In your work as an interactive character, the Yes part of “Yes, and…” means accepting what the guest sends your way. The And is your response. Now, you could And them from a menu of lines or bits you know usually work.
Imagine, instead, using their offer to make the connection more real. What if the way you handled that offer could deepen and develop the interaction?
The guests aren’t thinking about being part of a scene. They have no idea you are watching closely. They are not editing. What you will get is honest and heartfelt. The truth is, you have the freedom to respond in kind – with enormous variety and subtlety. As long as your Why helps you stay true to the character’s world (while observing your companies rules, ‘course!), you have room to interpret an offer any way you wish. Here, your imagination can run free.
Giving your imagination freedom to adjust is the reason the headline this week is Pivot… Spin… Adapt.
Compare the guest’s offer to what your character knows and what they need to accomplish. Now make focused adjustments to respond smartly, in the moment. The cool thing is, your response is clearly out of you being influenced by the guest. Their offer becomes the push for you to change your behaviors. When you pivot, spin or adapt, you adjust what you are doing because of this individual guest. You’ve allowed them to contribute to the character and to the story moving forward.
Now your work is making the shift from ‘entertaining an audience’ to having an authentic interaction with a specific person.
Guests experience this as a genuine blending of their feelings with the character and the story. Inside, they can tell something they did influenced a part of this new world that surrounds them. They know they have made a contribution. It gives them value. They now have an active place in the character’s world.
That is immersion.
Pivot, spin, adapt. It’s gold.
For a performer, your most valued successes as an interactive character will be from creating that feeling of belonging for your guests. There is nothing like it. You’ll never settle for anything less.
Next Up – Non-Verbal Cues
Interactive Characters 