Don't Make Me Release The Flying Monkeys

Happy Labor Day! So, because time waits for no one, I should tell you now that I have adapted for stage and will be directing a live radio theatre productions of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,, our own interpretation of the classic B "worst movie of all times" holiday classic by the Post-Meridian Radio Players.

All roles are open and there are at least 14 of them to fill. Performances are December 1 & 2 in Davis Square, Somerville. Audition sign-up is open now, so please spread the word!

Details and sign-up here: http://pmrp.org/auditions

I ran into derspatchel just a little while ago in Davis Square. I was on my way home, and he was headed off to perform in The Anarchist Society of Shakespeareans' A Midsummer Night's Dream.

That boy was on cloud 9; about the show, the cast, the esprit de corps of the project. He looked like a man newly in love. I said "You have NRE!" (New Relationship Energy) He was giddy. I bet he'll give a stellar performance tonight, floating on that kind of theatre buzz.

That's a familiar magic. His glow reminded me of the earliest days of Theatre@First. He and I were both in the very first T@F show. It was low-budget, hard-scrabble, and 100% electric with synergy. We were a cast in omni-directional crush with the group and with the thing we were creating. I will never forget that feeling as long as I live. derspatchel was sparkling with that energy when I saw him this evening. I'm so happy that he and my many friends in the show are getting to experience that seat-of-the-pants theatre magic, which is like no other magic in the world.

beowabbit and I tried to see the show this past Sunday, but traffic and getting out of the house too late made us miss it. Not this week. Come hell or high water we will be there this coming Sunday. I want to catch some of that buzz vicariously.

Break a leg, and see you Sunday!

Sometimes rehearsal feels like high school, except good high school. What I mean is, it sometimes feels like a kind of high school experience I didn't have myself, but wished I had, and assumed everyone cooler and more fortunate than me had. Sort of TV high school. It's like that, except everyone is teacher age.

More coffee, please.

I guess if I had to write a one-sentence review of ART's Romeo & Juliet, I could do it adequately by sucking in my cheeks and saying "Now ees dee time on Shprockets ven vee DIIIIIE."

I actually enjoyed the production on a number of levels, in spite of a rigid treatment that I don't think hit the bulls-eye. It was performed in a ginormous sandbox, essentially. Don't picture a kiddy sandbox, picture a wide strip of sparkly black sand the length of an Olympic sized pool. That was the performance area. Costumes were dark and a mish-mash of periods and styles (a trademark of ART costuming), and the tone was aggressive...adult...angsty. Not quite goth, but halfway to it. The freaky masquerade dance was among the best I've seen, per choreography and originality. A felt the same way about most of it.

At one point in the 1st act, A became concerned that the actor playing Escalus appeared possibly to be having a stroke onstage before our very eyes. I said no, the stutter and right-side stiffness were just character choices. But by intermission, he had me convinced, too, that this poor actor was stroking. Because A is a doctor, I found it harder to doubt him than I would anyone else making a diagnosis like that, and it wouldn't be beyond ART to send an actor onstage in the middle of a medical emergency (I used to work there). I spent the 2nd act wondering if poor actor-playing-Escalus was going to fall face first in the sand, and listening for ambulance sirens approaching the theatre...

Then came curtain call, and the actor dropped character and broke into a healthy and normal gait. All was well. So, job nicely done by (*checks program*) actor John Campion. Should I write him a note saying he tricked my doctor date?

About the other thing...I've decided not to write off thangs with A just yet. There is something there. Upon talking, my suspicions turned out to be unfounded. There's a nice spark growing slowly. More about that in a friends-only post. I want to see where things go, if he does.