One Man Show: Day 3

So it occurs to me that I need a plan. I may or may not proceed in this order:

1. Choose a bunch of songs, and demo them at home.

2. Create a shortlist.

3. Find personnel: writing, directing, tech consultants

4. Start writing the show with a co-writer.

5. Build a set mock-up.

6. Put my dream rig together out of borrowed or rented gear. Test it out. Make a million changes.

7. 2nd and 3rd draft of writing.

8. Make YouTube videos of some of the harder songs as a way of formalizing arrangements.

9. Make YouTube video 'trailer' of the show. Profesh.

10. Get multimedia content together.

11. Go into a one or two week rehearsal period with director, techs and creative consultants. Program lights, effects, and multimedia.

There you have it. It's nice to have it all organized and plotted out like that. But then, they say if you really want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

The ONE MAN SHOW. Day 2

Things are progressing nicely with the one-man show. After meeting with lighting/visual effects/gear guru Warren 'Wiggy' Toal yesterday, I have generated a page full of rough notes and schematics (see below).

It feels good to know that everytime I talk about the concept of the show to someone, they 'get it' and are excited to see what it will look and sound like. This was the case with Dana over at LiveTourArtists, who heard me talk about it for 30 seconds on his answering machine and was instantly intruiged. This has led to interest on his part in selling it to small theatres in Ontario (100-500 seats), starting in 2011, if I can get the show ready by the fall.

The ONE MAN SHOW. Day 1

Today I start to work in earnest on crafting all the elements for a one-man theatrical show that is a musical journey told through cover songs, and weaves together my own tales of discovering this music, where I was when I first heard it, and what they meant to me---the emotional context.

I meet today with Warren 'Wiggy' Toal, who has worked with all the greats from Pink Floyd to Gordon Lightfoot. He's hopefully going to offer some advice as to how I should proceed as far as technical needs are concerned. My vision is to do some of the songs as kind of 'production numbers', where lights, multimedia visuals and effects are 'in sync' together, running off the same time-clock.

Warren has done a lot of this stuff for the artists he's worked with, so I'm looking forward to hearing his thoughts on creating a modular system that's easy to run myself.

Of course, there are many things to consider beyond these tech concerns (but these are one my mind today, so I will begin here). Still to be decided are the setlist, the stories, the physical set, and the show's name, among a myriad of details. I already have a booking agent willing to represent the show once it's all ready to go. So this summer I will be blogging regularly about my progress, so you can see me putting the show together in real time: from the germ of an idea that it is today to the fully realized production.

My hope is that it will be a show that will move people, entertain and introduce my music to new audiences. My motivation to do this comes from the enjoyment I get from crafting interpretations of other's work, and finding a way to make it work within the one-man-show paradigm. Also I like the idea of doing a show repeatedly until it really cooks, and then having the satisfaction of bringing that show to multiple audiences (in nice theatres). I know that I will learn a lot in this process which will enrich what I do as an original artist, from crafting stories to optimizing my gear and production sensibilities.

Plus I think it sounds like a lot of fun. So here we go...