A highlight of many vent shows is when a person from the audience is invited to go on stage and become part of the act. When done well, the routine can be a reputation maker which is requested by those booking you. The selection and treatment of volunteers is just as important as the actual routine, so let's check out some often overlooked details.
We call them volunteers, but actually they are drafted. Getting the right person on stage is critical. Someone too quiet or shy will not help the bit. Someone too boisterous can sometimes cause you other types of problems. If working for an organization or company, you can ask ahead of time for the name of person everyone knows and would enjoy being part of the show. Some performers like to let people know ahead of time they will be on stage, but most prefer not to do this. If you don't have advance information, you'll need to check out the audience for yourself, and that starts from the very beginning of the show. Do you need a male or female, someone younger or older? Check throughout your act for someone who is having a good time, enjoying themselves, will look good on stage (not groomed or dressed poorly), and sitting with someone else. After a while you might find yourself zoning in on an individual to ask up later. Make eye contact with the person several times to establish a connection. When the time comes to select someone, announce you need someone to help out. Glance over the entire audience, then look directly at this individual and ask him or her to join you. Have the audience applaud as the person comes up, which not only encourages the person, but helps to kill the dead time while getting on the stage.
Check before the show starts that the audience can easily get to the stage area. A raised platform might need steps. There could be boxes, equipment, cords or other items blocking easy access. Make sure they can join you without tripping or needing to step over things. This may seem like a minor point, but having someone fall or look awkward coming up is definitely not professional and opens you up to all kinds of problems.
Volunteers are guests in your "house". They will feel awkward and a bit afraid of what might happen. Put them at ease. You may want to walk over to meet them as they come up. If you are away from the microphone so the audience can't hear, reassure them this will be a fun time, thank them for helping out, and then thank them again on mic for the audience to hear. Ask their names and remember them. Call them by name during the bit. Volunteers in a vent act are going to get laughs, and we need to make sure they know the audience is laughing WITH them and not AT them.
Be nice to your volunteers. They have come up to be your unpaid partner in the show. Unless your act consists of making fun of people, don't insult them. Not respecting your volunteers can really turn and audience against you and keep others from coming up in the future. Too many times the audience is left with a bad impression from a performer not treating a volunteer well. Instructions for what they should do need to be very clear so they don't do something wrong and then feel foolish by making a mistake. Encourage them during the routine. If you can speak off mic, constantly let volunteers know they are doing a great job.
Once in a while you may realize you chose the wrong person. This becomes evident in the first few minutes. They may be uncooperative or try to upstage you. Keep in mind these people are out of their element and are reacting to an unfamiliar situation. Also, you might have made a mistake and just selected a jerk. This is where your experience and audience management skills come into play. You may want to keep going on, realizing the routine won't be quite as good as usual. Try stepping away from the mic or turning it off or whispering "just relax, we'll have a good time". Often this will do the trick to calm them down. In some rare cases, though, the volunteer just won't work out from the very beginning. If worse comes to worse you can point blank ask them if they still want to stay up or would they rather sit down. If they want to sit down, make some type of excuse to the audience ("I'm sorry, but I need someone wearing a different color shirt" will give them the idea), quickly get them a round of applause for coming up, and just as quickly select another person and get into the routine as fast as you can. In my experience, after thousands of shows, only twice have I sent someone back. It's the worst case scenario, but sometimes the only alternative. If you are already into the routine when they start to act up, cutting it short may be the best course of action.
Make the volunteer the focus of the bit. If they do something wrong, don't say anything that would make them feel embarassed. Have fun with them, laugh with them, be glad they are helping your act. Sometimes they may say or do something unexpected that gets a big laugh at your expense. Put your ego away and laugh with them. Sometimes you'll get some great lines to use in future shows from remarks they make. For those few minutes volunteers are on stage, they are the stars of the show and you are the supporting act.
Once the routine is over, get a big round of applause for your audience helper. If you are using a child to help out, having them take bows can be funny. Some performers have certificates of appreciation to give their helpers. Another bit is to pull out a Polaroid camera and take a picture of the two of you for them to keep. After the initial applause for the routine, thank them again and tell them they did a great job. Send them back to their seat with yet another round of applause, which kills the time while they are leaving the stage and shows extra appreciation for their help. At the end of your entire show when the audience is clapping, have them give the volunteer another round of applause for his earlier help. This does two things. First, you'll look like a nice person for recognizing the volunteer again. Second, it also keeps the applause going longer for you.
Hopefully these guidelines will help the next time you use someone from the audience to assist you. Audience volunteers can be a memorable part of any show, and the more experience you get, the better your act will be.
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