What I Learned From Watching Horses? Horses!

Stillness captivates.

I think I am a little late to the party with Horses? Horses!, but absolutely better late than never. My first visit to one of their shows was during a 9:30 pm, Chris and Tami slot at The New Movement in New Orleans.

It’s safe to assume that anyone performing in that time slot is going to be funny and Christopher Carrington and Jon Butts are that. Two-person comedy teams are especially wonderful when they seem to be actually great friends beneath all the characters they create. When they seem to be reading each others’ minds as they converse seamlessly in totally absurd situations, it is comedy gold. The Garth Brooks musical prison riot scene they created will stay with me for a long time.

One big lesson I took away from watching them was the importance of stillness. Or, maybe more specifically, the how much audience attention you retain by avoiding unnecessary and/or aimless movement. Each time one of these guys created a totally grounded and solid character; I couldn’t look away and couldn’t wait to hear what would come out of his mouth next. If there was “fidgeting” , it was fidgeting with a very specific character purpose.

It’s tough to stand/be/hold still in front of an audience. Nerves want to make us (well, me, anyway) skitter around, rock, wander, and sometimes even shake on stage. At a vocal audition back when the earth was cooling, the director actually came up behind me, used both hands to hold my head still, and asked me to sing the song again. It sort of pissed me off at the time, but I’ve never forgotten what he was trying to tell me.

And Horses? Horses! brought it all to mind again.

Horses? Horses! is the improv team of Christopher Carrington and Jon Butts.