One of the best things about the Frigid Festival as a whole is how innovative, experimental, unfiltered and uninhibited it is.  But that’s nothing compared to what happens each night, for while the last show of the evening is taking its bows, UNDER St. Marks gears up for its traditional midnight show.  For five years now there’s been no greater testament to the wealth of talent that gathers for the festival than The CANUCK CABARET which is – yes – a Cabaret but also a bawdy playground where talented performers from Canada and parts south (that would be the good ole US of A to you and me) get an opportunity to congregate in that 45 seat theatre we love after all the FRIGID hub-bub of the day is over.  There, performers and audience and anyone who wants to be there, can experience some amazing performances, and in general just have a blast.  The good news?  There are still a few more midnights to go … The Cabaret is still at full tilt and you’re invited!  The bad news?  After a great 5 year run this is the last year for these Canadians so miss this now and you’ll miss it FOREVAH.

To review the show I saw and then tell you that your experience will be the same is kinda pointless – as well as besides the point.  One doesn’t go down those rickety stairs with a playbook – nor would you want to.  It’s the unexpected, the serendipity of specific audience melding with specific performers that make the magic that you experience. Hell, there’s not even a set running time.  Just arrive at midnight and surrender yourself to the river of performance that will flow.

Paul Hutcheson [photo credit: KL Thomas]

Two things are constant however: the bar IS always open and the show IS always hosted by the appealing comedic performer Paul Hutcheson who takes care of warming up the crowd, giving introductions and keeping the whole thing moving. I just wanted to convince him to move to NYC so that we could see more of each other – that’s how much fun Hutcheson is, not only as host but as performer — and if his stand up is to be believed then that’s how much fun he is as a person, period.  I think the New York scene needs a few more Paul Hutchesons.

Sharon Nowlan [photo credit: KL Thomas]

Revving up the crowd and starting things off RIGHT was Sharon Nowlan who did a little burlesque – Canada style. Which – according to me means lights turned down low while she swirled glowing things in the air.  With perfectly placed maple leafs (yes I said “maple leafs”) she charmed not once, but twice and her closing number (almost 2 hours later) was as delightful as her first performance.

Chris Wilson [photo credit: KL Thomas]

Chris Wilson who is from  Toronto got the crowd going with a skit involving a coach taking over a health class for the day. Things get a little twitchy when anonymous questions like “what is love” and other sex-related queries are answered with sports metaphors.

Fay Slift – The Ladybearextraordinaire – was decked out in full tutu, wig and glorious beard. Fay’s first number took the crowd soaring through a pop landscape but later on the audience was on its feet (or at least bouncing in its chair) as Fay raced about in a whole new ensemble – all foam hair and Minnie Mouse hands and perfect “are you gonna stay the night” eyelash batting. Yes, Fay! Yes! We WILL

Matt Panesh – Monkey Poet - was there in all his tall loveliness with that amazing accent pouring out of him.  He gave his background which had a little Liverpool smashed in with a little Manchester and so much more – all I can say is listening to him recite his poetry is something to behold.  I’d seen him all day at the Kraine handing out flyers and was already smitten – seeing him perform did not disappoint.

CJ Sawchyn [photo credit: KL Thomas]

CJ Sawchyn (Steve Nuggett) of the notorious musical sketch company THE SPECIALS, was there doing something so brilliant it’s impossible to describe.  Suffice to say this guy makes Keith Richards look like your grandmother’s canasta partner.

Antonia Lassar (who is one half of the FRIGID show TINA and AMY) was there with her super good friend (and kissing buddy – and ovary smasher)  Artem Yatsunov (director of BASIC HELP). First of all, seeing them together made me understand why they were so sweet together in their 10 THINGS TO KNOW interviews. Ahh! So obvious. Secondly, seeing them together was just great fun – they sang songs while Antonia strummed the ukulele and told a story that involved a trip to the emergency room after an incident involving (yes, you guess it) Antonia’s ovary. Let me say right now – since seeing this show I have sung the phrase “Big dickery” more times than I can count. That’s the way to do it A&A. THAT’S THE WAY TO DO IT.

Jillian Thomas [photo credit: KL Thomas]

Jillian Thomas – originally from Canada but recently moved to NYC after marrying a man who heckled her – not only did some great stand up that illustrated her comedic chops, but she told even MORE stories about host Paul Hutcheson involving a live sex show that made me envy her a little more.

Una Osato, a performer I’ve enjoyed for her work in prior FRIGID shows (notably JapJAP) didn’t disappoint as she took to the stage in a giant Orca costume and swam to that Free Willy song slowly shedding her costume until she was in all

Una Osato [photo credit: KL Thomas]

her glory – save for pasties and a thong –  celebrating her sweet parts, even those that jiggled – and as the audience cheered and urged her on she jumped high into the sky (or as high as the basement ceiling of USM will allow) and let those babies (or do I mean boobies?) fly free.

Rebecca Parry [photo credit: KL Thomas]

Rebecca Parry of the Frigid show Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl was there too – wooing the crowd with some songs from Suzy Snowflake Entertains The Troops and her red hair and red dress and red-hot number proved that this firecracker from Canada is more than just a pretty shade of claret – she went down as smooth as a fine burgundy.

By the time Paul Hutcheson and Sharon Nowlan were back to do one final closing number that involved fans and flutters and a Pink ballad I was all teary eyed for this Cabaret. In a city that never sleeps this show comes on at prime time. So take the next few available midnights and spend them at UNDER St. Marks where you’ll be treated like an old friend. Do it before they’re gone forever.

~~~
THE CANUCK CABARET
Hosted by: comedic performer Paul Hutcheson

Remaining Performances:
Mar 06, 12:00AM
Mar 07, 12:00AM
Mar 08, 12:00AM

Running time: 1 h 0 min
Price: $5.00

Seating: General Admission

UNDER St Marks
94 St Marks Place
New York , New York 10009
1st Ave and Ave A
2nd and 3rd Ave

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444. 

Related Posts:

• THE CANUCK CABARET: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Tina And Amy: Last Night In Paradise (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• Almost A Genius (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• Get STUPEFIED By Paul Hutcheson
• Dandy Darkly’s Trigger Happy!: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

I Shall Forget You Presently (Amy Overman/Nicole Lee Aiossa/Cara Moretto/Jennifer Gill/Rachel Grundy) [Photo by Theresa Unfried]

She was a woman … a poet … a lover.

She was found at the bottom of the stairs.

She made the city – she WAS the city.  She was from the country.

I’d never read her …

These are some of the overlapping and recurring words of The Dysfunctional Theatre Company‘s theatrical piece I Shall Forget You Presently – a gorgeous dollop of theatre as evocative as a poem – magical, alluring – a love letter to a writer who wrote of love … and of more than love.  You may have only vague notions of who Edna St. Vincent Millay was (she was a poet) or may dismiss her work (I’d never read her) because, like so many misconceptions, her time of birth seems to place her as someone from a by-gone era who would be out of touch with anything that your own life may reflect in this “modern world”.

Fortunately this beautiful homage written by Amy Overman and Eric Chase (who also directs) gives you not only a way to interact with Millay’s work, but a way to fall in love with it, as I did.  Now playing as part of the Frigid New York Festival it has but one show left in its short run – all the more reason to read this review quickly so that you can get those tickets by clicking the link provided at the end.

Chase must have the soul of a poet himself, for his direction of this piece is as redolent and as transporting as any good piece of poetry can and should be.  He not only makes Millay’s world come alive, but he makes her words rise up, shimmer, beckon.

The play is constructed as a play about poetry – and a poet – must be: filled with overlapping words and music, meaningful repetition that changes in nuance with each utterance, joyous patter set to an evocative tempo, all interwoven with soulful music and soaring arias

I Shall Forget You Presently ( Nicole Lee Aiossa & Rachel Grundy) [photo by Theresa Unfried]

With all the actresses having their turn at being Edna St. Vincent Millay (and some stepping into the shoes of her sister, Norma) the audience is brought several versions of the woman as interpreted through the mannerisms, postures and affectations of Nicole Lee Aiossa, Jennifer Gill, Rachel Grundy, Cara Moretto and Amy Overman. This effect gives us a Millay who is in turn playful, direct, authentic, romantic, yearning, and most of all – in every way -seductive.  This makes the entire cast – including the wonderful men who support by playing Millay’s lovers, friends and husband (Rob Brown, Adam Files and Adam Swiderski) quite seductive in their own right.  This is a true ensemble piece, melding, moving, catching up where another leaves off.  As a cast The Dysfunctional Theatre Company is as in tune with their subject, and with their execution of the material as the poet herself was with her own creative voice.

Edna St. Vincent Millay [photo: Carl Van Vechten Archive at the Smithsonian]

Overman and Chase’s script – when not giving us snippets of poetry – give us a Millay who is shockingly accessible and raffish.  ”Vincent” (as some friends called her) smoked, she drank, “she cursed and cut classes but she turned in work that was brilliant” … these days those things are not diametrically opposed.

It’s always shocking to realize — or rather reintegrate – the evidence that people were sexy and seductive in earlier centuries.  As if the same sepia tones which color their fading photographs somehow scrub them clean of any impure thoughts.  As if only our generation, or perhaps the one prior, invented longing, aching, frustration, confusion,

And if I loved you Wednesday,
Well, what is that to you?
I do not love you Thursday—
So much is true.

And why you come complaining
Is more than I can see.
I loved you Wednesday,—yes—but what
Is that to me?

– “Thursday”  Edna St. Vincent Millay

But consider the biblical Bathsheba (mentioned in one interlude) whose seductive bath scene witnessed by David was as vivid and ribald as any webcam show.  These are the connections Millay was offering up – and suddenly we realize that her discovery of prior centuries of lust is as surprising to her as ours is of her generation.  Simply because people used more elegant and evocative language to discuss their urges doesn’t mean the fires weren’t burning with as much sizzle and steam as our own great love affairs.

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
– “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII)” Edna St. Vincent Millay 

At the end a teary eyed Cara Moretto addressed the audience as Edna and intoned Millay’s “First Fig”

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!

At this point my eyes were filled with tears as well – not just because I’d been so touched, so transported by what I’d just seen, but at the fact that these words had meant so much to me for so long – had been quoted by me, had been written in my diary at both triumphant as well as desperate moments, yet I had never bothered to cite the author for I had never known who it was.  Wait.  Just sit with that for a moment.  I had never known who had written words I had quoted hundreds of times.  It was both shaming as well as galvanizing.  I couldn’t wait to dive headlong into more Millay.

“To know a great poet is a painful but precious privilege” says one of the characters in Presently, and so to know this great theatrical performance is both a painful but precious privilege.  Painful for the brevity and fleetingness of it – painful for the travesty of never discovering this eloquent ebullient poet until now.  But most definitely a precious privilege.  Thank you, Dysfunctional Theatre Company, for capturing so hauntingly, so lushly, and so deeply the work of a poet who was a woman … a poet … a lover.  A woman – found at the bottom of the stairs.

~~~

I Shall Forget You Presently
Company: Dysfunctional Theatre Company
Written by: Eric Chase and Amy Overman
~BASED ON THE WORKS OF EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY~
Directed by: Eric Chase

Remaining Performance:
Mar 06, 5:30PM

Click HERE for tickets

Running time: 1 h 0 min
Price: $12.00 – $15.00
Seating: General Admission

The Kraine Theater
85 E. 4th Street
New York , New York 10003
2nd and 3rd Ave

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444. 

Related Posts:

• I Shall Forget You Presently: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Ed Wood Lives And Is Better Than Ever: Final Curtain, The Last of Ed Wood
• The Dirty Blondes Talk About SEX
• THE CANUCK CABARET (2014 Frigid New York Festival)
• Delving Into DARK WATER With Diánna Martin

In two weeks MTWorks will be producing the world premiere of David Stallings’ DARK WATER, directed by one of my favorite directors, Heather Cohn.  DARK WATER is about the ramifications of the Gulf oil spill, which began on April 20, 2010 and caused extensive damage to wildlife and marine habitats.  Although the accidental marine oil spill was eventually capped by mid September of that same year, detrimental ramifications continue to exist along the shoreline of Louisiana and as far as the Florida panhandle.

Stallings’ DARK WATER uses poetry, allegory, music, puppetry and movement to create this magical world as the animals of Louisiana face the ultimate threat to their lives. Diánna Martin plays Barnacle, an old sea turtle, who is fighting against man’s destruction, nature’s wrath, and her enemies of the wild to save her children trapped in the spill.  We were thrilled to be able to chat with her about DARK WATER.  Read on as she tells us about the challenges of transforming into a turtle, the ways this play takes her out of her comfort zone, and the ways in which preparing to play Barnacle affected her.

Diánna Martin, you’re currently preparing for your lead role in David Stallings’ DARK WATER, a contemporary fable about the Louisiana oil spill. Tell me a little about the play.

DM: Dark Water is a beautiful tale about a mother trying to save her children during one of the darkest times in our history on an environmental scale (and basically, in my opinion, on any scale). In the play, the oil has spilled, it’s headed toward all the marine life in the area as well as the land, and I am trying to get my children to safety. Barnacle encounters all different types of people (animals) as she tries to make her way to her kids, some of whom are not very nice. It brings together a myriad of characters that we may recognize for whom they represent but their story is unique.

We discover things about the spill as well as these characters, while showing the day in the life of what it must have been to try to live through this. Empathy is one of the greatest gifts we have been given as a species, if we care to use it, in my opinion, and it is my belief that this production engages the audience in a way that will provoke discussion and indeed empathy for creatures whose desires in life may not be so different from our own as a species.

All of the characters are animals. As an actress, how do you work to find that sweet spot which blends animal characteristics with human expression? How do you find that truth in order to bring BARNACLE to life in the purest way?

DM: Well, regarding general physicality, it’s been a group effort in finding what are some mannerisms that are human, but that seem appropriate for the particular animal, at least in way of greetings and whatnot.

However I find the majority of it is in focusing on my journey, which is very human: to save my children. Add in that I’m a loving mother who has lived a long, long time and seen a lot in this world; and keeping in mind what my creature is (a lumbering, much older turtle who can go slow on land, fast in the water, and who is also very grounded and powerful). Also bringing in location and the lovely dialogue that has been provided gives me a way to go forward.

My boyfriend teased me that I was going to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for his first time seeing me on stage, and I laughed because that is so NOT what one will see in this production. We are seeing characters who are animals in a set of given circumstances within a parameter that we as humans can understand. And as we work on characters we realize more and more their lives and live their plights and their joys. I think people will be surprised and delighted at what they see.

This play is very multi-dynamic filled with music, dance, puppetry, projections and song. Do you find this taking you out of your comfort zone? 

DM: Indeed! I am very much out of my comfort zone, but that’s a good thing…it’s the only way one grows. I am singing in the play, which is new to me. Although I have sung once before in a play, it’s not something I am used to at all. I used to do choir in college, used to do back-up vocals playing out in NYC for a singer/songwriter, and I can do a mean karaoke when among friends. It’s actually very scary for me. People don’t realize this but I’m really shy about a lot. That’s one of those things.

Even though my uber dream is to rock out in a chick rock band.

Has this role brought up any discussions – either with other cast members or with friends and family – about the oil spill that were deeper, richer, or more heartfelt than what was sparked by the original incident? 

DM: Well, I won’t go into conversations, since they sometimes ended up with me yelling at someone using language not appropriate for this interview. ;) However, I can tell you that I have learned so much from doing this play.

As you know, I am an animal person and have always considered myself a champion for the environment. However, I have to be honest that originally the reality of all the marine and avian life that were affected by this crisis for a long while was more of a concept or idea. A concept that I saw but didn’t feel as deeply

I mean, do folks know that they set the oil on the water on fire to try to burn it up to “get rid of it” and hide their tracks? Think about that for a minute…any animals caught up in the water that might have actually survived suddenly just set on fire. If we put ourselves in their shoes…well, that must have been even more terrifying.

When doing research for the play, I started looking up the different animals with whom Barnacle comes into contact in the show. Of course I grew up with channel 13 animal specials and have seen these creatures, but as I began to really look into them, I felt for them more and more.

Then one day I was looking up the Sheepshead fish, of course kind of blown away by the teeth on the critter. But as I searched YouTube desperately trying to find imagery of the fish in its natural habitat, all I could find was one video after another of: how to cook it, how to catch it, how to kill it; lengthy videos of a fisherman holding the poor thing out of water to show to the camera the teeth and laughing, while the animal is suffering. Drowning on air, basically.

I was aghast at the casual cruelty and inability for me to even see what this animal looks like living it’s life because all that was available were vids of people killing it. That kind of hit home. I eat fish, but I eat them, I don’t torture them.

On top of it, in this production we are all actors who are animals – but they appear as humans in this play. They have the same needs and desires as we do – to live, to eat, to love, to endure. Being able to play it on that level also really made their plight all the more real for me.

What are some moments of the play that are your favorites to perform?

DM:  Well, I would tell you, but that would give it away…

Suffice to say that for the most part it is anything having to do with either being a devoted mother…or taking to task those who get in my way.

There’s an extraordinary team being brought together for this production. It’s clear that a lot of thought is going into the set design, the costumes, etc. Share with us some of your impressions of what we’ll see, and what kind of world this team has created for DARK WATER.

DM: I am truly amazed at the level of ingenuity and talent that has lent itself to this production. Some of the artists I have worked with before, some I have not, but I am thrilled to be a part of what is happening here. We have seen renderings, and I can’t wait to see what they bring for us to work with. The fact that we are being transported under the ocean as well as on land is just amazing. It’s going to be like a playground for the actors.

My costume is going to be great, too. I’m really just so excited, I can’t wait until we can get into tech and play.

Finally, Diánna - anyone who knows you knows you’re a big animal lover. For other animal lovers who may want to know, will this play leave them broken hearted, galvanized or uplifted?

DM:  Oh, man – I hope it’s a combination of all three. That’s what the play does for me.

I hope it’s a wake-up call to those who are desensitized to what the reality of this oil spill meant and means to the thousands of creatures who died slow and painful deaths, the animals that continue to be born with defects, and to the pollutants that effected the ecosystem, the plants, ocean, and humans as well.

It is an uplifting play that will break your heart while calling you to action. ;)

–

Thanks so much for hanging out with us, Diánna, and for giving us so much to think about!  For the rest of you, don’t forget to check out DARK WATER – info below.

~~~

DARK WATER plays the following schedule through Saturday, March 29: 

Week 1:
Friday, March 14th at 8pm
Saturday, March 15th at 8pm
Sunday, March 16th at 2pm

Week 2:
OPENING NIGHT :: Monday, March 17th at 7pm
Thursday, March 20th at 8pm (followed by panel discussion)
Friday, March 21st at 8pm
Saturday, March 22nd at 8pm
Sunday, March 23rd at 2pm

Week 3:
Thursday, March 27th at 8pm
Friday, March 28th at 8pm
Saturday, March 29th at 8pm

Opening Night performance followed by short reception.

Advance tickets are $18 ($15 Students/$12 Seniors) and are available online or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to performance.

Running Time: 90 min. One intermission.

The Theater at the 14th Street Y is located on 344 East 14th Street (at 1st Avenue)

By Subway: L to 1st Avenue
By Bus: M14 or M15 to 14th and 1st

Related Posts:

• The Stranger To Kindness: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The 2012 National Newborn Festival Is Almost Here!
• The National Newborn Festival: Celebrating Emerging Playwrights In Style
• Win Tickets To Barrier Island
• Ever Seen A “NewBorn” Play? (Part 1)

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

I Shall Forget You Presently – Jennifer Gill & Amy Overman Photo by Theresa Unfried

I Shall Forget You Presently

The Dysfunctional Theatre Company

Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!
Funny and sexy, sacred and profane — Poetry, music and memories form a patchwork, spiraling through the life of Edna St. Vincent Millay – a woman who captured love, defined feminism and shaped the 20th century.

Show Times:

• Wed 02/19 @ 8:40pm
• Sat 02/22 @ 3:40pm
• Fri 02/28 @ 8:40pm
• Sun 03/2 @ 6:50pm
• Thu 03/6 @ 5:30pm

Answers by Amy Overman
(Co-Writer/Actor/Producer)

1. Your tag line is out there on postcards and press releases 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?

AO: Our play is based off the poems, life and other writings of Edna St. Vincent Millay. If you’ve never read her, she wrote some of the most beautiful, funny, sexy poems of the 20th century.

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?

AO: The poetry. We all really want more people to realize just how amazing Edna was. But I think people will be talking about the scene between Edna and her sister Norma where they darn socks and teach themselves to swear – stitch/shit, stitch/fuck… you get the idea.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?

AO: Character, definitely. Then theme. Plot is not a big part of our show.

4. In rehearsals, read-thrus, or prior incarnations, what’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you (or the team) the most proud?

AO: The show began as a 10 minute piece as part of the Tiny Theater Festival at The Brick in Williamsburg and my favorite thing one of our audience members said was that it was lovely. We’ve tried to keep that lovely dreaminess from the original show and add on to that. It started as four actresses in a 6x6x6 box – and now we’ve expanded to a cast of 8 actresses and actors (including performers doubling as musicians), 60 minutes in length and taking up the whole stage at the Kraine. Also as it got bigger the show got a lot funnier.

5. Let’s fantasize for a moment. Let’s take the “off-off” off. Imagine this show is on Broadway. Would that change the production itself?

AO: We would love to have a huge elaborate set with things flying in and rolling on and off stage. The whole show is so surreal that being able to have a table or a sheep appear out of nowhere would be so fun. Also costumes. The time period goes from around 1912 to the 1940′s – so fabulous vintage costumes, preferably with lots of beads and sparkles, wigs, jewelry… I have to stop thinking about it now before I start drooling.

6. Taking that one step further – after paying everyone what they’re worth of course, what is the most lavish, luxurious, pointless thing you would spend money on if there was no constraints?

AO: Well, I think I pretty much already answered that – maybe we could all have real jewelry? And new, top notch instruments for all of our musicians? I think they’d like that. Hell, we could probably use it to have a few dedicated musicians too.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, a gesture … anything at all in the show that you anticipate may get a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?

AO: I have a line where I say “This is a play about shepherds.” and our director always cracks up. I am 90% sure that the audience will never find this line as funny as he does.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?

AO:  My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my friends, and oh, my foes –
It gives a lovely light!

(First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay)

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?

AO: Yes and no. Our play is based on real people and real events, but the actual world of the play itself is not very realistic – unless the people you know regularly break into song, poetry and profanity.

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?

AO: Edna and Norma. I’m shocked because they’ve both been dead for some time, but I’m thrilled because I think they would love the piece.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?

CHALLENGES: Boogie of the Apes.

THROWS: And I’d throw paper.  The apes would be totally confused by it.

CHALLENGED BY: The Canuck Cabaret.

Well – I Shall Forget You  … You are in LUCK!  Very very very big LUCK!  Because not only did Apes throw rock giving you the WIN but Canuck Cabaret who took on EVERYONE threw ROCK as well giving you ANOTHER WIN!!!!  That’s NO losses, NO draws, and TWO WINS!!!! Ding Ding DIIIIING!!!! Do your victory dance, you’ve earned it!

Thanks I Shall Forget You Presently for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2014 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially PAPER in any and all challenges. You may win, you may lose – 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 I Shall Forget You Presently !

~~~

~~~

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444.

Related Posts:

• Petunia And Chicken: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• East In Red: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• PROFESSOR RALPH’S LOSS OF BREATH: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• SHOOTING ABE: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Something Wicked: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)