Talent Show

Are you an expert ribbon dancer or knife juggler? The time to show off your skills is now! Talent shows are an easy way to throw a fun social in Gather.

Overview

• Setup: We recommend the Open Mic or Speakeasy Maps, available in our template picker under the Socials tab. Spread the word ahead of time so people can prepare to showcase their skills! To invite people, just send them the Space URL!
• Participation Difficulty: 🟢 🟢 (super easy)
• Participants: Free for up to 10 (more than 10 people will require a reservation)
• Emcee: Helpful, but not absolutely necessary
• Average Time: Up to you!

Host the Show

Once you've picked your Map, whether you've created a Space or added a Room, putting together a talent show is pretty simple. First, make sure you have people who want to showcase their talent! Next, send an invite to your Gather Space for the show (just share the URL of your Space, or select the Invite button from the Participants list or main menu). 

When it's showtime, just have the emcee or performer step onto the spotlight tile (usually an orange megaphone icon). You may want to add more spotlight tiles for multiple performers. 

Step into the spotlight to share your talent! Everyone in the Room will be able to see and hear you.

Technical Tips

• When you're on a spotlight tile, your audio, video, and screen (if you share it) are broadcasted to everyone in the Room. 
• When you're in the spotlight, you can see other people's videos but can only hear people within 5 tiles of you.
• You can spotlight someone impromptu by selecting their name from the Participants list, then clicking Spotlight on their info card. You may also see the spotlight feature in your toolbar to spotlight yourself, depending on the type of Space you're in and your user role.
• You can have multiple Spotlight tiles, but generally, don't try to spotlight more than 20 people at the same time. 
• You can press "g" to enter ghost mode to stack more than one person on a spotlight tile. 
• Spotlight works best for 100 or fewer people. 
• Maps like the Speakeasy and Open Mic are set up with private areas so people can sit together and chat without disturbing other people. If you need to add private areas in your Map, head to the Private Area Tile Effect article.
• We've noticed that larger performances (theaters, bands) tend to require more detailed audio capturing. Ask performers to turn on Use Original Audio in User Settings to turn off echo cancelling, noise suppression, and gain control from your sound input.

Bonus Tips

• If you're in an Event Space, use photo mode to capture screenshots of performers!
• Add a Google form and have attendees vote for awards, like Best in Show, Most Bizarre Talent, Best Effort, Biggest Surprise, Most Useless Skill, etc.
• If everyone's having a good time, consider extending the event, shifting to karaoke, trivia, or improv! You can also quickly add our integrated games to the Space, like DrawBattle or Code Names.