I was raised by strong women.  Most of the men I admire were raised by strong women.  Life is realized in the womb of a woman.  Stands to reason we shouldn’t treat them like shit.

But women are marginalized in our society in ways that are criminal.  I’m not just talking about the billions of women

who are sold into slavery via the sex trade or trafficking.  The book Half the Sky exposes that subject better than I could, so don’t take my word for it – buy the book.

I know this is a blog about the entertainment biz, but nowhere else are women more discriminated against than in the entertainment industry. From actresses to execs to assistants, a fair shake seems to be a pipe dream unless you show some skin or stuff your face with botox.  But why?  And will it ever change?  I have no idea.  I’m a guy.  But Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook has a very interesting view on the subject and it clarified things for me, how about you?  Check out the video below from her recent appearance at the TED Conference and tell me what you think.

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

In the book Talent Is Overrated, Jeff Colvin, Senior Editor at Large for Fortune Magazine, suggests that he has found a missing link – the difference between being mediocre and truly achieving greatness.  And it’s not talent.

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An excerpt (paraphrased for space):

‘Look around you.  Look at your friends, your relatives, your coworkers, the people you meet when you shop or go to a party.  how do they spend their days?  Most of them work.  They all do many other things as well but how well do they do what they do?  The most likely answer is that they do it fine.  The odds are that few if any people around you are truly great at what they do-awesomely, amazingly, world-class excellent.  Why?’

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There a few things this book suggests that I don’t agree with – like the fact that clinical psychologists have had a hard time defining what ‘talent’ is, therefore it must not exist.   In a recent conversation with my stage manager Tony Lepore (who happens to have a degree in Philosophy) we decided that talent is a combination of experience and intuition combined with one other element.

This element is something the book touches on that I actually agree with.  Deliberate practice.

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Whether you’re on stage or off, a job requires performance.  Great performance requires practice that is hard, and it hurts, but it works.  Deliberate practice.  When I toured with Tops In Blue we had to rehearse 18 hours a day for six weeks – through stressed fractures, minimal sleep and unbelievable stress – before we set foot on stage in front of an audience.  But the finished product was undeniable and continues to wow audiences worldwide.

The best and most visible example of deliberate practice is Cirque Du Soleil.  When I got selected as a performer with them in April (after a nine hour audition) I had a new appreciation for how to rehearse.  Then I was invited to watch a rehearsal for KA at the MGM Grand and the precision and intensity of their rehearsal knocked me off my feet.

The result of their deliberate practice?  The most successful live entertainment company on the planet.

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Can rehearsal alone replace talent?  Is there a way to achieve greatness through repetition or are you born with an innate ability to do certain things better than most?

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Comment below and tell me what you think.

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

This is a guest post from a magician named Andrew Mayne.  It made me laugh out loud and I just had to share it with you.

I have spent a significant amount of my career working alongside magicians as well as performing magic myself (3 years as Octavius at Caesar’s Magical Empire) and this guy hits the nail on the head.

I think the same thing can be said about most talent competitions and about most types of performance, whether its acting, singing or whatever.

Enjoy – and let me know what you think of his perspective. -Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

I get a lot of email from aspiring magicians who see America’s Got Talent as their chance at success.

I try to give good advice, but there’s three things I never say directly to any one person because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.  Magic is filled with dreamers.  Unfortunately, most of these dreamers have no idea how to turn those dreams into reality or are willing to do the work.

Here are three things everyone who is thinking about trying out for America’s Got Talent needs to know:

You’re not special – they ask everyone to audition

If you get an email from the company that handles booking for AGT asking you to audition, it’s because they found your email address and not because they think you have a chance of winning.  You haven’t been “discovered”.  They did a Google search for “magician” and your name popped up somewhere.

The job of the company that books for this show is to get as many bodies in the door as possible.  99.99999% they know are absolutely horrible.  They love to book train wrecks.  They won’t tell you this, they’ll flatter you and think you have a chance.  But you don’t, because…

You’re not good

All of the guys you’ve seen on AGT are professionals who have decades in the business.  Most of them have worked Vegas and some have even headlined.  They worked hard to get where they are.  Have you worked steadily as a professional?  Would you have to turn down shows and take a huge financial risk if you went on?  If you answered “no”, then you’re not going to make it.  If you said “yes”, then here’s the last reason you’re not going to make it…

Your act is too damn slow

The single number one enemy of good magicians with good magic is that their material is TV unfriendly.  All the really good variety television acts have something happening every 15 seconds.  Every video I get sent to look at with almost no exception is way too long.  These people have no sense of time.  On TV this is deadly.  A good illusion done at a slow pace by a mediocre magician is worse then a fast paced mediocre illusion. Faster is better.

So now that I’ve said this, I’m still going to get email from hopefuls who think they are the exception.  No matter what evidence reality is offering you, you’re going to ignore it.  And sadly, I’m going to be too polite to tell you the truth.  And for that I apologize.  Break a leg!

Agents and record label execs can only sell what you bring to the table.  Here’s how to bring more to the table.

A consulting client of mine recently told me that he was moving to LA and asked me if I would advise him on his strategy:

‘I’m gonna move to LA, get a waiter job and start sending headshots to agents, hoping I get ‘discovered’ by taking lots of classes and hanging out with lots of actors.’

‘That will probably lead to a record deal and I might even dance and do some voiceover if I have time.’

Another client told me he wanted to be a famous singer and then move into films and television and wanted me to coach him on the process of making that a reality.

Sounds simple enough, right?  Wrong.  Here’s why:

Step #1:  Pick a talent or genre you are world class at and stick with it.  Not many people (less than 5%) are world class at more than one thing and the more focused you become on your specific talent the more focused attention you will receive from industry.

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Step #2:  There’s no such thing as being ‘discovered’. There are people out there looking for the next big thing but don’t count on them finding you by accident.  If they do, consider it an accident.  In the meantime, discover yourself.  Create something that will make you stand out – something that plays to your strengths and is so good you can’t be ignored.

Step #2.5: Once you create that something, COLLECT INFO from your audience.  Information is power.  Having lots of fans on Facebook, followers on Twitter or having a massive e-mailing list is more valuable than a ’slammin’ demo or an acting reel.  The power of social media means that having a huge fan base gives you an upper hand when it comes to getting the attention of those who write the fat checks.

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Step #3:  Know what an agent is looking for.  It’s more than looks and acting class.  Every agent has to figure out how much time they need to put into a client to get a return on their investment (you).  If you walk in and all you have is head-shots and botox you’re not going to get far.  How do you get them to invest in you?  Refer to steps 1, 2 and 2.5 and repeat often.

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As a mentor of mine so eloquently put it:  ’On You’

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

‘Who in the world isn’t on Facebook?’

Check out these quotes from a recent CNN.com article that posed this question.  For the full text click here:

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the site hit a half-billion active users.

That’s nearly five times as many people as watched this year’s Super Bowl — the most popular television broadcast ever — and about four times as many people as voted in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

People spend more than 700 billion minutes per month on the site and, according to Facebook, 400 million of them have logged in during the past month. Keep in mind there are only 309 million people in the United States — total.

So who isn’t using Facebook?

“It’s people who are not computer users — either really young or really old and for whom using technology just isn’t a part of their daily lives,” Smith said. “For people who do rely on technology, Facebook has just really become a common way to function and get a lot of normal things done.”

So what does this mean to you?

Maybe you don’t care about Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or Digg.  It can all sound a bit overwhelming trying to keep up with what ‘everybody else’ is posting and why you need to jump on the bandwagon.

If you want to succeed as a performer of ANY genre and don’t have a GOOD website and significant presence on at least Facebook or YouTube you’re fooling yourself. The more people are looking at you the more people will talk about you.  And when you meet with an agent or record label or whatever, regardless of how great your talent is, guess where they’re going to look as soon as you walk out the door?  Google.

They’re going to look you up online and the less they find, the less leverage you have to make them pay attention.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are free advertising.

It’s stupid to assume that everyone on Facebook will see your page but it’s also ridiculous to think that ‘holding off for now’ is helping you in any way.

Let’s keep in mind that DeBeers doesn’t flood the market with diamonds.  Having 30 mediocre YouTube videos can be just as damaging as having none.  Learning that less is more and having a sense of discernment is something we don’t have the space or time to get into.

Moral of the story is:  If you’re a performer and you’re not using the Internet effectively you’re not serious about your career.  If you’re afraid or ignorant of how to play the internet game, there are people you can hire to help you.

Gordon Ogden is the best there is when it comes to maximizing your social media and web strategy.  Read his post here.

Can’t afford to hire anybody?  Buy a book or Google it and learn it yourself.  It’s pretty easy.

Need a website? Check out Femath Media www.femath.com, they did mine.

Instead of asking ‘why should I’ maybe the question is ‘what do I have to gain?’.

The answer?  Everything.

If you already have a website: Is anybody visiting?  Find out for free by using Google Analytics.  It tells you how many people are visiting your website and how long they stay on each page as well as how they found you.  No good having a lemonade stand if nobody’s thirsty.  Your site must evolve to engage your fans in new and exciting ways.

Go get it.

Kahlil (at) Gigsmacked (dot) com

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