable, and revel in your glory.
Your Artful Effort
Whether you plan on putting on your own virtual show or not, go watch some virtual shows!
Support the artists getting creative right now and changing the way art, isolation, and the digital landscape interact. Jump in and join us if you’d like! There are a host of awesome collaborations you can be part of (I share a bunch in my Instagram stories and there are lots of other accounts and outlets sharing about what’s out there for us.)
If you are hosting a virtual show, collaboration, or challenge, please drop links in the comments so we can all check you out!
