Money

Money has come up a few times and I need to think more about how it plays into Carapace as a safe space, performances at Carapace, and the building of community. Joyce talked about how having to pay for a show sets certain expectations about what kind of performance will happen there:

I do think that

most of the time

the audience is coming here.

They know that they’re not getting a guarantee.

They are not paying money

which helps a lot.

The expectations are not necessarily low

but they’re not necessarily high.

We do make effort of

even telling,

These are not

performers.

What you’re getting is not

a show.

Even though it is a show,

you know what I mean?

People don’t pay to attend Carapace so it changes those expectations. I’ve noticed that Cris likes to emphasize that Carapace is a “free show.” He included this in his opening remarks at the August show and he often says it between storytellers. The way I interpret this exclamation is “can you believe what you are getting for free?!!” These people are really great even though you didn’t pay to hear them. Would we hear some of these stories if it were a paid show? The pressure to put on a “performance” might deter some of the storytellers.