There is nothing like bringing people from the audience onto the stage to engage the audience. When you pull “one of them” into the act, you’ve just customized the show to that group. You have made the performance unique. The challenge, especially in a corporate environment, is that this same action can just as quickly alienate your audience if you do it wrong.
So, how do you do it right? I can only tell you how I do it.
First and foremost is to treat your audience volunteers with respect. This is one of my cardinal rules and is especially important for a corporate event. If you’re working a bar or some other kind of venue where most of the people do not know the person you’re bringing up, maybe you can get away with making a fool out of your volunteer. I wouldn’t know. I don’t work those kinds of events. Even the non-corporate events I work are by and large community events where most of the people know each other. If you make a fool of the one, you make a fool of the whole group.
My second rule is to make the volunteer the star of the show. I do this throughout as I bring people up on stage. Each person from the audience at that moment is the most important person on the stage. Not me. Them. My goal is to make them look good, not stupid. So many times I have seen magicians go to great lengths to make their volunteers look like a fool. No wonder people don’t want to come up on stage.
I actually have the whole process flow of using audience volunteers scripted throughout my standard one-hour show. The first two people I bring up are very low-key. It’s always two gentlemen. It is gentle. It is safe. There is not much required of them. What this does is establish that it’s OK to be on stage with me. The trick itself is really pretty stupid. The whole reason I do it is to get those first audience volunteers on stage and establish the comfort level for those who will follow.
The next volunteer is a woman, and it gets a lot more involved. Still, the goal is to make her look good. I go to great lengths to compliment her throughout her time on stage, tell her how great she’s doing. Sure, there are bits of banter and we have some fun with it. But I know that the trick is nothing without this person on stage to take part, so it is all done with respect.
My show closes with two volunteers who become ventriloquist characters. This is the highlight of my shows and these two people truly are the stars of the show. This is the part that people talk about long after it is over. It would not be as successful if I treated them badly. In a corporate event, this is usually the boss and his/her second in command. They usually have no idea it’s coming.
A friend of mine, who also does a lot of corporate events, suggested that you should always talk with your intended volunteers ahead of time. I don’t do that. But, I do ask the event organizer for suggestions as to who to use. And more important, who NOT to use.
When I say “volunteer”, I really mean “chosen by me”. Before the show starts, I study the crowd. I pre-select who I’m going to use for the various audience participation portions. I’m looking for some specific characteristics. For example, the lady I bring up has to wear a hard hat as part of the effect. So, I study the crowd to find a woman who is 1) pretty 2) dressed well and 3) has relatively flat hair. The key is #3. If I were to bring someone up who just spent $200 on a perm (or whatever the current term is), there is no way they would be willing to put on the hat. And without the hat, there is no trick. #1 is for the benefit of the rest of the audience. A good looking woman is more interesting. #2 is back to the respect issue. I want to make sure that she will feel confident on stage, not self conscious.
One last point. Throughout my show, I work to have the ventriloquist characters directly engage individuals in the audience. These “volunteers” are not up on the stage, but they might as well be. As much as I (via the character) pick on these individuals, there is always a sense of fairness because whatever I’m picking on them about is something I’ve already had the character pick on ME about first. The first insults are slung in my direction. For example, cracks about bald heads are made about me first, and only then turned toward someone in the audience. We (the target and I) are now on common ground.
Do you do anything differently? Or have other tips? I’d love to hear from you.
Posted by imnodummy 
