It’s been a week or two since I last put my gig report online so I thought it’d be high time to keep up and write up what’s been happening. Well, I’m now up to gig 5 of my return and I’ve still not died hideously on my arse…
Gig 4 was Danny Mc’s gig at Alexanders in Chester. I arrived horrifyingly early to discover that I was both the only act and only audience member. Turns out I was very, very early. A nice crowd of 25 people came down and it was a fun, nicely set up room. I tried a couple of new bits with some bits that I know are solid. So “70s TV Star” as a reoccurring theme was tested and seems to work nicely to keep people on their toes, although disappointingly I did the two setup verses and then entirely failed to do the big payoff punchline – if I remember to do it then I’ll be a happy man. My dialogue was a little too whimsical and I needed to develop the punchlines and throwaways that litter those sections more to get that gradual build to support the main punchlines. I ended with “I love you” which is replacing “David Cameron Song” as my closer at the moment. It’s not quite strong enough, but offers plenty of opportunity to play with the audience and demand their participation.
Gig 5 was in Bolton in a bar called Metro Rocks. The epitome of the “character building” gig, it was, nevertheless, really useful for trying some new things, albeit to a smallish audience. “Finger up my bum” works as a song, particularly if I play with the tempo. I also started playing more vocally, adding ticks and quirks to my vocals that just makes the songs more vibrant (if less musically good). I’ve noticed I’ve shied away from the quieter songs, mostly because they tend to be a bit longer, but also because they’re the more intellectually robust, Guardian reading sections of my set.
My next few gigs are Warrington’s Albion Pub this Wednesday, then Soderfest in Manchester and a gig in Wigan. I feel like I’m closing in on that point where I’d feel confident applying for paid middles, but I’m missing maybe 2 – 3 songs to get a robust 20 and also a better sense of some of the supporting material to ensure it’s rock solid. ALSO, I’m going to invest in a piano case with wheels because fuck me my back hurts from carrying kit. (If anyone wants to offer me a gig then please do, I’m also ready and probably won’t disgrace myself).
Meanwhile life in theatre land has been, well, pretty hard tbh. I’m having a period of feeling like I’m running at full pelt pretty much constantly but not actually catching up at any point. There’s a really interesting article in The Stage today by a designer saying that the boom in admin jobs has hit technical jobs. I don’t know why but my initial reaction was fuck off.
My second reaction however was more moderate.
I think there is a common lack of understanding across venue departments about what everyone does and the time it all takes. When I started in marketing the departments were bigger but since then the channels through which we have to market have increased while the resource has decreased. It’s about the understanding of roles and how we communicate what we do**.
I think what annoyed me was that I think it’s probably naive to assume that there is a singular cause and effect – that admin jobs have simply cancelled out tech jobs – it’s not as simple as that – yes that will be an effect there’s also an economy of scale, of outsourcing and competition, of changing technologies, of space and equipment that has mean that it’s happened, rightly or wrongly (I don’t know which), over the last few years. The comment is the kind that divides us rather than recognises that we are in an industry that is evolving and changing at a tremendous pace and that the effects are not limited to a single group.
A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a friend about theatre and he said that the problem with theatre was that it sees problems and considers that working harder is the only solution. He said that working more efficiently would lead to better long term results but it’s often overlooked for the short term sweat. An inevitable effect of the grind, the constant churn of the day to day. I think that’s something we miss and need to find again. How do we complete our work more efficiently to create time, to enable us to ensure the quality of what we do is reflective of the great art onstage? To ensure that we are creative in a way to compliment the stage? To ensure that the day to day is automated and the important, life and business changing stuff gets the care and attention it needs?
That question is not one for 12:20am on a school night – but it’s one I’m going to ponder and get back to you about*.
Night x
*I wonder if I should write a blog about the 10 things to make us more efficient in theatres? Useful?
** Originally I wrote a pissy tirade in here about people saying they’ve not seen posters when shows aren’t selling. It didn’t seem that constructive in the context of the post.