Diary of A Gob Act
Sometimes gigs are well planned and run smoothly. Other things can get a little intense at the last minute, to put it very mildly. This is even more true when you're performing something more complex than anything you'd done to date. Back around the time of The Gob Act, I was keeping a diary in a text file on my phone. This is, word for word, my description of the day of that performance. The slightly manic tone reflects my state of mind back then pretty well.
To put it in perspective, I was working full time at a previously mentioned high intensity corporate job, and also had a raging flu that day.
Woke up. Took antibiotics. Ate breakfast. Went to parents' place. Collected playing cards. Drove to St Kilda. Collected Segway. Winced at $220 rental fee. Received Segway basic training. Drove home, dropped off Segway, trained to city. Met Nick J to get Swiss Club keys. Bought tablecloth and fabric. Bought magic wand and additional odd-coloured cards. Bought 100 pennies. Forced myself to eat lunch. Bought gaffer tape and black whiteboard marker. Shopped for popstud shirt, unsuccessfully. Went home. Re-stitched buttons to outer seam of conventional shirt instead. Tested Segway. Napped for 15min, utterly exhausted (mostly due to now-thoroughly-active flu). Went to apartment. Collected all remaining gear. Edited modified Final Countdown mp3 and uploaded to server for YC to download. Phoned Ash to let him know I was running late. Drove to Swiss Club. Unloaded everything. Configured microphone setup with Ash. Rearranged venue. Set up lights, camera, table, etc. Upon Dave and YC's arrival, began work on handkerchief ropes, chest drawing, and Segway logistics. Noticed that Nick had arrived. Met Nick's cameraman. Briefed Nick's cameraman. Went to get dinner. Forced myself to eat, despite anxiety/nausea. Over dinner, built rainbow deck. Gaffed the rainbow deck appropriately for the routine. Took antibiotics. Took painkillers. I'll need them; flu symptoms are in full swing now. Returned to venue. Built modified lighter fluid gimmick. Didn't have time to test modified lighter fluid gimmick. Worst case: waterlogged cards during four ace routine. Acceptable risk. With YC's help, gaffed shirt. Watched first half of competition. Too nervous to enjoy it fully, but it was good. Interval. Conducted final briefing with team. Loaded up (attached four packets of cards to belt clips, two fake knives up sides of belt, one pirate sword up back of shirt - gaffer taped in place, one magic wand in belt, 100 pennies in left trouser pocket, $100 bill gimmick in right trouser pocket, two silk scarf ropes in left shirt sleeve, lighter fluid gimmick in right shirt sleeve). Activated Segway in standby mode. Double checked microphone. Double checked monopoly box with Ash. Double checked lighting setup with Yao and Dave. Double checked audio with YC. Sweated. Realised sweat may be affecting texta on chest. With Dave's help, touched up chest drawing. Watched John and Vyom's act. Standard has gone up significantly! Nice. Looks like I picked the right year for this act. Went backstage to get ready. Triple checked all the body loads. Final mental run through. Still hideously under-rehearsed. Curtain call. Performed the routine. Several glitches, but nothing showstopping. Hard to tell for sure, but reactions sounded good. Watched final act (Stas and Dave - awesome). Awards ceremony. Won Most Entertaining Performer "by a landslide" according to judges. :-) Received award. Let people ride and take photos on Segway. Packed up everything, with much-needed and much-appreciated help from everyone. Headed to car. Paused for a while to take outdoor Segway photos with team. Loaded everything into car. Drove home. Unloaded gear. Undressed. Showered, paying particular attention to washing off texta marks. Headed to bed. Crashed like a meteorite. Due at office 9am tomorrow.
So yes, things got a little hectic there to say the least. Damn it was worth it though.
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