Friday, November 23, 2007

The Shadow over Cambridge

My father found this photo of H.P. Lovecraft in a book.  Usually when I’m told I look like somebody else, I chafe.  In this case the similarities are undeniable.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Cat Password

SuperDeluxe’s uploader has been finicky; I hoped to have this up earlier, but better late than never.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Friends!

I am now seeking full- or part-time employment.  If you have any leads please email me.  No job too strange for consideration!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Recap: Intimacy

Week three!  We sold out the theater in pre-sales alone, which is great news for us but sad for our friends and family who tried to buy tickets at the door.  If you’re planning on attending one of the four remaining Wasteland Comedy Hours, buy tickets in advance.

This show was a turkey.  And by turkey, I am referring to a three-time streak of awesomeness in the sport of bowling—of course.  A lot of the material came together at the last possible second, which will be the norm now that we’re mid-run.  Another warm, supportive, and super-smart audience who appreciated our artsy moments as much as our dollops of, shall we say, raunch dressing.  Highlights of this show included a five-part running musical exploration of Craigslist’s Missed Connections, a Hitchcockian thriller about babies, a talking cat, a silent film porno, and that part where we gave everybody in the audience a mix CD.

I’m working on getting a video uploaded.  Hopefully by Wednesday?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Recap: The Self

I wish I had a copy of that damn Lisa Frank Van Gogh slide….

Week two was our most personal show, “Oh Mirror, You Always Know What to Say!”  Another full house with people content to sit in the bleachers and loft.  For Friday’s show we asked every willing member of our cast to prepare a personal monologue around two minutes in length.  With such loose instructions, I was genuinely amazed at how well these monologues developed.  Our cast had so much fun with their stories, presentations, and anecdotes that the two minutes invariably ballooned into 3-5.  Our show ended up running 1:20, but I don’t think we overstayed our welcome.  My friends and colleagues took some big risks out there, alone with the audience, and reaped the rewards. 

Another one of my goals for The Wasteland, accomplished: create a safe space for sincerity.  With all our silliness and satire it’s easy to distance ourselves from our material.  Putting the “i” in “comidy” could have been tough for our particular cast because we aren’t practiced stand-ups or monologists; we often rely on characters and hilarious scenarios to sell our ideas.  But we rose to the occasion, and shared some pieces of ourselves amidst the bits and jokes.  I hope the rest of the shows are able to occasionally pull this off, but it’s not their stated goal.

This Friday’s show, “Love the Ones You’re With Whom You Are,” is going to be exciting.  It’s a perfect blend between film and stage material, and we bounce between touching and raunchy like your favorite pinball game.  If you haven’t already, consider buying yourself some tickets....

Edit: a clip from The Self:

Monday, November 05, 2007

Recap: The Body

If our audience is to be believed—and I do find them occasionally trustworthy—opening night of The Wasteland Comedy Hour was a solid success.

The first shock was a completely full house.  We filled ImprovBoston up to the bleachers, and latecomers found themselves cramming into nooks and holes.  From my vantage in center stage, it was an even mix of faces familiar and unfamiliar.  They were a very warm, excited audience.  Even our pre-recorded curtain speech got some giggles.

My biggest fear—Eliot’s opening monologue—went mercifully well.  I took a risk by reading an excerpt from “The Imperfect Enjoyment” as the inspiration for my bit.  I am, I admit, a bit power-hungry when I’m on stage (especially when I’m on stage alone).  If I feel like I have control over the audience and their expectations, I am having a ball.  If I feel like there’s a disconnect between the audience and myself, or what I’m saying, my head-voices start chirping and my performance suffers.  I rolled the dice on Friday by kicking off the evening with one of the crudest, angriest, and sexist poems I’m aware of, nearly guaranteed to alienate our very first audience.  All the more satisfying, then, to win them over in the next few moments.

I can’t speak to the experiences of the cast, but from the good post-show vibes, I think everybody enjoyed some success on stage, or watched one of their videos rock a full audience.  As with every show, there were ups and downs.  One particular “down” for me was completely forgetting to write a joke to cover Ryan’s costume change, and having improvise some bullshit about invisible-ink tattoos in the moment.  Thank goodness for a forgiving and receptive audience.  I was pretty angry at myself for forgetting to prepare that moment, but the cast convinced me it read better than it felt.  Typical!

Hopefully the success of “Our Bodies, Our Shells” bodes well for the next six shows.  I’m very much looking forward to this Friday’s show, “Oh Mirror, You Always Know What to Say!” which I believe is the most sincere, raw show of our run.

I leave you with a gimp puppy.

Edit: and, a clip from The Body: