#walkons

Hello there!

I’ve only entered three contests so far, so I don’t have a ton of experience in this, but I have been told that I have good stage presence (including by judges), so maybe I can help. (I also have zero skit experience, so I’m glad you’re asking about walkons.)

My basic method boils down to this

Really, most of it comes down to confidence. If you don’t have that naturally, fake it ‘til you make it. Know that it’s one contest, not the end of the world. And if you are doing a walk-on, the presentation might not even factor into your score, depending on the contest. Know that you are there to shine and to entertain the audience for those 30 seconds you are on stage, but that you will only be up there for 30 seconds, and then they’ll move on to the next person. If you mess up, no one will know or care. It usually only matters if you do well and go above and beyond. There’s actually very little pressure with a walkon performance.

If it helps, divorce yourself from yourself, if that makes sense. You’re up there enacting a character on stage, but it’s not “you,” it’s “Harle” or “Juri” or whoever else. Don’t think of it as you on that stage, but think of it as someone else, and they’re just inhabiting your body for that short span. I’m actually somewhat shy and not all that social until I become comfortable with someone, but thinking of it as me but not me up on stage really helps with that. 

When you do your walkon, know that you are there to entertain an audience and there to embody a character. Really feel that character. If you are allowed to choose your own music, choose something that you can really perform to. something evocative. In the two walkons I’ve done where I could choose my music, I did a very dramatic battle theme for a character who is a hardened fencer and duelist, and did a somewhat melancholy but still slightly playful song for a conflictedly villainous harlequin character. Both songs are from the series the characters were from, and both are very evocative and create a sense of atmosphere and give a sense of who the character is. For the first (Juri), I went in as intimidating as I could and swished my sword around as if I were challenging the audience. For the second (Harle), I sauntered on stage and did a few dramatic and playful poses. I chose the music because I felt that I /could/ perform to them, and that I could channel some of my feelings about the character into the music and use that as my guide for the mood I wanted to portray. Having a sense of how you want to portray the character is really important, and keeping that character type and mood in mind can really help you to focus your entire being on embodying that.

That gets to the next point: practice practice practice! Don’t go in there without a plan and try to figure it out once you get on stage. The more your practice, the less nervous you will likely be, but also keep it flexible in case something goes wrong, or you forget a pose, or the stage setup is different from how you imagined (say, there’s a drumkit in the middle back of the stage leftover from the concert that was just in there and you can’t use that area, or you have to enter and exit on a particular side), etc. Practice in your bedroom, with your music, in your costume, if possible. Give yourself a bit of time to practice, as well. Get to know the movements you want to make inside and out. The advantage here is that unlike posing for a still image, you often don’t have to make sure that you are always at the most flattering angle -- people will be at all angles to you and you’ll look different in motion than when stilled. Candid images of you up on stage will almost always catch you at the wrong time or angle. Don’t worry about that, but do pause for a few moments to give people time to take photos and see your costume, even as you shouldn’t just pose statically the whole performance.

While I’m on walkon tips for a successful performance, here’s a few more: be sure to show all angles of your costume, even the back. Have at least one turn to show this. You don’t have to tell a full narrative, but keeping in mind who your character is and why they act the way they do can really help. Keep your movements exaggerated. People from the back can’t see small little movements as you are on stage, so be sure to act large, for the whole audience. (As Harle, since I had hugely poofy pants and was on stage, I made sure to really swish my hips so that the movement was visible, for example.) Look out at the audience, not the judges, since that’s who you are performing for -- don’t look down as you are walking unless that is a distinct part of the performance (and it is clear that you are acting the part of someone who is shy). Don’t do anything tentatively, and be sure to use your whole body to make every motion deliberate. If you have props, figure out what you want to do with them. If you don’t, figure out what to do with your hands. Figure out what you want to show off (especially if your costume has some sort of cool feature or a cool reveal you can do, like a lighted or moving portion, or even something as simple as a long train you want to show off) and figure out a way to do so.

You probably won’t even see the audience if the stage has theatrical lighting, which can help a lot with nervousness. It’s not that it’s a bunch of faces out there, but rather that it’s a bunch of darkness with really bright lights above you and to your sides. Pretend they aren’t there if you have to. Better yet, just don’t even think about the audience aside from the fact that you are performing for them. It’s an abstract concept, not actual people watching you at that point.

Some cons have it set up as more of a runway than a stage, but even then, still walk as if you were your character. Do an in-character pose or two at the end of the runway. There’s a bit less room for performance here (as even walkons are still performing, even if it’s not storytelling in the way a skit is), but never simply walk, despite the word being in the type of performance you are doing. You’re still performing a character and entertaining the audience.

As for how to get better stage presence, beside the “barren field of fucks” attitude, I honestly think that many many years of anime con karaoke has helped me with mine. You only have a month until your con, but try to do a local karaoke night (sober). Go out with friends where you are comfortable and try it out. Do your performance for your friends or family. It’s too late to get involved in theatre groups or anything like that, but if taking a theatre class at your local community college helps (or joining up drama club if you are in school), go for it. Anything that can get you comfortable on stage and performing in front of other people can help here. Also, entering more contests! This is only your first one. You’ll hone your skills as you go.

Also this

I think my #1 tip for stage presence is to have deliberate movements. Keeping your core tight and your posture good helps a lot. If doing a shy character, make sure that the shyness is deliberate and not confused with you being shy. Be confident in how you act, even if you are trying to act out non-confidence. Go out there and be bold.