I got asked recently a great question. What makes a great entertainer? What separates the OK from the awesome? On the face of it, it seems like a really obvious question with a simple answer.
Skill.
But as I was chatting with a few friends last night, it dawned on me that some of the best entertainers I have seen and worked with are actually really... rubbish. And some of the most skilled magicians I've seen are absolutely awful entertainers. There's no correlation. Being a skilful magician does not make you a great entertainer. And dare I say it, being an entertainer is more important then being skilful. Look at some of the acts on Britain's Got Talent, they may be absolutely awful, but they are entertaining. Which makes you want to watch the more.
The question then is, what makes a great entertainer. Is it humour? Wit maybe? Creativity? In my opinion there's one thing that makes a great entertainer and that is versatility.
The difference between a good entertainer and a great one is versatility.
This isn't just about how they deal with misadventures or accidents. Nor is it about when things go wrong or if they forget their place (all important bits to be fair) but it instead is about versatility when it comes to your audience. A good entertainer can entertain anyone using the exact same pieces but tailored to the audience.
Let me explain. I saw this myself recently when I saw a magician friend of mine table hopping for a private event. I had stationed myself at the bar as I wasn't working till later and got the chance to watch him perform while chatting to the bar staff. I was impressed. Every table was treated completely differently depending on who they were. They did the exact same routines to each table, down to the same card tricks etc but each time there were a variety of subtle differences. For a table of pensioners, the magician was chatting in a chilled out way, the magic didn't matter, more the conversation that went around it. You'd have almost thought they were good friends having a catch up.
The next table was full of tweens and teens. Suddenly the chat changed to being slightly more animated, but he started off with the whole "I know you don't think this is cool, but..." spiel and started to engage them. They made more pop culture references. Did the exact same routines. After moving onto the VIP table and shifting gear again they got cornered by a bunch of kids on a table they had worked with previously.
Suddenly they were a kids entertainer, making stupid jokes, getting them really engaged, getting more volunteers, asking more questions and keeping the kids occupied. The kids were referred to as "Stinky" and "sausage face" making them giggle at the stupid things. It was great. The kids loved it and dragged the magician to the next table who were their parents (and from what I learned later, had quite a bit to drink). They were trying to catch him out, being a little loud, trying to be the ones to one up the magician.
Taking it in his stride, he just took the level up again, he started to make more of a scene himself, got a little louder, more "cheeky chappie". When they tried to call him out he'd call them out with an over the top "whoah just chill... whose act is this" kind of mentality. They loved it.
This is in my opinion the sign of a good entertainer. It's someone who can tailor their act to the audience they have. It doesn't matter if they are a packed out theatre or just a few people in a bar. A great entertainer can engage with the audience and make their routines connect with that particular audience. It doesn't matter who they are, but a good entertainer knows how to engage different people with the same act.