Lamonster
10-06-2014, 12:10 PM
This is more about the show and less about the F3 so you can decide now if it's worth reading.
As I said in part one I've never been comfortable public speaking and when I was asked if I wanted to be part of the show I was a little bit apprehensive but then they said "and we want you to do a big smoky burnout on stage", I was in then.
So Sunday we did our demo ride and shot some video that would be used in the show. After that the fun and games were over and it was time to go to meetings and rehearsals. We had our first meeting that day and I got to meet some of the folks I would be working with. At that point I knew this was about to get real. I was thankful that I had Joan Wise (https://www.facebook.com/JoanWiseSpyderRyder) with me as she was able to take notes and refresh my memory on what went on in the meeting.
We had our first rehearsal that day and that's where I got to see who I would be working with. We all had scripts but they had me write mine in my own words so they weren't putting words in my mouth. My part was easy compared to theirs. It was pretty amazing to see what it took to put on a show like this. I had no idea what a big deal it was. It truly was like a Hollywood production. Everyone there was a pro...well everyone but me. I'll be honest and tell you I was a little bit freaked out at first. I knew that I was no good at reading a script, even one I wrote. The team I was working with were so cool and did their best to make me feel at ease but in my heart I knew I was in over my head but I couldn't let them down, I had to do a good job.
So we all take our parts and run through the script on stage together. As we walked through it live there were changes made on the fly, many changes actually but nobody got stressed out about it. My part was toward the end of the show so I had more time than they did to try and remember my lines. When I got up on stage it felt strange and it didn't feel natural reading the teleprompters. On the first rehearsal we all relied pretty heavy on the TP's but as luck would have it on my first read the lines weren't coming out on time and it was really messing me up. I felt totally out of my element. When we got done we had a meeting about what we did wrong and what we did right. For sure I did the worst of all of them. I was given some advice from the coaches and afterwards Joan was able to point out some things that really helped. It was then that I knew that I needed her by my side through the whole process. She gave me such good support, her advice was to help me be the best I could be up there and it worked.
So Monday morning we had another rehearsal at 9am. These took about two hours. Once again we made some changes so that things flowed a little better but I still sucked, not as bad but not ready for prime-time either. It was at that point the guys realized they needed to do something different with me. They asked me if I thought I could ad lib my part and not go by the script. I told them that would be great because I do pretty good when I'm just talking like I normally would to anyone else. So with that idea they had Bernard and I do another rehearsal before our 1pm rehearsal. That went pretty good and there was hope. So at 1pm we ran through it all again and this time I did much better, still not perfect but you could see the relief in everyone's eyes that maybe just maybe they didn't make a big mistake asking me to do this.
So now I'm feeling pretty darn good, I got the thumbs up from all the top brass at BRP, Joan said I killed it and I knew it was just going to get better from here. Joan pointed out some things like using my hands more, looking into the crowd and a few other things I already forgot. Once again she was a great coach and great support and I'm sure it wouldn't have gone as well without her.
So Tuesday is the big day, as they say it was about to get real. We had a full blown rehearsal with the Spyders on stage in the morning and once again we made some changes. I got the feeling we were building a plane as it was taking off. Things that looked good on paper didn't look as good as it could be on stage. My part was better but still lacking. I think even Joan knew it but never said it, she just kept me up but I knew I could do better.
At 2pm was our last rehearsal and one of the guys in the pics I posted is one of the coaches. I was sitting in a chair when he came up to me and sat down. He asked me how it was going and I told him better but still not right. Then he said don't worry about the bullet points or anything, just go up there and be yourself. He said you know the product as well as anyone so just do your thing, you got this. I got to tell you it was like he flipped a switch in me. I knew right then I was going to nail it. Joan was still in her room so I texted her and said you need to be here for this one, it's going to be the best yet. She wasn't feeling good but she came anyway and after she saw my performance she said "what happened, I was only gone two hours, did you take acting lessons or what?". She couldn't believe the change from what she saw in the morning and what she just saw. The BRP guys said the same thing, now they were calling me a pro. All I did was talk like I was in a parking lot instead of being on stage with over 1000 people staring at me.
So now it's 5pm and we're going live. I had already done the practice burnout the night before and that went really well but I hadn't done it on stage yet so their was still room for a real disaster. As it turned out that went well too. I didn't remember half the things I said on stage till I watched the video and I wish I wouldn't have said "I'm blown away" so much but all and all it went great.
I hope I don't have to do anything like that again anytime soon but if I do I know I want Joan right by my side. I think shes a keeper.
So now you have some idea what it takes to do a show like this. I had no idea and I left out a bunch of details just because this post is now way too long. If you want to know more just ask me when you see me. Take care
http://youtu.be/kiwOElmJRWg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10710686_790033234373283_7854241542412815095_n.jpg ?oh=010df8a7b66e8c42eed26a0ea746b806&oe=54CA4813&__gda__=1422635947_8f0f441ec08b479706499a0cc0e76fe e
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=96440&d=1412615499
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=96441&d=1412615557
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/s960x960/1888872_790828604293746_8439161117283173612_o.jpg
As I said in part one I've never been comfortable public speaking and when I was asked if I wanted to be part of the show I was a little bit apprehensive but then they said "and we want you to do a big smoky burnout on stage", I was in then.
So Sunday we did our demo ride and shot some video that would be used in the show. After that the fun and games were over and it was time to go to meetings and rehearsals. We had our first meeting that day and I got to meet some of the folks I would be working with. At that point I knew this was about to get real. I was thankful that I had Joan Wise (https://www.facebook.com/JoanWiseSpyderRyder) with me as she was able to take notes and refresh my memory on what went on in the meeting.
We had our first rehearsal that day and that's where I got to see who I would be working with. We all had scripts but they had me write mine in my own words so they weren't putting words in my mouth. My part was easy compared to theirs. It was pretty amazing to see what it took to put on a show like this. I had no idea what a big deal it was. It truly was like a Hollywood production. Everyone there was a pro...well everyone but me. I'll be honest and tell you I was a little bit freaked out at first. I knew that I was no good at reading a script, even one I wrote. The team I was working with were so cool and did their best to make me feel at ease but in my heart I knew I was in over my head but I couldn't let them down, I had to do a good job.
So we all take our parts and run through the script on stage together. As we walked through it live there were changes made on the fly, many changes actually but nobody got stressed out about it. My part was toward the end of the show so I had more time than they did to try and remember my lines. When I got up on stage it felt strange and it didn't feel natural reading the teleprompters. On the first rehearsal we all relied pretty heavy on the TP's but as luck would have it on my first read the lines weren't coming out on time and it was really messing me up. I felt totally out of my element. When we got done we had a meeting about what we did wrong and what we did right. For sure I did the worst of all of them. I was given some advice from the coaches and afterwards Joan was able to point out some things that really helped. It was then that I knew that I needed her by my side through the whole process. She gave me such good support, her advice was to help me be the best I could be up there and it worked.
So Monday morning we had another rehearsal at 9am. These took about two hours. Once again we made some changes so that things flowed a little better but I still sucked, not as bad but not ready for prime-time either. It was at that point the guys realized they needed to do something different with me. They asked me if I thought I could ad lib my part and not go by the script. I told them that would be great because I do pretty good when I'm just talking like I normally would to anyone else. So with that idea they had Bernard and I do another rehearsal before our 1pm rehearsal. That went pretty good and there was hope. So at 1pm we ran through it all again and this time I did much better, still not perfect but you could see the relief in everyone's eyes that maybe just maybe they didn't make a big mistake asking me to do this.
So now I'm feeling pretty darn good, I got the thumbs up from all the top brass at BRP, Joan said I killed it and I knew it was just going to get better from here. Joan pointed out some things like using my hands more, looking into the crowd and a few other things I already forgot. Once again she was a great coach and great support and I'm sure it wouldn't have gone as well without her.
So Tuesday is the big day, as they say it was about to get real. We had a full blown rehearsal with the Spyders on stage in the morning and once again we made some changes. I got the feeling we were building a plane as it was taking off. Things that looked good on paper didn't look as good as it could be on stage. My part was better but still lacking. I think even Joan knew it but never said it, she just kept me up but I knew I could do better.
At 2pm was our last rehearsal and one of the guys in the pics I posted is one of the coaches. I was sitting in a chair when he came up to me and sat down. He asked me how it was going and I told him better but still not right. Then he said don't worry about the bullet points or anything, just go up there and be yourself. He said you know the product as well as anyone so just do your thing, you got this. I got to tell you it was like he flipped a switch in me. I knew right then I was going to nail it. Joan was still in her room so I texted her and said you need to be here for this one, it's going to be the best yet. She wasn't feeling good but she came anyway and after she saw my performance she said "what happened, I was only gone two hours, did you take acting lessons or what?". She couldn't believe the change from what she saw in the morning and what she just saw. The BRP guys said the same thing, now they were calling me a pro. All I did was talk like I was in a parking lot instead of being on stage with over 1000 people staring at me.
So now it's 5pm and we're going live. I had already done the practice burnout the night before and that went really well but I hadn't done it on stage yet so their was still room for a real disaster. As it turned out that went well too. I didn't remember half the things I said on stage till I watched the video and I wish I wouldn't have said "I'm blown away" so much but all and all it went great.
I hope I don't have to do anything like that again anytime soon but if I do I know I want Joan right by my side. I think shes a keeper.
So now you have some idea what it takes to do a show like this. I had no idea and I left out a bunch of details just because this post is now way too long. If you want to know more just ask me when you see me. Take care
http://youtu.be/kiwOElmJRWg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10710686_790033234373283_7854241542412815095_n.jpg ?oh=010df8a7b66e8c42eed26a0ea746b806&oe=54CA4813&__gda__=1422635947_8f0f441ec08b479706499a0cc0e76fe e
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=96440&d=1412615499
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=96441&d=1412615557
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/s960x960/1888872_790828604293746_8439161117283173612_o.jpg