One Man Show

One man (person, whatever) shows are all the rage now.  Well, that probably isn't true.  They are always being done.  Probably because (1) you can feature yourself and (2) don't have to worry about anyone else's schedule, ego, etc. and (3) a one person short one act feels "full" while a larger cast piece feels "slight."  Whatever the case is, I've been leaning more and more into writing for the stage.

The problem is that I haven't led an extremely interesting life.  Yes, yes.  I know there are those of you who are going to say "Pshaw, Chris!  Your life is interesting!  Everyone has something to say."  I have plenty to say, but let's be fair - I had a great childhood, I have a great family. I am white, financially comfortable and straight.  I haven't traveled tons and when I have it has always been safe.  I've never done more then dabble in narcotics before I discovered that besides occasional drinking, it wasn't for me.  I know a little about a lot of things.  I know coffee.  I know food.  I know science fiction and speculative fiction and story in general.  And god knows the word doesn't need another show about (1) acting, (2) writing, or (3) comedy.

So that leaves me at loose ends a bit.  But I have a few ideas.

• For a long time, I've been working on a one man piece about Philip K. Dick's nervous breakdown (or visions or whatever) of the mid 70s.  Great material and I love it but (1) I would be totally miscast in it and (2) it is only funny in parts.  It is dark and weird and emotional.  I just don't have a handy venue to pitch it to right now.

• Depression.  It's not like there aren't a ton of pieces about that, but I think it could be funny/sad.  I just don't know if I have the right angle on it yet.  I think I still need some distance on it.

• Sex.  Again, the world doesn't need tons more on this.  But I have had my share of relationships, stretching across the spectrum of possibilities.  I have tons of stories and thoughts.  Of course, it makes me a bit nervous.  (1) A whole show about "the women I've been involved with" could come off as bragging.  (I'd say it is a sign that it's a sign of my ability to form intense bonds and then not make the final step to fully give myself over to them but it is a fine line.) (2) I am uncomfortable putting my partners' lives up on stage.  Names can be changed and the chance of them actually seeing the show are slim, but I still am protective of those memories/lovers.  (3) If I am totally honest, I will come off as an ass.  Yes.  An ass.

Still, I think I may do it.

Lessons of Oklahoma!

• It may seem like everything is going you way, but it's not.
• If you say you have a surrey with a fringe on top, you better damn well have a surrey with a fringe on top.
• Pornography is bad. Sometimes it could even kill you.
• Persians are sneaky, deceitful, and randy. But still okay.
• When confronting an arch-rival, why not try to convince him to commit suicide. You never know. It might work.
• Wolverine dances real pretty.
• If you are trying to make a not-so-tough choice and you inhale a special elixir, don't expect to get a real clear answer.
• In fact, it will probably put you to sleep out in a corn field. You will enter a horrible dream scape filled with prophetic images.
• Best not to trust anything branded as an elixir.
• To win the girl, sell everything you own at discount prices. Use the money to eat her pie.
• If your arch-rival tells to stick something in you eye, don't.
• To kill a farmer, you must become a farmer.
• Sure, cowmen and farmers can be friends. Especially when covering you murder.
• Oklahoma became a state due to enthusiastic spelling.

Why DOES that damn caged bird sing?

I am scared of singing.

It's true. I enjoy it. I enjoy it a lot. I do it constant around the house... when I'm alone. But in public? Big fear. I am not confident with my voice. I often suddenly find my self unable to pronounce even the simplest words. Any time I try to hum a popular song to someone it comes out as random discordant notes, like John Cage on lithium. In fact the whole Scott family is a bit infamous for not singing. Yes, I do not enjoy karaoke.

But I do like musical theater. It allows you to break so many of the conventions of "normal" theater. You can go from dead serious to wild camp in seconds. Emotions can be heightened way out of proportion. Slipping into an internal monologue is not only okay but expected. Music gets straight to musical core of things. You can gloss over subtlety. A character loves someone more that they love there own life? They can say that. They can say that over and over if it is in the chorus. And it isn't overblown or silly. It's frackin' moving.

So a while back I started to take a musical improv class with Eliza Skinner (of I Eat Pandas and many other swell things) at UCB. I was pretty sure I'd suck at it. I wasn't even sure I'd like it. Turns out I do like it. Enough that, when asked, I joined a musical improv team.

I had my first show with them last night. And it was magical. Audience get very excited by songs... especially improv ones. And as a performer, you get swept up in the song and your brain shuts down, and you just react in the moment.

I don't know how good I am. I am pretty good with structure. I commit to moments well. My actually singing goes all over the map. The notes I hear in my head rarely come out of my mouth. But that seems some what secondary. And it help that my team, Veal, rocks out on support.

Thing is, I totally burnt out on improv recently. I forgot the fun. I took a few weeks off, gave it a lot of thought, tried to put it all in perspective. Coming back, even after that short break, seems to have made me stop sweating the small stuff.

Yeah, that little bit was pretty cliché. But if I sang it....

Mega64

Mega64 is just wonderful videogame/guerrilla theater goodness. Most of their sketches will make no sense without a relatively deep videogame knowledge (for example if you are unfamiliar with Ico, this video will make no sense). The Tetris one will make sense to most people at this point (and is somehow oddly touching).

I've finally gotten around to playing Dead Rising so the following video is very funny to me.


But the reason I bring them up today is their special GDC (Game Developers Conference) Super Mario Bros. video.

While the chance that Mario is familiar to you is pretty high, your recognition of the Japanese fellow* is slight... and in there lies all of the humor. That and Link.

*He is Shigeru Miyamoto.

Pat Baer

I just thought I would pimp out Pat Baer's podcast about the New York comedy scene. it is like pulling up a cozy chair next to a fire with some funny people not tryingto be funny and just talking about the NYC world of comedy... and other stuff. It's like a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmellows.

Evil Dead the Musical

I've been wanting to see this show since I first heard about it a few years ago. So I am super super little boy excited that I am going on Jan 6th. Yay! Thank you, ttractor. But she has never seen the movie so here I present some clips, so she can get a taste.

Warning! Graphic horror and gore. And a chistled chin.

Robot Pulp Fiction

Just something for a Sunday afternoon.
Robots performing the "Royale With Cheese" scene from Pulp Fiction.
(courtesy of Glyphjocky)

I'll Be Seeing You...

Just saw a show by a friend of mine from improv 101, "I'll Be Seeing You..." Jennifier Russo created a beautifully touching arrangement of classic songs into a dance/musical piece for five performers. A little rumination on love in wartime. A sense of grabbing at what joy one can when the world is so uncertain. It was sweet and funny and sad. It's run was just ths week, so now it is gone. But it is lingering with me tonight, like the taste of your love after they have gotten on the train and you don't know if you'll see them again.

Show I wish I had seen: Pinter does Beckett

Oh man, oh man. How I would have loved to see this.
Harold Pinter performs Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape."
I am a huge fan of both, having come into contact with there plays back in college. They were the one that taught me the power of silence. Heck, when I think of the 'twang of the void,' I think of the "pauses" in their scripts. How nothing can mean as much or more than words. And the thought of Pinter, whose health has been poor in the last few years, being on stage speaking those words.

(Gasping.) Went to sleep and fell off the pew. (Pause.) Sometimes wondered in the night if a last effort mightn't--(Pause.) Ah finish your booze now and get to your bed. Go on with this drivel in the morning. Or leave it at that. (Pause.) Leave it at that. (Pause.) Lie propped up in the dark--and wander. Be again in the dingle on a Christmas Eve, gathering holly, the red-berried. (Pause.) Be again on Croghan on a Sunday morning, in the haze, with the bitch, stop and listen to the bells. (Pause.) And so on. (Pause.) Be again, be again. (Pause.) All that old misery. (Pause.) Once wasn't enough for you. (Pause.) Lie down across her.

Sigh.

The Patriots at P.S. 122

I want to write a review of this show, but I am not sure were to start. But in case anyone is planning to go see it tonight, I thought it was my duty to post something. So here is the letter I sent to P.S. 122 about the show The Patriots.

After seeing Schoolhouse Roxx's The Patriot on Friday night, I myself fill with questions. That is of course what great theater does. I am hoping perhaps you can help me with them or at least forward them to Adam Dugas.


-What sort of criteria does P.S. 122 use to book shows? I can imagine that The Patriots looked interesting when it was a one sentence idea scribbled on a cocktail napkin.

-How much lead time did this show have before opening? Three days? A week? I am assuming it was not more than that. But I am very curious how the company puts together a show so quickly.

-How much money (if any) did P.S. 122 spend on this production? It appears to have gone to flag purchase, which is wise as the flags can be used in the future. 4th of July is coming up!

-How do you set prices for performances? $15 for 45 minutes seems a little steep, but since I was relieved when it was over, I understand that these things are hard to balance.

-I absolutely loved the idea of drawing the entire text from historical documents and records (honestly, I do). I am curious as to the decision to use so few sources. It seemed to me that the Gettysburg Address, Washington's inaugural speech, the Day of Infamy speech, our declaration of war into World War 1, any of a hundred Vietnam era speeches, etc etc, would have fit well in with that idea. But as it appears that it was difficult to creatively use the pieces that were used, perhaps other less obvious choices would be too much to ask. It also would have made the show longer which might have caused the audience discomfort.

-I have no questions about the band as they were quite talented.

-Were the songs drawn from historical documents? I mean beyond the ones that were old chestnuts. It was hard to tell as the lyrics were so simplistic that they may have come from just about anything. Say like a cocktail napkin.

-Was the show supposed to be campy? Or serious? Or both? I am unclear as it didn't seem to achieve either. For example, I couldn't decide if the smoke machine was being used in jest or because it just happened to be lying around.

-I like that the show's message was about as deep as an inflatable kiddie pool. This made the show easy to digest as its viewpoint has been stated simpler and clearer in a thousand other places. Once I got the show's point (after about five minute) I didn't have to pay attention anymore. Bravo!

-The idea to "borrow" the Rumsfeld poetry... ( http://www.slate.com/id/2081042/ ) ...was that a commentary on America's consumer culture where ideas are perpetually repackaged... or was the show running short (at 35 minutes) and was used to fill the show to a robust 45 minutes?


I still have a hundred other questions. Thank you for putting on a show that made me think so much in so little time for $1.66 for every 5 minutes. Looking forward to a response,
SixSider

I want to restate that the band was very good.

UPDATE: P.S. 122 sent me a very nice response. They are good people.

Too Much Coffee Man: The Opera

Sometimes the world is just a glorious place. First Mr. Lee singing about booze to a superhero, now TMCM: The Opera. If you live in or near Portland, OR, keep an eye out for tickets.

Confessions

Somethings I feel like I need to get off my chest:

- I like vacuuming but I don’t like lugging the vacuum cleaner around. I also have a vacuum cleaner that is worth more than my computer.

- I have an unhealthy relationship with cheese and Coke w/ Lime and Hot Pockets.

- If someone got me reservations at Mesa or Per Se tomorrow night, I wouldn't blink about spending $500.

- I want to eat the offal meal at The French Laundry.

- I can and do use the word “mythos” in reference the superhero genre. With a straight face.

- I like television and I love my Tivo.

- I try to limit what shows I watch regularly but the list gets large quickly. Currently? Lost, Gilmore Girls, Project Runway, Battlestar Galactica, Rollergirls, The Office, 24, The Boondocks and Survivor. I will add The Amazing Race and The Venture Brothers when they start up again.

- I still believe that, in general, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best show that has ever been on television.

- I watch the Food Channel more than I cook.

- I applied to be on Survivor and got an interview. My audition tape was quite good, as was my interview. But there are only so many over 30 skinny white boy slots.

- I almost applied for the next cycle of Survivor. But the application was due on Feb. 3rd and I was going to film my tape at the Idiotarod and things got to hectic to thing about lugging around a camera.

- I cheated in a relationship once. And the sex was horrible. It was a drunkin' thing. Afterwards (right after the deed), I casually, because I could think of nothing else to say, mentioned that I had had never used a ribbed condom before. She thought I said "ripped condom" and panicked a bit until I cleared it up.

- I have a desire to do a podcast. Radio drama thing. I wrote a mini-script last night. But my computer is chugging a bit these days. But I may upgrade in March and get the new iLife and see what happens.

- The morning after I cheated, I had to go to a set strike with both women. Later that night (after ending it with both of them), I got drunk with ANOTHER gal that I dated the next semester.

- I chew paper.

- I don't go a day without coming up with an idea for a story. Not a day. Today's story was about a sock that goes to group therapy.

- My rewriting the novel is a huge pain. Not because it's boring and hard (which is true) but because I get distracted. Every time I cut out some element, I feel the need to think about how I can rework it into a new story.

- I really miss playing cards at 2 in the morning at the Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis.

- More to come.

The Perfect Crush

There is something so perfect about summer camp love. My perfect crush came late as far as summer camp experiences go.

In the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I went to the California State Summer School of the Arts ( CSSSA ). You actually had audition for it. I was in the acting program, but there were artists of all stripes. Musicians, painters, sculptures, film makers, dancers. Three hundred arty high schoolers jammed onto the Loyola Marymount campus. Just asking for trouble.

That summer was magical. I remember having to meet with the dean of the program because a bunch of us had snuck out at 3 in the morning and took all the outdoor furniture at the cafeteria and built a (temporary) sculpture in the fountain. Glorious thing, 15 feet high. At first the dean was mad at us, very stern about curfews and such. But then she relented because the project "had merit." How awesome was that!

But Amy was the biggest thing. The first night there we met and both of us were instantly breathless. Amy of the dazzling eyes and infectious laugh. Amy of the strange doodles and rambling stories. Amy of the bare feet and summer dresses. For four days we danced around the idea, trying to see where we stood and spending every minute we could near each other.

There is something about summer camp, and a lesser extent college, that can create 'history' instantly. You develop inside jokes and moments in such a quick and intense way. Before we were officially an item, we already had nicknames around the camp: Scooter & Granola. With colored Sharpies, we made t-shirts with our new names. That was the fifth day of camp and that night we kissed. Literally in a tree. He had climbed up into the foliage and there, in our private world ,I had a kiss that I shall remember every single second of for the rest of my life. Soft and sweet but absolutely electric.

Just now, remembering, I get shivers up and down my spine.

But summer camp is summer camp. Amy and I only had the slightest sliver over two weeks as a 'couple.' Summer camp ends as I suppose all things to. And then she returned to San Fran and I stayed in L.A.. She was in town one more day that summer, but it was a fleeting meet as she was just passing through. A month had passed and suddenly camp seemed eons in the past.

We sent letters to each other a few times the next year. Then I went to the east coast for college and she went to Cal Arts. She sent me a mix tape my first week. I played it all through college but now it is long gone. I can barely remember any of the songs on it.

And then she sort of disappeared. Years later, someone I knew in L.A. said he had run into her. Her life had been hard and horrible and she had been in a rough shape. And then nothing again.

I google her every once and a while but nothing comes up. She just kind of slipped away.