People keep asking me if I plan to do Boobietrap (or something similar) online. We are not planning on it. I’m not pursuing solo shows online either.
I like killing
I perform to destroy! I love taking the audience on an incredible journey and giving them insanely good entertainment beyond anything they’ve seen before. I like dropping jaws, surprising and delighting. It took me years to develop things that can have that impact. It isn’t me that’s awesome, it’s the things I’ve worked to create (alone or in collaboration) that take audiences by storm.
I love it. I don’t like trying new things in front of an audience. I don’t like getting applause or laughs for a new bit. I like owning the moment completely.
Gotta hit the boards
The work is in trying things out, developing them, experimenting and refining. I don’t enjoy trying things out, but I love the results – just like I don’t enjoy sleeping, but I love being not-tired.
Gotta know the medium
Being a legendary entertainer requires deliberate exploitation of resources and limitations. A great tennis player is incredible because they use their energy, skills, time, and mind to do everything within the rules to win. Same with a great comedian.
A fishnet for a sock puppet
Scot Nery’s Boobietrap was created week after week in an underground venue in Los Angeles, and it couldn’t have happen anywhere else in the same way. When we moved, we looked for a similar venue and the show was built around what was available.
It wasn’t made to have comfy chairs, or clean bathrooms. It definitely wasn’t made to be live streamed. It would lose many of its great qualities…
- exclusivity
- tribalism
- environment
- drinks
- intimacy
- dead air
and it wouldn’t have the possible great qualities of online shows…
- intense interaction
- chat
- control of the show
- production value
- detail
- seamless digital experience
If I did make an online show, it would be from scratch and it would take me a long time. Maybe I will, but not today.
You can read more of my ideas about streaming shows on my blog and imagine what I’d create. That, I’m sure, will be more entertaining than me getting on a video chat with you to juggle for a while.