Thursday 4 August 2011

My youngest heckler

Today at the Edinburgh Fringe was once again a busy busy day but we are getting just a little bit better at getting the show ready in a very limited area. We perform on a stage that has been erected in one end of a lecture theatre. Many shows use the same show all day and evening long and we all have to share the next lecture theatre which is used as a store for ALL the scenery AND as dressing rooms which are really just partitioned off curtained areas in the rows of seats. Not easy.

First off I had a meeting about a possible documentary to be followed by a film, I hope. Can't tell you much about it yet but watch this space. Don't hold your breath, however, 'cos these things take forever, and then sometimes fizzle away...

Then Debbie and I went off into the inflated upside down cow known as Udderbelly to be interviewed by the Hamiltons. What characters they are and we had a really funny time with other guests all fooling about for an hour or so.

After that we nipped into the bar next door to be interviewed by a couple of students. Really good questions and then we went off to be interviewed by Sky News for their evening news. They even came to the show to video excerpts.

Probably because I was ready earlier than yesterday I really 'attacked' the stage and was surprised to see how many children were in the audience and even more surprisingly down the front. I bashed on with the act, trying to walk the line between keeping the kids quiet and interested whilst making the adults laugh.

Suddenly one of the children started talking to me. It wasn't clear to me or the audience what she was saying because she was about 18 months old! I got 'Mam' and 'Dad' and similar burblings but suddenly whole sentences of gibberish came flooding out and her mother said it was because she wanted to come on stage.

Only one thing to do.... I got the kid onstage and had a lot of ad-libs using her. It went really well. After the show the mother, oblivious to the fact that I really had to work to overcome an awkward moment, said that she had wanted her daughter to see me because her mother had brought her, as a child, to see me. Hey ho...

When we came out of the theatre I was surrounded by customers all complimenting me on how I had handled the child. Great, but I do hope the next kids are older!

Another nice meal tonight. Edinburgh does have nice restaurants. I have just checked the diary and oh boy, do we have a lot more interviews tomorrow. Can't complain because the box office sales are climbing every day. We might yet make a profit!

4 comments:

Mystifier said...

You were a star as always Paul, even under those conditions. Ye the kids were a tough one a lesser performer would have failed where you won the crowd and carried on entertaining. You are the reason why I love magic and became a performer myself, hope you have a great Fringe!!! Aziz

Pete Biro said...

Sounds like you're BEYOND THE FRINGE.

RG9 said...

If you see the picture the Henley Standard is using on its website to cover the Paul Pizza'd [what - not again?!] story, you'll see the fringe appears to have slipped round to one side of his head.

Mr D, I thought you'd sold all the toupes? But then again cameras DO lie!

Masterless Magician said...

A profit at the Fringe, now that is an impressive bit of Magic :)