Musycks Musings & Topical Tips 05: Stagecraft & The Singer-Songwriter

Musycks Topical Tips

Stagecraft & The Singer-Songwriter

A weekly column by Inside Songwriting contributor, Michael J Roberts.

A key weapon in the arsenal of any singer-songwriter is their presentation on stage, regardless of the quality of their songs, their voice or their musicianship. The dimension that good stagecraft adds to any performance can not be underestimated but oddly it seems to be something that is not routinely examined or considered by many writer-performers. Simply stated, the right presentation of your songs offers people a way to access what you have to give that makes the exchange easy and fluid, whereas poor presentation can put a barrier between performer and audience that even the best songs will struggle to overcome.

Last week Karl and I supported Steve Poltz, an American singer-songwriter, at a gig in Coogee and the benefit of having a strong stage persona was rammed home in no uncertain terms. Poltz delivered a superbly crafted and paced solo show, just him and his guitar primarily, with a few pedals to engage in some vocal loops and sampling fun. Steve’s first song, Folksinger, should be required listening for any prospective troubadour as it manages to distil the pitfalls, questionable charms and sheer ennui that the travelling minstrel will inevitably confront, and does so with rare wit and humour. Poltz presents a happy blend of clear-eyed cynic and wide-eyed dreamer and it’s apparent he understands the innate tension in that stage persona, which he brings into balance with his charm and humour. I’m not sure what a ‘down’ night would be for a performer like Steve, as his shtick turns upon effort and energy, but I’m guessing that even if he doesn’t feel particularly ready to front up smiling every night (which is only human) he would still manage to find a performance level that gets his songs across in a compelling and memorable way.

The Folksinger Blues

Steve’s gem of a song speaks of the struggle of the singer-songwriter, a reminder of the hard slog it takes just to find an audience, let alone a receptive one. Many young performers get disheartened when faced with a small room, or even worse, a room full of people not interested in listening to the ‘entertainment’. It’s natural to be disappointed, or feel flat when faced with less than optimal situations, but in reality these types of situations will, initially at least, outnumber the best case scenario gigs by a large factor, so it’s best to come to terms with them. Regardless of your skill level, one thing a performer cannot do is to let their disappointment show, any audience that feels it is being condescended to, or belittled from the stage will switch off immediately. Even if you’re still unsure of what level of engagement you need to offer an audience, or even what type of persona you are interested in projecting, showing any level of contempt for the situation is a recipe for disaster.

Charisma & Communication

Are you an extrovert or an introvert on stage? Do you struggle to come up with easy patter to cover flat spots in the show? Do you panic when silence falls and think you must fill the space at any cost? All of these questions are valid and worth thinking about, but very few performers consciously address them, merely favouring a strategy of bungling through. There’s no secret that the best stage banter is previously written, often by other people than the performer if the act is sufficiently successful. Either way, the best performers find a way to incorporate themselves into the equation, melding any outside contribution into their own approach to compliment their own persona. It’s advisable of course to ‘be yourself’, but it’s also fair to consider which version of yourself, as we all have slightly different personas that we present at various times, depending on the situation. Think about how you do it, and what you do, develop a coherent strategy for when you perform. A story that works on stage will be kept and re-used, one that doesn’t will be worked on or discarded, but the best ones will be an added element to the songs and not just an excuse for the performer to indulge in off-topic rants, so review what works and what doesn’t in a conscious way.

Stagecraft is not a ‘dark art’ and should not be thought of as something on the periphery of the performer’s art, it is actually a crucial part of an unspoken compact with the audience. It may seem antithetical to state, but I contend a performer who presents their work with authority and verve will have a better chance of being well received than a performer who exhibits an off-hand manner and relies purely on the songs to speak for themselves. I have seen many times writers with a fine body of work virtually ignored because their stage presence was underwhelming or it was engaging in entirely the wrong way, where their persona had become a liability to communicating the songs. The converse is where we’ve all seen performers who have a stage charisma that far exceeds the quality of the goods on offer, an ability that leaves a positive impression on the audience. Remember a live audience will consume their music in a different way to listening at home or in the car.

The live gig is also a communal act, and in an anthropological sense you can see the herd mentality at work if you look closely. In the thousands of live gigs I’ve done I’ve noticed that every new audience has a tipping point, the point where initial reservations break down and the audience will either side with the performer, or decide it’s not worth the effort of further emotional investment in the exchange. After that point almost nothing the performer will do will work to win them back, or they will do no wrong, depending on which side of the divide they land. All of this bears close scrutiny in relation to a performer thinking actively about their stagecraft, rather than bumbling along and thinking it doesn’t really matter or that the songs will work no matter what.

Poltzy’s Got It All

Rule number one is (as always) be yourself, people can spot a fake, but that doesn’t mean you need to show everything about yourself all the time. Examine and decide on an approach to performing and strive to achieve consistency, this will strengthen your ability to communicate your songs effectively in a live environment. If you develop, think about and work on your stagecraft it will undoubtedly benefit your entire level of artistry. If you can hone it to a high level you may end up as assured and engaging as Steve Poltz, the bonus being that he is also a writer who has a fine catalogue of great songs into the bargain.

Play On

There are many tales of unexpected things flowing from always giving 100% on stage, but my favourite is of a band touring the US in two station wagons in the late 1970’s. They had come across from England where their first three singles had sunk without trace and the record company was getting cold feet in relation to their debut album and further promotion. They arrived at a small club expecting to play to reasonable sized college audience but found only three people in the crowd. The band decided to play on and to give as much to the three people as they would to three hundred, not knowing that one of the audience was a programme manager for a local radio station. That man was sufficiently impressed to put their latest single onto high rotation, making it a regional hit. In a modern sense what happened next is that the single went viral, eventually becoming a national hit in the US, the buzz filtering across the Atlantic where the band started to enjoy a much greater level of sales. That single was Roxanne and the band was The Police. From near oblivion and rejection they became the biggest band in the world within 5 years.

Happy writing/performing.

Musycks

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“Becoming A Great Songwriter”

eBOOKS by MICHAEL J ROBERTS

Musycks Musings & Topical Tips 05: Stagecraft & The Singer-Songwriter