Never, ever, stick a box on your head and make mouth noises

JimRob · Post by **JimRob** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 2:43 am

I'm not kidding.The basic plan was to do a parody of Radiohead, which began with some doomy chords, a drum machine and some tuneless wailing, introduced a guitar, then dissolved into a discordant and accelerating mess. Then we'd stop and play a pre-recorded piss-take of 'Fitter Happier' while playing backgammon in the middle of the stage, and the curtain would close on the robot voice monotonously intoning swear-words.Well, the rehearsals didn't bode well. Or perhaps they did, depending on your superstitions. We rapidly found that we couldn't play in time. (That being in an insane rhythm I'd devised without apparent thought to it being played.) After an hour or so of despair, punctuated by the sound man playing random snippets of pop songs at deafening volume over the PA, we hit on a simplified formula. Which worked. We had a successful run-through. Setting up was fine. The guitar sounded great. We had an interval in which we could get the kit onstage. All seemed peachy.Then, at a little after 8pm, came the real thing. We set up in two minutes, and sat with boxes on our heads for eight. Tension built. I wondered where to put my mic: by the beatbox? In my lap? I wondered whether the sound would work. I wondered whether the lighting crew had found the scribbled instructions I left on their console. Then - without introduction, I think, although by now my vision was limited to flashing lights and buttons - the curtain opened. I hit play. I hate gremlins. Especially the ones who twiddled one of the knobs and sent the bass drum into the high trebles. I scrabbled; the kick warbled madly. After about nine bars - by which time my friends were well into the song - I got it under control.The next events onstage are somewhat fuzzier in my mind. I sang something or other, which started off strongly but paled into gurgles. I recall getting the delay time and volume knobs mixed up. And not being able to hit 'Clap' fast enough.Then, we feigned giving up, and set the 'Fitter Happier' voice going. Almost immediately, thinking this a genuine throwing-in of the towel, the crew closed the curtains. Possessed by the need for closure, I flung the curtains apart and shouted at the (incidentally very able and funny) compere: 'How dare you shut the curtains on us! We're the best band in the world!' And I stomped, I thought comically, offstage.The problem with all this was that it, well, wasn't funny. About halfway through a line I realised that three people playing random noises wasn't comedy, and despaired. Even when I burst out to throw a tantrum, I was regarded with veiled shock, not amusement. Even the compere appeared quite nonplussed by this strange behaviour. People apologised to me on the way out. I went away feeling that I'd buggered up the mood. I now think I was being more than a little melodramatic; my guess is that people just didn't know it was a parody, or even hear what I said. I'll probably never know. But in any case, it's definitely not what you need pre-Cambridge interview.On the other hand, I'm convinced there's enough material for a proper song in what I wrote. And the radio sketches which I'd helped put together were very well-recieved. So silver linings all round.Bedtime.------------------
<A HREF="http://toothandclaw.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Tooth and Claw</A> (the melancholic strip)[This message has been edited by JimRob (edited 12-10-2001).]

CCQdobhran · Post by **CCQdobhran** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 4:54 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by JimRob:
 Possessed by the need for closure, I flung the curtains apart and shouted at the (incidentally very able and funny) compere: 'How dare you shut the curtains on us! We're the best band in the world!' And I stomped, I thought comically, offstage.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Sounds a bit like something J. Cleese would do when he senses a skit is falling. BTW, did anyone corpse? (Not, was anyone a, but did anyone.)~Cu Choigcriche

ZOMBIE USER 5169 · Post by **ZOMBIE USER 5169** » Tue Dec 11, 2001 2:00 am

Is it safe to stick a lampshade on your head in the name of light comedy? (An attempt at post-interview cheer.) I guess I'm too late to wish you luck, but good luck anyway. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">

CCQdobhran · Post by **CCQdobhran** » Tue Dec 11, 2001 4:20 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Tim Tylor:
Is it safe to stick a lampshade on your head in the name of light comedy? (An attempt at post-interview cheer.) I guess I'm too late to wish you luck, but good luck anyway. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.g ... >lampshade? Light? Is this to be a pun? I mean, it might not be.BTW, JimR, I notice you draw your characters with almost sad, expressive, puppy dog eyes. Is this pure happenstance, or is there a reason behind this?

CCQdobhran · Post by **CCQdobhran** » Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:24 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> [QUOTE]Originally posted by CCQdobhran:
BTW, did anyone corpse?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>We died onstage, if that's what you mean. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Well, yes. Basically Corpsing is when an actor breaks character. IE: A comedy troupe starts sniggering at their own skit while performing it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Literature · Post by **Literature** » Wed Dec 12, 2001 10:51 am

Almost sad? I get the impression that much of the time, they *are* sad. It is "the melancholic strip," after all. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">
In any event, I agree with you: the eyes of Tooth And Claw's cast are impressively expressive. Nice job.

JimRob · Post by **JimRob** » Wed Dec 12, 2001 12:10 pm

Hi. I'm back. The interviews went relatively well. And I'm over the cabaret fiasco, too.Answers time. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by CCQdobhran:
BTW, did anyone corpse?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>We died onstage, if that's what you mean. (My dictionary's not very forthcoming on the meaning of 'corpse' as a verb.) <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by CCQdobhran:
I notice you draw your characters with almost sad, expressive, puppy dog eyes. Is this pure happenstance, or is there a reason behind this?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Fifty-fifty. It's partly to do with my disastrous misjudgements of proportion: I tried to keep the ratio of pupil to overall eye size roughly the same as in real life, but as the actual eye size is fairly exaggerated, it can look as if they're locked into Bambi mode. Which is not what I intended at all; the other reason was, as Literature says, to allow as wide a range of expression as possible. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Literature:
I get the impression that much of the time, they *are* sad.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes... I think I'll be writing an essay/explanation about this shortly, as it seems to be a much-noticed facet of the strip.------------------
<A HREF="http://toothandclaw.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Tooth and Claw</A> (the melancholic strip)