My Funniest Event Memory, the Sequel.
Click here if you missed the first one.
A large part of what we do at The Three Waiters International is to surprise people. Sometimes this involves us doing things that end up scaring the living daylights of our us. This is one of those stories.
A few years ago, we found ourselves in Singapore doing a few performances over several days. The first performance was in the lovely Fullerton Hotel in the Marina Bay section of Singapore. By the way, don't get me started on Singapore. I love it there.
The performance in question was an event for the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, an organization doing wonderful work on the issue of climate change. I was, of course, excited to be a part and also to perform for the Prince, who had seen The Three Waiters before.
Because he had seen the show before, we needed to change things up a bit, in order to surprise him again. This is something we can easily do, so if you have hired us in the past, we can definitely delight one of your groups a second, third, or fourth time. :-)
We decided that on the night I would be disguised as a chef flown in specifically to oversee the meal that night. I was from a famous Monaco restaurant known to the Prince, and had just received my second Michelin Star, certainly making me notable enough to be introduced to the crowd that evening.
After the applause had died down, and I was about to return to the kitchen, someone tugged on my sleeve. "The Prince wishes to see you," a dapper man with a French accent said. I walked slowly across the ballroom as the guests rose to their feet in standing ovation and found myself face to face with His Serene Highness himself.
This is where it gets scary.
He gives my hand a firm shake, and in the loveliest French you've ever heard he begins to very publicly tell me... something. And everyone watched me carefully as I registered recognition and appreciation at the "something" he was saying to me. As you may have surmised, I do not speak French.
For the next 10 to 15 seconds I experienced sheer terror. I remember saying "Oui", then "Oui", then "Merci", and then I blanked until I recall him clapping me on the shoulder and thanking me one last time. I realized that he had bought it. He believed me!
Imagine my elation as I floated back to the kitchen, having successfully maintained my character in front of royalty and royal guests, and then imagine the look of surprise and laughter on the Prince's face 45 minutes later when he watched me do a very lovely rendition of a French aria. These moments are what The Three Waiters is all about.
One of the funniest and most thrilling performances I've ever gotten to do. And we had a lovely post show conversation as well!
May I engage in a bit of quick marketing before I end this email? We are now debuting a new option for all of our shows, called "The Song About You" and it's a way to combine a one of a kind, customized element with the most successful corporate and private event acts in the world. Your guests will not only never forget the show, they will never forget being written into the show! Call me and I'll be happy to elaborate.
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