Eight, take 3

Where should I begin... ?  I think this was the hardest show yet -- but, then, I'm not sure if they've all been hard, and this one just seemed harder for some reason.  It did have more unknown variables than the last couple.  ...I think. ?

There are 4 big phases of preparing for the show.

1.  Booking the space.

In the past, this has been the easiest part because I was always booking Main Street, which is run by my good friends so... piece of cake.  This time, I decided to move the show to explore more underground spaces.  I spoke with Bob at Cyclone, and Carl who books the Secret Room, and was in limbo between the two of them for a couple of weeks.  The Secret Room fell through around the same time Cyclone came through -- and, voilá!  There was a point when I had Main Street on hold just in case because the venue situation wasn't looking too promising -- but, it all worked out.

2.  Getting the performers.

The first couple of shows I booked friends (or close friends of friends) to perform.  It made for a good response, and a good basic idea of how the show would go.  This time, I booked a few friends, a guy I really admire, and some friends of friends whom I didn't know too much about.  I was able to book the first few spots pretty easily, but I had a hard time filling my last few spots, which was a bit daunting when I hadn't finished my lineup and the show was less than three weeks away.  It was an interesting and stressful challenge that somehow turned out great.

3.  Getting the invitation out.

I'm still working on the best way to present the show, the words to use, the kinds of invitations to send...  It's hard to know how public I should make the show given the [not completely legal] nature of things ... :P  This time I tried a very ticket driven approach.  It seemed to work well.

4.  Waiting to see what happens....

I generally have a decent guess of how the show will turn out, and I'm generally right... so, you'd think I could let go and relax a bit. Ugh.  This show felt like a giant mystery to me for some reason, but I sort of feel like it always seems that way until I get there and my 'decent guess' manifests.  I think being in a new space, with new performers, and no idea if ticket sales were an indication of things, made me kind of crazy...


...but, it all turned out great.  :)


The lineup:

Andy Strain - Trombone
Sean Sanford - Story performance
Stephen Ku - Stand-up comedy
Texas and Abraham - Clown/Magic act
Alex Kelly - Cello
Anna Ishida - Singing
Bernard Vash - Clown storytelling
Agatha Rupniewski and crew - Hip Hop dance


It was an incredible night. I had Rob (always) on sound, Kasmira working the bar, Joan checking the door, and Bob fearlessly running the house....and, the result, was excellent. :)