Big Butt (No Shame) Theatre, 9/21/05
Adam posted this on the MSN board, and I am copying it over here. Great show, everybody! --Aprille
No Shame Order
Iowa City, October 21, 2005
Announcements included, but were not limited to:
-Steve-O's Billy the Kid play this weekend
-Macbeth (the long version) next Friday and Saturday and the following Friday and Saturday, Adam Hahn as Seyton/Murderer 3/Servant
-Twelfth Night this weekend and next weekend in the Quad Cities, JC Luxton assistant directing
-Danny Wolf (#10 in the order, the guy in the western shirt) is in a band that will perform. I remember none of the details.
-That guy in the audience had a birthday
-Danielle is a horrible friend
1. From Just Another White Shark, "The Skipper" by Stephen Hiro
(song w/guitar: a sinking ship, a drinking song)
2. "Why I Want to Go Back to 1987" by Eric Landuyt
(monologue: cool things from the late '80s, regret keeps Eric in the past)
3. "Response to Last Week" by Adam Hahn
(monologue/scene: Adam hates dogs/Martians, likes Ovaltine/Aprille's wedding, advises Eli, lactates)
4. "Haunted House" by the Michael Tabors
(song: don't have sex in the haunted house, or else you'll die and you'll die and you'll goddamn die)
5. "The Story of Jonathan Adventure: Part One" by Evan Schenck
(scene: first day of Dr. Adventure's Intro to Beardology class, he recruits a lady apprentice)
6. "Distance and Overexposure" by Cool Jesse Hates You and YOUR MOM
(monologue: Jesse on brother Jesus' unhappy birthday, bad father, and sad mother)
7. "Inspiration, Sleep Deprivation, and a Story to Tell" by Stacy Jones
(monologue: I'm not sure what this was about, but it was definitely written and performed by Stacy Jones)
8. "The Most Wonderful Thing in My Life (NOT)" by Danielle Santangelo Kovalick, Age 8
(monologue: 22-year-old Danielle reads a story by 8-year-old Danielle about 3-year-old Danielle and a gymnastics recital gone bad)
9. "We Bad, That's Right We Bad" by Patrick Ashcraft and Niles Krogstad
(scene: Patrick conquers Eric's insensitivity to rape by raping him)
10. "Yes, We Have Moccasin Boots" BY Danny Wolf
(song w/guitar and dropped harmonica)
11. "The Big Bang Theory" by Mirri "Rhymes with 'Theory'"
(scene: Mirri calls Travis with her theories on humanity, the universe, sex; if she wants to leave so badly, why is she outside of his door?)
12. "Only the Beginning" by John Leigh
(Aprille, pregnant w/Gomez clone, goes into painful labor. Ending confuses actors.)
13. "Shattered Like that Guy at the End of Goldeneye" by David Wilk, Eli's Pen Name
(monologue: Eli is a heartbreaker. audience response: No, he isn't.)
14. "Spiral, Whee!" by Sean Shatto
(monologue: Socratic method and physical demonstrations bring Sean to the center of the spiral, he brings the audience, our awareness of centrality casts us out)
15. "Questions from an Actual Sex Ed Website with Hilarious Answers" by Aprille Clarke
(monologue: the vagina IS a hole, Michael Tabor's semen fights cancer)
No Shame Order
Iowa City, October 21, 2005
Announcements included, but were not limited to:
-Steve-O's Billy the Kid play this weekend
-Macbeth (the long version) next Friday and Saturday and the following Friday and Saturday, Adam Hahn as Seyton/Murderer 3/Servant
-Twelfth Night this weekend and next weekend in the Quad Cities, JC Luxton assistant directing
-Danny Wolf (#10 in the order, the guy in the western shirt) is in a band that will perform. I remember none of the details.
-That guy in the audience had a birthday
-Danielle is a horrible friend
1. From Just Another White Shark, "The Skipper" by Stephen Hiro
(song w/guitar: a sinking ship, a drinking song)
2. "Why I Want to Go Back to 1987" by Eric Landuyt
(monologue: cool things from the late '80s, regret keeps Eric in the past)
3. "Response to Last Week" by Adam Hahn
(monologue/scene: Adam hates dogs/Martians, likes Ovaltine/Aprille's wedding, advises Eli, lactates)
4. "Haunted House" by the Michael Tabors
(song: don't have sex in the haunted house, or else you'll die and you'll die and you'll goddamn die)
5. "The Story of Jonathan Adventure: Part One" by Evan Schenck
(scene: first day of Dr. Adventure's Intro to Beardology class, he recruits a lady apprentice)
6. "Distance and Overexposure" by Cool Jesse Hates You and YOUR MOM
(monologue: Jesse on brother Jesus' unhappy birthday, bad father, and sad mother)
7. "Inspiration, Sleep Deprivation, and a Story to Tell" by Stacy Jones
(monologue: I'm not sure what this was about, but it was definitely written and performed by Stacy Jones)
8. "The Most Wonderful Thing in My Life (NOT)" by Danielle Santangelo Kovalick, Age 8
(monologue: 22-year-old Danielle reads a story by 8-year-old Danielle about 3-year-old Danielle and a gymnastics recital gone bad)
9. "We Bad, That's Right We Bad" by Patrick Ashcraft and Niles Krogstad
(scene: Patrick conquers Eric's insensitivity to rape by raping him)
10. "Yes, We Have Moccasin Boots" BY Danny Wolf
(song w/guitar and dropped harmonica)
11. "The Big Bang Theory" by Mirri "Rhymes with 'Theory'"
(scene: Mirri calls Travis with her theories on humanity, the universe, sex; if she wants to leave so badly, why is she outside of his door?)
12. "Only the Beginning" by John Leigh
(Aprille, pregnant w/Gomez clone, goes into painful labor. Ending confuses actors.)
13. "Shattered Like that Guy at the End of Goldeneye" by David Wilk, Eli's Pen Name
(monologue: Eli is a heartbreaker. audience response: No, he isn't.)
14. "Spiral, Whee!" by Sean Shatto
(monologue: Socratic method and physical demonstrations bring Sean to the center of the spiral, he brings the audience, our awareness of centrality casts us out)
15. "Questions from an Actual Sex Ed Website with Hilarious Answers" by Aprille Clarke
(monologue: the vagina IS a hole, Michael Tabor's semen fights cancer)
posted by Anonymous at 10:16 AM
20 Comments:
I left out at least one announcement:
-Submissions from U of I undergrads are now being accepted for the 10-Minute play festival. Who's taking them? What's the deadline?
Does anybody have a Sherlock Holmes-type hat (I'm sure that's not the official name. This what I mean: http://www.mikethehatter.com/Img/christydeerstalk.jpg ) I could borrow this coming Friday?
Below is a message I originally posted on the MSN board about Shakespeare performances in IC and Moline.
First, the details of Twelfth Night in the Quads this and next weekend. Second, the Details of Macbeth in Iowa City next weekend and the weekend after.
I saw the Prenzies doing The Tempest last year, and it was great. From an e-mail JC Luxton sent me:
The Prenzie Players Production of Twelfth Night, assistant directed by
[JC], opens this weekend in downtown Moline at the historic Montgomery
Ward building (corner of 15th St. and 6th Ave):
Friday, October 21
Saturday, October 22
Friday, October 28
Saturday, October 29
@ 7:30 PM/Doors open at 7 PM
Sunday, October 23
Sunday, October 30
@ 7:00 PM/Doors open at 6:30 PM
Suggested Donation is $8/$5 for students and old people
Directions from Iowa City: Take I-80 East for about an hour. Exit onto
I74. Cross the Mississippi. Take your second exit after the river, the 7th
Ave exit, and turn right on 7th Ave. Continue a few blocks until 15th St.,
turn right and go one block to the corner of 15th St. and 6th Ave.
Macbeth
Directed by Michael Sokoloff
Starring Abe Peterka and Paula Grady
Featuring many other fine actors, as well as Adam Hahn.
Friday, Oct 28
Saturday, Oct 29
Friday, Nov 4
Saturday, Nov 5
8 PM
ICCT building on the Johnson County Fairgrounds, south of the airport.
$8 students, $10 seniors, $12 townies.
I hope it was understood in my skit that when my character said "I'm in a car" she was lying and I wasn't just completely changing the setting for shits and giggles. It seemed obvious to me but it might not have been. I thought it was a great no shame otherwise. awesome job guys.
Adam the deadline for undergrade plays is November 2nd and they can submit them in the office. But check the guidelines, they changed I hear.
3. "Response to Last Week" by Adam Hahn
Adam Hahn is mean but he is so giving of his lactation, so it balances out.
6. "Distance and Overexposure" by Cool Jesse Hates You and YOUR MOM
This piece was pretty cool, except that I understood it to the same extent that I understand the whole Jesse Blaine phenomena, which is to say just enough to enjoy it. There was a very good line about forgetting to buy Jesus a birthday present.
8. "The Most Wonderful Thing in My Life (NOT)" by Danielle Santangelo Kovalick, Age 8
Very funny. The story itself was hilarious and a little precocious, but the physical comedy and reading by Danielle are what gave it the edge.
9. "We Bad, That's Right We Bad" by Patrick Ashcraft and Niles Krogstad
All that can be said about this piece is that it needed to be done.
10. "Yes, We Have Moccasin Boots" BY Danny Wolf
This was a good song, D. Wolf has a nice singing voice and a fine command of the guitar. I have to say that I completely saw the fall of the harmonica coming, but it was impossible for anyone to do anything about it without interrupting and perhaps ruining the performance, but he coped with it well.
11. "The Big Bang Theory" by Mirri "Rhymes with 'Theory'"
I actually heard this skit a bunch of times while they were rehearsing it, so the actual performance wasn't as awesome to me as it could have been, but I must say that I really enjoyed Mirri's piece. It had good, realistic dialogue that was funny while still sounding true and avoiding the absurd. Also Travis is a failure because he needed the script even after trying to memorize it.
12. "Only the Beginning" by John Leigh
This piece did not make sense at any point. But I think the ending (which made absolutely no sense whatsoever) was there only to serve us notice that the rest of it was at least partially coherent. I read it as an open threat, that we had better start taking these things seriously or they will get even more surreal.
14. "Spiral, Whee!" by Sean Shatto
This was very funny and he gets extra credit for audience participation. I also believe the majority of this was ad-libbed which is cool. I could tell that when he started tipping over chairs he was starting to run out of ideas.
15. "Questions from an Actual Sex Ed Website with Hilarious Answers" by Aprille Clarke
Without doubt the funniest piece of the evening and a good note to end on. My favorite question was the one asking how many holes were in a vagina, because of the metaphysical implications of holes within things that are already holes.
Hey Evan... why do you only comment on some and not others? (I'm not attacking you or anything) I'm just curious.
Not to speak for Evan or anything, but sometimes it's hard to think of comments on every piece. It's useless to say nothing more than "This was funny" or "This sucked," so I certainly respect the alternative of saying nothing at all.
That said, it is a little frustrating to read a review and see one's own piece not mentioned. I promise I will do my best to get around to writing a review this week, and I will try to comment on every piece.
I comment on the ones that I actually have the capacity to comment on in a meaningful fashion. If I had commented on your piece in particular, Eli, it would have been something like this:
13. "Shattered Like that Guy at the End of Goldeneye" by David Wilk, Eli's Pen Name
I liked the reference in the title. This was a good piece which I enjoyed.
And you would read that, and you'd be like, "Jesus, that was not helpful at all. Fuck Evan and everything he stands for." See, if I have nothing important to say I don't want to make something up. If it so happens that I fail to review someone's piece it is a safe bet that I enjoyed it but it didn't blow my mind or anything. If I dislike a piece I would say so or make some snide bastardish comment like I did for the John Leigh this week.
But, for next time (which I think will be week after next) I will make comment on everyone just to try it out.
Also two things came to my attention regarding my own piece which I should maybe comment on--
1) Mirri told me that Adam Hahn expressed disappointment in his lack of lines during his stint as a German beardologist. If Mirri was not lying to me about this, and if then Adam Hahn was also not lying to Mirri and thereby transmitting a lie to me through her... I am sorry, I have trouble with characters that are not going to be played by me and sometimes I write them in very thin fashion, which maybe I should fix.
2) Michael Tabor approached me after the show and said that he had been planning to do a beard related piece at some point, and that I had ruined his idea or maybe his entire life. I am also sorry about this.
I'm basically just a big meat-box of sorrow at this point.
Okay. Your point is duely noted. Hey Evan, maybe you and Michael can do a beard piece together. That way neither of you are sad. Everyone will be happy again!
Oh and Adam: ppl, Peace, Love, Ttyl (talk to y'all later), and lmaotaysysbnlm (laughing my ass off thinking about your skit you silly bearded nipple loveing man).
I mis-spelled loving...sigh.
I thought of one more announcement I missed:
-There is a Paperback Rhino show at The Mezzanine above The Cottage. When?
In response to Evan's numbered comments:
1) I wasn't bothered by my lack of lines, but I did wish I had more to do. I hoped I wasn't too distracting sitting on the stage the whole piece and only participating twice. (This has more to do with my inability to stop thinking so much and enjoy things than it does with yours writing.)
2) Fuck Michael Tabor. You made original use of your beard this week. Let him worry about his own beard in future weeks.
Here is my review. I admit that I don't have useful comments on everything, in part because I spent some of the show scrambling around trying to get lights worked out, but I will do my best.
1. From Just Another White Shark, "The Skipper" by Stephen Hiro
I've really enjoyed these songs, and I especially appreciate Stev-o's modern-styled revival of the sea chantey. It works on both a novelty level and a genuine enjoyment level (probably about 20% the former and 80% the latter).
2. "Why I Want to Go Back to 1987" by Eric Landuyt
I think Eric's last two pieces have been his best so far. I think I preferred the virginity-loss one to this one, but they both employed a similar feel. I can get behind self-effacing nostalgia more than I can get behind obnoxious bravado, so count me in favor. Also, I like lists. I especially like bulleted lists. When I see a bullet, I read. This list was not bulleted, which was a damned shame.
3. "Response to Last Week" by Adam Hahn
Adam's feeling feisty. I like meta-theatrical pieces because they change the energy and make people feel engaged with the material. The downside to that is that anyone who wasn't there last week probably felt a bit lost. I was sad to see that Katy Baggs wasn't there to enjoy her shout-out.
4. "Haunted House" by the Michael Tabors
This is one of my favorite Michael Tabors songs I've heard so far, and so seasonal. I like the part where they say "Don't get freaky in the haunted house. It's already freaky enough." Because, you know, it is.
5. "The Story of Jonathan Adventure: Part One" by Evan Schenck
I think I was distracted by some light issues in this one, so I don't remember the details very well, but I do remember thinking it had good, snappy writing. I giggled quite a bit back there with the script, which was good considering I didn't have any visuals to work with.
6. "Distance and Overexposure" by Cool Jesse Hates You and YOUR MOM
This was really, really nice. It was a beautiful combination of popular mythology and personal storytelling, and the transition between the two was seamless. Cool Jesse has a really effortless delivery style that I find charming. It's these kind of pieces of his that I like best--where he blends the high-concept stuff in with the mundane in a really accessible, tricky way.
7. "Inspiration, Sleep Deprivation, and a Story to Tell" by Stacy Jones
Wow. Abstract. Even with the script in front of me, I couldn't follow it (and usually I understand things better by reading them than by hearing them). There's nothing wrong with nonsense, of course, but an entire monologue of it? I like Stacy and her writing, and I like that she tries non-linear approaches, but I preferred some of her previous pieces that were a little more structured.
8. "The Most Wonderful Thing in My Life (NOT)" by Danielle Santangelo Kovalick, Age 8
I'm a sucker for the nostalgia pieces, and there were some really hilarious parts here--especially the descriptions of the ugly gymnastics teacher. I wonder how this piece would have worked if Danielle had delivered it in an adult voice with some ironic distance rather than doing it from the child's perspective.
9. "We Bad, That's Right We Bad" by Patrick Ashcraft and Niles Krogstad
Hah. Was this mean-spirited? Maybe. Eric seems like a good sport, though (maybe even to the point of self-disrespect? I'm not sure.) It's hard to make a funny piece about rape that's not offensive, and I think Patrick was mostly successful. It was a very self-referential week all around.
10. "Yes, We Have Moccasin Boots" BY Danny Wolf
I couldn't hear this very well behind the set, but I remember thinking this Danny Wolf dude has a really pretty voice. I couldn't understand the content of the song at all, though.
11. "The Big Bang Theory" by Mirri "Rhymes with 'Theory'"
I think Mirri's shown a lot of growth in her last few pieces. This may be my favorite one she's done. A note on the comment she posted: if it wasn't really supposed to take place in a car on the road, how did the guy identify road noise? That was a detail that didn't work, but overall the dialogue seemed natural, and good casting choice for the guy.
12. "Only the Beginning" by John Leigh
I liked the part where it seemed like it was going to be a really long piece ("month 1, week 1"), and then it turned out to be a short piece.
13. "Shattered Like that Guy at the End of Goldeneye" by David Wilk, Eli's Pen Name
I think Eli Wilkinson is a more memorable name than David Wilk, so I recommend that Eli scrap the nome de plume. I liked the part about the giant wang.
14. "Spiral, Whee!" by Sean Shatto
I think I missed a lot by not being able to see this, but it was a truly magical moment when Sean got the audience to chant about the spiral.
It was a really fun show, everybody. Thanks for writing, performing, and attending.
No, Hahn! FUCK YOU! HARD!!! IT WAS GOING TO BE GLORIOUS! GLORIOUS!!! I HATE YOU* AND I WEPT. WEPT OVER THE FALLEN GLORY OF MY TITLE "MUST GROW BEARDS."
*Not you, personally...you universally.
An apology about my earlier response to Evan. I realized soon after posting that I should have started:
"1) Fuck Adam Hahn. I wasn't bothered . . . "
When you're relatively new at this, it's easy to assume that board members and No Shamers with more than a couple of years experience know what they're doing and have valid opinions, which is quite often untrue. If our comments and online reviews help you understand your own work better, internalize whatever insight you find beneficial. If they don't, fuck us all.
Write what you think are the best pieces you can produce, and don't worry about stepping on our toes. (Except for Michael Tabor's. It turns out he's an enormous crybaby.)
I WILL NOT BE TREATED THIS WAY, HAHN! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONG! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN!!!?!?!?!?! I AM NOT A CRYBABY, I JUST WANT MY FEELINGS TO BE VALIDATED!
-LUV MIKL.
Actually David Wilk is the name I made up so that directors at auditions don't know I'm performing monologues I wrote myself. But he is kinda becoming an alter ego. Michael, don't mind Adam ... he's just being mean. Trying to get you mad. Like when he put tobasco sauce in my coke. He's a bully.
down with Adam Hahn!!
Hey everyone. I got a favor to ask. I'm working on some pieces that I wrote that I would like to submit for the 10 minute play festival and I'm wondering if anyone would care to workshop mine. You know: read over them, tell me what changes I should make, what works/ what doesn't, etc. So if anyone has some time and wants to help me out just email me. Thanks.
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So you know how it sucks when you log in and it says "20 comments," and you're like "Score, that's two new comments since I last looked," and it turns out they're spam?
Well, we could turn on word verification for comments. That's where you would look at a wiggly image of letters and have to type in what word it is before your comment gets published. Is there any interest in that?
Speaking of interest, I think you'd be interested in this site I found called Ebay!
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