The Magic Behind Entertaining Guests at Virtual Events
The rise of virtual events created a unique obstacle for performers. Challenged to tweak their content and modify their delivery to keep audiences enchanted at a distance, the pivot required more than a few tricks to succeed. KE Creative Director and Senior Producer Marianne Jackson recently sat down with mentalist and illusionist Wayne Hoffman to discuss the evolution of his show format from engaging live audiences to enrapturing virtual guests with his entertainment expertise.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Marianne Jackson: Hi, Wayne. I’m so thrilled that you’re joining me today. I have had the pleasure of working with you twice, and one of the things I love about finding really brilliant vendors and entertainers is that they always make me look really good. And especially you, because you’re such an incredible crowd pleaser.
Wayne Hoffman: Oh stop it. Stop. [ laughing ]
Marianne: No really. It’s fun. It’s almost as fun watching you perform as it is watching the crowd react to you. I want to know what has the transition been like, from being live in like an audience of thousands of people to going into virtual events.
Wayne: Yeah, as scary as you can imagine at first. Just like any transition. You know what it feels like? I felt like, I can imagine, you know, like when horse and carriages were around then everyone starts driving these motor vehicles and you’re like “Wait. I need to get in one of those things? I don’t know what they’re all about.” It was a very just huge transition; just like any change. Just like, as a kid, if you go to a new school or any type of major change, you know, you start thinking, “what is this going to be like.” But on the flip side now, looking back, hindsight is 20-20. It’s been awesome.
Marianne: I’ve seen you just enrapture hundreds of people on a Zoom call. Like, how did you have to adapt to be able to connect with the audience in that virtual realm versus having all that applause and energy in the actual auditorium?
Wayne: So, for me, it was different, because obviously, we had to go through a few steps. First, we had to create content that was interactive and engaging through a screen. So, from a creative standpoint, I had to learn that. We had to, obviously, learn more about technology. We had to learn about cameras and lenses and studio lighting and all sorts of stuff. So, creating that and the other portion of it, you know; normally, I would say, “here, hold this envelope” or “here, take this prop” and I can’t do that through a screen. So, I had to reframe my entire show through the eyes of the viewer on the other side of the screen. I had to put myself in my audience’s shoes and figure out what they would enjoy doing.
Marianne: Did you have to go back to the drawing board on a lot? Were there illusions that would just not translate at all in a virtual realm? Then were there things that would translate even better that you never would have considered in a live performance?
Wayne: It’s a good question. Luckily for me, I have actually been…when I travel around doing shows live all over the world, what I like to do is, if I have time, I would go on morning shows, on the radio shows and I would read the DJs minds in person, but we would have listeners call in and I would read their mind over the phone. So, over the past 20 years, I’ve actually created a show that is made for doing it over the phone and at a distance. So I took a little of that then combined it with visual things and having the ability to do, you know, stuff through the camera. And there was definitely a learning curve to make it the most engaging and the most fun, but you know, it wasn’t starting from complete zero.
Marianne: When we transitioned into virtual events, I was tasked with finding, you know, entertainment options that would translate well. And I got to say, like, I was kind of like a magician naysayer. I’d never hired a magician or illusionist in any capacity before. I came across you in BizBash and thought, “okay, I’m going to just give this guy a call.” And I think I had a 30-minute call with you. And by the end of that, I was, I was so sold that I found myself just pitching you to like all of my clients. I’m like, there’s this guy, Wayne Hoffman.
[ clip from television show appearance ]
Marianne: You surprise and delight crowds of people, whether they’re live or whether they’re in a virtual environment. I’m curious to know, like, what has kind of surprised and delighted you about doing virtual events? Do you have any kind of personal anecdote about doing a virtual event show where something went unexpected or something kind of like surprised and delighted you and you’re like, “huh, that was amazing.”
Wayne: Well, I’m looking…we’re in the studio right now and I’m looking at my technical director here. He’s laughing because yeah, there’s been a few. I think that, you know, I got thrown into the deep end. Do you want to talk about surprises? [laughter] So, you know, March was the time when things were kind of going down. So, by April, I had what is the root core of my show, and the very, the very first one… I don’t know if it was the very first, but one of the very first shows we did; it was for country music legend Willie Nelson, and it was on April 20th. So, it was his special 4/20 event. And so, let’s just say, I had to read Willie Nelson’s mind when he was celebrating 4/20, and it was live-streamed out to 75,000 people. So, not only did I have to do an awesome performance, I had to do it with someone who, let’s just say, was enjoying the Halfling’s Leaf, to put it mildly.
Marianne: Will you practice one on me? Can we do one?
Wayne: Yeah, you know what, one of the things with virtual, the fun thing, you know, is normally when I’m on a large stage and I do an event, and there’s a thousand people or a few hundred people, you know, each event budget will determine what they do. Some have the IMAG cameras and the huge screens and others don’t, and I make my show fit. But the cool thing about this environment is we can really take advantage of the technology in order to boost things a little bit higher. Now being on big stages, one of the things that was lost often was my love for doing things close up and one-on-one and really intimate performances. So I, uh, I have something that the closer you watch, the more amazing it is. So, I’ll show it to you now. This is, uh, it involves an empty Coke can. So I’m going to give you guys a close-up view of this, check this out. See, now, if you were in the back of an audience, you might not be able to see this, but we’re here close up and you can see everything, which is one of the joys of having the virtual studio. So I want you to watch the dents in the can and I want you to imagine we can take the dents out of the can. I want you to imagine we can go back in time. Now, the more you imagine something, and the more you believe it, you see, the more it starts to become your reality and you see the dents are coming out of the can, but we still have a hole. So if you imagine that I can grab the hole and throw it away, right? You’re just imagining that I grab it and throw it away. It's part of your imagination. But like I said, if you grab something and get rid of it, if you grab the nothing and get rid of it, the lack of nothing is the presence of something real. And yes, that is 120% resealed. Now there’s nothing in there yet, but listen, if we imagine we can go back in time, it’s getting heavier and heavier. And here, listen, it’s starting to fill up now, keep going. I want you to completely fill this up and imagine we can go back to the point where it was completely refilled. That’s completely refilled. Now, make it cold. It’s getting colder and colder and colder. Now just remember one thing in the events world imagination is a very powerful thing. And on that note, I’d like to make a toast. Cheers.
Marianne: Unbelievable. Cheers! I mean, you honestly had me just at the dent and then you kept going. Wayne, it has been so fun talking to you. Again, I can’t wait to hire you again. I can not articulate enough what an impact you've made on the virtual event programs that we’ve done. And, thank you so much for talking to me.
Wayne: Well, thank you, and you’ve been a pleasure to work with, of course. It’s always good to work with pros.
Marianne: Yeah! Virtual event pros!
Wayne: You’re the best in the world.
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