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I heard your stealing my lines...! (RANT)
Dialogue:
ACT: "I wanted to give you a call… several people have said that your using Lines, word for word, from my show."
WB: "Using lines from your "Sword fighting" show in my "Whip" show?"
ACT: "Yes, I didn’t want to point fingers, or place blame before I talked to you…"
WB: "Well I don’t know what to tell you… Other than I have never seen your show"
ACT: "Oh…"
WB: "I mean I've seen a few minutes here and there, but never stuck around."
That was a brief conversation I had recently with a fellow Act when he confronted me with the idea that I had "stolen" his material. I wonder what would've continued had I actually been using "his" material.
ACT: "Well you had better stop…!"
WB: "Or…?"
ACT: "I'll say STOP again…"
WB: "Now that’s funny…do you mind if I use that too?"
I've notice among the Street Performers posting board it is quite a hotly discussed subject. Yet, among most of the "established" Acts that I have worked along in the past few years, it is much less of a sore subject. Exactly why it is more upsetting for some than others? Could it be that it is the insecurity of the unsure performer? Are the "established" less threatened? Perhaps they just don’t care? In this case, my perception of this particular performer supports a theory. That he is not a confident performer that "knows what he is doing". Nor is he a student of the "craft".
I have had several conversations with this particular Act in the past about interactive entertainment and other Acts. Most of those conversations included him telling me what the other Acts SHOULD do, what people in the audience SHOULD want to see, and how he is going to fill the needs audiences SHOULD have. I would defend my position with the simple logic of "Just listen to the crowd. The audience tells you what they want, so give that to them".
When it came to my show in particular, we once had spoken over a half hour about how he thought my Act SHOULDN'T have the bookings I did, because by his theory the people SHOULDN'T want to see it.
"Huh?" I thought.
Then looked at my packed schedule of bookings for the year to come and decided not to worry about it.
Admittedly there is some competitiveness going on here. During our first SHOULD"VE conversation I had a Sword fighting show playing the Biggest venues, and he had a Sword fighting show playing the smaller venues in his state. His Act was about Sword fighting, mine was about energy and comedy (it just so happened to have Sword fighting in it). Mine was a good Act… not revolutionary, but good and reliable. It was fun, we where sexy, we had spunk and energy, and enough experience sucking for a couple of years to make shows fun, no matter what. His show… Well I don’t know what his show was exactly like, but from what I saw there was a lot of Sword fighting… and I never heard great "comedic" things about it. Undoubtedly they where both reliable and professional. Also my show was the primary source of my income, while the other Act was scheduled around their "Day Jobs". Within a year I stopped the Sword fighting show and concentrated on my solo act, which quickly surpassed the duo show in both popularity and bookings.
I was never able to watch a full performance of his, and when I was able to catch parts of it, I was never compelled to stick around. On the contrary, I often noticed him in my audience from time to time.
Then an odd parallel happened, as I glimpsed his show over the next few years at the same events, it began to change. I assumed partially because he lost his original partner and replace him with a new younger-sexier partner. Yet beyond the added partner was more comedy "bits" …"familiar" comedy and attitude which seemed to be slipping into his show. Also their bookings increased and the show was traveling more.
"Good" I thought, going "on the road" has been what he wanted to do and I hope it works out for them.
I remember thinking similar things in those first few years of becoming a full time Act. Spending so much energy worried about whither it was right or wrong onstage, whither it was funny or not in writing, whither there would be another job or not and if so who the competition was. In later years, as with most performers, I just began to trust that it would be funny, that there would continue to be work, and that if there was competition I needn't have to worry about it. It would've been a waist of time to "defend" my performing against "Should'a Would'a… Could'a…" type arguments. I had work, I had Audiences and I was confident in my abilities. What he could not grasp was I have the strongest evidence on my side, the people. The audiences had liked my show, so I (Thank God!) listen to them, rather than to the "grumblings" of another un-booked performer.
I would rather get the advice of performers I respect that are working, than listen to those who cannot get booked. Early on I made it a point to learn everything I could from my fellow acts. From how to start a warm-up to comedic timing, from regional influences in comedy to variety skills, from heckler responses to hat lines. I would question everybody I could about whatever they would tell me. Later in my career they became my peers, and soon after other Acts would ask for my advice.
I suspect that some performers are not able to put aside insecurities and competitive nature long enough to watch fellow performers succeeding and LEARN something about entertaining. Even if one chooses not to employ those particular skills there is something to learn about the craft. The Acts I respect the most have never stopped learning.
Confidence has to be built threw time and experience. At some point in the career of both the duo show and the solo show a certain amount of confidence was built. Confidence that there would be bookings to rely on, that the audiences performed to would enjoy the show, that what we where doing was entertaining. At that point I began to feel a sense of calm. If an event I contacted already had a show that fit loosely into the same "genre" as mine, that’s fine. I did not feel competitive. Disappointed maybe, but not angry because they where steeling income from me. Thats the business of it all.
This is the same Act who feed me one of my favorite "example" quotes. In regards audiences in a certain city, they said: "they just don’t get our sense of humor here"… Which led to my internal answer of: "Well then you're just not funny, are you? They are the audience, you can either entertain them, or you cannot. In this case… cannot".
I believe there are a handful of performers who may have keyed into a formula that was entertaining and have been trying to recreate that every time since, with varying degrees of success. I know other performers that never get the clue, but fill the gap of a stage time. As well as those who copy exactly what they see from another performer with limited success. But I am confident that none of those three examples will last long unless they learn about the "craft". They are limited by their own lack of ability. They often look beside them to the "Big Audience" pleasers and never know why they are not just as popular. I have often heard those types say things like "I just don’t know why people think that’s entertaining…"
Some will never know.
--B
ACT: "I wanted to give you a call… several people have said that your using Lines, word for word, from my show."
WB: "Using lines from your "Sword fighting" show in my "Whip" show?"
ACT: "Yes, I didn’t want to point fingers, or place blame before I talked to you…"
WB: "Well I don’t know what to tell you… Other than I have never seen your show"
ACT: "Oh…"
WB: "I mean I've seen a few minutes here and there, but never stuck around."
That was a brief conversation I had recently with a fellow Act when he confronted me with the idea that I had "stolen" his material. I wonder what would've continued had I actually been using "his" material.
ACT: "Well you had better stop…!"
WB: "Or…?"
ACT: "I'll say STOP again…"
WB: "Now that’s funny…do you mind if I use that too?"
I've notice among the Street Performers posting board it is quite a hotly discussed subject. Yet, among most of the "established" Acts that I have worked along in the past few years, it is much less of a sore subject. Exactly why it is more upsetting for some than others? Could it be that it is the insecurity of the unsure performer? Are the "established" less threatened? Perhaps they just don’t care? In this case, my perception of this particular performer supports a theory. That he is not a confident performer that "knows what he is doing". Nor is he a student of the "craft".
I have had several conversations with this particular Act in the past about interactive entertainment and other Acts. Most of those conversations included him telling me what the other Acts SHOULD do, what people in the audience SHOULD want to see, and how he is going to fill the needs audiences SHOULD have. I would defend my position with the simple logic of "Just listen to the crowd. The audience tells you what they want, so give that to them".
When it came to my show in particular, we once had spoken over a half hour about how he thought my Act SHOULDN'T have the bookings I did, because by his theory the people SHOULDN'T want to see it.
"Huh?" I thought.
Then looked at my packed schedule of bookings for the year to come and decided not to worry about it.
Admittedly there is some competitiveness going on here. During our first SHOULD"VE conversation I had a Sword fighting show playing the Biggest venues, and he had a Sword fighting show playing the smaller venues in his state. His Act was about Sword fighting, mine was about energy and comedy (it just so happened to have Sword fighting in it). Mine was a good Act… not revolutionary, but good and reliable. It was fun, we where sexy, we had spunk and energy, and enough experience sucking for a couple of years to make shows fun, no matter what. His show… Well I don’t know what his show was exactly like, but from what I saw there was a lot of Sword fighting… and I never heard great "comedic" things about it. Undoubtedly they where both reliable and professional. Also my show was the primary source of my income, while the other Act was scheduled around their "Day Jobs". Within a year I stopped the Sword fighting show and concentrated on my solo act, which quickly surpassed the duo show in both popularity and bookings.
I was never able to watch a full performance of his, and when I was able to catch parts of it, I was never compelled to stick around. On the contrary, I often noticed him in my audience from time to time.
Then an odd parallel happened, as I glimpsed his show over the next few years at the same events, it began to change. I assumed partially because he lost his original partner and replace him with a new younger-sexier partner. Yet beyond the added partner was more comedy "bits" …"familiar" comedy and attitude which seemed to be slipping into his show. Also their bookings increased and the show was traveling more.
"Good" I thought, going "on the road" has been what he wanted to do and I hope it works out for them.
I remember thinking similar things in those first few years of becoming a full time Act. Spending so much energy worried about whither it was right or wrong onstage, whither it was funny or not in writing, whither there would be another job or not and if so who the competition was. In later years, as with most performers, I just began to trust that it would be funny, that there would continue to be work, and that if there was competition I needn't have to worry about it. It would've been a waist of time to "defend" my performing against "Should'a Would'a… Could'a…" type arguments. I had work, I had Audiences and I was confident in my abilities. What he could not grasp was I have the strongest evidence on my side, the people. The audiences had liked my show, so I (Thank God!) listen to them, rather than to the "grumblings" of another un-booked performer.
I would rather get the advice of performers I respect that are working, than listen to those who cannot get booked. Early on I made it a point to learn everything I could from my fellow acts. From how to start a warm-up to comedic timing, from regional influences in comedy to variety skills, from heckler responses to hat lines. I would question everybody I could about whatever they would tell me. Later in my career they became my peers, and soon after other Acts would ask for my advice.
I suspect that some performers are not able to put aside insecurities and competitive nature long enough to watch fellow performers succeeding and LEARN something about entertaining. Even if one chooses not to employ those particular skills there is something to learn about the craft. The Acts I respect the most have never stopped learning.
Confidence has to be built threw time and experience. At some point in the career of both the duo show and the solo show a certain amount of confidence was built. Confidence that there would be bookings to rely on, that the audiences performed to would enjoy the show, that what we where doing was entertaining. At that point I began to feel a sense of calm. If an event I contacted already had a show that fit loosely into the same "genre" as mine, that’s fine. I did not feel competitive. Disappointed maybe, but not angry because they where steeling income from me. Thats the business of it all.
This is the same Act who feed me one of my favorite "example" quotes. In regards audiences in a certain city, they said: "they just don’t get our sense of humor here"… Which led to my internal answer of: "Well then you're just not funny, are you? They are the audience, you can either entertain them, or you cannot. In this case… cannot".
I believe there are a handful of performers who may have keyed into a formula that was entertaining and have been trying to recreate that every time since, with varying degrees of success. I know other performers that never get the clue, but fill the gap of a stage time. As well as those who copy exactly what they see from another performer with limited success. But I am confident that none of those three examples will last long unless they learn about the "craft". They are limited by their own lack of ability. They often look beside them to the "Big Audience" pleasers and never know why they are not just as popular. I have often heard those types say things like "I just don’t know why people think that’s entertaining…"
Some will never know.
--B
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