“It was a big expenditure for the fair and I know it was kind of controversial, but I think the fair will make back its cost and then some,” Yankovic said.
When it finishes its five-week debut in Orange County, the audio and visual equipment, along with the big white tent in which it is housed, will be loaded onto a truck and shipped up to Washington state for another fair. Beyond that, no other fairs have committed to it, but decision makers from several potentials are expected to scope it out.
Here’s the exhibit in a nutshell:
You enter the tent and walk through a room full of brain teasers and informational signs into an auditorium where you grab a pair of orange-rimmed, 3-D glasses and take a seat in front of the movie screen.
Then Al appears on screen, gets in your face with some 3-D effects, and begins addressing popular trivia questions about the brain — do we really use only 10% of our brain? Can a person survive with a metal stake driven through his skull?
The idea for the show came from Yankovic’s manager, Jay Levey. Fair Chief Executive Steve Beazley had been talking to Yankovic for years, trying to collaborate because the performer has been one of the most popular fair attractions.
Although it sounds simple and looks simple it was no small technical feat, said technical director Gary Hardesty. The designer had to cope with audiovisual challenges, not the least of which was silencing the ruckus from outside.
The show was originally going to be in a new, permanent exhibit hall, but the hall could not be constructed in time for the fair’s opening, so he had to figure out how to sound-proof a temporary tent.
