Nikola Tesla Books
HINTS FOR THE ELECTRICAL ENTERTAINER 223 For the theatre, the opening remarks should be exceedingly brief and "straight from the shoulder," for an audience of this nature is ever impatient for something to happen and the quicker the action throughout the better the reception. If the lecturer is endowed with an unusually commanding presence, which invariably combines the gift of wit or humor, he may carry the action with his own magnetic personality; but for the individual who is not gifted in this manner, the rapid-fire style is safer and less likely to subject him to the disconcerting ridicule of an unruly gallery crowd. Impressive Opening Imperative.-The introductory remarks should be quickly followed up with an impressive experiment; this is to at once arrest the attention and whet the appetite for better things to come. After the successful completion of this one experiment, the performer has, in a large measure, gained the confidence of his people, and in consequence, they will be the more ready to listen to his further remarks. At this point may come the real introduction to the entertainment to follow. The experiments should be placed on the programme in logical order and every effort made to so arrange them that there shall be no wait whatever between the successive demonstrations. The mediocre experiments should be interspersed with the spectacular and startling ones, and invariably the climax should consist of the one experiment that proves to be the masterpiece. It is not always possible to determine just which one from among the number may properly lay claim to this title and this is where the value of "trying it on the dog" comes in. As a matter of fact the final rehearsals of the performance should be before a real audience and a critical one at that, for only in this way can the production be whipped into shape.
