Saturday, September 8, 2012

Act One

The band opens with "I get by with a little help from myself"... Well done, 14/48 band. Jodi-Paul gives a warm welcome, and it starts raining! For the first time in almost two months. The whole crew of staff and volunteers springs into action to move tents and make this happen. Self Help!

Show #1 - Face Program by K. Brian Neel directed by Jake Groshong:

The eyes, ears, lips, and nose of a fourteen year old boy are ready for a date, but skin hasn't shown up. They have to jump in and cover for him, and comedy chaos ensues. Jake and his boys take a hard show and (with a little improv) knock it out of the park. The crowd loves it. The rain is gone. There are techies running, not sure what that is about. All seems ok. Looks like they are putting weights on the projection screen.

Show #2 - Skin in the Game by Brendan Healy directed by Andy Jensen:

Heather Gautschi and Nick Edward want a life coah, they've got one in Michael Patten but he acts more like a sports coach. The couple starts working through their issues until Heather's character's dramatic revelation brings things to an end. Good comedy with a bittersweet ending. The audience is into it.

Show #3 - The Future King Bluckmore by Kelleen Conway-Blanchard directed by David Gassner:

This show makes so much more sense now that I've seen it in full. A deadpan comedy about a seriously dysfunctional medieval royal family. It's hard to describe much more than that. Some outrageous one-liners, such as "Impregnate me, you mutton chop." This cast is pretty much perfect for these roles. The crowd is eating it up. Nice sword fight!

Show #4 - For the Girls by Joy McCullough-Carranza directed by Rob Raas-Berquist:

Timely social commentary about double standards for women, especially by other women. Teenagers hating on the actress that cheated on their favorite actor, Hollywood agents talking about dropping that same actress, because girls now hate her, and elevating the director she cheated with. Not a total downer, it has humor all the way through, and the audience is getting it.

Intermission! Great show so far.

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