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Meeting and Event Analysis, Case Study 12, pp. 1 –6 978182345-58-8/12 $25.00 + 0.15 Tales From the Trenches DOI: 10.3727/97818823455812X13255227708854 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. www.cognizantcommunication.com Copyright © 2012 Cognizant Comm. Corp.

Case Study 12

Pirates of Shenzhen

Kile Ozier

This case illustrates how to create a Theatrical Entertainment Experience as a component of the midweek “decompression” party for a conference of high-end hoteliers and surprise them with it.

On arrival and the first tour of the InterContinental Shenzhen, the theme for the event was eminently evident. Given that the entire property is themed to The Spanish Main, and that all primary bodies and pools of water at the hotel were enhanced with the presence of scale models of beautiful Spanish galleons, it was practically unavoid- able that whatever we created would feature historic, oceanic icons.

Considering the spectrum of possibility from Christopher Columbus to Vasco da Gama to Ponce de Leon to Johnny Depp, the answer was clear. Thus, was born “Pirates of Shenzhen.”

The Party, itself, was to take place around and within the largest of the galleons, a full-scale 50-foot-high, fully detailed replica of said Spanish galleon, “afloat” in the large pool on the highest level of the hotel, encompassing three decks and housing the prop- erty’s Night Club. Our audience was 500 owners and General Managers of InterConti- nental Hotels from Asia and the Pacific Rim.

The concept developed was that of a crew of Evil Pirates capturing our Conference Chair-Damsel and threatening to rob and pillage the watching throng, all to be rescued by a crew of Good Pirates who then grant the crowd Honorary Pirate status and wel- come them to the party and into the Night Club

The challenges were significant:

• How to rehearse a show in a public space without letting the “public” know that there was to be a show, at all.

• How to cast a “Western”-style pirate show in Asia with predominantly non-English- speaking talent.

• How to surprise and thrill a sophisticated audience on a tight budget, giving them a full spectacle experience.

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Upon writing and being given approval of the script by the Conference Committee, the work began in earnest. In order to set up the experience and begin putting the heads of our guests into the theme of the evening before leaving their rooms, we ar- ranged for each guest to find in their rooms a miniature Treasure Chest. Made of wood and looking authentic—though quite small—these chests contained Treasure that in- cluded a bandanna suitable for head or neck, an eye patch to fit left or right eye and frighten the unsuspecting tourist, and a heavy, bronze-like medallion with one of a num- ber of different designs stamped thereon to adorn and enhance the bosom or chest of the wearer.

The idea was to create the impression that this was it; a simple, pirate-themed party on the deck around the galleon, with food stations everywhere and dancing, inside. Our little spectacle would be a complete surprise.

We were lucky to find two, exceptionally talented, English-speaking actors as our Pirate Captains. Robert Tsonos of Hong Kong and Robert Vicencio of Shanghai. These two professionals embraced the concept and did deep research in the personification of the lusty, hearty, and bold Pirate Protagonist.

Envisioning a pirate battle that encompassed the entire galleon, from scaling the hull to flying duels atop the rigging, we approached two, iconic troupes for our cast. We found 14 ideal acrobats from the Shanhai-based Sichuan Circus, augmenting these as-

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Pirates of Shenzhen 3

tonishingly talented young people with 6 Shaolin Monk apprentices from Shenzhen. Our circus acrobats ranged in age from 16 to 18, and our monks were from 18 to 25: all extremely skilled, none of whom speak English.

Directing by interpreter was a new experience for both director and cast, but we managed well, with the enthusiastic embracing of becoming a pirate by all concerned.

On the first day, as Ozier, the Director, was huddled with the Shaolin choreographer, their manager, and our interpreter, attempting to communicate the initial problem of rigging ropes to hang off the rail and down the hull of the galleon for the six monks to grab to support their initial scaling of the ship, we realized how far the infectious enthu- siasm was going to help us to go. After much intense conversation and translation among the four, not noticing that the six monks had wandered over to the galleon, Ozier glanced up to see that they had just completed scaling the sides of the ship with their bare hands, and were sitting on the railing, 50 feet in the air. Problem solved. These guys were good!

We rigged with rope, anyway, for the sake of authenticity and to support hanging battles off the side of the ship, but we knew we had the talent to accomplish what we envisioned.

The ensuing 2 days would be full of hushed walkthroughs and acrobatic rehearsals timed so that no one would see what was taking place.

The key, now, was to make them into pirates. You can dress a man as pirate, but can you make him “Yaaarrrrrgggghhhh!”?

As it turned out, we could. Taking the cast into a remote corner, along with the inter- preter, Ozier began the task of emboldening the normally conservative Chinese youth such that each could learn to growl a loud and powerful, resonant “Yaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!” on cue. This took some time and some doing, but with the encouragement of Ozier and among the growing laughs of the cast, we got there.

Several times, in the 2 days prior to the event, as other duties and events were being

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met and delivered (our cast doubled as dancers in another show of the week, and as acrobats at the Welcoming Reception; thus, their presence did not tip our Big Hand), Ozier would stop what he was doing, look the cast in the eye, and hold up his fingers: one . . . two . . . three! A loud “YAAAARRRRGGGHHH” would be the response, as the kids become more and more comfortable in yelling at full volume in front of others.

The evening arrived, the deck opened and the pirate-coutured guests arrived, right on schedule. As the outdoor deck, surrounding the pool and galleon, filled with guests, music, food, and drink, suddenly there was a piercing scream that filled the air and stunned the guests to silence. As the scream reached its apex, a “body” (fully dressed, soft mannequin) was thrown from the upper deck of the Galleon to splash into the “la- goon” below.

The Evil Captain appeared with our bosom-revealing bodice clad Chair Damsel bound and held by two henchmen and proceeded to threaten the crowd with keelhaul- ing and plank-walking if they did not surrender their valuables. Punctuated by succes- sive choruses of “Yaargh” from his crew, he was suddenly interrupted by even louder “Yaaarghs” from the Rescuing Pirates and the battle began.

The 8-minute, fully choreographed, scripted, and pirate music-scored show followed, to the cheers and gasps of the watching throng. At the end, having vanquished the Bad Pirates, our Rescuing Captain freed our Chair Damsel and invited the guests to enter the galleon for jig, grog, and feast for the rest of the evening. One final thing remained be- fore the doors would open; the entire group had to “Yaaaaarrrrghhh” loudly enough and forcefully enough to become Honorary Pirates.

“Yaaarrrrgh” after “Yaaaarrrrggghhh” boomed from the guests as they enthusiasti- cally embraced their new pirate-hood. The evening was a fully resounding success. So much so that, at the following evening’s formal banquet, one could hear table after ta-

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ble competing with one another with their “Yaarrrghh’s” giving new texture to the night. There were even a few “Yaaarrrghhh’s” heard at the airport, on departure.

Emergency Plan There was no emergency plan, per se. Nor a rain plan. These were left in the hands

of the gods of nature and the fact that we’ve all lived such pious lives. The fact was that we had only this one opportunity and venue for the experience; so were it to rain, we’d simply move inside immediately and cancel the show. Needless to say, offerings were made to all manner of spirits, but no bribes were necessary.

Notes

Event

Event type: Corporate special event Event attendees: Owners and general managers of a four-star International Hotel Chain Professional consulting creative director and producer

Event Planning Phases

Research: Site visit and evaluation, develop concept for show, source sets, props, cos- tumes and talent, casting

Execution: Write the show, oversee design and building of costumes, negotiate licenses and permits, and rehearse show.

Challenges

Language barrier for cast and crew, as well as a multilingual audience Cross-cultural traditions and practices Limited on-site time for rehearsals Necessity for logistics to be done predominantly by telephone Jaded audience and necessity for surprise

Potential Questions for Discussion or Testing

1. Identify challenges beyond what has been articulated. 2. Identify risks involved: risks to the show experience, risks to the client. 3. Could this event have been done in the US as easily? As effectively? 4. What other challenges can you imagine might arise in an international produc-

tion? What about exchange rates versus timing? 5. Can you find examples of: Exploration of assumption; Circumventing preconcep-

tion; Successive revelation; Comfortable disorientation; Subliminal engagement of the audience.

Kile Ozier, Executive Producer/Creative Director (kileozier.com). Ozier has built a solid reputation across a spectrum of industries with effective, experiential storytelling. His unique combination of left and right brain strengths serves him in the application of

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his creative ethos to strategic communications and immersive experience, nd kept him, for the most part, one step ahead of the law.

He is well known for exceptional, tightly run experiences of high-energy and style; strongly articulating client persona and reaching audiences at profound levels. His suc- cessful background in corporate and commercial filmmaking, evocative writing skills, and creative approach to staging sets his work apart. The man can tell a story that sticks.

Significant work includes the 1992 Candle Light Vigil for the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the Lincoln Memorial (audience of 250,000) and a pair of landmark fundraising cam- paigns for Stanford University, creating the message experience that twice raised $1 billion for the institution—leaving, as he puts it, “rooms full of weeping millionaires, coast-to-coast.” His work in fundraising and development has included work for a num- ber of non-profit agencies and several colleges and universities in the US.

Work in Ceremony and Stadium Spectacle includes a litany of inaugurals and state visits of foreign political leaders, several Fleet Week events (cited for delivering “best event of 1989” by U.S. Navy for Fleet Week San Francisco). He has written several shows for Universal Studios and EPCOT. Working in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the US, numerous live shows and resonant experiences across multiple formats populate his professional history.

Ozier is currently serving as Executive Producer for the 50th Anniversary Project at Amnesty International USA.

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