My third time performing at the Bay Street Theater found me with the Miditzer in tow. This was a request from Bay Street, and they covered a rental car for me to bring the instrument out (I don’t own a car, and the Hampton Jitney wouldn’t exactly work). The other thing new was that in addition to the evening show, we did a matinee for kids. The theatre has a regular series of programming called KidStreet, and I was thrilled that we were able to work in some silents to the series.
Miditzer set-up was a snap…it’s getting to be that way, a routine now, really. Takes 15 – 20 mins, and because I bring a variety of cables and adaptors and a certain amount of working knowledge of what an audio tech needs (and how to work most mixers), the sound check went really quickly. Best part of the Bay Street’s sound system is that the sub-woofers are under the theater seats. So, you really felt the 16′ Bourdon in the pedals.
The matinee was attended by littler kids, maybe 8 and younger, plus some moms, Grandparents and a Dad. One Week went over like gangbusters as expected, and Number Please didn’t quite get a lot of laughs. Perhaps older kids would’ve appreciated Lloyd’s humor better. The kids show we do in Norway every year is usually a similar age group and, after a very quiet showing of Big Business one year I’ve learned what works for the 3-7 year old audience better; it’s not just slapstick that little ones respond to, it’s the spirit in which comedians inflict it on each other.
The evening show went really well. We had a nice crowd and, despite more inadvertent laughter than I’d anticipated – although, this was a Saturday nite crowd, after all – the picture played beautifully and people were really cheering for Doug by the end. I was glad to show Mark of Zorro again after doing it in Tromsø. Another chance to further hone my score. Doug is long overdue for rediscovery or revival, and Zorro is the General or Safety Last of the Fairbanks pictures (meaning it’s the best one to show an untested audience).
All in all a great (although long) day of driving and performing. I also learned that 9am (due East) and 11pm (due West) are great times to drive the L.I.E.