Planning for Seasons

In pro wrestling, there is a term called ‘ring rust.’

It refers to wrestlers returning from an injury and being away from the ring.

Before I go any further, yes, pro wrestling is scripted. ‘Nuff said. But the physical toll on their bodies is incredible.

I don’t watch much pro wrestling, but I am fascinated by the inner workings of the industry. And when a wrestler is away from the ring due to injury or contract disputes, it makes returning to that physical grind that much harder.

The wrestler returning can prepare all they want. They can work out, build up their muscles, etc. But it’s not until they return to the ring and start interacting with their opponents that they get their timing back.

I recently experienced something akin to ‘ring rust’ myself.

I’ve made no secret that since the start of the pandemic, I have decided to scale back my performing and retire, preferably sooner than later.

But the gigs kept rolling in. I kept raising my prices. And they keep rolling in.

In the last few months, I’ve found myself getting busier and busier, essentially returning to an almost full-time schedule of shows.

The money’s great, but boy, my body has been telling me I have severe ‘ring rust.’

Last month I was so sore and miserable that I just wanted to pack it in.

I should break into my own story and mention that as a school show guy, I choose to bring with me several large props, backdrops, and other heavy equipment. I would imagine the briefcase guys don’t have to worry about this.

But at yesterday’s shows, I realized something magical had happened. I was no longer sore after the shows. And my performing has gotten much sharper again.

My ‘ring rust’ is gone.

It made me consider what I could offer to you, dear reader, in terms of insights into this issue of the newsletter.

I realized that many performers have different ‘seasons’ in their yearly calendars.

Most mentalists perform a lot of corporate banquets for holiday parties, so that’s definitely a ‘season.’ Birthday party performers likely experience ebbs and flow to their seasons based on the time of year.

Family/children’s entertainers definitely have seasons. School show performers have roughly 10 months out of the year when they can count on school shows. And the two months of the summer? No shows.

Want to minimize your ring rust? Sit down and map out your calendar year. Before a given ‘season’ begins, give yourself a few weeks to prepare.

I’ll use my own calendar as an example. Before I begin, keep in mind I use completely different tricks and scripting for each of the shows I’m going to describe.

My school year here in the Northeast of the United States starts in September. For September and October, I perform a lot of character education and anti-bullying shows. That’s what many schools want at that time of year.

If I want to be prepared, I know I have to start rehearsing and sharpening those routines no later than August. That way, I’ve got my timing and scripting back, nicely tightened for those fall shows.

October also brings with it the opportunity for Halloween shows. I have different spooky shows for kids, teens, and adults. So in September, I have to start polishing and rehearsing those shows. And the adult programs in particular are the most challenging. They’re very heavy on scripting and light on tricks, so getting my vocal delivery and transitions is especially important.

Next up are Christmas shows. So I need to start polishing and rehearsing Christmas material in November.

January sees a lot of science shows. Fortunately, my science show is as close to an evergreen show as I’ll ever have. I perform it all year, even during the summer as libraries book it too. That means minimal polishing.

In March, schools like to have reading-themed assemblies, so in February, it’s time to dust off that material.

From April to June, schools might book anything. They may want character education, science, or reading. But by then I already have those shows polished. The only real challenge left in the school year is field days, or what’s known as end-of-the-year celebrations. Time to polish my Magical Mayhem show. That’s my branded ‘just for fun’ assembly show.

Most importantly, from mid-June to late August, I’ll be performing several of my Summer Reading Program shows for libraries.

This is especially challenging because each year I need a new show. As soon as I know the theme for a given year, I’ll start jotting down ideas. I will continue to tweak and adjust this list up through April. Once I have my lineup locked in, I have to start rehearsals in earnest no later than the beginning of May.

Most years, I’m able to find material in my existing shows that will work for that year’s theme. Often, I can find at least half of what I need from my existing shows. The other half of the show might involve new scripting for props I own or possibly a few brand-new props to fit that year’s theme.

This year I got lucky. The theme perfectly fits my character ed show. So I simply adjusted my existing character ed show, added a new opening, and voila! Instant show.

When August arrives, it’s time to start the entire year’s cycle over again.

Keeping my yearly ‘seasonal’ calendar in mind allows me to reduce ‘ring rust’ as each season of performing arrives.

What about YOU? What do you do to prepare for your ‘seasonal performing?’

Until next week…

--Cris

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