I’ve known Jack since the mid-nineties when I used him in a client’s product launch. We’ve also shared a stage on a couple of occasions at conferences in Australia. As someone who also earns some of his living speaking at events, I understand the ups and downs of being a hired entertainer or MC, so I was curious to learn from Jack’s vast experience.
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What was your first gig?
Levi: It was in a comedy room called Le Joke, located upstairs of the Last Laugh in Melbourne. On Tuesday nights Le Joke held open-microphone nights where budding comedians could try out their material in the hope of improving and getting paid work. I did 16 of these try-out nights before I got a paid gig and it was for a whole $25.
I started in 1981, while working for Telecom and didn’t start full-time comedy until 1987.
Apart from over 60 stand-up comedy spots on Australian national television, I’ve now delivered thousands of live performances across seven countries – comedy spots, MC [gigs], [for] corporate, weddings, parties, sports clubs and more.
With my corporate work I have been the MC and/or the comedian at more than 1,800 events.
What are some of the biggest events you’ve done?
Levi: Publicly I have done lots including a performance in front of around 11,000 people at the former Sydney Entertainment Centre as part of the Rock Comedy Explosion series. There were two bands and seven of Australia’s best comedians.
I was also the support act for the very popular band America for eight shows on the east coast of Australia, including two shows at the Sydney Opera House. I even joined in the chorus when the band sang A horse with no name. Each night after the third song, [the] main singer Gerry Beckley would say to the audience ‘what about a hand for our new friend Elliot Goblet – strange guy, but very funny’.
I worked at a large incentive event in Thailand for Wella Hair Care’s top Australian salon owners.
And amongst other more memorable corporate event experiences were my seven performances at large venues for Amway….memorable because the audience gave me a standing ovation before I started. This was the custom at these events with a lot of excited people in the room.
Any disasters?
Levi: One of my biggest challenges was at an Oporto conference in the Hunter Valley [in] NSW. It was a daytime event and one delegate brought a small child to the event. This child was a bit noisy and happened to interject just when I was getting to my punch lines.
I used humour to suggest that the interjecting child be taken out of the room for the duration of my act but nothing was done. Understandably I was upset and became visibly flustered. The father eventually did take the child out but there was awkwardness which cost me laughs for the next few minutes.
I had to do a reset to win the audience back.
What should event managers and conference organisers look for when hiring an MC or entertainer?
Levi: There has been a trend recently to hire ‘funny’ social media influencers or people with large followings on LinkedIn for example, and it’s damaging the reputation of legitimate practitioners.
Many influencers curate and edit their videos and social media content for maximum effect online. However this rarely translates to successfully performing to a live audience. As a result, event managers get nervous hiring legitimate comedians because of the failure they [have] experienced working with allegedly humorous influencers.
The same goes for hiring people who appear funny on a TV panel or game show. Performing in an edited TV show is no guarantee of the ability to perform on a corporate stage.
It is preferable for clients to work with someone who has a successful track record and is people friendly…willing to mingle with the audience for chats, selfies and autographs.
Ideally an MC and/or a comedian should do some research to meet the client’s brief, not just deliver the same presentation to everyone. I do what I call ‘extreme research’ about the subject matter to design each presentation to be relevant to the audience. Expertise matters – don’t follow fashion, follow experience. Your audience will thank you for it.
And in the modern environment, ideally clients want a comedian who doesn’t offend or use foul language for laughs. It can backfire spectacularly on the event organiser if someone gets offended and complains or starts a social media rant.
Talk directly with the comedian you are going to use, even if they have a manager. Your objectives can get lost in translation if delivered via a manager or agent. And remember, if you want to hire a specific talent, but the agent insists on an alternative, that may be because the agent is looking after their own interests, not yours or that of the talent.
Funny business breaks up the serious business
Levi: I’ve performed to or been the MC for most of the top 200 companies in Australia – and a fair few of the bottom 200 as well.
My role, whether it’s an MC or the guest comedian is ‘to break up the serious business with some funny business’.
Particularly at corporate conferences, this is very important because, after all, not every speaker is engaging or exciting and the audience needs some comic relief to stimulate them during a long day.
I love what I do, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it for so long and I’m not slowing down quite yet.
As that funny bloke Elliot Goblet says ‘I do all my own choreography…and you can quote me on that’.
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Those are some serious insights from this seriously funny man. You can book Elliot Goblet for your next event via his website.
Malcolm Auld is one of Australia’s leading marketing practitioners and educators. He occasionally writes on marketing matters for micenet. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
