So you want to be in your first showcase!

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to create an act and perform in a Monarca student showcase? Our students are talented, poised, and prepared. But how did they get that way? And could you ever do that?

Building an act for a showcase or performance can be very daunting, and there are blogs and workshops and classes geared to helping people figure out how to build acts that inspire and amaze audiences. I’m not going to talk about that today. Instead, I’m giving out purely practical advice on aspects new performers may not consider. These are lessons that other people learned the hard way, but you don’t have to!

(Note: some of this advice is Hilary’s Opinion™, and some of it is crowd-sourced from social media, and some of it is both.)

• Rehearsing
  • By the end of a few months of rehearsing, you may start hating your music. So… maybe don’t perform to your absolute favorite song ever in your first performance.
  • You don’t have to run your full act every time you rehearse. It’s OK, sometimes even better, to run parts of your act to get the flow down or find moments to pause or good transitions.
    • But make sure you change which parts you’re running and that you’re also rehearsing the transitions in between.
  • Be prepared to change your dream choreography.
    • It’s a bummer to take your favorite sequence out of your act, but if it’s not working, change it and move on.
  • Run your full act to music at least one month before you perform.
  • Run your full act to music for at least 2 people at least 2 times before you perform.
    • No, I’m not kidding. I know it’s scary. Do it anyway.
    • Better still if you can perform for people who will encourage you but also give you constructive feedback, like, “I think you should try to look at the audience at this moment,” or “Have you considered doing something with your hands here?”

• Costumes and apparatus
  • Run your full act in your full costume at least one month before your performance.
    • You do not know how your costume might fail you until you try it: boobs can fall out, fabrics may be unsuited to the apparatus, costume may be utterly gorgeous but also virtually transparent ormade of tissue paper. Better to know ahead of time so you can make changes.
  • Metallic fabrics are sticky, and the metallic layer will come off on your apparatus.
  • Some sequin styles will chafe skin that rubs against them. Bare arms that rub against a sequin-covered ribcage can get chewed up.
  • Chalk and black costumes are a dangerous combination.
  • A black costume against a black stage background may make it hard for the audience to see you.
    • Similarly, if your costume blends in with your apparatus (especially your silk), it may make your movements harder to distinguish.

• Health and nourishment
  • Performing can be stressful, and stress can do weird things to menstrual cycles. Just a heads up.
  • Get a good night’s sleep before a performance day.
  • Don’t run your act several times the day before a performance.
    • It’s too late by then, and you’ll just wear yourself out.
  • Don’t starve yourself before a performance. You need calories to perform.
    • But also avoid things that make you feel bloated or flatulent.
  • Eat or drink something with a little sugar in it 20 minutes before your act.

• The BIG DAY
  • The audience does not know what your act should look like.
    • If you make a mistake, don’t let it affect you where the audience can see it. Don’t make a face, don’t huff or laugh, just keep performing. The audience (usually) won’t know you screwed up unless you tell them!
  • If you can see the audience, they can see you.
  • Do not do anything during your performance that you didn’t rehearse, and don’t change the elements you’ve been using for the show:
    • Never used rosin during rehearsals? Don’t use it in the show.
    • Been running your act on a taped bar? Don’t change that tape before the performance, and definitely don’t remove it.
    • Don’t wash your silk the day before a show.
    • Do not even get me started on trying new costume pieces. Just…no.
    • Don’t change your starting cue or choreography. For the love of all that is holy.
  • Take that hair tie off your wrist. Do it now.
  • If you’re barefoot, clean the bottoms of your feet before you go onstage.
  • You have more time than you think you do.
    • Adrenaline is one heck of a drug, and it can make you fly through your act. Many people find that everything moves faster when they’re actually performing than it did in rehearsals.
    • Fight the urge to rush. Hold your static poses even if it feels awkward.  Don’t race through your fast bits.  Try to do exactly what you did in rehearsals.
  • Don’t forget to breathe!

• Afterwards
  • Take a day off and rest. Great job!
  • Prepare to spend the next several weeks rebuilding your body.
    • You’ve been doing the same d*** thing on the same d*** side over and over again for months now. You may be decidedly off balance.
  • Start working on your next act!

-Hilary Eckberg