Since our performing area was restricted by a tent just a hair too small to set the trapeze rig fully up we set it one setting lower, which meant some engineering adjustments for us....we made do and the performances went well. But it meant some tricks had to be left out. The tight space of the small tent meant many larger stunts had to be left out as well so our regular pace and flow of the show was different. No problem there either because we have had to adjust our show almost everywhere we go in one way or another since every venue is different and has it's own challenges. Especially if you have such a diverse show as ours.
If you read the previous blogs you know we, either by heat crazies, or just for fun changed things up a lot the last two days. Maybe the heat kept the crowds quiet or maybe it is just the culture of the area (we find "TV audiences" people who watch a show but don't react in the midwest quiet a bit). The coasts and the south (most of the south) seem to have crowds that just know how to let loose. So to coax it out of them up here we pushed the silliness and stunts a bit more than usual in spite of our restricted venue size.
OK, that was background leading up to the whole Murphy's Law thing. Here is just a bit more before I make my point (wordy today aren't I?!)
Every show has things that go wrong in it when you work with 12 people, animals and kids. Our last show, the show the man who hired us finally got around to watch, (let me reiterate, the ONLY show of ours he would see) turned out to be our Murphy's Law show. First it was scheduled 30 minutes after the event ended. So our sponsor was packed up and gone by show time. The dregs of people still at the fair made up part of the audience, carnies, and staff from the event made up most of the rest with about 1/4 of the audience coming back from previous shows to try and win the $400 in the rope tie contest.
So here are some things that went wrong: Belle noticed there were workers tearing down the boundaries fence between us and the next tent and found it more important to bark at them than do her act. But after much coaxing she finally did it. Olivia chose this show to do her own thing and that sometimes translates to a spoiled child or disobedient child. We choose three not so great people to do the rope tie challenge with Victor, though they looked like perfect choices from the stage. It took them four minutes plus to tie him up and 8 seconds for him to get out. Not good for drama.
The audience was very quiet, yet no one left and everyone had smiles throughout the act....but we performers need that noise to energize us. Victor fell off the tightwire once (it was set at 5' so he wasn't hurt) but it didn't look pro to do that. Jim dropped once in his juggling. His silly antics and fake striptease fell flat on the crowd, and Nick slipped and fell off the trapeze during his finale which he rushed by skipping over a few parts of the routine because the crowd wasn't clapping. Fortunately due to that low set up I mentioned at the beginning he was undamaged and actually was able to spin himself in to a reclining position with his head resting on his hand making it look like it might have been an accidental-purposeful stunt. Finally during our Impaled illusion the boss man got a cell phone call and had to stepped out of the tent at the moment Midori got impaled. It was one of the few things that went flawlessly in the show and he missed it. He came back in just in time to see us bow. Oh well. the sponsor loved us and their top person was talking about next year. I am not sure what the boss man thought (boss man of the event). I am sure Murphy loved the show!
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