"You Have To Develop Your Pleasure After You Do Something Idiot."

Auto-course Friday: Make the audience believe you are a musician.

~

Hannah, Michael and Rosemary did a number in which they gave Tom Tom the iPad to do the music for their scene, gave him instructions, and then kept making it out like he had stuffed it up. Endless music problems. But we weren't included, so we didn't laugh. "We are not in the game."

~

Nicko and Jonathan did a fantastic number involving lots of stupid problems. First Nicko was on a high stool and Jonathan was on a small chair, so they both stupidly found a way to be at the same height on their different seats (Nicko half falling off his). Then there were troubles with Jonathan's Goofy tail - getting in Nicko's face and not sitting nicely with his chair. Then trouble with the song they were there to perform. "Count me in!" It was very very funny. They didn't play too much, but were complete idiots. Philippe's asked "do you look at us to see if we think 'ooh they are musicians?" because they didn't really. But "it's not too bad."

~

Boris presented a number in which he played a bad song on a recorder but he kept having problems with getting hair in his mouth from his hairy King Kong outfit every time he went to play his instrument. Philippe suggested he look for a way that he can be good at the recorder if something happens. e.g. A woman walks by and he's suddenly very good. And then she's gone and it's horrible again.

~

Tessa and Connor presented a number in which they had lots of trouble unpacking their music gear. Cords unravelling, tripods and music stands falling apart. Toilet paper rolling everywhere. It was very funny but they got a bit stuck after a while on where to go with it. "Idea very good but you have to write better...it has to be clear where you go."

"It's a mess...with a mess you have to be really precise."

~

Cat, Sophie and Simone presented a number in which they tried to make us believe they were rockstars. 

They came out with a big sheet covering them, they had loud rock'n'roll music playing, and then they did bad entrances with baby powder flying in the air as a an effect of stage-smoke. The effect was good but the powder went everywhere and Philippe stopped the number before we all suffocated. "It's not well done." It was pretty loose. "If you have a number like this you have to do it at the end."

~

Mark presented a number in which he did a short stupid dance to classical ballet music. He was funny with his stupid face on, but he didn't have the pride of a child in his eyes. "You never though I am a great artist...you play a beautiful idiot but not a clown." He also warned that "it can't be a parody."

~

Miwa and Yung Yung did a number in which Miwa played the recorder of We Wish You A Merry Christmas whilst Yung Yung sang along. That part was bad. They did find something doing everlasting bows in the beginning. Philippe spoke about the 'slave' relationship we saw on stage (as Yung Yung entered with both her own and Miwa's bag, and Miwa appeared to be ordering Yung Yung around via her recorder). "If we understand it's a game to be loved by the audience it's okay" but this wasn't so clear - they didn't look like best friends.

~

I presented a number in which I tried to make the audience believe I am a rapper. I did a few little gangster hand signs at the start and got a few little laughs.

Then I went into what I had planned and got out a little robotic-flipping dog out of my suitcase (I bought this a while ago as Tin Tin's dog but never had the guts to try it out until now). I held the dog in my hand, turned it on, and beat boxed along with the yapping barks of the dog. Then after a wee bit I put the dog down and let it do it's walking and flipping whilst I continued to rap "boom boom chikka chikka boom!" People were laughing and I went for a while but it was more for the cuteness of the dog than me. E.g. There was a moment the dog flipped and landed in a position in which it was coming to me, which was cute. I didn't play with the dog enough either. Although I was happy with myself for looking at and being with the audience more, and not being ashamed. Philippe eventually hit the drum, and then said the line I knew he would say: "Do we prefer him or the dog?" 

He then said "it's dangerous" to perform with something like this - it's like the rule against performing with animals and children - because you're sure to be upstaged. "We don't see you so much." So Philippe suggested getting rid of the dog and finding something else. I'm happy I tried though!

~

Steph, Boris and Yung Yung tried a slightly different version of the number they had improvised a while ago on Garage day (the 'film star' class) in which the two girls were latched onto Boris making it difficult for him to do what he was there to do...which today was to sing a song. But it wasn't clear what the problem was today and it wasn't funny. "We do not understand." It could work, but I think they need to build the problem slower. Or make the problem clearer.

~

Miluka did a number in which she pretended to play flamenco guitar (which was actually playing on the stereo). 

But she had a music problem game with Tom Tom, plus this game where she kept drinking music, and it wasn't clear. "I do not understand...and we have to understand everything."

~

Paula did a rhythmic number where she made funny noises with her mouth and slapped her thighs and did other silly things to build the music. But Philippe stopped her because she kept going without stopping to see whether we like it and to show how happy she is with herself. 

"We don't see you happy after five seconds...you don't need to be clown to do that."

He then got her to do just five seconds and then stop, to which he said "not bad." And we see a Paula's smile and see something childish and beautiful. 

"A clown...he is sure someone is going to say 'that is a musician - a first class musician'."

"You have to develop your pleasure after you do something idiot."

"Five seconds - Poff! - Pleasure."

~

Michaela finished the class off on a high note with a number in which she came on stage with an accordion.

She played minor chords slowly, one after the other, with a sad almost crying look on her face. We liked her like this! "You could do something like that for the show." Go Michaela!!!