Atlantic Indoor Association

March 2011 

In concluding the section on rehearsing in Up Front: A Complete Resource for Today’s Pit Ensemble (Tapspace, 2003), co-author Jim Ancona offers four simple rules on “a very simple topic: how to make the pit ‘perform’”. Republished here with permission for your contemplation and use, without further ado:

Rule number 1 for performing in a pit: Look up! No, I don’t mean staring straight ahead like a robot while you’re playing a blazing 16^th note run. I mean looking up in between phrases and when you’re not playing. You would be amazed at the affect this has on an audience. This promotes a tremendous sense of confidence!

Rule number: Communicate! One of the reasons I love to watch experienced pit perform is because they communicate with each other during the show. This is a very sincere way of performing. Sometimes you’ll see them making eye contact with each other, a smile, a “knowing” nod; they are enjoying performing together. This can be contagious and VERY fun to watch!

Rule number 3: Make performing a part of your rehearsal. If you don’t practice performing during the rehearsal, you won’t do it during the show. This is particularly true for musicians who are not used to performing. A seasoned performer can turn it on for the show; they just have to make sure that some of their “un-seasoned” colleagues are ready for it!

Rule number 4: Everyone has to be on board. We’ve all seen shows where one performer is having the time of their life and the rest are standing around like moss-covered statues. Unfortunately, this makes the one person who is performing look out of place. Video taping rehearsals and performances can help in this situation. Sure performing may seem unnatural to some, but if it’s done in a subtle way, everyone be made to feel comfortable.

Sounds easy, but it’s not. This is what really separates the good pits from the great pits. As I mentioned before, for my tastes the key is to be subtle. Try to avoid “fake expression” and overt visuals. Keep your pit a cheddar-free zone. If your musicians feel good about what they’re doing, they will do it every time!