[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s Soaring Solo blog focuses on “Three Tips to Hold Your Audience’s Attention.”

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”  -David Bowie 

One of the biggest fears that most solo artists have is worrying that they will bore their audience. I wish I could say that this is not a valid concern, but sadly I have seen people fall asleep in the front row while a solo artist is telling their story from stage. All to say, this is a concern worth examining. 

But not to fear! In today’s blog, I have Three Tips to Hold Your Audience’s Attention that will ensure you won’t bore them or put them to sleep. 

So, let’s get started and avoid those snores! 

1) Forget about the audience. Do it for you. 

This might sound completely counterintuitive, but hear me out. 

Creating a one-person play is not a codependent relationship with your audience. The worst thing you can do is be a people pleaser when it comes to writing and performing your solo show. 

Opinions are like buttholes and everybody’s got one. So, if you are running around taking in everyone else’s opinions rather than quietly listening to your own, you will be a buttkisser, not a solo artist. 

When we write and perform for the sole purpose of pleasing our audience, we embark on an impossible mission. There is truly no way to make every member of your audience happy. People have different tastes, attention spans, styles, politics, personal histories and points of view. Therefore, when you attempt to cater to them, you are in a guaranteed losing battle. You will water down your message, hold back your pearls of wisdom, and refrain from genuinely connecting with your audience. 

The alternative is to ask yourself what do you want to say? What emotions do you need to express? What stories do you want to tell? What passions, beliefs, and politics are you passionate about sharing? What talents do you want to utilize or improve? 

If you start with yourself, you will begin to feel inspired. Your intuition will be set free to guide you. The result will be an authentic expression of you that is far from boring

because you, like all of us, are a unique, complex and intriguing human being. So, let your freak flag fly! 

Am I saying that you should never think about the impact of your work on your audience? No, I am absolutely not saying that. 

There is absolutely a time and place to consider your audience. There is a right time to start questioning if some of your writing is offensive or tone deaf, if you need to give some trigger alerts on sensitive topics, if you need to edit out that monologue because it could harm your real life relationships and job security, if you are being unclear or confusing, or if you really want to tell that embarrassing story about the first time you had sex with Great Aunt Irma sitting in the front row clutching her pearls. 

So, when is that right time? 

While I cannot give you a date on the calendar per say, I can generally advise that you wait to consider the audience until you approach the final stages of the writing process. This way, you will have given yourself a generous amount of time to process how you feel about your solo art before taking the audience into account. 

2) Get naked in front of the audience. 

Before you totally freak out, I don’t literally mean you have to get physically naked in front of your audience (although, some solo artists do exactly that and it can be very effective). What I mean by “getting naked” is being bold, transparent, authentic and vulnerable. 

People do not want to be preached at by a know-it-all pretending to be perfect. Audiences don’t typically go to the theatre to hear a mundane story from a person who is playing it safe and not actually letting them in. And human beings tend to call bullshit when a performer wraps every story up with a pretty little bow. 

Patrons go to see solo theatre because they want to witness a real person declare who they actually are, and expose the attributes that make them both flawed and fabulous. Your audience desires to be entertained, transported and transformed. They want your truth. They want YOU. 

You can satiate these cravings for them if you are brave enough to talk about the taboo, shed light in dark places, and pull your skeletons out of the closet and onto the stage.

You will wow the audience with your tenacity and authenticity, and they will be on the edge of their seat. 

So, be naked and don’t apologize for it. 

There’s rarely such a thing as T.M.I. (too much information) in the solo theatre world. As solo artists, we reveal ourselves layer by layer as we hold up a mirror and unabashedly articulate what we see staring back at us. This act of exposing our true selves empowers and inspires the audience to courageously do the same. 

This sort of intimacy is far from boring, it is life giving. 

3) Entertain yourself, not the audience. 

Again, this probably sounds counterintuitive, self indulgent, and arguably terrible advice. 

However, the reality is that when we are on stage being fully entertained by telling our own story in a theatrical way, the odds are incredibly high that the audience is also totally engaged. 

We have all that experience where we watch a precise, professional, highly skilled and highly trained dancer execute choreography flawlessly, and yet we feel nothing as we watch them. We feel nothing because they feel nothing. 

By the same token, when we watch a total novice passionately attempt to breakdance at our cousin’s wedding as the DJ plays their favorite song, we simply cannot look away. We might even discover that we also begin to dance a little more freely as a result of their elation. 

“Dance like nobody’s watching” is a cliche for a reason. It is great advice. 

So, when you start to envision how you will perform your solo show and what mediums you will infuse, ask yourself these sorts of questions… 

“Am I entertained by this? Does this bring me joy? Does this challenge me in a good way? Am I interested in learning a new craft?” 

If the answer to these inquiries is yes, then keep following those breadcrumbs and trust where they are leading you.

If you love to dance, work dancing into your play. If you enjoy writing poetry, playing instruments, singing and songwriting, filming skits, painting portraits, practicing karate, telling standup jokes, or any other number of talents, allow yourself to explore using them in your show. 

You might be worried that your skill level isn’t up to par and that you will make a fool of yourself. Ok, I hear you, and yes, that is valid. Yet, that is why you work with a Creative Team to help you improve, grow and give the best performance possible. 

There are professionals in all of the aforementioned categories who can help you hone your skills so that you can feel confident on stage. Focusing on devices that entertain you is truly mesmerizing for an audience to watch, even if it’s not “perfect”. 

Well, that concludes my three tips for holding your audience’s attention. I hope this month’s blog has offered you some powerful insights to help you share your solo show with your audience in the most impactful, entertaining and meaningful way possible. 

Please continue to persist along on your solo journey. It may not be easy, but it is so worth it! 

Jessica Lynn Johnson 

Founder & CEO of Soaring Solo LLC
SoaringSoloArtist@gmail.com
www.SoaringSoloStudios.com

Enjoy these Solo Theatre Resources to further guide you on your solo journey! 

Tune in and Support the Soaring Solo Community as we share our stories from stage! 

Award-winning director and developer, Jessica Lynn Johnson, hosts a slew of powerful solo show script readings and full staged productions addressing various impactful and inspiring topics. 

This enticing lineup can be found by CLICKING HERE FOR MORE INFO.

Start Writing Your Own Solo Show One Freewrite at a Time with “Freewrite Friday”! 

Join BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST WINNER Jessica Lynn Johnson for FREEWrite Friday! 

Utilizing thought-provoking writing prompts, Jessica will lead you in writing exercises that are sure to assist you in the development of your solo show. 

A one-person play is not typically written in one fell swoop. Rather, the Soaring Solo Methodology teaches that the creation of solo art is much like that of creating a Mosaic…one beautiful piece at a time. 

All that is required to attend this inspiring event is a willingness to explore, having a pen, paper, or some other means of capturing your thoughts, the ability to access Zoom, and signing up on this page as your official RSVP. 

We look forward to having you join the Soaring Solo Community in this event because your story matters! 

CLICK HERE TO RSVP and obtain the Zoom link and password. 

Attend the Soaring Solo FREE One-Person Play Development class ONLINE! 

No matter where you are in the creation of your solo show, idea phase, curiosity phase, full draft written, touring the festival and college market,BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST & Founder of Soaring Solo, Jessica Lynn Johnson, will meet you where you are at and take you to the next level! All that is required to attend is a willingness to explore, a pen, and some paper. No previous writing or performance experience necessary, and no need to have written anything to bring to class. Each week Jessica will guide you in exercises to help generate and stage NEW material! So come and meet other creatives in a supportive space for expression and exploration! The class is ongoing and so you may pop in and out as you please as long as you RSVP by clicking here for this FREE ONE PERSON PLAY CLASS. 

Schedule an Online Coaching Consultation with Jessica Lynn Johnson to discuss the possibilities for your solo show!

Jessica brings her 15+ years of solo theatre expertise to work privately with solo artists from all over the world on an as needed basis. 

A 1 on 1 Consultation is for you if… 

-You are curious about creating a solo show, but you need writing prompts to help you generate material. 

– You are tossing around ideas for your solo show, but you need some accountability and encouragement to commit those ideas to the page. 

-You have already written some material, but you need expert feedback on editing, story structure and play formatting. 

-You have a great first draft, but need guidance on how to utilize multimedia and solo theatre technique in order to make your show a dynamic piece of solo theatre. 

-You already premiered your solo show and now you want some tips on how to tour colleges and festivals, and garner accolades and great reviews! 

-You have heard great things about Jessica’s work and you’re curious about hiring her as a Director & Developer for your solo show, but first you want to feel her out and see if she is the right fit for you and your project. 

Wherever you may find yourself on your solo journey, Jessica will help you overcome whatever immediate obstacle stands between you and your solo success. 

If you resonate with many of the things on this list, then take the next step by emailing SoaringSoloArtist@gmail.com for more information.