Doth the tail maketh the mer?

[Traveling Merman]

I'm seeing a lot of mermaids marketing themselves as "entertainers" popping up? I have no aversion to this, but am concerned after viewing several you tube vids with the lack of quality of performance! And to me it seems there's a few who think they've automatically got an act now that they've got a tail.

So let an old dab hand of the west end share some advice;

acting lessons
pricey I know but well worth it, and will set you above the rest! Acting lessons will provide you with the vital skills required to pull off a convincing story, a few things that show is a lack of improvisation, characterisation, truth to the performance and being courageous with your convictions.

Showmanship
This cannot be learned through watching, it comes by doing and can take years to materialise and sometimes not at all! (In the words of mama rose; "you either have it, or you've had it!") it's the difference between a flat performance (not good) or a vibrant performance.

Charisma
Possibly the easiest thing to improve on as it just requires you to talk to people and capture their attention (easily done by just opening up the conversation to the audience, let alone the fact you'll be half fish!) my only advice to this is talk to as many different people from as many different walks of life as possible! But I would say that you also have 2 ears, and 1 mouth so you should listen twice as much! (Be like a sponge) listen to your audience, remember information of audience members and bring it up later, that makes them feel liked and you're tailor making the show round them which is truly special and the hardest to get perfect! (Look at comedians and their audience participation it's brilliant)


Anyway the rants over now and before I get harpooned, I want people to know that I'm not attacking anyone, I'm actually giving advice here, (for free) and being constructive because I want us all to be better mers, I want people to think WOW!..... and THEN remember; "oh they were dressed as a mermaid/man as well"

[Mermaid Kelda]

Small additional note, it's useful to have your back story straight! You don't want to meet a kid once and tell them your tail turns into legs when you're out of water, and then meet them again and tell them you're all-fish all the time. Plus, knowing where your mer-persona comes from and their story means you can get into character better!

[Tasha Mermaid]

another point should be knowing how to be around children.....knowing HOW to work with children really makes a big difference.......im a big goof ball around kids, i ADORE playing with them and having fun, i have worked with kids most of my life (was even a preschool teacher) kids naturally love being around me, i have unlimited patience for children and i am high energy around them, yet i have seen many fail to capture a child and their imagination ......that is a big part of entertaining children, being able to get their imaginations soaring........i find that when you truly believe in what you are telling them, it gets you excited and THAT is what draws them in and makes them believe :)

[Traveling Merman]

Small additional note, it's useful to have your back story straight! You don't want to meet a kid once and tell them your tail turns into legs when you're out of water, and then meet them again and tell them you're all-fish all the time. Plus, knowing where your mer-persona comes from and their story means you can get into character better!

Well my dear this is one of the major things in Stanislavsky (method acting)! And a very good starting point for beginners tho don't get too bogged down in it! (American actors favour this technique) Kevin spacey (a method actor) approached lawrence Olivier (classically trained actor) and said "I can't get into this role for my new play I was wondering if you could give me some advice?" To which lawrence Oliver replied "just act"! So method acting can go pretty in depth! It's good to know that your character ate lobster last Tuesday night, but is it really crucial?

[New York Mermaid]

I say patience is a big one, kids can be as sweet as candy and yet there are those who work your nerves. Acting is acting but when there's a little kid who wants to chew your ear off about everything she knows about sand and fish, sometimes dazing into space wont help that situation.

Charisma is a big one especially, you can have any kind of tail but its your mer-sonality that needs to shine way more than the beauty of your tail.. I tell the kiddies I can change at will, not just because im in the water. Keeping kids and guests engaged is a great thing to do. Also your movements, being playful and graceful on land and as in water is what makes it more mermaidy?. You could be sitting on a bench/chair/sheel etc and still be as engaging as if your in the water. But definitely be bubbly and fun or whatever your mersona is. .

Which suddenly thisAriel performer comes to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPbI-1J4vo

And if they ask if im related to Ariel I tell them, she's one of my Many Many cousins. Lol (shes from Atlantica, My pod is from Aquatica)

[Mermaid Kelda]

Well clearly there's a limit to what you'd need to have memorised and what you can just come up with on the spot. But it's useful to have pre-created answers to common/general questions like "what do mermaids eat?" or "where do you live?" or "do you grow legs?".

[Traveling Merman]

another point should be knowing how to be around children.....knowing HOW to work with children really makes a big difference.......im a big goof ball around kids, i ADORE playing with them and having fun, i have worked with kids most of my life (was even a preschool teacher) kids naturally love being around me, i have unlimited patience for children and i am high energy around them, yet i have seen many fail to capture a child and their imagination ......that is a big part of entertaining children, being able to get their imaginations soaring........i find that when you truly believe in what you are telling them, it gets you excited and THAT is what draws them in and makes them believe :)

My question to you then is why are we separating children from the adults?

When you tell a story convincingly (because that's basically what acting is), people become ageless and just listen, they absorb it all, and then process it 'en mass' (you never really hear one person laugh on there own at a show) I just think age isn't a major thing, kids want to be treated like adults and adults want to be treated like kids......... In my experience! Lol

[Traveling Merman]

Well clearly there's a limit to what you'd need to have memorised and what you can just come up with on the spot. But it's useful to have pre-created answers to common/general questions like "what do mermaids eat?" or "where do you live?" or "do you grow legs?".

Agreed! ;)

[New York Mermaid]

My question to you then is why are we separating children from the adults?

When you tell a story convincingly (because that's basically what acting is), people become ageless and just listen, they absorb it all, and then process it 'en mass' (you never really hear one person laugh on there own at a show) I just think age isn't a major thing, kids want to be treated like adults and adults want to be treated like kids......... In my experience! Lol

you bring up a good point Kids and Adults are just as amused and entertained by a Mer in tail, same goes for those who have special needs, Each one is different and has different attention spans as well.

[Traveling Merman]

I say patience is a big one, kids can be as sweet as candy and yet there are those who work your nerves. Acting is acting but when there's a little kid who wants to chew your ear off about everything she knows about sand and fish, sometimes dazing into space wont help that situation.

Charisma is a big one especially, you can have any kind of tail but its your mer-sonality that needs to shine way more than the beauty of your tail.. I tell the kiddies I can change at will, not just because im in the water. Keeping kids and guests engaged is a great thing to do. Also your movements, being playful and graceful on land and as in water is what makes it more mermaidy?. You could be sitting on a bench/chair/sheel etc and still be as engaging as if your in the water. But definitely be bubbly and fun or whatever your mersona is. .

Which suddenly thisAriel performer comes to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPbI-1J4vo

And if they ask if im related to Ariel I tell them, she's one of my Many Many cousins. Lol (shes from Atlantica, My pod is from Aquatica)

0.O I think I went to a summer camp for singers, in NY with this girl playing ariel!... When I was 15....... God I feel old.

[New York Mermaid]

Oh please Im the matriarch in my pod "apparently" im the oldest one lol

[Tasha Mermaid]

I think we all make very valid points :) .....Of cause acting works on adults but adults are less likely to be as involved as children are the main difference is that adults WANT to believe where as children DO believe, we want to make the adults believe by acting the best mer we can, an adult is not simply going to believe we are a mer simply because we done a tail, we need to set the stage to create ourselves to be the mer and draw the adults into our world of imagination, a child will simply be a 110% sure you are a mer simply by your tail, so with children we have to keep them believing and anyone who works with kids knows that they will have the 1001 questions ready at hand to ask.....so every little detail is a must for them ;) there really is a difference in how we apply ourselves with children and adults, lucky for us the adults around the children are more inclined to believe in us as mer's simply by how much their child does.......in the end we need to be enthusiastic, creative and have the right mersonality to be convincing to everyone........ i would love to do mermaid parties but dont really know where start with setting it up :)

[Mermaid_Aurora]

How would a mer go about training to become a convincing actor and be good around children if they are deathly shy and acting school is not an option? This is all things I need to practice and accomplish, but I have a bit of a large obstacle in the way. Should I just introduce myself to children and act out my story gradually with small groups of children before I attempt to do it in front of a full audience?

[Kanti]

I think it depends how/where you're performing.
If you're going to be on a beach with kids you'd probably want to focus more on having a pretty, not necessarily realistic, tail and being good at coming up with stories, being patient and charismatic. Kids are going to immediately pic you apart with your costume, sometimes not even in a negative way, they might just be like "I can see your knees!" or something, so spending a little extra to buy/make a neoprene tail vs a spandex one is a nice investment. Working with kids also takes boatloads of patience, I dunno if I could do that xD I think I'm alright with kids but I think it's just that I've never been around very bratty kids before.

On the other hand if you're going to be more of an aquarium mer, maybe more tank performing in your own tank or an actual aquarium where you're not interacting directly with the crowd but they get an underwater view of you, I'd focus more on having a latex/silicone tail that does NOT bag or wrinkle in the water, and focus more on swimming and looking natural in the water, holding your breath, being able to keep your eyes open, etc.

I'm sure after getting a nice tail some people think they're entitled to being a "professional mer" without actually doing much practice, which is sort of a bad thing since you can wear a great costume but if you're a horrible actor, your costume can only help you so much. If you have a nice tail, great! You're halfway there, but you still need to practice.

[Kanti]

How would a mer go about training to become a convincing actor and be good around children if they are deathly shy and acting school is not an option? This is all things I need to practice and accomplish, but I have a bit of a large obstacle in the way. Should I just introduce myself to children and act out my story gradually with small groups of children before I attempt to do it in front of a full audience?
You can probably practice in front of a mirror a few times, maybe record yourself and review the footage later to spot mistakes you should fix. Rehearsing how you will act and what you will say is great because then you'll always know where to fall back when you get to the live situation. You'll have probably built up some phrases or words you can use in sticky situations.
Write down some things you hear kids ask other mers or even somethings you can think up yourself, like said above, "where do you live?" "what do mermaids eat?" and even more direct questions like "why do you have knees?" "can you walk on land?"
I'd completely recommend to film yourself, wait a while and watch the footage. Being on film always makes it easier to see your mistakes in comparison to watching yourself in the mirror.
When you feel like you don't have many mistakes left to fix and get a sense of "quickness" to your reactions, try just going to the beach in your tail, or a pool. Somewhere where you don't know anyone personally and where not too many people will walk up to you at a time. Preferably a beach, incase you do end up getting nervous you can just swim off to deep water and lose the kids for a while.