#danicabs

Bare all before the show

As I sit in an friends house in Melbourne after a successful Melbourne Fringe run I have a sudden urge to pick up from where I last left off with this blog…

Kate and I arrived in Adelaide 2 days before my show opened – during these two days we participated in my first ever theatrical clowning workshop with Dr Brown. The workshop was a great opportunity for me to meet some other Fringe performers, but also start to understand what clowning (Gaullier method) is all about. Over two days each and everyone of the students were run through the proverbial ringer, trying to act on impulse time after time in front of each other to hopefully generate some laughter – or even better, make everyone piss themselves. The idea is to break the clown down to the most humble and natural of performers, leaving acting, image, bravado etc. at the door.

After many years of being Mr funny with friends, these two days showed me just how unfunny I could be – it was tough to say the least.

The workshop also allowed me to reflect upon my show from Perth and make some necessary changes before opening. I moved a few things around, cleaned up my slideshow, took out some unnecessary themes (the fake family portrait got canned) and added some stories. Most importantly I started to realize the importance of play and honesty on stage.

Even with the workshop under my belt, and the changes to my show, I was dreading my opening night and run of shows after what happened in Perth. I had my tech run the day of my opening, which proved to be a blessing because as I finished I noticed The Tuxedo Cat was about to hold a popular once a festival cabaret – The Naked Cabaret – and they were short on a couple of performers. Instantly Kate had volunteered my services, suggesting I have a good karate routine that could fill a good 5-7 min spot – after one fly kick demonstration I was in, 3rd on the bill out 12 performers.

It was the 5 year in a row that The Naked Cabaret was running, and what it involves as the name suggests is a variety show of short 5-7 min acts which come together in a 2 hr show. The “Naked” bit refers to the amount of clothes that everyone that is at the cabaret are wearing….yep…performers, bar staff, light and sound techs, stage managers, and audience members all strip off in the first few minutes of the show.

So here we are, close to 200 people naked in a theatre, and I’m up on stage very soon. I’m nervous, not because I’m naked but because I have an audience who’s attention I have to hold with little to no material. To cut a long story shortish, my name was called, I fell dramatically on stage from the front, that generated a little laughter, so I went with it and instead of getting straight up I slowly got to my feet via an awkward downward dog (bare naked rear facing audience), the laughs kept coming, so I took my time with it, and the tension built further. By the end of my bit I had everyone in stitches filling me with confidence for my first show that day.