My Melanie Jacob
Journal Staff Writer
mjacob@humboldtjournal.ca
After only a few shows and many laughs, the Dr. Von Houligan's Carnival of Calamities was forced to pack up and leave town a day early.
The performance featured the magical and comedic talents of Allister Denton and his accomplices, "Pinky and Ballz," also known as Jordan Geisler and Cole Shaheen respectively. The first portion of the evening began at 6:30 p.m. for families and the evening show after 8 p.m. was for people 16 and older. The age restriction was due to its many double entendres.
"We're here to entertain the audience. The last few shows we did here were stellar. I had so much fun because the audience was into it," said Denton. "I always tell people, 'If you see something, laugh. If you see something amazing, clap. You're here to have fun, right?'"
Indeed, almost everyone was laughing and clapping during Friday night's evening performance. Chuckles were heard at Denton's stream of self-deprecating quips and applause was given when Geisler hammered a block of cement over Shaheen while he was lying on a bed of broken glass.
The audience was even more enthused when volunteers were asked to go up and help by tossing a machete at Denton or figuring out where he had hidden his foam balls. Silence was only heard when watching Shaheen perform his mesmerizing poi performances.
"People are so used to seeing something on TV and not being a part of something bigger," said Denton. "So when they're given the opportunity to be part of something bigger, they don't come because they don't know what to do with it. It's this weird conundrum."
That's what Denton says is the biggest problem: getting the word out and getting people to come to their show. They've only been in business for less than a year and while they've had some steady business, they've also had some low points. Nevertheless, that doesn't put a dent in Denton's optimism.
"Five years from now, we want to be everywhere," he said. "We want people to be asking us to come out. We want performers who want that leg up to come to Dr. Von Houligan's to launch their career."
Surprisingly, that's another unique quirk to this traveling troupe's mission. Aside from entertaining the masses, Denton's goal is to help other performers gain their head start and acquire some experience, something he found difficult in the beginning.
Even though his show is relatively new, Denton actually began in the performance industry at least a decade ago, traveling to conferences and "chasing shows," as he put it. Eventually, he found himself either breaking even or broke with very little to show for it.
"You go to conferences all over North America and sometimes around the world and you have a little booth with thousands of dollars of promo material, trying to get people to even look at you, consider you, and most of them say the same thing: 'I've never seen your show,'" he said. "Well if no one ever hires you, how are they going to see your show?"
After years of little success, Denton and his cousin figured it would be easier to break out on their own. He and his wife Judith invested everything they had and, with a little financial help from some friends, bought a bus, a tent, and eventually a trailer. It took them two years and they were finally able to launch at the end of March.
They've had several people pop in and out over their travels to perform with them and not all of them have worked out. Even Geisler and Shaheen are relatively new additions.
"Most performers, they're not really performers," said Denton. "They're people who have a little bit of talent and go do their thing and then get up Monday morning and go to work. They're not willing to take that risk to have that career. People who get somewhere are the ones who stick it out with us."
According to Denton, he knows it's highly unlikely he'll become very famous. He knows it's extremely doubtful that he'd get to be as big as David Copperfield and he's not even sure he wants to be that famous. However, helping people who do want to get that head start has become a part of his goals.
"I can make anyone better," he said. "I'm not the best performer in the world, but if you've got a half-decent act, I can make it better."
He's already helped Shaheen improve his poi act and Geisler had never performed on stage until joining their show. Now, their duo act is much improved and Shaheen is even looking to try starting out on his own. To help support him, Denton is giving him the trailer so that he won't freeze in the winter.
"My chance for the big, giant fame is not over, but it's far off. I'm a little too far on the fringes for people to say, 'This guy is going to be mainstream,'" said Denton. "I really like performing on stage, even if it's to an audience of two. I prefer an audience of 3,000 and if I get those, awesome. If I don't, I'm still going to give you the best show I can."
Denton's wife, Judith, shares his strong passion for performance and his unfailing optimism to keep his head up. She graduated from makeup school the year she married him and continues to be supportive from the sidelines. Before performances, she does spray paint tattoos for audience members at a minimal charge.
"I was a little worried, but not too much. It seemed like a really fun adventure," she said. "We're having a lot of fun. It's one big adventure and as long as we have enough to get to the next town and pay some bills, we're good."
The Carnival of Calamities came to Humboldt and set up their tent on the Uniplex grounds at the beginning of last week. They had shows on Thursday and Friday, but were forced to cancel the Saturday show due to a double booking.
Nevertheless, it seems that regardless of what kind of reception they get from town to town, they won't quit until they're forced to.
"It's been a hard go. We had a couple towns where we had very little people show, we had a town where we got flooded out, and we had a town where we had to cut out a day early," said Denton. "That really hit the pocket book, but I'm happy because if we make enough money, we get to go another week. If we make enough money, eventually the debts will be paid off."
Their last shows will be in October, after which they'll have to find jobs to get them through the winter until March or April. Fortunately, Denton has a wide variety of skills under his belt that don't even include his performing skills.
"When you're trying to be a performer, you end up being in a lot of industries to feed your habit," he said. "I'm an IT specialist, I used to be the senior network administrator for the largest private ATM company in Canada. I've been a school bus driver and I can drive anything except big rigs I was also a hunting guide, ex-military, and an electrician."
By next season, the group is hoping to make their way east to the Maritimes where some towns have already expressed interest.
