A Little More Regarding "Build the Piano"

The quote that inspired the original post comes from Teller:

"To compose a new tune in magic, you don’t just write the notes, you build the piano."

- Teller

I maintain this is true of all variety arts:  The mark of a "professional" is the customization and handcrafting of costumes and props.  "Amateurs" by comparison are very much off-the-shelf.  (It may be true for all theatrical arts, but I'll let you be the judge of that.)

In this article, a few examples of exactly what I'm talking about:

Red Snapper, photo by Markus Alias

Red Snapper.  Red documented the construction of "Mega Costume" on her blog.  Everything you see in this picture (except for the stockings) is either hand-crafted or modified.  There's at least a hundred dollars worth of rhinestones on her shoes.

Rob the Balloon Guy, photo by Ashley Clinton

Rob the Balloon Guy.  Rob made most of his costume, but the detail I want to focus on:  The chair.  Standard folding chair, right?  Rob couldn't find a red chair, so he painted it.  It's a simple thing, a simple customization, yet it works.  It shows he cares, it makes the prop consistent with his performer persona, etc.  (Imagine if he was balancing a standard beige folding chair on his chin.)

Red Bastard.  You can't buy a costume like that off the rack.  Really look at how it moves, how the silohuette changes with the performer's movements.  Outstanding!

Clownvis -- he's the King of Clowns for a reason.  This hard-working performer puts a lot of work into his costume and make-up.  I can't find a clear picture of this one dais he uses -- actually his travel case. The few times I’ve seen him live, he’s been on his own, without the full entourage and set dressing. Using his travel case as a dais is smart: There’s less for him to tote around. And do you think such a colorful act would go onstage with a plain Jane travel case to stang on? Of course not. It's painted up with stars and stripes, consistent with his color palatte.

New York's Rock 'n' Roll Ventriloquist, the hysterical Carla Rhodes posted this picture on Facebook today with the accompanying caption, "Our newest castmember! Debuting this Sunday."  It's a simple modification, but effective and funny.  I'm not sure how it factors into her current show, Dirty 30: the Continuing Story of Carla Rhodes, but damned if I don't want to find out!

This is just a small sampling, and I could do this all day. The point is, “building the piano” shows respect for the audience; it shows that you care enough to take the time to get things right, whether that means a hundred dollars worth of rhinestones or putting googly eyes on a rubber cockroach. Each of these performers could have gone with an off-the-rack solution, using unembellished props and costumes. But what would be the point?

We are creating an experience for the people in the dark, not an experience for ourselves onstage. Off-the-rack and unembellished would work if we were doing it for ourselves – we know what it’s supposed to look like in our imaginations. They don’t, and they’re the ones we care about, right?

Tellerpalooza

 

A few weeks ago, Pamela and I attended a screening of Teller's Play Dead* at the Aero in Santa Monica.  In case you are not in the know, Teller co-wrote a meditation on death with Todd Robbins that opened Off-Broadway in 2010.  Part magic show, part spook show it is a uniquely theatrical excursion into murky memento mori; a thrilling, funny, and at times deeply moving show.  I have it on good authority that Play Dead will have it's Los Angeles debut this coming fall.  DON'T MISS IT.

I'm a fan of Penn & Teller, but mostly Teller.  Way back in the pre-internet days of yore, a chance discovery of their PBS special, Penn & Teller Go Public ignited a wildfire in my teenage brain, propelling me to the microfiche stores at my high school library.  I read every article I could get my hands on.  One bit has stuck with me, a story Teller told about setting up obstacle courses for his friends.  He would blindfold them and carefully walk them through the course.  He got weepy recounting it; gifting his friends with an experience.

It's safe to say Teller rekindled my interest in theatre, and his childhood anecdote affected how I think about what theatre does.

Seeing him in person after the screening, answering questions about the show was a huge treat, and it has kicked off a "Tellerpalooza," as I revisit things he has written and spoken about magic, entertainment in general, the performer-audience relationship, etc.  It culminated in hearing his interview on Penn Jillette's podcast, Penn's Sunday School.

I thought I might share a few of these things with you.  Enjoy Tellerpalooza 2013!

First, Teller on Penn's Sunday School.  He speaks at some length about his production of Macbeth, and a production of The Tempest that he has in the works.  The latter sounds absolutely amazing, and I hope he's able to bring it out here.  He has some unique insight into producing the Bard.  His hard-won thoughts about rehearsal are well worth listening to.

Here is a talk he gave at the Magic of Consciousness Symposium in 2007.  He talks about the psychology of magic, and how magicians use our way of processing information to completely bamboozle us.  Very applicable to the theatre, and entertainment in general:



He wrote this amazing article for Smithsonian Magazine:  "Teller Reveals his Secrets," and was interviewed for same here:  "Teller Speaks on the Enduring Appeal of Magic."  Again, these are magic-specific, but there are lessons to be gleaned for other forms of entertainment.

This interview on NPR is a nice companion piece to the Smithsonian articles: Teller Talks: The Science Behind Magic Tricks.

"To compose a new tune in magic, you don't just write the notes, you build the piano." I riffed on this quote a couple of times last year (here and here.)  Here's the article where I found it: VOICES interview with Teller.

If you're a hardcore theatre nerd, you'll love his Macbeth production journal.

And of course, Play Dead.  Seek out this movie version of the play!  (The trailer is here.)

I wanted to toss Teller a Q after the screening of Play Dead, but the Q&A milieu is lousy for the type of in-depth conversation I would love to have.  How methodical is he in developing the tricks and special effects for his shows?  Does he develop (or select) the trick for the story, or build the story around the trick?  What tricks get cut?  Do they get cut for purely technical reasons, or has he had to cut something because it didn't work thematically?  How concerned is he with the audience's experience, and did he find it difficult to balance an evening about death?  I imagine the show could leave the audience profoundly empty.  It doesn't.

Teller is a master of his art, and he's sharing his secrets.  Listen and learn, folks.  I know I am.

"Start with the awareness that art is just good. People doing bad shows is better than people doing good murders and rapes. Art means people are celebrating being alive, even if they do it with Hippity Hop Rabbits." - Teller

*Technically, it was a double feature, the second film being the highly underrated Penn & Teller Get Killed.  Unfortunately, the wife and I had to step out after the Q&A.  I really wish I could have seen it on the big screen.  It's one of my all-time favorites.

Build the Piano

Over on the Mr. Snapper & Mr. Buddy Facebook page we have an album called "Inspirado", dedicated to the entertainers who inspire Phillip Kelly and I in our neo-vaudevillian madness.  Since his birthday was yesterday, Teller of Penn & Teller was digitally enshrined with the following quote:

"To compose a new tune in magic, you don’t just write the notes, you build the piano."

- Teller

This is true for all the lively arts, not just magic!

One of the defining aspects of an "amateur" (or a hack) is the use of off-the-shelf costumes and props.  In the world of burlesque, there is general disdain for unembellished Leg Avenue costumes and leaving the tags in store-bought lingerie.  The fact is, there is no such thing as a "turn-key" entertainer package.  You can't just buy a bunch of fancy looking stuff and expect to be taken serously; you have to put a little blood, sweat, and tears into your gear.  If you use off-the-shelf costume pieces or props, you have to give it a tweak, add some rhinestones -- something.  You have to customize it for your purposes.

The lively arts are truly bespoke.  Performers spend considerable time custom-making their gear with one goal in mind:  Entertaining an audience.

Mistakes

It's been a while since I've trumpeted the genius of Seth Godin, so here goes:  He's a genius.

I wish I could just quote an excerpt here and send you off to his blog to read the whole thing, but there is a ratio of brevity to wisdom in his posts.  This is a short one, and it is critically relevant to live entertainment.  And so here is the entirety of Godin's latest post for you to read and ponder:

Two kinds of mistakes

There is the mistake of overdoing the defense of the status quo, the error of investing too much time and energy in keeping things as they are.

And then there is the mistake made while inventing the future, the error of small experiments gone bad. 

We are almost never hurt by the second kind of mistake and yet we persist in making the first kind, again and again.

(Go to Seth Godin's blog, follow it, buy and read his books, etc.)

There are enough people doing theater exactly like everyone else.  Find your own way, or don't bother.

Invent the future.  Build the piano.  Sure, learn from others, but at some point you have to strike out on your own and contribute your own verse (to borrow a sentiment from Walt Whitman).  You need to make those mistakes, because they are the mistakes worth making.