See A Man Transform On Bo Eason’s Stage
January 30, 2012 | Posted by PRO U | Tags: Events, Leadership, Personal Development, Perspective | 7 Comments
After “Story-Coach” Bo Eason terrified Crystal Curtis on stage at the PRO U Summit Week (just kidding), Crystal took another chance with him at his Personal Story Power Event last weekend in Los Angeles. Here’s a sneak peek into a riveting journey.
Have you ever seen a man transform on stage?
I saw a man transform on stage before my eyes at Bo Eason’s Personal Story Power Event. Los Angeles, just a few weeks ago. Jay Kubassek, Jay and Rachel Kilberg, Elena Forbes and Jeanmarie Bills were there, too. They saw it. I don’t have the footage to show you, but I can explain it by marrying the next two points: #1) One of the best cult classics in the field of cinematic special effects is American Werewolf in London (1981) by John Landis. The protagonist has been bitten earlier by a werewolf, and now, while he is reading a book calmly in a London flat, the moon appears full, and for the first time, the transformation begins. “Blue Moon” plays on the record player. The room is brightly lit. And we see a young man scream in agony as he watches his own hand turn into a clawed paw. His ribs crack while his chest broadens and sprouts fur. His face extends forward and morphs into a wolf’s snout. And “Blue Moon” plays jauntily on the record player. And the room is brightly lit. His body completely transforms on camera from human to werewolf. Then he runs out of the flat and terrorizes the town. It is not a horror scene. It is an incredible work of art. (This was pre-CGI, and the special effects team won an Oscar for their work) #2) There is a Dutch videographer named Jesper Just who runs with the Contemporary Art crowd but is known for exploiting emotional Hollywood cinematography. The reason why his work stays in the Fine Arts and not mainstream media is because he’s better at communicating an awkward feeling, an open-ended story, rather than a traditional narrative. What I saw at Bo Eason’s event hit the Surreal chord like this Jesper Just piece. A sweaty truck driver climbs into the back of his truck and disappears. The back of the truck transforms into an empty theater. He appears on the mysterious stage in a blonde wig. He is under a single spotlight. The music begins, and in his best baritone voice, he begins to belt out a romantic pop song. At the end of the short film, when the song ends, and the scene fades to black, and the credits suddenly roll, you wonder, “Is this okay? Why is this happening to me?“ So, now that you understand the strange, powerful, awkward, triumphant mood that I’ve set in the last two points, let me explain what happened at Bo Eason’s live event…. On the last day of the event, Bo took his 100 person audience into a theater in North Hollywood to tell their stories from stage in 3 minutes. And at the end of the day, we were running out of time, so people had to get right to the point even quicker, which was great, because they were getting right to the meat of the matter. Everyone was throwing out lightning bolts from stage. Even the timid ones. I was getting very emotional. Now, imagine a 55ish year old British man, with white hair, glasses, yellow collared shirt. He shuffles on stage as if he HAD NEVER TOLD ANYONE WHAT HE IS ABOUT TO REVEAL…“I was left dazed with a split head in the kitchen, bleeding. My teenage son was screaming. That was the last time my wife charged at me with an object. I left through the front door. My only thought was, ‘This is what it feels like to start over. What the hell does a man like me do to start over?”And then he froze. Bo prompted him with a question. The man shuffled to the right. He stammered to the crowd,
“I thought…I thought…this is it. What do I do to start over?”Bo waited. We waited. Was there a life lesson here or not? Bo asked, “What did you do next?” The man paused. We paused. Then the most amazing answer flew out of his mouth….
“I started dancing. I found a group to dance with!!”Bo got excited (a physical activity! yes!) “What kind of dance? Salsa?”
The man responds, “I found Sufi dancing!”The man found Sufi dancing! The Dilbert-like straight-and-narrow man who had spent years of his marriage oppressed and probably emasculated by an abusive wife…had been born again through spiritual dancing. The crowd was shocked. But it gets better. The man enters character. He begins grapevining across stage, back and forth, with his hands moving through the air. You can imagine scarves or bells or something managed through his wrists. My jaw drops open. People sitting next to me are either cheering or speechless. And. It. Gets. Even. Better. No one prompts what he does next.
He starts singing.
The most beautiful tune. From a cracking voice.“Why would I ever tell you that you’re not beautiful…?”The man is completely transformed, completely having stepped into his personal power. He owns the stage beneath him. He is at the edge of the stage, marching right, marching left, fully connecting his eyes to the audience. Singing out, “Why would I ever lie…?”
This guy literally manifested POWER like a WIZARD.
The song and the dancing were conjured up from the most sensitive parts of his broken inner young child. I don’t even know what happened to me, but I was spellbound. Bawling, and cheering, and snorting. It was the most beautiful, awkward mess I’ve ever witnessed.I saw a man transform before my very eyes.
Bo asked at the very end, “What compelled you to sing that song for us?” And the man answered, “I don’t know…it’s like I’m a Scottish man trapped inside the shell of an Englishman.” And in true story-telling form, where you start from the lowest point, in the middle of the action, and work your way up, Bo said, “That’s great. That’s the title of your story.” When the day was done, and we shut the lights out at the theater, I marched up to Jay Kilberg and said, “Jay, this is what we need at our PRO events. Serious, hands-on transformation. Creating new human beings in 3 minutes before a room full of witnesses.” You, who are reading this blog post right now can bear witness to Jay’s response: “Yes of course. The new PRO U Ascent event is already being redesigned into a similar experience.”Comment below, and let me know what kind of impact you want to come out with at your next PRO event. And let me know if you believe you can make a huge impact if you share your personal story (because you can.)
(Thanks to PRO pal Ilan Ferdman for taking that awesome picture of me and Bo on stage at the Summit event in the Bahamas. Even Bo told me in Los Angeles that “that picture is awesome!” Another special thanks to my PRO friend Cinda Justice for taking me aside at the Bahamas and being straight with me, “Crystal, I don’t care what you do next, but you have to go to Bo’s event, because you deserve to step into your personal power.”)7 Comments so far.
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Crystal,
I’ve been waiting to here about your trip. How awesome that must have been. Thanks for sharing the transformation. I am sure it was VERY emotional to say the least.
There is NO STOPPING you now!!
I think transformation can happen to anyone who is willing to totally embarrass themselves and risk it all
Crystal
Thanks for inspiring me to get out of my own way. We have just one shot at life and you remind me how fast it goes by. So keep living for the moment and be everything you want to be. You are really rockin it and I know life will reward you.
Michelle Shawver
I say, ‘make a big mess’, Michelle !!
Awesome article CC:) I still can’t stop talking about it myself… thanks for sharing this! P.S. When i say the title of this post I thought you were going to be talking about me and my stage performance:) HAHA!
I need to keep you accountable with what Bo commanded you do when you start all your conversations, “prettyboy”
Gee, I was that close to greatness in Miami last year and I didn’t even know it.
Good job Crystal!