[NoHo Arts District, CA] – In this month’s Soaring Solo blog, Jessica Lynn Johnson talks about “6 Small Things to Do for Big Solo Success.”

“It’s the little things that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” –John Wooden

Being a successful solo artist is the result of a million little things that add up to big results. 

In today’s blog, I am going to identify just 6 little things that you can do before and during your performance that will help it go well.

Let’s dive right into the 6 Small Things to Do for Big Solo Success !

1. Do self-care before the big day.

The month, weeks, days and hours leading up to show day are of the utmost importance. Be sure you are taking excellent care of yourself during this time. Not only will you obviously want to be rehearsing your show repeatedly, but you will also want to take care of your entire vessel. This can look like exercising every day, even if that is just going on a walk or doing 15 minutes of yoga. You need to move your body, keep it limber, and build your physical strength before performing on stage for an hour or more. 

Self-care can also look like getting adequate sleep every night, staying away from crowds where you might pick up a bug, and eating well every day.

 Taking care of your spiritual, emotional and mental health is very important too. This might be practicing meditation, engaging in prayer, or even journaling. It could be going to therapy or support groups. The point is, ask yourself every single day leading up to your show how you can best take care of yourself, and then follow your own advice.

2. Be sure to do a pre-show warmup.

Never step on stage without getting your mind, body and spirit right. Stretching, doing a vocal warmup, meditating, listening to music, praying, dancing or anything else that helps you warm up your voice and body, focus your mind, and settle your spirit are a crucial component of solo show preparation. These types of actions will allow you to walk onto stage with a calm and confident demeanor, and avoid injuring your voice or body because they are warmed up.

3. Don’t let your audience intimidate you.

Time after time, I have heard solo artists complain after a show that someone in the front row seemed bored, or they thought the audience was going to laugh more than they did, or seeing their friend in the front row freaked them out. 

Your audience will always be a wild card that you cannot fully predict, can never control, and whose minds you cannot read. Every single audience is different. One audience might be loud and vocalize their emotional experience, whereas others might be quieter and more contemplative. This does not mean one audience enjoyed your show more than the other. The energy in the room every time you perform your show with a new group of individuals will always be unique.

I remember after one of my own performances of my solo show ZE, I was certain that the audience must have hated it because they were so quiet you could hear a pin drop. When I walked into the lobby after the show, it was packed with audience members who had waited to meet me, ask me questions, share things with me that had resonated with them, take pictures with me, and even have me sign their programs! Wow! I had been totally wrong in my assessment of their reaction to the show. It had all been lies in my own mind. 

The moral of the story is to never assume you know what your audience thinks of your show based on your own expectations of how they should react. Being stuck in your head trying to figure them out can seriously hinder your performance. 

Additionally, if you discover that looking right at your audience when breaking the 4th wall throws you off, then cast your eyes above and beyond them. It will seem like you are looking at them, but you will be settling your eyes on a less nerve-wracking target. 

For some solo artists, they find comfort in looking directly at their audience and connecting in that way. There is no right way to do it. It’s about learning what makes you feel comfortable and allows you to give the best performance. 

Lastly, don’t make the mistake of your opening performance being the very first time you have shared your show in front of other people. Of course, you will have rehearsed with your director before your performance, but you also want to hit up open mics, group coaching sessions, writer’s rooms, schedule an intimate reading, or whatever else gets you in front of people before the big day. Otherwise, the shock of telling your story to actual human beings is likely to cause you to become nervous and in your head.

4. Stay hydrated.

It may seem like an obvious thing to stay hydrated, but I cannot tell you how many solo artists end up being surprised by how parched they become during their show and have no water nearby to quench their thirst. 

That said, I am not an advocate of having a bottle of water sitting there on stage in plain sight for the audience to see. While it may seem like a small thing, it can be distracting and feel unprofessional. 

My advice is to hide a bottle of water behind a set piece or backstage and, only if absolutely necessary, take a quick swig in between beats of your show. If, during your rehearsals, you realize that you need to drink water often to get through your show and need it to be consistently readily available, then I suggest you build the water into the world of the show. This way, you won’t constantly interrupt the story as an actor breaking the action to hydrate. Instead, it will feel like part of the show. 

For example, I had a client fill a wine bottle with water and use tinted wine glasses on stage so that she could take a sip whenever she needed to. Her show was racy and bawdy so having perceived alcohol on stage completely worked in the world of the show.

5. Break in your wardrobe.

There’s nothing worse than trying to get through a solo show performance and sweating your butt off or freezing to death because you did not rehearse in your wardrobe and you had no idea how it would do under the stage lights or in a theatre with the AC blasting. 

Temperature is not the only concern. 

You also want to make sure that your shirt isn’t riding up or that your pants aren’t too tight, impacting your ability to move around the stage with comfort and ease. I’ve also listened to squeaky shoes or tapping heels way too many times to count because the performer did not consider how their shoes might sound on the stage floor. 

Again, this might seem small, but it can be distracting for both you and your audience.

6. Plant safety nets for yourself.

The biggest fear for nearly every solo artist is wondering how they are going to memorize so many lines. Worrying about going blank on stage is a legitimate concern and even with tremendous rehearsal and memorization, even the best of us can have a brain fart now and then. 

With that in mind, I encourage you to find a discrete safety net for yourself on stage so that you do not have to step on stage in terror of losing your lines. 

I have seen solo artists who deeply struggle with memorization create a book prop that cleverly hides their script and is introduced to the audience as a part of the world on stage, somehow. 

For instance, one actor played a character who had “children’s storybook” as a prop. The script was neatly tucked away within the pages of this book. It made sense within the context of the show that this character would be utilizing the “storybook” periodically. 

Another option is placing your script off stage, but nearby, and coming up with an excuse within the framework of the show for why your character needs to exit the stage. You can then quickly look through your script backstage, find where you were at and come back on stage having found your next line. 

Some solo artists have hidden little cheat sheets for themselves within props, behind set pieces, written on their own body parts, lol! 

And the last option, which I advise trying to stay away from whenever possible, is simply calling “line” to your stage manager, who should be following along and can shout out your next line. Unfortunately, I have seen reviewers comment about actors not knowing their lines, and once that is on the internet or in print, it’s there forever, in most cases. 

So, try to disguise your safety net as best you can so that you feel supported, and your audience is none the wiser. 

Of course, I could go on and on with a long list about all of the small things that you can do as solo artist to produce big results, but we all have the holidays to get to! So, I will leave it at that for now.

Thank you for reading and hopefully this month’s blog has illuminated some things you had not thought of and inspire a slew of other small things you can do to lead to solo success.

Let this information be your guide as you continue down the solo path. 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 and 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

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.

****

To see what shows are playing, check out our theatre guide>>