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.

~~~

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)

 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. 

Kill The Band – Mock Bottom Mockumental CD Release Experience

Produced  by: Killer KIlly Productions
Directed by: Killy Dwyer + Bill Chambers

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. *A 13-song CD with a 12-page art/lyrics booklet is INCLUDED in the price of each ticket*

Show Times:

• Thursday June 27th and Saturday June 30th at 10pm

Answers by: Killy Dwyer and Bill Chambers
(The Wonder Twats)

 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?
I barely know how to explain it to the cast and crew – it’s pretty off the wall as my productions tend to be. It’s comedy. It’s a surreal, multimedia play. It’s performance art. It’s a mockumentary! It’s a CD release! It’s a party! At the heart, It’s a story about a band. It’s an accessible avant grade, expressionist, mostly live mocumentary of the journey towards making our new album, Mock Bottom.

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?
If it had to be one thing, hopefully it would be the music.  When they leave the show, they will have a copy of our new album in their hands. The whole show revolves around Kill The Band’s new CD, which is something we put a lot of time and passion into over the last 2 years. The show is ultimately about that: the process and the people, and above all, the musical result.  It’s the show you can take home!

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
Character. I have lots of character. Too much, probably. Wait. No. It’s theme. The play is conceptual in theme and is told (comically) through the 7 stages of grief. Yes. I said 7 stages. You may think there are 5 but KILL THE BAND needs 7. Trust me. Although, when I think about it, the plot is how the album developed over the last 2 years. Simply put: the thing that drives this show is the music from the album. And Jameson. Obviously.

4. What’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you the most proud?
Holly Hunter wandered into the theater one afternoon during rehearsals, and said “Oh sorry, are you guys rehearsing something?” Then she left. But she totally said that. *beams with pride*

 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?
Not much, except that my part would be played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a blonde wig and a tutu.

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).
There would be a scene in the middle of the show where we all go see Miss Saigon, and watch the meticulously recreated “helicopter scene.” Then suddenly out of nowhere, a guy dressed like Spider-Man falls from the rafters and seriously injures himself. And Holly Hunter would randomly walk in and say “Oh sorry, are you guys rehearsing something?”

7. Is there a scene, a moment, anything that gets a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
 This is the first time this show will be seen, but at one point, I will bring an audience member onto the stage and force them to be the band therapist in that particular scene. Audience participation can be a huge pay off or a huge disaster and I love the unpredictability of it. Risk is my favorite. Honestly? The whole show is a risk. Who releases an album like this? KILL THE BAND does. BOOM!

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
“Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie!” 
Oh wait, did you mean MY show?
“Don’t attack me with your happiness, I want you all to suffer for my art”. Which is the lyric of one of our songs.

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?
Absolutely, this IS my world.  It’s a wild, weird, weird world. The characters are real people that I know and love, playing themselves… it’s all essentially true. The narrative is definitely up for interpretation in many ways, an attempt to illustrate what’s going on in my own head… but the story is something that everyone can understand.  Breakdowns vs. break throughs.  Tragedy + time.  Issues with my mother.  I mean sure, one of the characters is a house plant, but that’s what my world is all about.  Join me.  Let’s let go of reality for a bit, eh?

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?
Oh my God, it’s ME! Is this all some sort of weird dream? Why am I the only one in the audience? OH NO!! IT’S A NIGHTMARE!!!

11. Time for Elevenses! Go to the mini-fridge of your fantasy hotel. What’s your dream 11:00am snack?
Sherried figs, on an extra-plain bagel. The rest is filled with mini-bar bottles of Jameson and a tiny Holly Hunter dressed as a leprechaun.

Thanks, Killy and Bill, for having your Elevenses with us here at THM!  We can’t wait to see Kill The Band – Mock Bottom Mockumental CD Release Experience!

If you’d like to catch Kill The Band – Mock Bottom Mockumental CD Release Experience at The Mini-Fridge Festival find out more by clicking this link.

~~~

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:

• 2nd Season Mini Fridge – Tasty, Filling And Leaving Audience Wanting More! (Jun 28, 2012 – Jul 04, 2012 )
• Last Looks At The Happiest Medium In 3-D – Pull Your Glasses Out
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s miniXMAS Spectacular!
• Mike Milazzo — Open Mike
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Bye Bye Bombay!

 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. 

Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s

miniXMAS Spectacular!

Written by: Gregory Levine

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 miniFRIDGE, 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!

Show Times:

• Friday June 29 @ 10pm

Answers by: Producers & Hosts
Gregory Levine and M. Leona Godin
 

 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?
Gregory & Godin: We’re hosting a showcase cabaret as delusional decadent siblings of centuries gone by.

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?
Godin: The seamless and hilarious interludes as the glue binding dynamic and well-curated acts.
Gregory:  How handsome and beautiful we were.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
Gregory & Godin:  As hosts, we have developed characters that entertain thanks to the time we’ve taken to have an implicit and sometimes explicit back story.

4. What’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you the most proud?
Gregory & Godin: “Wow, Gregory Levine and M. Leona Godin working together?! That’s brilliant and bound to be gothic!”

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?
Gregory & Godin:  Bigger wigs!

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).
Godin: Absurdly big wigs!
Gregory: And genuine opium in the pipes! Not that we advocate its use. And stay in school, kids.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, anything that gets a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
Gregory & Godin:  Well, there is just a hint of inappropriate sibling affection that sometimes takes audiences seconds to appreciate and others deny the innuendos until they burst out laughing helplessly or throw bibles.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
Gregory & Godin: Let them eat cake!

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?
Gregory & Godin: Yes, we try hard to promote the Eurotrash decadence of centuries past in our day to day lives with much success!

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?
Gregory & Godin: Richard Harris. He’s not only alive, and laughing at our show — he’s left some booze for the other audience members!

11. Time for Elevenses! Go to the mini-fridge of your fantasy hotel. What’s your dream 11:00am snack?
Gregory & Godin:  Champagne, fois gras and little cakes!

Thanks, Lord Gregory and Mademoiselle Godin, for having your Elevenses with us here at THM!  We can’t wait to see Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s miniXMAS Spectacular!!

If you’d like to catch Lord Gregory & Mademoiselle Godin’s miniXMAS Spectacular! at The Mini-Fridge Festival find out more by clicking this link.

~~~

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:

• 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 Bye Bye Bombay!
• It’s Time For Mini-Fridge Elevenses With Bible Burlesque!
• Grab A Snack From The Mini-Fridge
• Outskirts of Eden: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 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

  ***

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!