Entertainment for events is pretty standard. There is a stage with a performer on it and chairs in front where the audience watches. This is a tried and true formula that most events employ. But what if you change things up?

Cincinnati Playhouse is doing just that this season with the Off the Grid Bar Series. Free, interactive art experiences are being brought to bars around the area. The idea is to bring the entertainment to where the audience already is and let the audience be a part of the experience instead of witnessing it. 

This series gives the opportunity for the audience to tell a story, lip sync or role play one of their favorite television shows. And participants are encouraged to take each one as far as they want, with anything from costumes to backup dancers welcome. 

This seems like so much fun that we thought about how you could take this same idea and bring it to your events. Here is what we came up with:

Entertainment stations

Instead of picking one of these themes, why not try them all? Use a location that has many smaller rooms, and do a different interactive experience in each room. You could have lip syncing in one room, in another you could have attendees acting out a show in another and maybe even choose a more traditional entertainment choice in another. This way, attendees can pick and choose their experiences for the evening. 

Have attendees choose their own adventure

As a part of this series, Cincinnati Playhouse is putting on #SelfieThePlay where attendees make choices about what is going to happen in the performance. This is a great way to get your attendees to be more involved in what’s going on and give them their own personalized performance. 

Bring the entertainment to the audience’s level

The basic idea of this series is to bring the arts to where the audience is instead of the other way around. So why not do the same thing at your event? Have several performers roam your event’s floor and do mini-performances with the attendees. And because everyone has varying tastes in entertainment, it could end up being a great way to break up any cliques and get different attendees talking to each other. 

How are you changing up your event entertainment?

PHOTO CREDIT: Mikki Schaffner