Down in Melbourne, Australia there’s what may be the first truly Microsoft Office enhanced stand-up comedy act.
Melbourne, Australia has what may be the first Microsoft Office enhanced stand-up comedy act.
Veteran comedian, Rod Quantock, uses not only Powerpoint but also Word and Excel in his latest show, 2050AD.
Plenty of performers have used Powerpoint, but Rod goes beyond that to include both Word and even Excel during the show.
With a cordless keyboard, audience members are asked to keep a log of the show in a Word document that’s projected onto a large screen. The document can feature what may be the first practical use of the ‘Marching Ants’ animated formatting option (which never made much sense in Word).
The names of late comers are recorded then analysed in an Excel worksheet according to various characteristics.
The Powerpoint slides are quite complex and far beyond simple bulleted text.
2050 AD is not technology for the sake of it – the software serves a comedic purpose. Using Word and a cordless keyboard is merely a new form of the audience participation that Rod has done for decades.
Rod isn’t sponsored or supported by Microsoft – we can tell because he’s using Office 2003 and if there was involvement from MS Australia they insist on using the ‘latest and greatest’ Office 2007.
2050AD runs until 13 April at Melbourne Trades Hall as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
