The Art of Putting on a Show: Part  2—As The Stage Plot Thickens

By Chris Marion

Now that you’ve thoughtfully prepared your set list, it’s time to prepare to stage your show.  Remember, performance is as much visual as it is aural.  Sometimes attendees tend to remember what they see more accurately than what they hear.  As someone who attended a Kiss concert in the late ‘70s, I can’t tell you what songs they played.  But, I can describe their costumes and the amazing stage show they put on that evening.  With that in mind, be deliberate in the way you prepare to stage your band.

 1.     The Stage Plot – This is essentially a two dimensional graphic representation of how your band will occupy the stage.  It’s good to have a generic layout that you can modify to suit the particular event.  In your first advance contact with the venue, try to gather as much information about the stage as possible including exact dimensions, power drop locations, in-house lights or production, height of ceiling, in-house trussing, proximity to crowd (ie: dance floor or table seating).  It’s also helpful to know the size and capacity of the room.  We’ll deal with those variables more in the 3^rd installment of this series concerning production and PA.

Your stage plot should show where each member is located by name and instrument, where personal or stage monitors are stationed, the approximate foot print of each station dimensionally speaking, need for risers, microphone and inputs for each station, location of any amps, and the location of any lighting rigs or house speaker placement.  If you have an opportunity to play a festival or open for a national act, your stage plot might insure that your gear is where it’s supposed to be when the stage gets turned.  It’s usually a local crew that moves gear on and off the stage so without a diagram, it wastes time that you might have used to get a line check.

  2.    Stage Layout – think aesthetics here.  While you might usually just have a corner with fluorescent lights at the Moose Club, often you do have some control over the way your stage will look to the crowd.  Try to consider the appearance from a three dimensional perspective.  Create balance in placement and present visual depth by staggering personnel and using risers when you have access.  This allows for maximum exposure for all members and also offers something interesting to look at for possibly 4 hours.  Leave room between layers and stations for movement and interplay between personnel.  Consider where members are standing in relation to speaker stacks and whatever lighting you have in-house or with your rig.  It’s also important to keep line of sight between members for communication.

 3.     Branding, Stage Props and Costuming – Sometimes it’s the little things that go the longest way in leaving an impression.  I had an old manager whose motto was “if you would feel comfortable wearing your outfit in the grocery store, it’s not a stage costume”.  This guy also sat in with my band in a white tuxedo with tails and white patent leather boots - but that’s a different story.  His point is well taken in that it’s important to be deliberate in what you wear to perform in.  Obviously, if you’re working in a club where most of the patrons are wearing t-shirts and jeans, this is not a time to break out the tuxedo.  Or is it?  Wear something that says you’re the entertainment, not the janitorial staff.  Be thoughtful about the venue details – maybe a black tie event would be better represented by a step up from the weathered AC/DC t-shirt.

It is about your brand.  One of the best investments you can make is in developing a logo and getting a banner with logo and website displayed.  String it up behind your stage or across the front of the stage if height allows.   This can be a simple as nylon ropes through the grommets on the edges or even a couple of extension tripods to either side of the back of the stage.  The crowd will associate whatever is on this banner with what they hear and see all night.  Maximize the exposure value.  Kinko’s is an excellent economical resource for this type of investment.  If there’s not a Kinko’s in your town, local print shops can create custom banners to fit your needs, even offering logo development.

Not everyone can afford to take pyro and elaborate stage sets for you’re their four set gig at the VFW.  But, if there are some props that promote your image or feng shui, incorporate them into your stage set up as long as they don’t prohibit your lead guitar player from carrying his set of inflatable dolls and guitars to the gig.  Priorities…

  4.     Lighting – Although this is typically an area that is dealt with in production, in some ways it’s more of a staging issue so we’ll talk about it here.  Obviously, you could have the coolest stage set up of all time and if you play in the dark, no one will see it.  Establish early on in the advance contact exactly what stage lighting is included in-house.  If there is none, it’s imperative that you plan to bring enough lighting on your own to adequately illuminate the band.  If you work in a wide variety of venues under constantly changing circumstances, investing in a basic 4 to 8 can lighting system with dimmers and stands is a must.  You can literally add a decent system that will light your band and actually give you some control over different scenes for about $350 at your local mega center music store.  Do one gig for the lights if you have to.  If not, you can probably rent a rig from your local music store for special events.  Warning - it won’t take many of those rentals to equal just buying one outright.  Likewise, the last thing you want to do is try to learn how to run the light show on a new rig when you’re worried about performance.

So far in this series we’ve dealt with set lists and staging.  The next installment will be concerning production and entitled “Can You Hear Me Now”.  In the art of putting on a show, you can never minimize that artistry in staging and appearance.   Until next time, tour wisely, my friends!

Chris Marion is an American musician best know as a member of Little River Band and for his contribution to the gospel and country music industries.  Although graduating college with a B.A. in Psychology, he is a classically trained pianist and has worked in the music industry professionally for over 35 years.  As a resident of Nashville, he is involved in the recording industry working in the genres of Gospel, Country and Rock.  Since 2004, he has toured globally with the classic rock act Little River Band as a keyboardist and vocalist.  For more useless trivia and minutiae, you can visit his personal website at http://www.chrismarionmusic.com.