Props have mass & volume, the twin enemies of packing small.
Do you know what doesn’t have mass & volume? A funny line that gets a big laugh and that would score in nearly every show.
Trouble is, it’s easy to forget a funny line after the show. And once it’s forgotten — poof — its benefits are lost. Instead of improving the show, the show stagnates.
Thankfully, current tech has made recording our shows easy.
You know your phone? That thing you read on the toilet? Yeah, yeah, I know your grandfather used to call people with it, but let’s not get bogged down in ancient history. If you have an iPhone, click on Utilities, then click on Voice Memos. Start recording as you walk on stage and put the phone in your pocket.
On your trip home from the show listen to the recording and when you hear the new line, write it down in your show script and make sure you use it next show.
Two things:
One, like many things, the key to getting the most from this is not to do it occasionally, but to make a habit of it.
“Habit” means do it every show. The results will add up quickly.
Two, the recording habit is only ONE tool to becoming a pack small & play BIG success.
It’s very helpful, but it’s far from the only tool that should be in your toolbox. Here’s a packed toolbox to succeed: my new book The Show Is The Mother Of Invention. Habitual show recording is only one technique from its 104 pages and 40 chapters. In fact, habitual show recording is only one small part of a much larger chapter about playing big.
Just like most other aspects of show improvement, becoming better at packing small & playing big isn’t the result of only one thing. It’s the accumulative effect of many things.
And those “many things” is what this book is about.
Until next time,
Doc Dixon
*No, not THIS kind of phone. 