Because Frigid slots are limited to 60 minutes some shows have needed to trim their original running time.  Cutting down some of the material can sometimes break a beautifully crafted piece, as you just can’t fit it all in. Not so for Emleigh Wolf who has been bringing The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal to various audiences on numerous occasions over the last few years, often in small 5-20 minutes sketches at open mics and other venues.  At its current Frigid run at UNDER St. Marks, Wolf really shines as these short skits are able to be united and lengthened.  While always humorous, putting Umberto in a full narrative with a beginning, a middle, and a triumphant end makes The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal something that I think we can all identify with by the conclusion of the performance.

The performance starts with an introduction as to what manpain actually is: (click here for a previous look at Umberto explaining this truth here) :

“Well, manpain is the pain that men feel.  Not just any pain but the true emotional depths of a man’s soul. While society may want to frown on it, I assure you, it is one of the more critical topics you will encounter.  I hope tonight, to help all the men here, cast off this idea of their unmentionable sentiments and emnbrace the feelings beneath the harsh exterior they’ve been branded with.”

We are then introduced to Umberto’s guitarist, Mike Hamilton, (played by Mike Ogletree)  and begin the process of hearing one story after another outlining how Umberto has gained the gifts to deal with his manpain so effectively that he can help us with ours.  Besides just being a “melancholy guitarist playing a sorrowful tune”, his accompanying guitarist (Mike Ogletree) really does a great acting job as well.  His character is inserted into different parts of the stories being told and interjects just enough to keep the dramatic tension building, and the plot progressing throughout.

Instead of Umberto simply being a character who is parading his troubles, he has trouble with that parade and it becomes overwhelming to him at times, adding a greater dimension to the work as a whole. Umberto talks of his father abandoning him at birth, of the “rental pony” that died at his one and only birthday party, and of his early rejections in love.  There was also the lack of success at many things along the way – except for his endeavors in chronicling his manpain (carefully excerpted sections of his journal are then read).

All seems to be a downer, one that drips manpain onto us so thoroughly that even as we laugh, we cry.  Then comes the first turning point in the story.  One Christmas Umberto, while staying home for Christmas evening alone (his unfortunate usual lot in life)  heard a singing, and a wailing in the street, and then the sounds of cops shouting, ready to pull a fellow sufferer of manpain off to jail.  This motivates Umberto to dash out to the street, to care for his fellow traveler along life’s dusty and tear-drenched highway, and to help this man fully express his manpain for the first time.  Together they cried and talked until the sun rose the next morning.  This gave him a friend and ally, Mike Hamilton, who encouraged Umberto to share his gift of understanding manpain to all the world.  And so began Umberto’s move away from isolation and toward the present day where we see him now telling his stories, sadly, but sadly in a charismatic way.  We are enthralled and want to hear more.

And the more we hear, the more the interaction between Umberto and Mike becomes intense.  More and more painful moments are brought up and the audience becomes invested and concerned as Umberto turns less serene in his moroseness, more desperate, confronting the truths he has yet to deal with.

Eventually the stories move to a climax, where Umberto looks like he might be willing to put all of his manpain behind him.  It looks like it could all begin to turn around finally, and then…

Well if I told you, I’d spoil the ending for you and rob you of the chance to see the great work that Emleigh Wolf and Mike Ogletree have put together, a capstone on the little journey that Umberto has been making at all the venues in the last few years, which the directing of Bricken Sparacino has helped to move to such a satisfying conclusion.

Well maybe I could give you the end but not the context, because Umberto would want to help us all find some better ways to handle our manpain:

“And now, my new friends, you’ve heard my whole story
The heartache, the torment, and even the glory
For every last man, there’s a pain deep inside
But how you handle that pain is for you to decide
You can allow it to keep you in a prison of woe
Or you can use it to help your inner self grow
Our despair has brought us the ultimate gain
And in that lies the essence of true manpain.
Well, manpain is the pain that men feel.
Not just any pain but the true emotional depths of a man’s soul.”

 

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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:

• The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Death: It Happens – Still Daddy’s Girl (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Following The Path Of Yoga
• Tina And Amy: Last Night In Paradise (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
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Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal

Written by and starring Emleigh Wolf
Directed by Bricken Sparacino
Also starring Mike Ogletree

Umberto MacDougal allows you to look through the window of his tragic manpain. With a beard full of tears and a melancholy guitarist playing a sorrowful tune, Umberto reveals the pain that men feel.

Show Times:

• Thu 2/23 @ 9:00pm
• Sun 2/26 @ 7:00pm
• Mon 2/27 @ 6:00pm
• Fri 3/2 @ 7:30pm
• Sat 3/3 @ 2:30pm

Answers by Emleigh Wolf

(Writer / Performer)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Emleigh: Umberto MacDougal’s mission in life is to educate people about manpain, the pain that men feel. To do this, he must relate his own personal manpain to the audience, and it is, indeed, terrible.

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?
Emleigh:
I’d have to invite B movie legend, Bruce Campbell because he’s a big influence on my humor, and I’ve embraced a certain cheesiness to my style because of him. Also, I’m a big fangirl.

I think Vincent Price would have really enjoyed it. People remember him for being scary, but if you’re a fan of his films, you know a lot of the terror came from a place of solid manpain. He also employed some excellent facial hair.

Dawn French is one of my absolute heroes in comedy, and I think she’d get a very nice giggle out of The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal.

Iain Banks would be a great person to invite. So much of his non sci-fi fiction was all about sad Scotsmen. He was very influential in the developmental stages of Umberto since I was pouring over his books at the time.

Is it just past and present? Can I do fictional characters? Because it would be kinda badass to invite Xena…just on general principle. Can I say Xena? I’m gonna say Xena.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Emleigh: My sanity, and I’ll let you know.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Emleigh:I think the most unexpected thing is how sympathetic Umberto actually turned out to be. As much as you are meant to be laughing at his misfortune, I’ve found, developing the character in front of audiences, that both men and women can find a certain empathy for him while still enjoying a good chuckle.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Emleigh:I hope they take away that awesome feeling you get from laughing so hard your gut hurts a little. I also hope they walk away thinking about manpain and how it affects their lives.

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?

Emleigh:I’m throwing down Scissors at Death, It Happens….

Heeeey – isn’t Bricken Sparacino of Death, It Happens the same Bricken Sparacino who is directing The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal ?  The same Bricken who threw a ROCK at Umberto MacDougal?  The SAME Bricken Sparacino who Rabbit Island DELIBERATELY lost the match to?  AND the SAME Bricken Sparacino who “invited” others to lose to her?  Hey!  I’m starting to get the picture!  Bricken Sparacino appears to be the Godmother of the Five Frigid Families isn’t she? (Frigid Mafia?  Ciò è questo Frigid Mafia?)  Well – we’re on to you Bricken!  And if you wind up winning this whole Tournament of Deaaaaath … we’ll know to have a really good prize for you.  Ma’am.

Okay!  Back to you, Miz MacDougal.  So – one rock thrown by Death, It Happens.  That’s a LOSS.

One more rock thrown at you by Chlamydia – another LOSS.

Talk about Manpain!  Things are not looking good for the Scotsman – brought down by Death and Chlamydia.  Ooof.

Thanks The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal 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 The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal!

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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:

• The Terrible Manpain Of Umberto MacDougal: The Total Package Of Manpain (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Death, It Happens: A Girl’s Guide To Death – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
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• Drowning Ophelia: A New Rock Musical – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Big Plastic Heroes: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)