I have been involved in public performances dozens of times a year since 1983 [not on the unicycle, I hasten to add!], and have been the Fule (basically the ‘front man’) for our Morris team since around 1987. I have led numerous workshops on various aspects of performance. The following is based on that experience.
First, if you are performing to a non-specialist audience, performance skills are more important than unicycling skills. No doubt about it.
If you can mount, ride, steer, stop and then dismount without falling off, then there is enough there for a short performance.
On the other hand, a straight forward demonstration of half a dozen high-level freestyle skills will only last a minute or two and won’t get the credit it deserves. Think juggling: 3 balls is easy, 4 balls is achievable, 5 balls is for experts. The general public just thinks that 5 is about 5/3 as difficult as 3.
So, you need to keep the content of the show well within your abilities, so there is a wide margin for error, then present the material well.
Structure the show simply. Too much detail means too much to go wrong.
Think about structure:
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You need a big ‘first impression’, even if it’s only a well-presented announcement.
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You need some simple stuff which looks complicated (riding in patterns, crossing over, holding hands, etc.). This will fill time, and the audience is still impressed by the very fact that you are unicycling at all.
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You need contrast: one spot with several riders, one spot with a soloist, one spot with a duet, and so on.
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Basic rule: the audience always thinks the soloist must be good - even though YOU might know that coordinating 2 or 3 other riders in a set piece is much harder!
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Build up to a crescendo - save the best until last.
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It’s a good idea for the crescendo to follow a quiet spot in the show. Maybe a solo spot, or something delicate, followed by a team effort.
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Finish with a bang. Don’t go on and on and on. 10 minutes is a lot to watch.
Whatever you think about unicycles and clowns, the fact remains that the audience will expect humour.
Important parts of a performance:
- Continuity. Use the same ‘link man’ to do the announcements.
- Communicate - and not just with words. Tell the audience what you’re going to do. But also make eye contact, and use gestures.
- Believe in what you are doing. Don’t do anything half heartedly. (Although it is permissible to pretend to be half-hearted, to comic effect.)
- Character. It helps to have one or more easily identifiable individuals. He’s the funny one; she’s the clever one; he’s the one who gets picked on; that sort of thing.
- Participation. Give the crowd something to do, even if it’s only cheering at the right moment, or going ‘Ooooooooh!’, or counting pedal strokes, or clapping their hands. Crowds will normally do as they’re told. They’re there to have a good time, and need you to help them to do so.
- Music. A simple routine will look twice as good if it’s set to music - especially if the audience recognises the music.
- Look smart.
Don’t be didactic. You’re not there to show them how clever you are, or how difficult unicycling is. Show them what fun it is, by enjoying what you’re doing.
As for material…
Well, what can you do? Do that. But keep it simple. Don’t include something just because you CAN do it - and especially not because you can NEARLY do it. (In the context of a unicycling show, there might be an argument for including ONE item which is barely achievable (a particular jump or something) as long as you PRESENT it as a genuine challenge.
But it has to be a challenge which is interesting to watch - and perhaps a little ironic. So don’t jump over a box… jump over a row of Action Man dolls, or (as I once did) a scale model double decker bus.
Another option to get the crowd going might be a competition between two of your riders. If you have two who can skip, great. Even if they can’t skip, the first to 100 hops might get the crowd going.
And remember: keep it simple. Golden rule.
If you fall OF, they will laugh AT you instead of WITH you, and the difficulty of the trick is no excuse to someone who has no idea.
There’s more I could say, but my tea’s going cold.
Good luck,
Mike
