I’ve been working on Fringe stuff, and I’ve learned something very important- writing does not come easily to me. I mean, I am am pretty good with written communications. I can bang out a formal email or a whimsical blog very quickly and well, but *writing*… that’s got pressure and judgment and all other forms of ickyness around it.
So for my show, I’m going to read a series of formal emails.
Actually, I am really excited for my show. I like what it is and what it sets out to accomplish. I’m still putting stuff together for it, but I have a solid beginning, a solid ending, and some solid stuff in the middle. I just need to give it a bit more body. I think a dance is in order. Belly dance. Ha ha, get it? Body? Belly?
“I remember, especially like when I was in high school, going to see like Dawn of the Dead and it was like mayhem in the theater and you could barely even watch the movie. It was so fun.” -Rob Zombie
I have decided that if Shakespeare and Zombies had babies, SLotD would be the one that went to college for its Doctorate of Poetry in Zombie Motion off of a scholarship it earned from devising a way to turn plastic into pure cancer-curing energy, while Rob Zombie would be the one that dropped out of high school to smoke pot with philosophers discussing “Shakes and Shambles” and the conspiracy of the zombie war.
Which to I perfer? I like both. Philosophy is philosophy, whether formally educated or learned from the hard knocks of life. I am currently courting SLotD. But I fear our courtship will soon end. Come see us at U of M Rarig Center Thrust on these dates:
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 1:00 p.m Sun., Aug. 3 @ 5:30 p.m Tue., Aug. 5 @ 10:00 p.m Wed., Aug. 6 @ 7:00 p.m Sun., Aug. 10 @ 7:00 p.m
What? Only one show left? Well, only one guarenteed show left. There is a possibility of an encore show… we could take Best of Venue. It is pretty much down to SLotD or An Inconvenient Squirrel. So either we have two shows back to back on Sunday, or we have the honor of coming up really closely behind Scrimshaw Productions (that line sounds really gay). Either way, it’s a friggin win. And either way, Craig Anderson (in both productions) has plans on Sunday, August 10th at 8:30pm. Sorry, ladies. You’ll just have to wait for him at the after party.
Speaking of winning, SLotD is up on the Fringe Famous polls for three categories: Outstanding New Play, our Amy Rummenie up for Outstanding Direction, and the very prestegious Outstanding Production. http://fringefamous.podbean.com/On the same site, for their amazing Shakespeare/Zombie show bringing a lot of non-thebians to the Fringe, John Heimbuch, Amy Rummenie, and David Pisa have been inducted into the 2008 Fringe Hall of Fame (http://fringefamous.podbean.com/hall-of-fringe-fame/).
And the show is consistantly hitting the top three, if not the top, in Fringe reviews. We have 50 reviews. It’s like out fringe page just keeps getting longer. That reminds me of a date I had once. No wait. It doesn’t. Damn.
When I first heard about it, I knew I liked the concept right off the bat, and I had faith in John’s writing abilities. When I read the script, I knew it would be a fun play, even though I didn’t get cast as a zombie. When I met the cast, I knew I could depend on them. When I met the crew, I knew I would be supported. This entire run has been amazing, and I am really sad that it has to end. On top of the inside of SLotD, our audiences have been absolutely amazing. Not just in numbers, but in responsiveness. I have been attacked by people I don’t know telling me I’m a wonderful badass character (which amuses the hell out of me. All 110pds of me is intimidating. GRRR!).
I really want to end this blog on a comedic note, but I just don’t see how, with all the sadness and crazy possible awards. You, go vote. I’m going to go back to waiting for Rob Zombie to finish The Haunted World of El SuperBeasto (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419724/). There will be some comedy in that for sure, and though it was set aside for a while, it looks like they may be able to bring it back from the dead.
We opened Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead today for 170 some people. The most important of which was my son, but other people whose opinions I respect were there. I admit, there was a tiny piece of me that was “afeared” that our somewhat Shakespeare soaked performance wouldn’t be able to keep an audience, but when the audience started laughing, it was honest laughter. Gut laughter. Laughter that makes the world go ‘round. And they didn’t stop. They laughed for the intelligent witicisms and the stupid jokes alike. It was HOT.
So far, the only critisisms I’ve heard are that it’s a pretty geeky show, and I don’t think that was so much a critisism as it was a fact. I mean, the title pretty much tells it all. Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead. No title has been more straight forward about the contents of the show since Snakes on a Plane. There will be Shakespeare. There will be zombies. If you are surprised by either one of these events occuring, it may lead to me defriending you on one of seventeen social networking sites. And I don’t mean Myspace either. I mean somewhere you would notice and/or care.
The other complaint I heard was from my son, who didn’t think I was very manly. He said it was the hair that tipped him off. Come judge for yourself. U of M Rarig Center Thrust on these dates:
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 1:00 p.m Sun., Aug. 3 @ 5:30 p.m Tue., Aug. 5 @ 10:00 p.m Wed., Aug. 6 @ 7:00 p.m Sun., Aug. 10 @ 7:00 p.m
I admit it. I read reviews to see if someone is going to call me out on not being a man. I expect to read something along the lines of “SLotD was an absolutlely brilliant masterpiece of a performance, except for the chick trying to be a dude.” My Brilliance is probably right. It’s the hair.
I was invited to see 21 Fringe shows this year. I don’t have a pass because our cast is huge, so I will not be seeing any of them. I do not have $250 or at least 42 hours out of the next 168 that isn’t already dedicated elsewhere. I am sorry to all of you who invited me… had I the ability, I would see them all.
*Last night, my child beat a large group of adults in a game called werewolf, where logic and bluffing are used to sway popular opinion. I have a feeling one or two adults may have figured him out and let it slide. I goaded the crowed into taking me out right away because I was pretty sure that he was a werewolf, and I am a mom first and foremost. Getting taken out early meant that I was available for him to talk to about strategy, and wouldn’t have to out my own son. But he didn’t really seem to need advice. I was Hella Proud of my boy’s game last night.*
