Blind Experiment....

Phew!
I've finally got a a few moments to myself to catch up on the wrapping up of Blind Date.

I'm so glad that I tried this and THRILLED with the results. All in all, I do believe it was a more than successful experiment.
My audience doubled every weekend until we sold out the last two shows.
I had repeat audience members who came more than TWICE!!!
Often people would return with groups of 4 - 8 friends in tow!
AND - groups of MEN started coming together!

For those of you not in the "theatrical know" - groups of men do NOT go to the theatre together.
Men tend to go to theatre because their wives and girlfriends take them. Groups of women go to the theatre together. Pockets of 3 -5 guys showing up at the theatre together is unheard of! Men go to sports together. They go drink beer together. They go to comedy clubs together. They might go to the strippers together....So. Why Blind Date?

I can only speculate.....Thanks to the handsome and talented Kurt Furla - I did end up with quite a saucy poster. I got great press coverage with some equally saucy photos....and, I don't know....I can only guess that word of mouth had something to do with it? I certainly encountered a few men in the lobby who made it very clear to me that they would be more than happy to come up and be my Date for the evening - so, obviously they'd heard about it....

It did get me wondering though - why don't men go to the theatre together? Perhaps it's simply not their style of entertainment? Or, not the sort of thing you invite your buddy out to: "Hey Mike - wanna go check out this awesome play tonight?" Doesn't sound quite right....

Blind Date though, offers a great "male - appeal" combo: comedy and titillation - and what's wrong with that?! That's NOT to say that the women weren't equally as entertained (there was at least ONE group of gals who came every weekend!)....but I'm hard pressed to think of too many theatricals on offer that serve up both comedy and titillation. Burlesque (when done well) certainly does - and the success of the Spiegeltent in Toronto this summer proved night, after sold out night, that people like to laugh and see something a little bit naughty!

I think the other appeal of Blind Date - is the danger and the voyerism. A representative of the audience is pulled up on stage with no preplanning. People immediately start to think things like: "I'm so glad it's not ME - but let's see how he reacts to things.", "Huh - I would have handled that situation differently.","WOW - that was amazing!", etc.....We see the Date's nervousness about being on stage, but also the nervousness of being in a blind date situation, of not knowing what to do next - but having to move into the future anyway. PLUS - I get them talking about themselves and so we get the added interest of hearing all about a stranger's life - and NO LIFE is boring! The stakes get higher as the night goes on - but the Date also (for the most part) relaxes as the night goes on, plays more, and takes bigger risks.

Several volunteers overheard people on their way out to their cars after the show saying things like, "I totally would have kissed her sooner than that guy!", or "I would have DIED at that one part." So- the audience is really putting themselves in the Date's shoes while it's happening and then wondering how they would have dealt with it if it had been them.

I also learned some truly valuable things over the course of the six shows:

- Always include the girlfriend in a respectful manner off the top of the show. Give her the power to call a time-out AND bring her down to be reunited with her man at the end.

- Do NOT pick guys who are on date #1 - 5 with a lady. Choose either a single guy, or someone who's been in a relationship for a while. They are under less pressure to be "impressive".

- Use the time-out box to REWARD, not just "punish".

- Steer clear of guys who PRETEND to not know what's going on in the lobby, because they're hoping to get picked.

- Allow myself to be CHANGED by my Date: both positive and negative emotions.

Oh - there's so much MORE!!!

I can't WAIT to try this again. Six shows was NOT enough, to be sure. It was so great to be scared, to be vulnerable, to be open, to PLAY - and I was truly moved by each of the men who played with me and went along for the ride. I forget that being on the stage can be terrifying - and yet, they pushed through anyway! What an inspiration!

Keith Johnstone came and saw the final performance (if you're not aware - he is my life-long improv teacher!)...so of course I asked if he would give me notes afterwards....I was SO nervous! And - in the end, I think he really liked it. I'm going to have lunch with him next week....John Turner of Mump and Smoot also attended two shows (I was taking Baby Clown with him at the U of C at the time...which turned out to be SO HELPFUL!!!)...John had some great feedback as well. I'm so lucky to have brilliant people in my life who are willing to share their thoughts.

Oh! And I've also heard that Loose Moose received ONE very ANGRY email about the show. I don't know all the details yet - but I will get to the bottom of it. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course - and there may be a good lesson to be gleaned from this woman's complaints. I'm a bit nervous (I certainly didn't set out to make anyone ANGRY!)...but, I'm also looking forward to it. Curious, very curious!

Ahhhhh! Blind Date- I'm in love all over again!

Blind Review

How lovely.


http://www.thenewwest.ca/the-arts/let-loose-your-inner-moose.html

Blindly Stumbling...

Well - tonight was the first night that Blind Date felt like work.
I take the FULL weight of this on my own shoulders, of course! One of my basic rules is "what they do is right".

Richard was my fourth Blind Date in this ongoing madness.
He was lovely, British, and 26 - he works as a Health and Safety Inspector (wow!)....
And - he was also on his own personal THIRD date with a sweet gal named Carolyn.
Whether it be that he was young, or English - or just plain-old, admirably gentlemanly and dignified - Richard had me working harder than I have on any of the other dates....

But - there's really nothing wrong with that....because, so what if the show doesn't go the way I'm hoping it will?
What is facinating is how each individual differs in the same situation....

Where other guys eventually made-out with me, Richard was content to call our date "a night", say he'd had a lovely time, and that we should do it again. (sweet!)

It's possible that the lesson for me - is not to choose people in such budding, new, uncertain relationships....There might be too much at stake, and not a great enough level of comfort between the guy on stage and the gal in the audience? I'm not sure....

My deepest regret about tonight, really my only regret - is that I did not get the chance to check in with Richard at the end of the show. The previous guys have all waited around in the lobby and I've had the chance to thank them and say goodnight. Richard was gone by the time I got out of the washroom. I fear that he had a bad time and bolted. I have no idea if this is the case - but my mind goes to the negative. I so want to be sure to give these guys a good time....the thought that he may have hated the experience worries me. He didn't seem too bad during, in spite of being slightly reserved - he laughed a lot, made eye contact, made offers, etc....

Oh - and, I've also started asking my various dates to write about their experience and pass it on to me. I'd like to have asked Richard to do the same....

Well. Maybe these hopes and well wishes will find him out in cyber-space.

Richard - you were fabulous! I learned a TON from you and am grateful.

R

Blind Bliss....

Phew!
Two Blind Dates under my belt - what a thrill!
I was blessed by the Clown/Improv Gods in that I chose my audience volunteers well, and they turned out to be AMAZING!!!

Friday was "Brad" - the cowboy beer salesman.
Saturday was "Adam" - the 24 year old musician/student teacher.

Both shows were very different from each other, and I think quite successful. I'm so enjoying this exploration of, "where does the audience end and the performance begin"? I have added a "time-out box" to one side of the stage which allows us to "step out of the play" and check in, get the ground rules straight, have some acting coaching, etc....On Saturday, I also threw in allowing the girlfriend, who gets left behind in the audience, the ability to call ONE time-out herself if there's anything going on that makes her uncomfortable.

Also stunning and inspiring is how wonderful the audience members are at being obvious (once they've calmed down and the pressure to be clever is removed by our chat in the time-out box)....proof to me that this notion of putting a non-performer in a somewhat familiar situation is enough to activate their own internal "scripts" for any given moment. We all know what sorts of things happen on a Blind Date...it's simply about PLAYING. Both guys seemed to have a lot of fun engaging in play time - lots of giggles, some fab acting moments, and tons of fun surprises.

It's also nice to know, KNOCK WOOD, that my improv skills are sharp enough to take care of someone through this insane experiment: make the safe, give them a good time, make them look good. I still struggle with the worries of "where should this go next? Is the audience enjoying it, is HE?"....but I'm also starting to trust that there's something exhilarating in this experiment that fascinates. Someone said to me after the show, "It's like watching a lab rat - we spend all of our time looking from him to you and back again to see how each of you is going to react to the other."

Huh.

And - isn't that what good theatre should be doing to an audience? COOL!
How are we changed by each other?

There's also a "Life Game" element off the top when I'm getting to know him. I ask that he not make anything up (another time-out coaching)....so, we get to find out true things about this stranger, in real time - and there's simply nothing boring about that at all! I think I'm going to find other ways to get more of that into the show...

Anyhow.
There's the update from the brink of terror! Risk taking is such a BLAST!!!!

The BIG Day!

Today's the day!

Blind Date opens tonight.
I'm totally nervous - and oddly calm all at the same time.
I had amazing press yesterday in both the FFWD and the Calgary Herald.
Front page of the Herald Entertainment section ABOVE THE FOLD (which I've just learned is a whole other "status marker" in the world of press)!

....

I'm concerned that in both articles the show comes off as sounding too sexual - which is not at all the aim of this experiment. I fear I spoke too often of the turn I did in the Spiegle Tent - which was a very, very different piece and environment. My worry is it's going to create an odd expectation in the audience before they even get there - and in the tent, I had the element of surprise on my side. These will all prove to be great lessons down the road should Blind Date have a life beyond Loose Moose....

So - my day will be filled with last minute errands as I'm also acting as my own producer/ production team! I spent an hour yesterday in the shop at U of C constructing a pregnancy belly that I have to test this morning....I'm trying to create the effect of "breaking my water". Jeez!

Alright.
Must get the ball rolling.
No doubt I will have much to write about this time tomorrow!

;-)

Blind Date.....the extended mix!

One week from today - I will be stepping onto the stage at Loose Moose and scanning the audience for my first "long form" Blind Date!

I am excited.
I am terrified!
I am concerned that I may have lost my mind....
But - some say we only live once - so what the Hell?!
And - isn't the aim of this Blog the pursuit of "Losing My Mind"???
I will have to.
As I am learning these days - the intellect is rarely useful.
Follow the Impulse.
Follow the Impulse.

So - tonight, my fabulous new pal and publicist, Jessica Dollard and I went out into the world of The Suits.
To be fair, we met them on an even playing field: the Downtown Bars...at happy hour, on a Friday.
We went in clown nose.
We did this as a form of "guerrilla marketing" for the show and handed out our business cards.
The "power of the nose" continues to amaze me! Truly.
Poor Jess was grabbed, hugged and almost kissed with NO warning at all!
I had one "gentleman" say he wanted to "F*%K me until I couldn't talk"......I have yet to figure out exactly what that means.
However - those were the extremes. For the most part we got warm welcomes from everyone we chatted with, lots of laughs and a few promises to come see the show.

I am keen to try this out.
Every time I describe the show to another actor, ("I'm going to bring an audience member up on stage, start by taking them on a "blind date"....then continue to improvise the chapters of an entire life time together in 75 minutes"), ....they go WHITE.

"WHY would you do that?!!!" - they stammer....

Why indeed!

I'm not 100% sure.....To take a risk. To do something that scares me. To create a theatrical experience that no one will forget, regardless of the out come.....
And, also, I am interested in playing with a non-performer and attempting to activate their imaginations and invite them to PLAY with me.

To PLAY.

And - as I said to many, many a gentleman in the bar tonight, "If you say YES in life - you're bound to end up on an ADVENTURE!"

So......here goes...........................

Cutlass Supreme!

Ah!
I have the greatest Aunt and Uncle ever!

When I started making plans to come to Calgary - one of the first things I did was put feelers out about borrowing a car.
(for those of you who have never been to Calgary, my darling hometown has one of the WORST transit systems I've ever encountered...even WORSE now that the city is bursting at the seams with it's current boom. So, although I have come to love NOT having a car in Toronto, and enjoy the health benefits...Calgary is a town that you kinda want a car in.)

Karen and Jerry went to work on my little request and came through with and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme!
I LOVE it. It takes me way back....
In my University days I drove a '77 Chevy Impala.
White. Red interior. Build like a tank. (I'm talking about the car...not myself;-)

My Cutlass Supreme:
White. Blue interior. Build like a tank!
I think it might be close to 10ft long!
The weird thing is that this monster of a car has side mirrors the size of my fist (tiny!), AND - the most delicate, slim, lady-like steering wheel I've ever seen. I'm amazed I'm able to move the wheels with it.
It has power locks (that don't work).
Power windows (the passanger window works).
Radio (good)
And - a cassette player!!!!

Now....
All I need is Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians and I'll be set!!!!

Thanks Karen and Jerry!
You're the BEST!

xo