interview with Mike Daisey part three, in which Elizabeth asks him what Dr. Phil would do:
Since I am off to DC for the marketing bonanza convention-center nevaeH that is BEA, today's edition of Boys School questions for monologuist/writer/actor Mike Daisey all have to do with how artists (and I include scientists in that category) dance with the realities of capitalism. Also I am wondering how a more 19th-c style guy like Tesla, subject of tonight's "bio-logue," would do with say a Suze Orman-style life makeover and Mike gamely comes up with such a regimen for him. (Maybe this is a new day gig? a dayjob persona as Suze is the meta-solution to any number of artiste-problemes? Or maybe that sort of dishing out of answers for cash is a better question topic for Mike's show the week AFTER this one, which focuses on L. Ron Hubbard). Tonight at Galapagos in Williamsburg at 8pm, don't miss.
Okay, so first of all, let's tell the people about the wild ride they're in for tonight at your show on Tesla. What's the scoop?
Nikola Tesla is the quintessential mad scientist, and tonight's monologue traces his path from misunderstood genius to out-and-out madman--from the invention of the alternating electric motor to death rays and, eventually, his insane love affair with pigeons.
Last year I saw your show Monopoly, in which Tesla and his coil make a major appearance, and Tesla scared me--he stuck with his major passion and work ethic and then got seriously screwed over by Edison, who got all the credit and made buckets of cash off of Tesla's work. What's the lesson there for you as an artist?
There are many lessons, but some of the most central is that it is hard to walk in this world and the world of ideas, the transcendental world of inspiration, at the same time. For most of us it is a balancing act, and for Tesla his innate concern for his fellow man and naive trust in corporate entities is his downfall. By acting reasonably he got unreasonably screwed, and I think that's instructive for artists everywhere, who by definition are always bucking the system.
Is Tesla's high moral ground and reluctance to play the game sort of similar to how the Democratic party refuses to get a little more savvy to protect itself (and us)? If he were a little less Al Gore or Ralph Nader and a little more Bill Clinton, would Tesla's life have played out differently?
I think it would have--if he'd retained control of his patents he'd have been one of the richest men in history, and then had the power to implement many of his later visions. On the other hand, he might not have been able to have the intensity he needed to see his visions if he hadn't been such a single-minded inventor. It is hard to say.
My most satanic question yet: If you were Tesla's life coach, what sort of regimen would you concoct for him? What should be Tesla's Goals and Objectives? What Life Skills does he need that he hasn't got?
I'd make him go on dates, and spend time with other human beings--an hour a day for starters, and build him up. I'd try to get him to cut himself some slack, and learn how to delegate the things in his life that aren't directly in the service of his visions. I would also make sure he hired a PR firm so that they could tell him never to call an invention, "Nikola Tesla's Death Ray", which is exactly the kind of name that gets you all the wrong press.