When a volunteer is with you onstage, it's all about them. Still, you don't want them to take over your show. A child that gets out of control, feels the power they have. If you get frustrated, they will start stealing your hat, getting in your stuff, becoming a gremlin.
If things aren't going right, then that's exactly the way they are supposed to go. If you continue trying to do your routine, it will never happen and it will be frustrating and embarrassing for the parents. No one knows what was supposed to happen, so chase them right back!
If a child says, "dumb clown" say yes, "I am a dumb clown! you must have read my business card!" The audience will think it's very funny that you agree with the terror on stage. Let them have the spotlight for a minute, then say something like, "my mentor...a big hand for Johnny!" or "A big hand for Johnny! You know if we could harness that energy, gas would be 50 cents a gallon!"
It doesn't really matter what you say in this situation as long as you give the stage over and give them applause.
Don't go into the trick you started. Start a different routine and get a new volunteer, you can return to the one you skipped later. To the audience, this looks as if it were supposed to go this way. If you draw attention to the fact that you couldn't get through the routine, it looks like you slipped up. A pretty easy fix really.
If you get a shy one with you. Do the same thing. It might be appropriate to let them sit down. When this happens, I get them big applause and tell everyone they are the bravest kid in the room for coming up! I usually have things I give to the volunteers in the show, I make sure when they sit down they get one directly from me.
If it feels like you can get some mileage out of keeping the shy one with you. Go through the routine, remembering now the show is about a shy kid that is with the clown. You have an opportunity to give this child huge hero status, they can correct everything you say and they will look very smart.
When you have a volunteer, you really don't know what they are going to do. Sure you have a good idea but you'll get lots of mishaps. A volunteer always does the right thing. If you make sure you acknowledge everything the volunteer says, does or reacts to, you've made it look like everything was planned perfectly.
I have had out of control children with me on stage many times, taking focus, doing nothing I asked them to do. So many times, people come up to me and ask if I know that child and did I plan it that way, because it was so funny.
I plan it because I just follow along. That's the fun of being a clown, you go with what's in front of you 100% all the time!
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