What’s your YouTube rabbit hole right now? Do you watch survivalist reality TV? If you’ve ever shaken your head at an influencer or TV star thinking that you could do it better, Mark Vigeant: OUT THERE at Assembly Roxy (Downstairs) is the comedy show for you.
Mark Vigeant: OUT THERE follows Larry (Mark Vigeant), a disillusioned (and re-illusioned?) former desk jockey who decides to become an influencer … in the Alaskan wilderness. There are so many survivalist YouTube influencers who make it look easy through beautiful camera work and slick editing, it’s no wonder poor Larry thinks he can do it, too. He was an Eagle Scout! He used to hike long trails with his buds, the Fart Squad! It’s not a stupid name, every name is a stupid name until it’s a cool name!
We gradually learn more about Larry’s very Millennial ‘wasted’ life and his deep drive to be more, despite neglect and rejection. What fodder for a comedian to make energetic new work. Vigeant primarily engages the audience to participate in his world, immersing us in the ‘Alaskan wilderness’ while simultaneously, thanks to a phone strapped to his chest, allowing us to be influencers on the screen behind him and get our 15 minutes of fame. Larry is overconfident and that never sways, a classic clown flaw. Despite setbacks, he perseveres. As we enacted the woods, the fireflies, the lake and various wildlife, we were with him in overcoming those setbacks. While Larry hallucinates that the forest is safe and friendly, Vigeant’s audience is actually safe and friendly.
The show touts itself as a blend of immersive tech and fearless performance, but this isn’t precisely true. The technology is important to the plot and the interpretation of the show, but it is livestreamed video onto a screen upstage of the performer. What is actually immersive is the audience interaction. At least when I saw the show, the audience was fully invested. Vigeant is either exceptional at choosing audience participants, with a history as a comedian, crowd work skills make sense, or I specifically did not see how he handled audience rejection. His engagement with audience members is generally gentle, but it is the bulk of the show, so a resistant audience could radically change the vibe. Fortunately, Fringe audiences are used to helping out.
There are parts of the show that are gross. You might anticipate these because it is a clown surviving in the wilderness, after all. Be warned if you have a strong gag reflex, and make your way to Assembly Roxy (Downstairs) for Mark Vigeant: OUT THERE.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
