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| THE PERSONAL WEBLOG OF ME |
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11. 13. 09 (Entry follows photo)
JOIN THE TOMPKINS 300! |
This past August, I went to Atlanta to record an hour-long special for Comedy Central. As I was doing my most personal material to date, I wanted to perform it in an intimate setting, and the 74-seat Laughing Skull Lounge seemed perfect! I would perform two shows a night for four nights, using different camera angles for each performance; everything would be covered, but there would still be room enough for seventy-four audience members.
The only problem was, it looked like I wasn’t actually going to have an audience. Ticket sales were less than robust. Twelve people a show was a little too intimate.
I jumped on Twitter. I asked for help. “SPREAD THE WORD,” I hollered. “I NEED TO FILL THIS TINY THEATER. TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT SHOWS.” I went on: “PLEASE TELL ME THERE ARE THREE HUNDRED PEOPLE THAT WANT TO COME SEE ME IN THIS CITY.”
Friends, fans, fanfriends and friendfans alike were kind enough to retweet this message over and over. I got my three hundred. The shows went well! The special airs this spring and the DVD comes out shortly after.
But something… else came out of that craziness. In the midst of my campaign to rally the people of Atlanta, I got a tweet that asked, “Why don’t you come to Toronto?”
Well, this was the absolute last thing I wanted to hear. Not helpful! I wrote back, through the finger equivalent of clenched teeth, “You get three hundred people to say they’ll come see me in Toronto and I’ll go to Toronto.”
So this enterprising young man, comedian Bob Kerr, started a Facebook group pithily entitled, “Bring Paul F. Tompkins to Toronto!” He asked for people to join the group if they were committed to seeing me perform. He asked that folks not join for “support,” that they not join just because they like joining groups, but that they only join if they were serious about wanting to come see me live in Toronto. Bob said, “You should only join if you’re actually going to be there.”
Within a few weeks, the group’s ranks had swelled to 305. I checked it out. It seemed legit! I booked a show.
A couple months later, I was in Toronto, performing two sold out shows on a Sunday night for two smart, respectful, appreciative audiences. These people didn’t come to “party.” They came to see a show. It was a magical night for me.
And it tasted like more.
I’ve become fed up with the comedy club system for reasons that would cause you to self-murder should I elaborate. I don’t want that to happen. I have long thought, There’s got to be a better way than this. But I had no idea what that way could be until my experience in Toronto.
So here it is: you provide the audience, I’ll provide the show.
If you can, as Bob Kerr did in Toronto, get 300 people to commit to seeing a show in a small theater or nightclub, I will book a show in your city. We will have a good time. Together! I will give you an excellent show. We will have FUN.
If you have suggestions of venues to play, all the better! I am looking for small theaters or nightclubs, civilized places where people can sit down like human beings instead of standing around like veal. People should never stand for comedy. It’s absurd. You stand for music because you might dance. You’re not going to start dancing at a comedy show, are you? If yes, go get a CAT scan.
People in various cities have started groups. As of this writing, Halifax, Nova Scotia (O, Canada!) has topped three hundred, and Dallas, TX is just a few people away! Numbers are growing for groups in Boston, Chicago, and Winnipeg (Canda AGAIN!) with other cities just getting started.
I believe this system can work. It’s going to take some time, I’m sure, and there will no doubt be kinks that need ironing out. But eventually, I have faith that this model will be successful. My experience in Toronto showed me that the Internet is more than message board anger and pornbot SPAM! If we want it to, it can bring people together! THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE REASONS IT WAS CREATED!
If you’d like to start one of these groups, take a look at the Toronto group that started it all. Make that your template. Be the person that makes sure that people are committed! Let me know when you’ve created the group and I will spread the word!
You will find me here on Twitter:
@PFTompkins
Tweet me the link and include the hashtag #tompkins300. Not a Twitter fan? Hit me up on Facebook.
I would very much like to make your acquaintance. Together we can make this happen!
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