I've performed in the Sandusky area in the past with Bay Side Singers, and by myself and many times with various members of Firelands Dulcimer Club. Sometimes the audience provides better entertainment than I do! LOL!!

Stories from the past:

        Bay Side Singers was performing the annual show and I was playing my musical saw for the first time on stage at Adams Junior High School. We had a nice crowd. As I walked out on stage I could see my parents-in-law in the audience. I was a bit nervous. I was playing a very pretty piece on the saw (don't remember what now) with piano accompaniment. Judy Mears sat at the grand piano. I was wearing blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt - country look. I sat down on the bench and got ready to play when I looked down and saw that my fly was wide open and I could plainly see my white underwear. Luckily because of the angle I was sitting, the audience saw nothing. But all the rest of the Bay Side Singers were off stage and had a clear view and I had a clear view of them busting their guts and holding their stomachs they were laughing so hard. I was more self conscious on stage at that time and just went on with the show. But I played rather flat and cut my performance extremely short and ran off stage! LOL!! The audience never knew and liked my performance anyways.

        I played hammer dulcimer with two friends from Norwalk. We were playing at a nursing home in Port Clinton. Nursing home audiences are usually appreciative of any one coming to entertain. We finished our performance and Ruth thanked the audience for listening to us and remarked that maybe we would come back again. A voice from the back very loudly said "Not if I can help it!!"

        At the same performance I had played my saw and one of the elderly male residents moved his feet to bring his wheelchair up to me. I was ready for some kind of nice comment about how neat the musical saw is. The gentleman got up to me held out his arm and pulled on the hospital wrist band and asked me to please saw the wrist band off. It won't hurt!

        At a Sandusky nursing home I had just finished playing the saw and afterwards I walk around and take each person's hand and tell them I enjoyed playing for them. One woman had slept through the entire performance and woke up as I walked around the room. I took her hand and told her our music must have been soothing. She said they get them up so early that she just fell asleep but she really wanted to hear me play the saw! So I did an encore performance just for her. 

        Bay Side Singers opted for formal dresses one year. We had a play-out for a dinner group. I hadn't tried to play my saw while wearing the fancy get-up. First problem when I sat down was the dress tightened around my legs so I couldn't get the saw between my legs until I got up, pulled my dress looser around to the front, and sat down again. Then the shoes had heels which made my knees too high so I kicked them off. By then the audience was roaring with laughter. I played my piece. Our whole group got a standing ovation for our performance that time!

        Sometimes we just don't have it together but the show must go on! Firelands Dulcimer Club had a performance of Civil War music at Firelands College. The whole group just felt lousy because we had performed so badly. But as I left, I was stopped by two or three groups of people who just wanted to tell me how much they enjoyed the performance. It was times when we got compliments like those that made me finally realize that people really don't care if you perform well or not. They are there to be entertained. So just be entertaining!