When Ron was working on his show with Rick Jensen, Rick made a great observation: audiences are trained to want to applaud after a person’s name is mentioned. So when planning Thank Yous, script them so that the person’s name comes last:
“For amazing sound and lights, I’d like to thank Red Furnell!” not “I’d like to thank Red Furnell for amazing sound and lights.”
“I owe everything to my friend, my shrink, my travel agent, and the best music director around — Louise Arpeggio!” not “And Louise Arpeggio here does everything for me — she’s my friend, my shrink, my travel agent, and the best darn musical director around.”
And the following is generally considered a standard order of acknowledgement:
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Venue & producer
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Sound / light engineer
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Music director
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Audience
I recently saw a show where the performer didn’t acknowledge the sound person. I was shocked that she had sound without feedback for her closer and encore.
I personally tend to add more, because I rely on the help of so many people. And if you’re handing out programs, why not increase the goodwill and be generous with your thanks there too?
