Baby, you can light my fire
Lately, I've been helping Shalini out with her
show. Not much involved really, turning lights up and down at the right time, turning volumes up and down at the right time, easy.
The most difficult part is choosing suitable music to play between acts. You want something to give the right atmosphere. Something not too hot, not too cold, not too light, not too heavy, not too fast, not too slow, not too sweet, not too sour, not too familar, not too commercial; but just right. You want the crowd wide awake, but not too distracted, earballs open, jiggling in their seats, but not jumping out of them.
I'm finding D.I.G. and Spiderbait are filling that aural niche very nicely.
Ultimately, my part is a small part of the show. The girls are the stars; they make the audience laugh, sometimes a little, sometimes too much. Never-the-less, an audience to a comedy show is the most unpredictable thing I've ever seen.
I've developed a neat analogy for comedy, as is my want. A fire needs three things: fuel, air and a spark. A comedian supplies the fuel (routine) and air (personality), but the audience hold the spark (the laugh.) If the spark ain't there, the comedian has to create the spark, and that can be hard, like blowing on an ember. If the spark is already roaring, it's a lot easier, and the fire will warm both the audience and comedian.
And wouldn't life be cold without laughter?
