Performers are ALWAYS "on"

Dan Janal writes in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Stage that he was unpleasantly surprised at a recent event when performers ignored their fellow performers and talked through their performances. It reflected poorly on them, and caused the judges and audience to have negative feelings towards them

It doesn't matter what kind of performer you may be: a professional speaker, a country singer, a comedian or even a clown, you are NOT only "on" when you are performing.

I do a lot of professional speaking. Before and after my speech I act professionally as well. The thought of talking through someone else's speech is absurd! If member of the audience wants to ask me a question or talk well after my speech has finished, I'm more than happy to oblige. I even occasionally get emails from people who have seen me speak months ago and am happy to respond.

I'm a speaker both before, after, and during when I'm on stage. Just like a clown is a clown even before they start or finish their clown act. All clowns seem to understand this. Many professional speakers and other performers understand this.

All performers should understand this!

And even for those that don't, common courtesy *should* prevail.