Red Carpet Event & One Man Show...

Until recently, all of the shows that I do happen when the people who hire me need me to perform. In other words, I don't decide when the performance happens. For a long time I've had the idea of selling tickets to my own show. This February I did it. I set the date for my show to be April 10, 2017. I wanted to keep the show small (40 people) and do it on a Monday night at Woody's Wharf. I gave myself two months to sell the tickets. I had no idea what to expect and how many tickets I would be able to sell. My plan was to sell the tickets while I was performing by having the tickets protruding from the top pocket of my jacket. People would see them and ask about them and then I'd tell them about the show. In the first week or so, I sold out. These were not sold online at all, just belly to belly, face to face, the old fashioned way.

So I added an 8pm show. Same thing. Sold out in about a week. I figured 9pm was too late to sell tickets for a Monday night, but I figured I should test the limits. I sold that one out in about 2 weeks. I was wrong about what I initially thought about selling a 9pm show so I decided to see if I was also wrong to think 10pm was too late. I sold that one out, too.

After I sold out the second show, I decided to make the night a spectacle for the people who bought the tickets. I wanted to surprise them and give them more than they expected. When they bought the tickets from me they only knew that I was going to be doing my show at Woody's Wharf, a bar, not a fancy bar, just a bar and restaurant. I bought a 45 foot long red carpet and velvet ropes. I rented spotlights for the parking lot, the kind that shine halfway to Mars. I brought in my own mahogany chairs, the kind that I bring to all of the private performances that I do in people's homes. I packaged the place in such a way that the people who are regulars were shocked when they arrived that night.

There's something magical about a red carpet and how it transforms the way a person feels. At least it has that effect on me, and it seemed to fill the people with excitement as they arrived. Once they arrived they were served drinks and many made reservations for dinner. The first show was at 7pm and I didn't have anyone to announce that a show would be starting, so I did that. In fact, the only thing I didn't do was take the photos and videos. I set up the whole event and organized everything. It felt great to see the night play out the way it did. More later...

Thank you for reading,

Jack