The Long Road to Overnight Success by Shane Jacobson

Author:Shane Jacobson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

BURNING ON THE INSIDE

I love that scene in Wizard of Oz when Toto tugs back the curtain to reveal the Wizard pulling levers and pushing buttons on an elaborate machine that controls all the special effects. The engine and all of its moving parts under the hood of the car of life fascinate me.

Being on stage with Gang Show fuelled my passion to perform, but, as I’ve mentioned, I was equally intrigued by what happened backstage. All of it fascinated me: the lighting, the sound, the staging, all the props, the flies they used to move scenery around. I asked a lot of questions and my interest must have been pretty obvious; when a show was being put into a theatre — which is called the bump-in — when I wasn’t busy rehearsing I would often stay around and help set up the lighting. In Gang Show anyone willing to help was welcomed with open arms; when a performance was coming up it was all hands on deck to make props and do all the other zillion and one tasks that go into making a great show.

Andrew Holmes, the lighting director for Gang Show, also owned a lighting company with his business partner, Bob Prosser. When I was getting ready to go to Sweden to be with Annika, Andrew and Bob heard that I would be passing through London on my travels. They asked if I would take a look around an international entertainment lighting trade show that was being held in Earls Court in London. They gave me a Premier Lighting shirt and printed some business cards with my name on them and said, ‘You can say you’re one of our representatives. Just take a look at the expo and send us back any interesting information you can lay your hands on.’

When Annika and I got to London during our backpacking trip, I spent two or three days walking around the trade show, collecting brochures and information. I put them all in a big post pack and sent them back to Australia, then we continued our travels through Europe.

When I got back to Australia, at the same time I was working at French Knickers theatre restaurant, I was spending time with the guys from Premier, talking them through all the information I had sent them from the lighting expo in London. At the end of it they said, ‘How would you like to work with us as a sales rep?’

The deal was that I would work on commission only. I could work as many days as I wanted to: one day a month, one day a year, every day, but whatever lighting products I sold, I’d get 50 per cent of the net profit. That suited me fine. To kick things off Premier paid me $1000 for the time I’d spent at the trade show in London. With that money I bought a little old Mazda from a friend, which became known as my company car. For a

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