Had the pleasure of watching the second act of tonight's 10:30 show among the crowd. What a palpable enthusiasm in the room, among actors and attendees alike.
With that it's time to celebrate!
Signing off. Thanks, everybody. Yer beautiful.
14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival Blog
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
A Success of a Show
It didn't take much of Broadway Behind Bars for our stage manager to pipe up backstage, "This is too good." It's a play about a ragtag group of convicts fumbling through the staging of a new musical. The thing hit a really lovely range of emotions, drawing out sympathetic 'awes' and guffaws and all kinds of sounds in between.
All actors from all seven plays are now onstage taking bows, confetti in the air, a beaming audience filing out as we prepare for 10:30.
One performance to go!
Comic Relief Aptly Titled
Comic Relief came together nicely for a beguiling performance. Our two characters, graduating high school seniors, exchange some endearing thoughts on sex, the future and Eliza Dushku.
The play is set in a comic-con autograph line, one boy dressed as Green Arrow, the other as Joker. A couple self-referrential jokes and puns elicit just the right amount of groaning and eye-rolling.
A Little Soft Porn for the Start of Act II...Starts Act II
A Little Soft Porn for the Start of Act II just killed it.
It's a play about sperm. That is, our four characters are sperm, at first attempting to distract one another in an effort to prevent an...incident during copulation. Then eventually it's time, and they organize an 'evacuation plan.' The whole play takes place under the loud moaning of 'Clarissa,' who drives the sperm-men--and incidentally the audience--to a perverse and titillating distraction.
Thunderous noise as actors withdraw. Good old fashioned adult humor.
Rescue Her, Intermission
Augustson's Rescue Her is a mind trip. So much of a trip, in fact, when it concluded our lights engineer turned to me and joked, "We should let the 10:30 audience know they should bring their own acid." A hallucinogenic journey into a strange world of confusion and loss.
And with that, intermission is upon us. Be back shortly.
Bliss Potential, a Play on Penance
Bliss Potential is among my personal favorite offerings of the weekend. The play, as I mentioned in the tech write-up, is brilliantly acted by Roy Stanton And Ahren Buhmann. At lights up, with Stanton alone onstage, I was so taken with his physical work, how masterfully he stepped into the body of a drug addled, broken rock 'n' roll icon, I turned to the gentleman next to me in the booth and said, "He's so damn good."
An engrossing, complete narrative about guilt on the heels of revenge on the heels of being done wrong. Not too shabby for a ten minute play, eh?
My Oh My in Full Effect
My Oh My clipping along well, a portrait of a man escaping the hardships of life into the unadulterated joys of "Griffey rounding third" in the 1995 ALDS.
Page One on Point
Several changes to Page One choreography since I saw it in tech a few hours ago. Cheering crowd seems to approve of the Dirty Dancing dance number. Twas a pleasure to see the thing in its entirety, a comedy about smut-peddling 'journalists.'
With that we're off and running!
The House is Open!
We're just a few minutes shy of showtime! The place is filling out rapidly and buzzing.
One of our playwrights backstage just assured me: "The energy is f#####g perfect."
Tech VII: Broadway Behind Bars
And we're running tech on our seventh, our last show not only of the evening, but of the festival at large: Broadway Behind Bars, by Eric Lane Barnes. They're tweaking some lighting cues and drilling with the band. Sounding awesome, an appropriate way to end the show.
I'm gonna hurry off to snag dinner, but shall return to post on the show as it all goes down live at 8.
See y'all soon. The show's gonna be fantastic.
Loud Noises Still Unexplained
Loud noises continue to come from the shop area and, although numerous people claim they have seen work being doing in there, the true source of the racket has to be identified.
"It's that zrrrrr kind of sound," said Jodi-Paul, "I've been hearing it all day. Along with some thuds and a few klinks. Not the kind of noises you want to hear in such an old building. Could be ghosts."
Ron Darling, technician, had a different answer.
"We're working in there. Building set pieces for tonights show."
Whether it be ghosts or human, one thing is certain- set pieces are beginning to show up on-stage.
"It's that zrrrrr kind of sound," said Jodi-Paul, "I've been hearing it all day. Along with some thuds and a few klinks. Not the kind of noises you want to hear in such an old building. Could be ghosts."
Ron Darling, technician, had a different answer.
"We're working in there. Building set pieces for tonights show."
Whether it be ghosts or human, one thing is certain- set pieces are beginning to show up on-stage.
Tech VI: Comic Relief
Our sixth show, Ben McFadden's Comic Relief, tackles the friends-separated-by-high-school-graduation story. It's our second two-man play of the evening, set in a line at a celebrity meet-and-greet. It's simple scenario, a sad one, treated here with a comedic edge.
Stan Shields to direct Wolverine: The Musical
"I'm not a musical person!" exclaimed Shields earlier in the day.
This is easy to say before spending a romantic day with an inspired Eric Lane Barnes piece. After spooning with a bit of lyrical genius, Shields is singing a different tune.
"This stuff is really fun," said Shields quickly, "I have hopes to continue with musicals. Like Wolverine... Wolverine: The Musical would be off the hook!"
As he said this, Shields donned three plastic knives from the craft services table and ran around the room quoting lines from the movie, X-Men.
After witnessing the genius director huddled over a piano with his actors this afternoon and leading the sing-a-long in the Canoe Room, I for one can say, "Mr. Shields, please keep showing us your musical claws."
This is easy to say before spending a romantic day with an inspired Eric Lane Barnes piece. After spooning with a bit of lyrical genius, Shields is singing a different tune.
"This stuff is really fun," said Shields quickly, "I have hopes to continue with musicals. Like Wolverine... Wolverine: The Musical would be off the hook!"
As he said this, Shields donned three plastic knives from the craft services table and ran around the room quoting lines from the movie, X-Men.
After witnessing the genius director huddled over a piano with his actors this afternoon and leading the sing-a-long in the Canoe Room, I for one can say, "Mr. Shields, please keep showing us your musical claws."
Tech V: A Little Soft Porn for the Start of Act II
Well, Carl Sander's A Little Soft Porn for the Start of Act II takes the cake as our dirtiest play of the weekend. With a title like that, one would expect so.
They're running tech now and...boy. I just typed up a few quotes from the script but immediately decided against posting them. Come see it. It's very raunchy and very funny.
Well done, boys.
Ahiers on the verge of a sugar OD, "Not my fault" says Bradshaw
Megan Ahiers has consumed an unhealthy amount of sugar claim numerous regional doctors with large salaries.
Exclaimed Dr. Sal Nettle, "With the amount of sugar she's had enter her body, she'll probably be pooping Peeps tomorrow morning."
"It's just not right," continued Nettle, "the human body can only take on so much sugar before it begins to sweat syrup."
So who is to blame. Many say John Bradshaw is the leading culprit after leaving dozens and dozens of delicious baked goods for everyone's enjoyment. Others would claim that Megan herself is to blame for not having the ability to say, "Only one."
Thank you to John Bradshaw for all of the sweet treats and keep an eye on Megan around 10:15 when she crashes on a couch and sleeps for 14 hours.
Exclaimed Dr. Sal Nettle, "With the amount of sugar she's had enter her body, she'll probably be pooping Peeps tomorrow morning."
"It's just not right," continued Nettle, "the human body can only take on so much sugar before it begins to sweat syrup."
So who is to blame. Many say John Bradshaw is the leading culprit after leaving dozens and dozens of delicious baked goods for everyone's enjoyment. Others would claim that Megan herself is to blame for not having the ability to say, "Only one."
Thank you to John Bradshaw for all of the sweet treats and keep an eye on Megan around 10:15 when she crashes on a couch and sleeps for 14 hours.
Tech IV: Rescue Her
I have a lot of trust in the writerly abilities of Scot Augustson, whose Rescue Me is running tech as I type. These disconnected bits I'm previewing are perfectly confusing, without context. You see there's been some trouble with a set piece and lighting, a good deal of interruption. It happens.
So I can't promise you much. I assure you there'll be at least one moment that involves anthropomorphised animals. My interest is piqued--it's looking good, the little bit I've seen.
Props to John Farrage and the cast for keeping composure and maintaining a patient approach.
"Do you remember how you finally figured out you weren't yeast?"
Chris Bell folds programs, elderly patron says, "That's my job."
In what has been a day of drama, Chris Bell and an elderly patron got into a 10 second verbal exchange over who should fold programs.
"I've been here since 10:50 waiting for the internet to come back on-line so I could put up a blog," said Bell, "Gots to do something with my time."
The 75 year old patron, both blind and subjected to using a walker, said, "I've been doing this job for 51 years and to have some young, homeless man take it from... that's just not right."
More to come on this story as information comes to us.
"I've been here since 10:50 waiting for the internet to come back on-line so I could put up a blog," said Bell, "Gots to do something with my time."
The 75 year old patron, both blind and subjected to using a walker, said, "I've been doing this job for 51 years and to have some young, homeless man take it from... that's just not right."
More to come on this story as information comes to us.
Tech III: Bliss Potential
Tonight's two-man play, Bliss Potential, is now in tech. They just ran the thing through in its entirety and have some time remaining to touch up a couple moments, which the thing hardly needs at all. Roy Stanton and Ahren Buhmann have made some fantastic decisions. I quite like this play, the most serious of the night, thus far. By far. Great work by J.D. Lloyd. He's attentive and true to the script while instilling the scene with his own astute sensibilities.
Tech II: My Oh My
Any diehard Mariners fan would be eager to help you recollect October 8th 1995, the day the M's took on David Cone and the Yankees at the Kingdome in game five of the American League Division Series. The Mariners of that time have a profound place in my memory, heros of my childhood.
I'm not going to get to see a full run of Jim Jewell's My Oh My before the show, as the cast is only hitting transitions in tech. But I'll attest to having been driven to nostalgia by the fragments they ran. I eagerly await having the narrative gaps filled in.
Not even four hours to go!
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