Acting : The end of the year is the end of the year, but it’s not the end of the year, yet. by Craig Walker

Work Ho! I popped online to see what might be coming up - and was snowed under by live-performance Pirating bookings. There has to be something said for the end-of-year-season where people want you to make fun of them (a little) and do some 'street-theatre' / performance-art / something-in-costume where you don the masque and become someone else in real-time, not shot and edited, with all the inherent risks that presents. So there are many performances on in the City right now, I'm fortunate enough to be a working actor and making a living from it, too. Many actors aren't. This is generally the season where businesses take the initiative and round up the faithful, look about for something nice and team-building-like to do, and then to bring them together to have a fun-filled afternoon. I've seen a lot of these over the years; they think, they plan, they drink and they arrive. Many arrive with pre-conceived notions about how the 'activity' is going to work. It's our job to dissuade them of their notions (if they're bad) and just give them a good time (sounds a little 'Velvet Rope', really). We're not just 'playing' Pirates, at 'Sydney Treasure Hunts'. We're also the facilitators. The ones who have a framework, sure, - but in essence concoct the story (on-the-fly) and tailor it to our audience who has been given to us. We make sure they have the excitement to get out and find their clues, to meet up with them along the way and re-fuel that energy and try to help them re-discover that sense of child-like wonder at 'playing'. The Hosts, or MCs, don't have it that easy. They change things to suit every member of the audience. Sometimes with multiple teams, we re-vamp the attitudes and dialogue several times in one performance to each individual member of each team - so that each one has a stake in the outcome. It's gruelling, but rewarding. The best outcome is not just to have a happy set of teams participate in your activity ('street theatre') and come out just as happy. The best outcome is to start with people who you bring into your world (the one of your instant creation) and have them leave enriched by it at the end (even if it's just by a wider smile, a thump on the back, a few hand-shakes, or some heart-felt thank-you's). The odd glass of cider bought by the grateful participants, also doesn't go astray. You know...some say film is hard because you must perfect the delivery and nuance. Some say television is hard because you have to do that and tell the longer story episodically. Some say theatre is hard because you have to remember a full set script and cater to the audience vibe. I say that this is hard (and no more or less rewarding) because you do all of the above, and deal with a constantly shifting playing field and a changing set of inputs from your audience. You're also re-writing as you go. It's hard, it's invigorating, it's fun, and it's a rush. The question? How to do that successfully? Gosh. Do it. There's no substitute for getting out there and making that pirate race happen in their minds as well as geographically. Surround yourself with people who can take this concept, who will run with it, and who will take an idea you put forward and embellish it and run with it in their own way to make the whole of the experience better for all concerned. If your audience is having a ball, so are you, and therefore so are they...it's a self-sustaining performance-engine. Interactive story-telling is what some call it. I call it improvisation. I call it a helluva lot of fun. Yarr!