Traditionally, stand-up comedy used to be a guy in front of a face brick wall on a
black stage, microphone in hand and a barstool in close proximity to serve as a
place to put his bottle of water and occasionally, along with
the mic stand, a handy prop. But that’s all changing now…
John Vlismas is a comedian who likes to do things differently. Anyone that’s seen
him live will attest to that. It’s just not his style to follow tradition and, if my
assumptions are correct, the man is punk rock at heart and has a penchant for
bucking the system. Not to mention his live musings and rants which are sure to
leave even the most liberal-hearted a little red in the face.
It stands to reason, then, that Vlismas is a man of many facets. It’s no secret that
he’s a fan of Brian Eno, the master of “behind the scenes’ so he’s quite happy to be
involved in off-stage production as much as on-stage which comes out in his other
work such as his corporate production of The Gathering, a political debate thrown
by The Daily Maverick. His shows are more than a little different than run-of-the-
mill because of his passion for production.
Revelations, inspired by the biblical Book of Revelations, is Vlismas’ latest live
stand-up offering that is interwoven with a twist of vitriol, a large dose of off-the-
beaten-track showmanship and a refreshing focus on show-enhancing technology.
This is not your average comedy routine; not just because of his flamboyant
personal stylings, but because of a flair for technology that most stand-up comedy
shows just do not have. Bringing other elements as well, the show also includes a
performance by psychobilly band The Spinebenders, which set the stage for the
dark humour that follows and visuals inspired by the mini-series True Detective. In
fact, lead singer Ryan Busta Bolton had a big hand in illustrating some of these
visual elements. As we will see, these visuals were central to what made this show
a little different.
The Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City hosted the show on 23 and 24 May 2014 which
was recorded for broadcast on Comedy Central. Richard Baker, MD of Gearhouse
Group subsidiary LEDVision, was instrumental in bringing Vlismas’ vision to
realisation through their long time association and passion for well executed event
technical. The goal? A unique show that breaks all the boundaries of traditional
comedy and pushes the envelope forward using technology as a conduit.
“Comedy is not generally looked at as a show piece,’ says Baker. “However, so
many things can be done because there are all the same elements that we use in
most shows. We have to set a scene. We can take the audience in and out of
whatever the gag might be or whatever story needs to be told. John is very
interesting and just talking to him about how all his ideas come about I can see that
he has a purpose with what he’s trying to do. It’s not fair to say that there haven’t
been local comedy shows that have had a technical input, but I think John has done
something really artistic with it.’
Discussions started between Vlismas and Baker around two years ago. Baker had
seen some local comedy productions on television that didn’t quite meet his
expectations of what a good production was supposed to be. So he set out to create
something with Vlismas that was more of an experience than a bland comedy show
with ordinary production values.
“It’s not about budget. People always think, “oh well, that’s just a low budget show’.
Forget about the budget; you can achieve so much with very little if you have a
little teamwork and put a little vision into it,’ says Baker.
Prior to Vlismas’ 40th birthday extravaganza, Vlismas approached Baker and
engaged with him on the Revelations show. Baker admits he wanted to do the show
with Vlismas as an “art escape’ to see what he could do to push the envelope of
comedy production, regardless of budget. Eventually the ball got rolling after a
couple of meetings with Vlismas and the show began to morph out of their minds
and into reality.
“The first thing we did was put a checkered floor down,’ comments Baker. “This
broke up the floor and didn’t leave everything up to lighting. That being said, the
lighting crew at the Lyric are fantastic. Vlismas has got a great vision when it
comes to the content which we took and demonstrated to him how it can run within
the comedy skit. So there is visual art, there’s comedy, there’s a technical aspect
and it’s all related. Without the technology, the visual art doesn’t come into play.’
Central to the show was the incorporation of vertical – and in some cases slanted –
staggered DuoLED 18mm LED screens that extended from the floor to the rigging
system in the stage cavity. Around 80 panels were used in total. This is where most
of the True Detective- and Walking Dead-inspired content was displayed and
projected a sort of disjointed, frenetic scene to compliment the erratic mind of
Vlismas.
This was a deliberate design approach by Baker.
“I wanted a pixelated look; the deconstructed, broken down thing. A lot of the
imaging was buggered up stairwells, dirty barren wastelands, etc. Vlismas and I sat
down and had a conversation and started writing things down so it just started on a
notepad,’ says Baker.
Apart from the LED screens there was also a projection cyclorama at the rear of the
stage onto which images were projected throughout the show by a 21K Panasonic
hidden behind one of the LED screens. However, there were some challenges due to
space constraints. According to Baker, his initial plan was to project onto the entire
surface of the cyclorama at the rear of the stage but because of an overhanging
wall and space calculation constraints the solution was to cut it down and push it
back under the overhang.
The content for Revelations was driven by three Arkaos video servers and Resolume
VJ software.
The wrap
One of the big points I got from talking to Baker was that, as he put it, kit is kit.
Indeed, being part of the Gearhouse Group, Baker has access to an immense pool
of gear but, according to him, it is incidental to the vision of the show. In conclusion
he says: “We have got access to every single piece of equipment imaginable. But it
means nothing until we can actually plug it in together with the artists, the content
creators and the design visionaries. So, as a show designer, if you don’t have all of
that coming together you may as well sit in the warehouse and look at all the kit.
But as far as Revelations goes, I am very happy with how it came out.’
