Meet Tony, The ‘Talent Whisperer’ Eventique’s Stage Manager Coaches Hollywood Stars, CEOs, and More
M ost people would be starstruck simply meeting “Stranger Things” actress Millie Bobby Brown in person — let alone coaching her through delivering a speech to more than 1,400 people. But for Eventique Stage Manager Tony Mayes, prepping Millie for the 2019 UNICEF World Children’s Day event was just another day at the office. “I’m on a first-name basis with any talent on stage — Millie Bobby Brown, David Beckham, and all of those people — because I work with them one-on-one,” Tony explains. “I’ll say, ‘Hey Millie, we’re going to do this script.’ I’m there getting to know her and her parents.” You can think of Tony as Eventique’s “talent whisperer.” For more than five years, he has gone above and beyond the stage manager’s call of duty to coordinate presenters and performers, oversee staging and positioning, coach speakers through their moments in the spotlight, and ensure the needs of the event’s talent and crew are met. During an Eventique production, he’s a
key part of the team delivering white-glove service and ensuring every second of stage time turns out flawlessly. “We handle all of the backstage moves, all of the assistant stage managers, and all the furniture and prop moves,” he explains. “... We also do green rooms, talent wrangling, and choreography to a degree — meaning stage positioning and flow. We even help with the camera shots a lot. I get on stage and give recommendations.” For Tony, the stakes are high. His guidance can make or break a keynote speech, so he has to deliver every time. “One of my jobs is to really bond with whoever is speaking on stage. CEOs and CFOs who are worth millions and run huge companies will gravitate to me, looking for help to get them through that nervous time. I get thank you cards all the time from those executives saying, ‘I still use your techniques when I go around the world and do my keynotes!’” Tony says.
One of Tony’s go-to pieces of advice is “practice as you play.”
“Speak out loud when you practice your speech and run it every single day in your hotel room, at the office, in front of your colleagues — just as much as you can,” Tony says, adding that this technique leverages the fact that, “We’re all rockstars in the privacy of our own homes.” If you pretend you’re on stage everywhere you go — in your car listening to music, singing in the shower, etc. — then your “play” becomes practice for the real thing. Tony learned this technique and his other stage manager skills over decades of working in New York. He started out as a performer but quickly learned carpentry to build sets, wiring skills to become a theatrical electrician, and audio mixing to handle sound design. Soon, he was producing events focused on his true passion: tap dancing.
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