Techniques for Effective Stage Presence
“Spook’s workshop was a huge success. Everybody was enchanted by his music, critiques, honesty and friendly rapport with the young folks. I would highly recommend Spook for any group, event, or just for your own enjoyment – don’t miss the chance to enjoy his show!”
… Fran Housten, Reference/Teen Librarian, Cranford Public Library
*Part 1: Get Out of the Way!! How to Best Express Your Performance Skills: Whether you’re an actor, actress, musician, poet, comic or public speaker when you are on stage you need to make every part of yourself available for your art. This workshop teaches techniques and exercises that help the artist step out of the way and let the art come through. Time permitting this workshop may also briefly address what to do before the gig, when you arrive, before taking the stage and when taking the stage.
*Part 2: Connecting with the Audience: It’s important to know that the audience is watching your every move and looking to connect with you from the time your car enters the parking lot to the time you leave. This workshop teaches techniques and exercises that help the artist connect with his/her audience both on and off the stage. Time permitting this workshop may also briefly address introductions, banter, aesthetic transmission, encores, exiting the stage, and meeting and greeting the audience.
Bring a monologue, scene from a play, song, poem, comedy sketch or speech and be prepared to present it to the rest of the participants. A handful of participants will be selected to perform and will be critiqued in a gentle and constructive way by the instructor. A sound system will be provided and effective use of a microphone will be addressed.
Available for the GENERAL PUBLIC or as a TEENS ONLY Workshop.
About the instructor:
Spook Handy has written hundreds of songs and performed over 2000 concerts in his 20+ year career. He performed alongside Pete Seeger more than fifty times in the last ten years of Pete’s life, learning many of Pete’s songs and the stories behind them. But more so, Spook learned who Pete Seeger was and what he stood for. Now Spook is on a multi-year “Remembering Pete Seeger” tour of all 50 U.S. states and all 10 Canadian provinces.
Spooks songs have been covered by dozens of other artists including Pete Seeger. His 5th album, released in 2016, “Pete, Woody & Me, Volume I – Keep the Flame Alive” charted as high as No. 3 on the International Folk Radio Charts with his own song “Vote!” reaching No. 2. He was named “Best Folk Artist” by Upstage Magazine, Gannett New Jersey, The Courier News, The Home News and About.com. His song “Whatcha Gonna Do?” was feature in the BBC documentary “Doomsday Code.” and four of his songs were used in a theatrical adaptation of Pete Seeger’s story “Abiyoyo.”
Since 1985, Spook has organized and/or MCed over 1300 musical events including New Jersey’s longest ever running open mic, “The Spook Handy Show” which ran from 1985 to 2005. He has MCed “Freehold Idol” in Freehold, NJ and “Idol Search” in Little Falls, NJ. In that time, he’s seen over 3000 musicians perform over 10,000 songs and has developed refined eyes and ears for effective stage presence and good songwriting.
Additional notes:
* Each discipline can be taught in a single workshop or a series; compacted to as short as 90 minutes or extended to as long as you’d like; or formatted in any other way to meet your needs.
* Workshops can be offered to the General Public or for Teen Only. “Teens Only” workshops are available in order to help create safe spaces and help build a sense of teen community.
* Private lessons are also offered
Book a workshop and attend for free!
Spook likes to accommodate those folks who would really love to attend workshops but have a limited budget. If you arrange for your musicians or songwriters group or any group to sponsor a workshop Spook would be happy to waive your fee. Contact Spook for more details.