Then Came the Whispers

As you can no doubt imagine, all the auditions plus talk of the new show has lead to all kinds of speculation. As far as I know, the next show my company puts on is supposed to be some kind of homage to themselves and their 30 year history. What’s interesting about this is that they did a ‘best of’ two shows ago. What’s even more interesting is a certain theory going around…

One of my fellow acrobats has stated that changing out such a large portion of the troupe isn’t just about needing different acts for the show. Word on the street is that the director is essentially out of ideas and needs to steal some from some outside source. He needs new people because clearly, he’s sapped all the current people of any ideas they could possibly have. So goes the theory.

Now, I know that the director has a short memory when it comes to who came up with what. And I know from experience that in the end, he tends to take more credit than is due, sometimes forgetting where some of the more brilliant ideas actually come from (the lighting designer, for example). But as much resentment as I’m feeling these days, I couldn’t help but find the suggestion that he needed to hire new people to steal their ideas a little harsh.

Then I had a chat with one of the musicians.

He’s been around for quite some time and his assessment of the whole thing is that the director is treading water somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Apparently the director keeps saying how this new show is really going to rock it (this one, it would seem, did not), but then keeps dusting off all this old crap from past shows. I know the musicians aren’t too impressed at the moment because it’s a lot of rehashing of ‘object music’, where they play tin pots and so forth. Other than that and actually re-doing old acts, he seems to have nothing.

Which is why our show may be prolonged until December 2012 instead of June 2012. To quote the director: “Yeah it would be great, and of course it suits me better.”

UPDATE: Yeah, you know the whole 'different acts' theory? They just auditioned a rebound juggler and I believe he has been hired. There is a rebound juggling act in the current show. So much for that theory.