I've been busy with shows lately and had one of those unexpected moments when one of my dog puppet’s ears fell off during his routine. I was performing for a group of 250 retail store employees. I was looking away when the ear fell off, but I heard the people in the audience gasp … proving that the dog was real to them (Ha!).
Anyway, I ad libbed my way through it with 4 or 5 lines. Each line got a bigger laugh than the previous one. I ended with, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.” The dog replied, “Well whatever you say, you’re going to have to say it louder.” The laugh was so big that I knew I wouldn’t be able to top it … so I just picked up the ear, put it in the case and said I’d fix it later. We went on.
Leslie was there and after the show she asked me if I was going to keep the ear bit in. I wrote everything down that I could remember saying and now the ear is reattached with Velcro so I can gently tug on it and have it fall to the floor. As I say in my ad libbing lectures … the best ad libs are not ad libs at all.
'ear, 'ear or hear ye, hear ye
ReplyDeleteKnow what you mean about adlibs. If it wasn't for my husband videoing, some of my best adlibs would be lost.
ReplyDeleteEnter the small digital recorder. I turn it on at the start of a show and let it run throughout. I can count on it to catch some of my funniest stuff, and add it in later.
Hmmm, a recorder... have to keep that in mind.
ReplyDelete