This is an article that I wrote recently for the Wild West Performing Arts Society, aka WWPAS, aka Whoop-ass. In this article I share my thoughts regarding the priority of a variety artist’s skill set with regards to his/her performance ability.
I actually a lot more interesting than I’ve made it sound in the description above. 
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Howdy, folks. It’s your friendly neighborhood knife thrower, Jack Dagger: The King of Fling!
In last month’s Whoop-ass Gazette Alamo Mike told us about knife throwing competitions, Robert Dante taught us how to attach a popper to a whip, Buck talked about Stunts and Stage Combat, and Johnny Hotshot accidentally said something profound about versatility. I say accidentally, ’cause I know he can’t possibly be that smart.
This month, I’ll be pinch-hitting for ole Alamo Mike for the knife throwers. I’ll tell ya a little about myself and my shows, and why I think that performing is the most important skill a performer can have.
Performing has been in my blood ever since I was two years old, doing somersaults down the aisle at my Aunt and Uncle’s wedding. They had the misfortune of getting married on my birthday. I’ve been dancing like a monkey ever since.
When I was old enough to safely handle a knife, throwing it seemed like the natural and proper thing to do. Didn’t make my mom too happy, but what else is there to do in a backyard in Baton Rouge?
It took me many moons before I combined my chocolate and my peanut butter and put together a knife throwing show. In fact, I’ve only just celebrated the completion of my sixth year doing knife throwing performances, and according to Che Che Whitecloud, I’m barely out of my greenhorn phase.
In any case, I was very fortunate to have been performing just about as long as I’d been throwing knives. All my life. So when I decided to put the two together, I was able to maintain a good balance between the two skill-sets: performing and knife throwing.
I’d like to quote something Hotshot said in last month’s Gazette, “Diversify… [and] never miss an opportunity to shut yer mouth…” Now, lemme elaborate on what that means to me: Always maintain a sense of humility, and learn whatever you can from whomever you can. Ya never know what’s gonna come in handy, but improving your performance skill will ALWAYS come in handy.
One of the most defining aspects about the Wild West Performing Arts is the props. That’s right, I said props. ‘Cause unless I start stabbing a hobo on stage (at which point the knife would become evidence), my knife is just a prop. Your whip… just a prop. Your rope, your gun, your hickory stick, your rubber chicken… they’re all just props. Props are used by performers to tell a story.
Gather all the physical skills you can, as it will give you a larger, more varied vocabulary to work with. But most importantly, while you’re out there mastering your skills make sure that you’re constantly honing the most important skill of all: performance. One of the pitfalls in the performance world is “if I can just learn how to walk on this broken glass, I’ve got myself a show.” No, you don’t. Now get off the stage and go pull up your pants.
Always imagine that there’s a “So What?” guy in the audience and he’s the hardest guy to please. Cater your show to that guy.
Example:
COWBOY SHMOOLY
[Performs a flat spin with a rope.]
SO-WHAT-GUY
“So what? You just spun a rope. And?”
And…? And that’s the million dollar question.
Storytelling isn’t always the linear, narrative form that we’ve learned from the Sunday Comics. Sometimes it’s just a sensation, or a feeling. Decide how you’d like your audience to feel, and figure out how to usher them along into that feeling.
Keep in mind that no one particular feeling or sensation is the right one. For instance, in my Jack Dagger shows, I want the audience to feel a little naughty, and experience a little bit of guilt-free sexual humor. However, in my Van Kleaver Bros shows, Shelby and I are much more innocent, and we want the audience to feel downright silly, or goofy, like we’ve all discovered an inside joke together and have spent forty-five minutes giggling about it.
All this is before you even worry about your “stunts”. By the time we perform our “stunts” it’s just icing on the cake; they’re already having a great time and don’t much care what we do. That being said, however, when you do suddenly WOW the heck out of them with a world class stunt, well, you’ve got a fan for life.
In the Wild West Performing Arts Society, we want to preserve the “Performing Arts”. Note the word “Perfoming”. It’s right in there in the title. To quote Steve Martin from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, “When you tell a story… have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener.”
Always keep your performance skill up in front of the rest of your skills and you’ll do alright.
Remember to join SASS (the parent organization of WWPAS), and Ride for the Brand! The Wild West Arts are an American’s birthright, and I’m happy and proud to be able to help keep ‘em alive!
You pal,
-Jack Dagger
p.s. [Begin Shameless Plug] – Go buy my new instructional DVD Knife Throwing 101: The Jack Dagger Method… or I’ll stab ya. 
Y’all can email me directly at jack@jackdagger.com.
