Spent most of the weekend catching up on some periodicals piling up, and one of the best reads was an interesting article in Maclean's Magazine about the seemingly-cursed Spiderman musical. In it, writer Jaime Weinman makes the case that the show "may be the first musical to credit its success to stage catastrophes."
The magazine's cultural critic goes on to lay down a tell-tale anecdote. I pick it up in progress:
"...but then, with only one more number left to go in the second act, the prop people lower a giant spiderweb that looks very much like an old gym net—and it gets stuck on the way down.
"The musicians keep playing, stagehands come out onto the stage to fix it; Spider-Man, or perhaps it’s one of the many stunt Spider-Men, is pacing around in the wings with his mask off.
"Finally, a sheepish offstage voice announces that the show is experiencing a delay. The audience bursts into some of the most enthusiastic applause of the afternoon.
"There hasn’t been much clapping for the songs by U2’s Bono and the Edge; this is what they paid to see: something going wrong at a legendary showcase for theatrical disasters."
Lemme repeat the important part, bigger and bolder:
This is what they paid to see: SOMETHING GOING WRONG
This "death wish" is not uncommon; despite all the talk about speed and strategy, it's what has made NASCAR the most popular spectator sport in America.
Welcome to the NASCAR-ification of showbiz.
Some may say this is a common trend, given the popularity of sites like failblog.org, the "must see" status of Jersey Shore and other reality/intervention shows, as well as the fixation on human train wrecks like Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardahsian, but methinks it's not the fail that's the appeal, it's the CHANCE of failure...a subtle, yet crucial, difference.
I remember, during my first-go-around at Just For Laughs, we put on a show so bad that the audience literally booed it of the stage. As a responsible organization, we offered to refund patrons the price of their ticket, or twice the value in tickets for next year's event.
An offer they can't refuse, right?
Wrong.
To my extreme surprise, about 15% of our customers said thanks but no thanks, explaining that being a part of something this memorable--albeit horribly so--was so unique that they were happy to pay for the experience. "I never thought I'd ever be part of anything like this!" one enthused to me over the phone. (Guilty pleasure seekers can actually check out a quick compilation video of the event, taken from our CBC "Worst of Just For Laughs" TV show of a few years ago, as this post's culmination.)
So what's this week's learning? Well, the lesson is that in a world where so much is controlled and perfect and polished, rough edges are not just rare, but sought after. There's a market out there, a sizeable market, where people will pay for risk, chance and the unknown experience. Or as Weinman put it in the article:
"...in a time when live theatre is trying to match the computerized splendour of movies, people can’t help but be attracted by the news that they could get the one thing movies can’t provide: genuine uncertainty about whether the stunt guy will make it."
With this in mind, I'm putting a lot on the line, not just at Just For Laughs, but in my personal speaking performances as well. Instead of the slick canned stuff, I've been leaning more and more towards "Let's see what I can pull off living on the edge."
So, that said, here's what I'm doing tomorrow--Ignite Montreal.
For those of you unfamilair with the concept, the website describes it this way: Ignite is a series of speedy presentations. Each speaker gets 5 minutes with 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds.
Instead of a topic though, what I'm doing is telling the story of my life, but based on 20 slides that I will see for the first time when they're flashed on a screen next to me. The images have been crowdsourced from Igniters (Ignitees? Ignitors?), and I'm certain that more than one will be tossed in, grenade-like, just to throw me off. Here's a quick screen grab of the description:
So how will my performance go? Don't know yet, but Lord knows that the chance of falling on my ass makes the possible victory so much sweeter.
And who knows? If it REALLY works out (or better yet, if it's a goddamn disaster), perhaps I can take it to Broadway ;)
Anyway, now the moment you've all been waiting for (stick with it 'til the end to hear the boos and cat-calls that ended the show):