Here’s a quick run down of the work I’ve been doing with powerful entertainment humans.

Nobody’s saying it, so I will. Alex Trebek was sassy. He was condescending, and he did silly voices. Trivia is not enough to make Jeopardy work so long.

Sometimes I think that a game show host’s job is to present a completely sterilized, smooth talking, polished non-person. No matter what form of entertainment, it still comes back to humans. Each night, we got to see a little more of what kind of human Alex was – not that there are kinds.

He made the audience feel smart and sassy too. Let’s all give our whole selves to the world, and see what happens. People might embrace the parts that seem unsavory. Those parts might punctuate a person’s weeknights with fun. Love to Alex and his fam!

Some people think entertainment is about being “good.” Build it and they will come. It’s kinda true, but kinda not. There is no universal good. Even people who are taste-makers and thought-leaders don’t know what will be good. Even Quibi, with its $1.75 billion couldn’t guess what would be good. Even I didn’t predict good…ME!

What’s good is what sucks — the stuff that pulls in the audience. The wind doesn’t blow, it works like a drinking straw. A low pressure area attracts movement. When entertainment sucks, it creates an opening that is just right for people.

This is our job

Our job is to suck people in – to make a thing that serves certain people in such a big way that it doesn’t take a fancy sales pitch.

The concept that we need to blow and blow to get everyone to know and like what we’re doing is not sustainable. We make something that really works for people and it will really work for us.

When the pandemic hit, some entertainers and artists thought their value was gone because the primary service they’ve been offering wasn’t needed anymore. Many of them took a live show and put it on camera as a Zoom show.

The problem with this is all the spare parts.

Take a genius magician who knows how to work a crowd, understands stage presence, knows how to work well with clients in a venue, knows exactly what to do with a stage, is an expert traveler, etc. She then starts doing tricks on a video chat. Her value wasn’t just that she knew some secrets. Her value was all of the stuff put together.

As we look at offering new services for maximum pay, it’s important to look at all the pieces of value that we bring and put as many of them together all in one package. That might mean looking at the things that weren’t part of our pre-pandemic offering and seeing how they can fit in to something new.

Give what we’ve never given before!

Here are some quick ideas of other resources that might pay off in weird ways for our clients / customers…

• Skills in home decor
• Ability to produce video
• Years of therapy
• Insane costume collections
• A network of people around the world
• A swimming pool

The game is not to pick one aspect of who we are to serve people, but to use as many parts of us as possible so they get real value and we get real fulfillment.

I love the blue-collar approach to showing up and making. It’s honorable and wonderful because it’s so hard to do. One way to take a step back and look at our stuff plainly is to be a hack.

A hack steals what works and leaves the rest

Part of the vitriol people feel for hack comedians, I think, is an envy of someone getting all the good stuff without the work. Hacks steal from other hard working creators.

We shouldn’t do that!

Instead we can hack our own stuff, so we get the good stuff from ourselves. We take the best parts of what we create and leave the rest.

It sucks

This technique crushed me when I was a street performer. Marcus Raymond told me to record my show and transcribe every single word I say and every single action.

I had to record when I rocked on my feet, grabbed the wrong prop, and said “uh” 30,000 times. It was excruciating. I think I made it ten minutes in, then stopped. I couldn’t handle typing. I couldn’t handle watching. I couldn’t handle the idea that I had been giving this to audiences for months when I thought I was a hero.

The next weekend, Marcus said, “so, did you do it?”

“no”

“If you want to make more money out here, that’s the next step.”

I did the weekend of shows with all my “uh”s and all my gusto. Then, Monday, I went back to the video and the typing.

Then, I went on to serving audiences better.

The whole process is as follows…

1. do the show
2. record video of the show
3. transcribe the show exactly (don’t improve it, don’t get someone else to transcribe it for you)
4. feel the pain the pain in this part is important. pain breeds change.
5. edit the script
6. have a new show with the good stuff. a show that’s less painful to watch

This can apply to any entertainment creation – not just live shows

1. make the thing
2. transcribe the thing into a boring, dispassionate, version for clear viewing
3. feel the pain
4. edit the boring version the way we want it to be
5. remake the thing

The Editing Process is Decluttering

When I’m decluttering the house, I do the same thing I needed to do with my show. If I’m going to be a hack and steal all my own best stuff, I gotta know what that stuff is.

Sort

In the decluttering process, I make three piles immediately. A. Definite keep, B. Maybe keep, C. Definite trash (recycle/sell/donate)

With the script, definite trash is any non-functional “uh” or any movement, or accident that doesn’t serve a purpose.

“Maybe keep” stuff might be a bit that kind of works, or a long story that seems like it helps the flow.

Trash run

Get rid of the trash. That’s easy and rewarding. That is the part I wanted to do when I was typing the whole thing out.

Un-Maybe

All the “maybe”s are on the chopping block until we commit to them. We either commit to keep or trash each one. Nothing stays a “maybe”

Fix

We’re not going to live with a broken thingy in our house. Now is the time to fix anything that’s been sitting around broken.

Hack it

Take all the good parts. Celebrate them. Maybe build on them? Frame everything around them to amplify them more. Nobody to envy but ourselves!

Make More

In the decluttering analogy, I might need to buy a new rug to replace the one I threw out. It’s creation time! We probably hafta make some new stuff to replace all the nonsense we threw out.

Oh, man! It’s so nice to buy a new thing that goes in a freshly decluttered home. Same here. What a clean, positive place to make a new bit of entertainment among all the pieces that spark joy.

Even badass professional entertainment peeps dream of doing more sometimes. This blog post is a reminder of micro-triumphs that turn us from future-whatevers to whatevers.

Concept, create, ship : NOW!

When I’m feeling a little draggy or day-dreamy, I try to get something OUT into the world. I don’t go for something completely random, but I go for a very small ( yet complete ) version of the thing I want to do. Come up with it, complete it, and send it to at least one other person.

Whatever the idea, don’t make it great. Make it done in 60 minutes.

Ideas…

• fiction author : write a one paragraph story, print 20 copies and post them on lamp posts outside
• photographer : snap a pic of something emotionally important with weird lighting and put it on instagram
• comedian : tweet a new joke
• actor : send a video to a friend of a famous monologue
• non-fiction author : find someone on wikipedia and write a one sentence bio of them on fb
• video game maker : text a friend the start of a game, their responses let them play the game without you coding. Something like “You wake up in a storage closet at home depot. You have a gun and a cop uniform, but you’re not a cop. Sirens outside and lots of radio chatter. You have to get out of the hardware store and get back home”
• painter : smear ketchup on a plate in timelapse and post it on your blog

Even if we only know two press people / bloggers / influencers that like talking about us, it’s time to make a press list. It’ll grow over time, but if we don’t have a garden, we have nowhere to put our bullshit.

It isn’t about having thousands of contacts…

it’s about keeping track of our helpful relationships.

We make a spreadsheet or an air table. Here are the headings…

1. Real estate name of the periodical or whatever “New York Times”
2. Website URL for easy ref
3. Person Name the actual person we talk to. We might have multiple rows for multiple contacts at the same real estate
4. Job Title It can be helpful to know if someone refers to themself as a journalist, editor, or whatever
5. Story Type The journalist might write an entertainment column, or might only cover “weird” things or financial things. We don’t want to send press releases to the wrong people.
6. Email
7. Phone
8. Special Submission instructions Some places only want you to submit news items thru their website
9. Next Follow Up Date Stage/Next Steps doesn’t come in super handy usually, but it can be helpful when in the midst of a big press push
10. Last Touch Usually not necessary if most stuff is thru email
11. Last Published a date of last time they told people about us
12. Published Links it’s easy to forget how many times someone published us and it’s also good to have the links there for easy access for other stuff
13. Personal Conn. Could be like “I know her thru Jane Cregger”
14. Notes whatever!

My press list just sits around

Most of the time, my press list gathers dust unless I’m in the middle of some big event or some new offering. I’m not looking at it or editing it. Then, when I have a press release or I just want to jot an email to a person, the list leaps into action.

When a google alert goes off and shows me a new article about my projects, that’s another moment I crack it open.

• Send a thank you note to the journalist / influencer
• Mark down any notes in the press list
• Update info and close it up

It’s really awesome to have even as a dust collector, because I know that I’m not going to sweat it when I want to make an announcement.

We often don’t have enough jelly beans to reach out to the press in an elaborate and complete way. It would be a pity to skip this communication completely. Why? Because often in entertainment, we’re making things for the public good and the press wants to share things for the public good.

Building a press list is something we can do over time really simply. After a little while, we might only have a few press contacts who like getting things from us, but that can be nice if it’s easy to shoot them a scoop.

Just like all other forms of communication (ads, newsletters, websites, etc.); I prefer offering something great. I don’t like selling the offer, i like communicating it clearly.

Make it simple and make it done

This is a simplistic format for a press release… It’s not complete. Some journalists get hundreds of releases per day, so we aren’t going to ask them to read a ton. They can follow up if they need more.

Sometimes longer is better

There are occasions where a journalist will simply copy and paste a press release into a periodical. Having a complete story for them can be helpful in that case, but we can’t please everyone!

The subject line : Simply good

“RELEASE : World’s Smallest Horse Saves Boy”

What is the point? Get there quickly. Start with “RELEASE:” so they’re not guessing.

Greeting : Quick, personal

If you know the reader, that’s great!

“Sandy, Hi! here’s my new passion project. It seemed to me like something Oregonian hikers would want to know. Hope you’re doing great.”

Headline : Maybe repeat the subject line

Simple, meaty description all caps

“NEW WOMEN’S RESTROOM NOW AVAILABLE AT COUNTY TAX OFFICE”

Paragraph 1: WWWWWW

Who, what, when, where, why, whatever, that’s it.

“Trent, OH, Oct 23, 2020 — A bench at Myslegrove Park is being dedicated to four fire-fighters who saved beloved community cat “Snickers”. Angela Tabolt has donated $1200 to honor Mark Rinsly, Barb Conn, Fred Sharp, and Mandy Bar.”

Paragraph 2: Credibility

Here we lay out what proves that this is an important story.

“30 year old Jeff’s Hats has been providing hats to the Tristate area since 1968. It is the hat source of 23 police forces and has made Trenzeville Time Magazine’s “Most hatted town in America.”

It’s a tricky line, but we’re trying to make it factual and not salesy. We don’t say “It’s the best” we say “Ranked #1 by Vogue Magazine”

Paragraph 3: Extra details + quote

“2000 people are expected at the grand picnic celebration. Organizer Alice Jones says, ‘we couldn’t be more proud of what the boys have put together this year, it truly is the realization of a dream!’ Each attendee will get a ketchup filled tote bag.”

This is a chance to add in more info, and a quote is a great way to add some heart without the composer of the press release adding opinion.

Paragraph 4: follow up

“Photos and video are available at {link} contact Tina directly for interviews and more information tina@tina.com 555-555-5555 . Customers can purchase a memorial donut from 7pm to 8pm at 1122 Smith Street. All proceeds go to charity”

We’re writing to people

Press releases are sent to people who have a job to do. They have to quickly evaluate and distribute info to folks. Those folks are depending on them. We can respect what they’re doing, respect who they are, talk to them personally, and help them do their job.

I had never seen this coffee maker before. When I opened the top, I knew that it was not programmed and ready to go for the morning. How did I know? I didn’t need to decode the buttons and lights on the front. There was a wet filter with used grounds inside.

I walked down the hall in a hotel. I passed by several doors and I knew they weren’t for me. They were unmarked, not especially wide, and painted differently.

A man sat next to me on a plane with big headphones, sunglasses, and a hood. I didn’t talk to him.

These clues were invisible to me. I didn’t look at each thing and figure out what they meant. I didn’t notice them at all because they were off limits. It was incredibly obvious by its nature.

Tap into-ition

I love simplistic video games like Journey or The Unfinished Swan because they tell us what to do, not with intrusive direction, but with our own learned impulses. I am blown away by authors who create new words that we just understand immediately. I’m fascinated by performers who don’t seem to do much, but get huge responses from audiences.

The hard way

Our first impulse with getting action from our audience is direct direction. We put a “push” sign on a door instead of removing the handle from it. I love making signs, but they don’t really work for a lot of stuff because they take time to read, they’re demanding, and they’re unnatural. I love telling people what I want, but it can be confrontational, confusing, and boring!

I was told to make the logistics entertaining

When I got into show business, I was told to make things (like asking the sound tech to turn down my mic) part of the show. Make a joke for it. But what if I gave them an invisible signal? If I knew my microphone was going to feedback when I walked in front of the speaker (and it wouldn’t be too loud) I could just walk in front of the speaker a little bit and see if the sound tech notices. I ignore it and let them do their job.

What if a magician, instead of saying “for my next trick, I need a volunteer from the crowd. Please raise your hand and I will choose someone at random.” Instead walked out into the crowd while setting up the trick, reached out her hand to a person in the audience and guided them up to stage without talking about it. She points at the audience member once on stage and the audience cheers for them “Thank you for joining me”

How can we cut the corners and give invisible guidance?

Scot Nery’s Boobietrap was going really well, the bar was making money, the buzz before and after were great, but we didn’t know what happened before the doors. We set up a goPro at the box-office and recorded a night of people walking in. It was amazing to watch. Our box-office people are great! They’re so kind, and fun, and interesting, and communicative. They get the welcoming vibe that we want to project perfectly. They are the beginning of the experience.

One of the fantastic discoveries of watching the video was that, even though everyone got in fine, there was no clear first location for a ticket holder. When you walked up to the door, there was a table and a bouncer and two ticket people. So, folks would wander up, slow down and someone would call them over, or they would just float in the vicinity. That’s not fun.

Since I believe entertainment is about leadership, we had the opportunity to start leading as soon as people saw the door. We put up signage and ropes and stuff to show people what to do. Ticket buyers didn’t have to think so much or feel they were doing it wrong. We tried setting up areas for people who were waiting for friends.

Now that we’ve been away from the show for a little bit, I’ve been thinking about other ways to make the entertainment bleed out further in all directions.

Can we make that entrance more of an adventure with clear paths? Could we make it a puzzle that’s fun? How much more entertaining could we make our ticket buying process online? What fun emails could we send to ticket buyers before the show to get them salivating or excited or curious? What fun emails could we send them after to help them enjoy and appreciate the show even more? What content could we continue to create that expands on the core value of the show experience? What could we do during the show that’s interactive in a different way or connected to something that engages the mind ( a narrative, a game, an activity ).

Here’s a purchase confirmation email that delighted CD Baby customers…

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, June 6th. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year.” We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

I like entertainment to be messy. Everyone does. Not just because flaws are loveable, it’s more than that.

When something surprising emerges from the natural world, we experience magic. Nature is messy and basic. When a creator makes something sterile, they are hiding the nature of it. When the nature is hidden, the contrast is lost. When the contrast is lost, the magic is lost.

Here’s a video of a mentor Frank Olivier being messy. Looks like he was not prepared to perform a juggling show.

Here’s video (start at 4 minutes) of Mark Collier with his clumsy handling of rope magic. It looks like he doesn’t know what his hands are doing.

This is Marawa being messy. She seems to be forcing her act to work through pure aggression.

The Jovers are a just a clusterfun of awesome

Chris Fairbanks talks for a living, but doesn’t know how…

The elegance of these people is that they have pushed beyond elegance. It’s not natural to be this comfortable, but it celebrates nature and the potential of humanity.

I didn’t prioritize being popular in school. I drew pictures, was a jackass, and programmed computers. I’m glad I did all that stuff, but it might have been strategic to work on popularity a little more.

Popular kids…

1. Got better grades
2. Got away with more things
3. Got cooler jobs (at least at first)

That isn’t the real world…

… I thought. I thought that popularity didn’t matter in the real world. What mattered was putting your nose to the grindstone — working hard, and developing real skills and knowledge.

I was wrong. A little bit. Popularity is a way to get things, and that game hasn’t changed since prom.

It’s not everything

I think quality in entertainment still matters the most. The biggest weakness I see in passionate entertainers is their lack of popularity. If we look at it as a tool instead of a goal we gain power, perspective, and leverage.

If we’re measuring success by popularity, we will never be satisfied. We’re investment bankers who never have enough money. Instead, we can look at how our money helps us invest more.

Popularity positioned correctly is a signal

A sold out show, a best seller book, an art opening with a line outside, a video with lots of views.

If I’m in the audience of something popular, it’s easier to enjoy, it’s easier to share, it’s got a certain guarantee until I have other proof.