Friday, March 14, 2008

Yippeeeeeee!


METALUNA AND THE AMAZING SCIENCE OF THE MIND REVUE - Tomorrow Night!





Metaluna is a play I wrote over a dozen years ago. I'm very proud of it and felt last week at rehearsal that it held up pretty well. While masquerading as a goofy romp through vaudeville and Dada, I feel like it also has a thing or two to say about politics, society and relationships.

Here is a picture of the cast being goobers backstage after our last show.




And, yes, that's me in blackface. The Dadas valiantly attempt vaudeville in the play and blackface was very much a part of the time. It also ties in with the transformation the character of Baden goes through. We had concerns about it in rehearsals, but went ahead with it anyway. We never heard a negative word about it from anyone, in the press or on the street. And we did have people of color come see our show, so it's not like we were just performing for our whitey friends. In the Los Angeles production, they backed off from it and only had the character of Baden wear it briefly for only one scene. They got reamed for it by one critic who called it a dark, regrettable moment. I think LA needs a hug.


ROBOWRITERS

Every Saturday, the boys from Robot vs Dinosaur and I wrap up our rehearsal to host a writing group open to anyone. It's from 1pm - 3pm at Gorilla Tango, 1919 North Milwaukee near Western. It's only $5. We think this is the best deal in the city for any writer to get high quality feedback on their scenes, so get off your butt and go take advantage of it! Don't worry about there being too many people there. We usually average around 5 and have room for more.



THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Connecticut 8th Grader and class vice-president Michael Sheridan was suspended and stripped of his title when he was caught at school purchasing a bag of what?"

12% said "Prescription Drugs"
- Dude, trade you my pbj for some Ritalin...

12% said "Paint Supplies"
- Dual purpose, man. You can vandalize a locker with it and then you can huff it and vandalize your brain.

12% said "Weed"
- Oh, how passe.

62% got it right with "Skittles"

According to CNN, Michael Sheridan, an eighth-grade honors student who was suspended for a day, barred from attending an honors dinner and stripped of his title as class vice president after he was caught with a bag of Skittles candy in school. Superintendent Reginald Mayo said in a statement late Wednesday that he and principal Eleanor Turner met with Michael's parents and decided to clear the boy's record and restore him to his student council post.

Why is the school backing down from this? Don't they realize that Skittles is a gateway candy? It will most certainly lead to worse things, like snorting Milk Duds, smoking Pixies Sticks or mainlining Twizzlers. Poor Michael is now on a treacherous path of not only tooth decay, but soul decay.


2 comments:

Old Ned said...

Hey Joe,

I'll be coming to reading tomorrow night -- I enjoyed your performance in the WNEP Dada show last fall and am looking forward to more dada.

Break a leg!

Old Ned said...

WOW! Last night's reading of Metaluna was wonderful. I loved the play and was impressed by the talent and the spirited performances of the actors -- I can't wait to see the full production this summer. KUDOS to you and the company.