The Mini-Fridge Elevenses*

11 Questions, 11 Answers … ZERO calories, and 100% YUMMY!

 *Elevenses is a snack that is similar to afternoon tea, but eaten in the morning and might consist of some cake or biscuits with a cup of coffee or tea. The name refers to the time of day that it is taken: around 11 am. 

Bible Burlesque

Produced  by: Brain Melt Consortium
Written by: Alexis Roblan + Rachel Kerry
 

To raise money for the Edinburgh production of their biblical feminist burlesque-themed play, Rachel and Ali have decided to put on a night of hot, lurid bible stories – but they’ve got very different ideas about what that means. An hour of comic meta-theatrical sexy-time. In Biblical proportions.

Show Times:

• Saturday, June 30 @ 8:30pm

Answers by:  Alexis Roblan
(Co-writer/Co-producer)

 1. Your tag line is featured above, so we know the PR version of what this play is about. But when you talk to your family and friends, how do you explain the show to them?
Alexis: When Horse Trade offered us a slot in MiniFridge, we (Brain Melt Consortium) decided to put something simple together as a fundraising event for the show we’re taking to Edinburgh Fringe this August (Daughters of Lot, FRIGID 2012). We wanted to throw together some burlesque acts based on Bible stories, but as Rachel (my writing and producing partner) and I got to work, we found ourselves in heated/often hilarious debates about how to pull this off. Pretty soon we realized that letting the audience see what goes on behind the scenes could be some ridiculous fun. So it’s still a burlesque show, but it’s gotten very meta-theatrical and silly, and the story arc comes from our actual artistic relationship — with fantastic actors we know and love playing us, and acting out some of our worst “burlesque” ideas, next to actual burlesque performers doing awesome sexy/creative things.

2. Here’s a scenario: After the show some audience members go have a drink. What’s the part of the show you hope they’re discussing?
Alexis:  I hope they’re discussing their last minute donations to our Edinburgh Indiegogo campaign!
(http://www.indiegogo.com/Daughters-of-lot-at-Edinburgh) The drama of Bible Burlesque really does come from how difficult it is for artists to raise the funds to create their work — we tried to create a show that highlighted that plight while entertaining in its own right. I hope they also leave quoting lines and moments to each other and laughing a lot.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
 Alexis: Much of the action is an attempt to find something brilliant that fits the theme — a fantastic Biblical Burlesque act — but it’s also about the competing artistic visions of two characters, and those differences of worldview are what really drive the comedy.

4. What’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you the most proud?
Alexis: At our first table read, one of the actresses stopped and said: “How is this so much fun???” I hope the audience has the same feeling.

 5. Let’s fantasize for a moment. Let’s take the “off-off” off. Imagine this show is on Broadway. What would that change about the production itself?
Alexis:  It would just get way bigger. And longer, of course. We’d have awesomely expensive costumes and ridiculous lighting. Which would be tons of fun to play with. But at it’s core, it wouldn’t change.

6. Taking that one step further – after paying everyone what they’re worth of course, what is the most lavish, luxurious, frivolous thing you would spend money on if there was no constraints? (Think of the helicopter in Miss Saigon).
Alexis: Hmm… a giant Bible for people to walk out of… Rigging to allow the actors to descend from the “sky”… Yeah. LOTS of flying. Stripping in mid-air would be cool.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, anything that gets a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
Alexis: We haven’t actually performed this show before an audience yet, but I anticipate the “Cain & Abel” bit will have some mixed reactions… And personally, those are my favorite theatrical moments — when humor crosses a line into possible discomfort and half the audience goes there and the other half balks at them for going there.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
Alexis:  “And then the Virgin Mary is like, ‘Gee Mary Magdalene, I really like you a lot, but I think we should just be friends. I’m just so damaged from my son being crucified that now is a really bad time for me to become close to someone.’”

9. Is the world of this play sustainable outside a theatre? In other words … do you think people live the way the characters do? Would you want a world where they do?
Alexis:  In one sense, the main characters are based on my producing partner and I, and are actually pretty representative of reality — but to get sappy for a minute, I think the world of the play is one in which people really take art seriously and are trying to find ways to both create and honor it. That’s real in our lives, but it’s also something the world could use more of. I suppose the world could use more of people taking their clothes off while pretending to be Biblical characters, too.

10. You scan the audience and you see a face that stops you dead in your tracks – who is it? And why are you shocked?
Alexis:  I just imagined Jesus in the audience, giving me a thumbs up. I don’t think I really need to explain the shock — I didn’t think he’d be back for at least another 1000 years.

11. Time for Elevenses! Go to the mini-fridge of your fantasy hotel. What’s your dream 11:00am snack?
Alexis:  Mmm cold pizza. Is that too mundane? Should this tie in with the show? Is it weird to say communion wafers? Cold mini-communion wafer pizzas… Matzo crackers?

Thanks, Alexis, for having your Elevenses with us here at THM!  We can’t wait to see Bible Burlesque!

If you’d like to catch Bible Burlesque at The Mini-Fridge Festival find out more by clicking this link.

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HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP IN ASSOCIATION WITH FRIGID NEW YORK PRESENT THE 2012 MINI-FRIDGE

JUNE 28 – JULY 4 @ UNDER ST. MARKS The mini-festival will play at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A) June 28-July 4. Tickets ($15/$12 students & seniors) are available online  or by calling 212-868-4444. 

Related Posts:

• Grab A Snack From The Mini-Fridge
• 2nd Season Mini Fridge – Tasty, Filling And Leaving Audience Wanting More! (Jun 28, 2012 – Jul 04, 2012 )
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Kill The Band – Mock Bottom Mockumental CD Release Experience!
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s miniXMAS Spectacular!
• Daughters Of Lot – A Lot Going On (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

What’s in this year’s Mini-Fridge?  Some tasty treats you won’t wanna miss – and in honor of the mini-festival which highlights a small but savory platter of hors d’oeuvres made up of FRIGID and FRINGE deliciousness we here will be presenting Mini-Fridge Elevenses.  What is Elevenses?  If you were too lazy to follow that link we’ll tell you: In the United Kingdom and Ireland, elevenses is a snack that is similar to afternoon tea, but eaten in the morning. It is generally less savoury than brunch, and might consist of some cake or biscuits with a cup of coffee or tea. The name refers to the time of day that it is taken: around 11 am.

But here at The Happiest Medium Elevenses is Eleven Questions for our Mini-Fridge participants.  So, grab a snack out of your own fridge and sit back because in the next few days we’ll be featuring some great Q&As with:

Kill the Band: Mock Bottom Presented by Killy Dwyer and Kill the Band

KILL THE BAND presents a surreal, multi-media theatrical experience to celebrate the release of their triumphant second comedy rock album, MOCK BOTTOM! Part CD release party, part psychodramedy, MOCK BOTTOM mockuments the farcical cycle of the band’s breakdowns and break throughs. Free CD included with your ticket!

Thu 6/28 & Sat 6/30 @ 10pm

 ***

Bye Bye Bombay Written & Performed by Cara Yeates

A multimedia adventure to Bollywood and beyond! Join Gauri and her puppet guides as she dodges rickshaws, Russian dancers and lecherous directors. A foreigner lost in a maze of masala, will this lost traveler learn more than just the art of crossing roads in India?

Thu 6/28 @ 8:30pm, Fri 6/29 @ 7pm, & Sat 6/30 @ 7pm

 ***

Intium/Finis Presented by Theatre Reverb

A sensual tale of violence and revolution born in a futuristic metropolis. Theatre Reverb combines media, red-light cabaret, live music, Judeo-Christian and Hindu myth, and classical Indian dance-theatre to envelop spectators in a lush sci-fi noir. This unique, total theatrical experience is the result of a cross-discipline collaboration between artists from the US, Central Europe and Asia.

Sat 6/30 @ 5pm & Sun 7/1 @ 7pm

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Bare. Presented by Peter Aguero

Raw stories paired with raw burlesque. Curated and hosted by Peter Aguero (The Moth, The BTK Band), Bare. will rip the heart out of your chest, place it lovingly back in, and proceed to do it all over again. This special Mini-Fridge volume stars Adam Wade, Sarah Jenness, Diana Spechler, Magdalena Fox, Francine, Amelia Bareparts, and Mary Cyn as The Kraken.

Sun 7/1 @ 9pm

  ***

Bible Burlesque Presented by Brain Melt Consortium

To raise money for the Edinburgh production of their biblical feminist burlesque-themed play, Rachel and Ali have decided to put on a night of hot, lurid bible stories – but they’ve got very different ideas about what that means. An hour of comic meta-theatrical sexy-time. In Biblical proportions. From the creators of the 2012 FRIGID hit, Daughters of Lot.

Sat 6/30 @ 8:30pm

  ***

Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s mini XMAS Spectacular  Hosted by Gregory Levine and Michelle Leona Godin

Xmas - What an awful word, non?! And everything so shabby nowadays. Well, perhaps you’ve been going to the wrong parties… Aristocratic siblings Lord Gregory and Mademoiselle Godin — whose twisted bond of love and jealousy has only grown stronger since the terrible day their zygote split in the womb — cordially invite you to the unseasonable soiree of the year: a splendid Xmas gala showcasing the stars of the 2012 mini-FRIDGE, and featuring the marvelous musicians, comedians and performance artist of the Horse Trade family. You will be sadly gauche if you are not in attendance!

Fri 6/29 @ 10pm

  ***

Legendary: A Man-tasia Written & performed by Kevin R. Free Directed by Christopher Burris

What becomes a legend most? Is it truth? Is it fantasy? Is it a sequined gown and pearls? In Legendary: A Man-tasia three gay men explores their love affairs with each other, themselves and – of course – Jennifer Holliday.

Thu 6/28 @ 7pm, Fri 6/29 @ 8:30pm, & Mon 7/2 @ 7pm

Related Posts:

• 2nd Season Mini Fridge – Tasty, Filling And Leaving Audience Wanting More! (Jun 28, 2012 – Jul 04, 2012 )
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Bible Burlesque!
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Kill The Band – Mock Bottom Mockumental CD Release Experience!
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s miniXMAS Spectacular!
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Bye Bye Bombay!

Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

Daughters of Lot (Marlena Kalm, photo by Rachel Kerry)

Daughters Of Lot

Company: Brain Melt Consortium
Directed by: Rachel Kerry

The evening’s entertainment is a sexy and silly retelling of an ancient story, until the performers do a trick that requires more than flexibility. Arousing and agitating in Biblical proportions, this is not your daddy’s burlesque club… or maybe it is.

Show Times:

• Thu 2/23 @ 7:30 pm
• Sat 2/25 @ 5:30 pm
• Tue 2/28 @9:00 pm
• Fri 3/2 @ 5:30 pm
• Sun 3/4 @ 4:00 pm

Answers by Alexis Roblan

(Playwright, Producer)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Alexis: Daughters of Lot takes place in a burlesque club where the performers conjur up a couple Biblical characters to play with — Lot’s daughters. So in one sense, the title’s pretty literal. It’s also a reference to the fact that Lot, from the story of Sodom & Gomorrah, has a name, but none of the women in the story (including his daughters) are ever given names.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite five people, anyone from past and present, to see your FRIGID show – who would you invite and why?
Alexis:
Lot — to ask him how he feels about the portrayal.
Jean Genet — because the structure for this show was originally inspired by his The Blacks.
Susan Faludi — because Backlash is quoted on the title page.
Leigh Silverman — because I have a huge director crush.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck — to watch her squirm.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Alexis: In January 2010 I moved to New York with 2 friends here, no job prospects, and not much money, having spent a total of 10 days in the city prior to my move. It was pretty nerve-wracking, and I spent quite a bit of time missing friends and my car for that first year, but I also built a great community here and started a theatre company, Brain Melt Consortium. And now we’re in the Frigid Festival! Success story! Totally worth it.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Alexis: This used to be a full-length play, that we cut down to an hour for Frigid. Having worked on the script for a few years, it was tough to figure out exactly which moments could be sliced and diced and leave the show as something coherent and powerful. But some of those painful cuts resulted in moments that really made the play breathe in new ways.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Alexis: I hope people are entertained in the moment, but also disconcerted. I hope they leave with a lot of questions, and that it inspires them to think a bit more than usual about gender and how sex is used in our society.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

THM Bonus Question – We’re serious this year!
In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?

Alexis: I would take on Stripper Lesbians, because their title makes me feel competitive with them. I would throw scissors. For obvious reasons.

Okay then!  Well, the Stripper Lesbians part I get.  The scissors, not so much “obvious” to me, but I’m not always the sharpest scissors in the drawer.  So I say – good choice!  Here’s how you’re doing so far … you’ve been challenged by Love in the Time of Chlamydia who threw ROCK (at everyone) … so that’s a loss.   But that’s just round one … there’s more to come!

Thanks Daughters of Lot for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially SCISSORS in any and all challenges. You may win, you may not – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

For the rest of you don’t forget to check out Daughters of Lot!

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Daughters of  Lot

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The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Related Posts:

• Daughters Of Lot – A Lot Going On (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• 2nd Season Mini Fridge – Tasty, Filling And Leaving Audience Wanting More! (Jun 28, 2012 – Jul 04, 2012 )
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Bible Burlesque!
• Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour – Seven Act Scratch (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Magic Trick – Baring It All (Fringe Festival 2012)