Producer Spotlight: 85 Minutes to 15 at Arts Midwest

A few months ago, I applied for a performing slot at Arts Midwest. Similar to the APAP Conference, the objective of Arts Midwest is to introduce many performing groups to various presenters and promoters. This facilitates the ‘sale’ of the show for a performance in any given city or venue. Weeks later, I was thrilled to find out that we had been accepted to the conference and would be heading to Milwaukee in September. However, unlike the APAP Conference, we were not given a slot that allows us to do the full 85-minute version of our show. In fact, our slot at Arts Midwest is a whopping 15 MINUTES!!! That’s 70 fewer minutes to communicate the show, make people laugh and feel that they have had an enriching night of theater.

The word that immediately came to mind: UGH!!!

The task of turning the 85-minute version of Broadway’s Next Hit Musical into a 15-minute version was a deceptively tricky one. There was a lot of back and forth as to what the essential elements of the show are and what can be let go.

First Act Songs

We HAD to do several first act songs based on suggestions by the attendees so that they understood the basic premise of the show: THEY give us the titles and WE make up the songs.

Emcee

Did we have to set up the show with an emcee like we generally do?

On one hand, the emcee provides customized comedy about the town we are visiting at any given time. On the other hand…15-minutes!!!!

Vote

Did we have to do the vote to see which of the first act songs became eligible for a full production in the 2nd half of the show? One one hand, it shows the further nature of the audience involvement in the show as THEY are the ones who vote. On the other hand, there will NOT be a 2nd half of the show at this particular performance. Decisions, decisions!!

While daunting, this task was also educational. When you have to strip a showdown to its basic elements, you find out a bit more about what makes your show tick. It’s the tweet version of our show. We must convey a message, several actually, in a compressed form. While challenging, this was also an exciting exercise that helped us to know our show on a deeper level.

In the end, we found a structure that seems to capture all or most of the necessary elements of the show and without sacrificing the most important elements: energy, fun and flow. We had to create a situation where the actors feel they can play and not feel rushed.

Will we do it?

If you are in the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee at 8:15pm on Wednesday, 9/14 let us know what you saw and what you liked! Tweet us @BwaysNHM

Producer's Spotlight: Laughter Heals

Greg Triggs on the Red Carpet

At the risk of being a downer on a comedy blog, the world is kind of in disarray right now.  Bad news overwhelms good.  Tears and anger seem to drown out laughter.  Yet, as the show biz cliche demands, the show must go on.

How?

The Definition We Have to Make

Sometimes it appears that audiences have forgotten that they are engaged in watching art; subjective, messy, first amendment protected art.  Recently I was given a note from someone in the audience 5 minutes before the show.  Written in Sharpie embellished with little hearts and smiley faces on pink poster board was, "We are a church group.  KEEP THE SHOW CLEAN!"

Broadway's Next Hit Musical is always a family-friendly show.  You could bring your oldest, most conservative, deeply religious, easily bruised aunt or uncle and they'd find very little objectionable. However, that definition is ours to make.  Sometimes we might stray into gray areas - 50 Shades of them to be exact.  It's subjective.  My idea of clean might not be the same as yours.  That's the nature of humor. It's prismatic.

The same applies to post traumatic stress humor.  When is it okay to mention Orlando in a joke? When can you play a policeman without it invoking the Dallas assassinations?  When do #comiclivesmatter?

Get Past the Pain With Laughter

I used to be in an improv group that did a structure during which people died.  That was the entire point of the game - to stage funny, ironic deaths.  Then my dad died. Out of concern for me that game wasn't scheduled for over a month.  I finally asked why and was told that people thought it would upset me.  Kind, but unnecessary.  I'm a grown up.  Not doing that structure wasn't going to bring my dad back.  Better to get past the pain with a little laughter.

I remember the first show I did post September 11th.  The Disney comedy club I worked at in 2001 shut down for two nights.  On September 13th I was given the honor of setting up the first show. I thought about it for a long time, not sure how I or the audience would feel. The overture played, the lights came up, I entered and asked, "Who needs a good laugh?"

I can still hear the audience cheering.

It was one of the most memorable moments of my 11-year tenure at the Comedy Warehouse. Instead of concentrating on what separated us, that audience and those actors focused on what brought us together. Perhaps if we did more of that the world would be in a better place.

Too soon?