How To Choose the Right Act

Series Summary

The one-person musical or comedy act has its origins at the beginning of civilization, romanticized for Americans in the traveling bards and minstrels of the European middle ages. With the rise of mass media industries, small shows of variety acts or musical guests have waned in popularity considerably, the last generation being USO performers and iconic comedians. The rise of “sketch comedy” offers something different than the lone comic/actor/musician strutting his or her stuff on small stages or street corners, lending a tune or toast to the audience. Sitcoms and DVR-ready dramas sold to young minds now make the big bucks, and we wonder where the future of the one-person act will reside. Could it be in you? Every other medium has been reborn for the postmodern era, and maybe now is the time for the one-person show (a la Demetri Martin) to be reborn.

In this free video series, expert Pat Louis tells you what you need to know to be reborn as a one-man or one-woman act. He teaches you how to choose the right venue, how to make a demo, how to deal with climates or add humor. There is also advice about choosing music, working with background tracks, and playing an instrument for your show. Add to those tidbits information about marketing, working with agents, and doing pre-production, and you have a professional know-how library at your disposal here. Try it out!

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village my name is Pat Louis here in Miami, Florida and I'm going to teach you today how to put together an act. Well we are assuming that you're going to be starting an act and you haven't done so yet. The first thing you have to figure out is whether you're going to be a singer or a comic. A combination would probably be the best, if you're a singer you're going to need a variety of songs. Generally one talent one solid talent with a big ending to get the audience really going per 2 up tempo songs. Melodies can be in there and different types of songs; from the old sing a long type to maybe something of a modern nature. If you're a comic you're going to need to find some stories of your own, maybe a look at life the way you see it and your particular interpretation of a relatives or the TV commercials that you see everyday. The main thing here though is that you got a variety of things that you got to talk about and keep it going as a comic, that's the hardest."