5 Signs You Are in a 'Bad Room'

5 Signs That You Are In a "Bad Room"

Michelle Wolf was the 2018 comedian for the White House Correspondents' dinner. She, like every comedian the years before, is put in the position to make Rich Politicians laugh. But is it really her fault if they didn't laugh at her material, like her style, or found her distasteful? Not exactly...really, it's C-SPAN; the Channel that puts on the dinner every year and knows who exactly they are bringing, whether it be guest or performers. Since it seems C-SPAN didn't really do the homework of who Michelle Wolf was and how she writes her jokes, we have the unhappy accident of a really great artist being put in a 'Bad Room' *bum Bum BUM.*

Now, when I say 'Bad Room,' I don't mean a room full of Michael Jacksons (lol).

A 'Bad Room' is a term used by artists for when a space/venue is either dry and bland or hectic and just not ready for what you're about to bring to the table in the worst way possible. This could be really awkward for an artist and you'll possibly end up feeling like you suck. So to make you feel better and realistic about any of your performances, here are five signs to spot a bad room.

1) Back Facing Chairs (I'm getting hype already)

Not one person wants to repeatedly turn around to see who is performing, so eventually they'll just stop.

'What will they do if they aren't looking at you,' you ask?

Well, they talk to those they are actually able to look at because that's a natural human thing to do. You need eye contact as a performer, especially when dealing with poetry/speech/comedy etc. since it's conversational and interactive. A good way to combat this is to give your audience something interactive to do with you like snapping or making a beat; something physically captivating that trains your audience to keep eyes on you.

2) Bad room? Try 'not a room at all.'

Being outside can be an awesome experience turned awry, especially if your voice is fighting all the activity going on. Vendors, streets/cars, people outside of the outside event, and worst of all...

a terrible mic.

a selfish mic; one that keeps the sound to itself and gives nothing. Nothing else would matter if only it worked...but it doesn't, so you jut sit there...whispering to yourself (has a flashback).

3) Wrong Audience

Literally my whole reasoning for bringing up Michelle Solf. She's awesome in my opinion, but she is racy and does hard hitting jokes that aren't for tightly wound.

That moment where the ratio of people listening/responding doesn't hold a candle to the amount of people in the room.

Now this may seem like this can't be controlled, but if you were a host, you you wouldn't bring a Pastor to a twerk contest. Nobody wants a sermon when they wanna shake their rump.

4) Too Much Bad Room

Ah, yes. When your show is in Baltimore but the stage is in New Jersey (Why tho). Why do you have so much space between the stage and the audience? Where's the intimacy? The connection? This isn't supposed to feel like a failed marriage. "Why won't you look me in the eyes audience member #3? Oh, because you cant see me!

5) WHO HIRED YOU?

This might be the the most clear Red Flag that this show is going downhill. If your host sucks theres a 70 percent chance of having a terrible show. They are the MC, Master of ceremony, Moving the crowed, guiding us through the up and downs. When your hosts suck, they just create cringe worthy moments before each act. Examply: Once the host told the audience to shut up and participate because they weren't....YOU DON'T TELL THE AUDIENCE TO SHUT UP. At best, the host is the hype man for the show itself, not the overbearing parent that's trying to rebuild a relationship.

Regardless, if you're put in this situation, you never know who's watching, so don't give up, do what you do best, secure the bag, and get out of there. Even though it's hard, experiences like these help build up your confidence and you'll find out different ways to build the energy back up for your set. This skill takes time, and a few Bad Rooms to make stronger.

Follow me everywhere but my house @Meccamorphosisto learn more about me! I am a Spoken word artists and you can find my poetry youtube here.