Let
Us Entertain You
By Joni Bescos, Rich-Tone Chorus, Region 25
In writing songs for the musical,
Gypsy, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim wrote: “Let us entertain
you, let us make you smile, let us sing some blue songs, some old
and then some new songs . . .we want your spirits to climb!”
As chorus and quartet members, we all look forward to the opportunities
we have to perform for both barbershop audiences and the general
public.
In structuring any performance, though, we must consider the audience.
What do they want to hear? If the audience is composed mostly of
senior citizens, they probably don’t want to hear the latest
Britney Spears hit, but they would enjoy a variety of tunes from
the ’40s through the ’60s. They might even enjoy some
of what we consider the old songs. On the other hand, if the audience
is young, they’ll appreciate hearing some current hits. Including
contemporary music gives our performers the opportunity to show
our audiences the versatility of the barbershop style. If you have
a particular song that your audience will identify with, sing it
early in the program rather than saving the best for last. The audience
will be much more receptive to the rest of your program if they
have an opportunity to bond with you near the beginning. The moral
of this story is, “sing what they want to hear, not what you
want to sing.”
The repertoire of a chorus or quartet should include a variety of
song styles. On the “must” list would be: An opener
(short), a medium or swing tempo uptune, a recognizable ballad,
a novelty number (solo or comedy), a heavy ballad, a driving uptune,
and a closer. All of these song types can be combined into a versatile
program. Other types of songs that fit into a well-rounded repertoire
are: gospel, seasonal, patriotic, audience participation, comedy,
solos for each part, or songs from Broadway shows or motion pictures.
In adding songs to a repertoire, our performers need to look at
what role the song will play in a potential performance.
Another important premise for any performance is “never leave
them wanting less.” Don Galvin, lead of the Manhatters, a
comedy quartet that was extremely popular years ago, used to say,
“We are here to sing for you and you are here to listen to
us — if you get through before we do, please hold up your
hand!” This line always drew a laugh, but there’s more
wisdom in it than we sometimes care to admit. Think about it —
how many times have you been finished listening while a performance
was still in progress?
Emceeing is an important aspect of any performance. In today’s
atmosphere of political correctness we need to take care not to
offend anyone in the audience. In most cases, though, the audience
expects you to sing, not talk, so keep the talking to a minimum
and get on with the show!
White space is another enemy of performers. Example: Chorus emcee
comes to the microphone and gives her spiel. She finishes, turns,
and walks back to her place on the 4th row. The director waits until
the emcee is in her spot on the risers to give the signal for the
pitch pipe. White space! Better to have the pitch blown during the
emcee’s last line, then begin the song as the emcee walks
back to the risers. Example: Quartet emcee also blows the pitch
pipe (maybe no one else can see it without their glasses!). She
talks, then turns to step back in the quartet, then takes out the
pitch pipe, then blows it, the quartet takes a pitch, then finally
sings. White space! If the quartet has only one emcee, someone else
needs to blow the pipe. If emcee duties are shared, two members
should have pitch pipes so the pitch can be blown and taken just
as the emcee finishes. As she steps back into place, the quartet
starts singing.
Comedy is an easy way to capture an audience. Karen Breidert teaches
a wonderful class entitled “The Magic of Laughter.”
Everyone loves to laugh — and our performers need to use that
to their advantage. Even now, 22 years after the fact, those who
were in the audience in Las Vegas in 1984 still compliment me on
4 For the Show’s entertainment package. Many current members
never had the pleasure of experiencing a performance by the Norse
Winds. They never won a contest, but they never lost a show! And
most of us would go out of our way to hear Liz Hardcastle emcee
anything. Scottsdale’s entertainment package opened with “Make
‘Em Laugh” — good advice!
For us, one of the prime opportunities to perform and entertain
is available to the choruses and quartets who qualify for the Harmony
Classic competitions and the International Chorus and Quartet Finals.
The only differences between outside performances and the opportunity
to design a competition entertainment package are the time restrictions
and the fact that the competition entertainment package must include
two songs suitable for competition. The goal of any performance
should be to entertain the audience.
The time limits for the entertainment package do not allow us to
present more than four or five different types of songs. A few performers
have presented packages we’ll never forget, but frankly, my
dears, most are unremarkable. We recently changed the name from
“performance package” to “entertainment package.”
There was a subtle message intended — our performers need
to concentrate on the entertainment value! So pretend you’re
doing a 10-15-minute performance at the local country club and you’re
getting $500 for your trouble. Will you open with your contest ballad?
Will you follow that with your contest uptune, without any emcee
work? Will you then change your performance attitude and add personality,
as if to say “now that we have those songs out of the way,
we’ll entertain you?” I think not. Why? It’s not
good programming. So if it’s not good programming for the
country club, what makes it good programming for competition? Focus
on the audience, not the performer!
Many of our performers believe “package” and “theme”
are synonymous. Not! The songs don’t all have to be about
Broadway, or circus, or any one theme. They simply need to be “packaged”
in such a way that the entertainment value of the overall package
builds to – not from – a musical high point. A final
word of advice — if your performance is based on a “gimmick”
or “theme,” be absolutely certain the audience (and
the judges) will get it. We’ve all seen packages that caused
us to question “what was that about?” when it was over.
The last question in the article No Nonsense Responses to Judging
Questions in this issue of The Pitch Pipe deals with the entertainment
package, and readers are referred there for more guidelines. Thanks
to today’s technology, our performers can videotape a performance
in order to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and the potential
entertainment value. Our performers can be the best representatives
of Sweet Adelines International to the outside world. They can recruit
new members simply by the energy and enthusiasm displayed in their
performance. Tomi McEvoy, baritone in a cappella Gold, resisted
invitations for years to attend San Diego Chorus’ annual show.
When she finally gave in, her words were, “I was so excited
I nearly jumped out of my seat … I said ‘I have to be
part of that!’” What a great testimonial to the power
of performance!
Think about your audience, and
send them this message: “Let us entertain you, and you’ll
have a real good time!”
