Who do you know who hogs the stage?
Monday, April 8, 2013 at 4:07PM Giggle, laugh.... snort!
The comedy festival continues here in Melbourne and I've seen Rama Nicholas' one woman show, Jason and Jimmy's Sketchual Healing and some late night Theatresports ... and more to come over the next week or two.
Even the genius performance of Rama Nicholas - while alone on stage and playing about eight different characters throughout the night - had input from a light and sound guy and some lovely suggestions and input from the audience.
None of them 'hog the stage' though. All shows tap into the creative genious in the room. Even the solo performers do. The stand-up comics do too. They highlight the late arrival or get input and suggestions from the audience. They have high points, quiet points, hilarity, reflection, touching tender moments - but it's so hard to do that all alone, throughout the entire performance, with no input at all.
So if you - or, well, not you but someone you know or work with - has a tendency to hog the stage, they're not giving support performers (that is, the rest of the team) the opportunity to deliver a great performance.
The focus must be shifted from the leader.
The focus must shift from the expert.
The focus has to move to people who will execute, implement, advise, consult, inform, contribute... the other people on the 'stage'.
The team you're in is an ensemble of talented and very clever performers. Even the ones you think aren't so talented still have many talents.
Be sure that you give people the air time and the opportunity to be in a 'production' that brings out their strengths so they'll do their best work.