TRUE CHARACTERS: CATHERINE CLEARYtalks to Mark Duckenfield
Before this I was . .. a computer science graduate from Trinity. I met my business partner Conor McCarthy there. We have been friends since we first met in college at the age of 18.
We dreamt up the idea for the Street Performance World Championship. . . over a couple of pints in Temple Bar. I'd been travelling around the world and we were watching some street performers and saw how much of a crowd they were attracting. So we thought of a big spectacle with hundreds of thousands of people. We gave up our jobs on the strength of the idea.
We all still want our parents' approval. . . so when I told my dad I was thinking of giving up my job to bring over a whole load of jugglers, he went quiet, looked down for a moment and then said, 'that's a great idea'.
Being a young entrepreneur in Ireland in 2011 is . .. a bloody good place to be. We started in 2006 when there was more support. This year we're doing it without a sponsor but local businesses have got behind us. The Irish Hotels Federation is giving our performers free hotel rooms because they think an event like this is good for Ireland.
My first ambition was to. . . get through life easily and not have to work too much. I suppose I was a lazy child. I'm not lazy any more.
Initial reaction to the event was .. . good, but it has grown every year. Now we have more than 1,000 applicants for 16 slots, so we get world-class acts coming to Merrion Square for free.
You get your best ideas. . . when you're relaxed, and one of the greatest talents when you're brainstorming is knowing when to shut up and let someone talk. There might be 80 per cent rubbish, but 20 per cent of it will be brilliant.
The street is different to a stage because. . . it's harder. Everyone has sat through a crap movie because they've paid in and are sitting in their seat. On the street, it has to be brilliant or else people will just walk away. There's a Darwinian ruthlessness to it. If you can't hold an audience they won't stay.
People say Ireland doesn't have the weather for street performance. . . but one of the performers, Beautiful Stu, says he loves Irish audiences. In the US, a trickle of rain sends everyone running away. Here, everybody just puts up their hoods and gets on with it.
Irish people as audiences for street performance are .. . brilliant, generous and up for a laugh, but we don't have many performance pitches for big acts.
My parents are. . . my best friends. They give me a phenomenal amount of support. My dad's been stage manager for one of the events every year and my mum and her six friends act as litter pickers, picking up all the litter and chatting to people.
My biggest fear in life is. . . rain. I spend the last three days before the championship worrying about the weather.
The best part of the job is. . . when it's over and it's done and it's been brilliant.
If I had a magic lamp I'd wish for. . . a sponsor for next year. What brand doesn't want to speak to 300,000 people in a fun way?
Street Performance World Championship takes place today and tomorrow in Cork and Portlaoise, and in Merrion Square, Dublin, on June 16th-19th. See spwc.ie
