by The Happiest Medium on February 18, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
I’m Only Explaining This Once
Written & Performed by Moe Rosen – New York, NY
Hi I’m Moe. I changed my name last year. This show is about why. It’s hard to explain, so I like to do it in large groups to save time.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 11pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 5pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 2pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 9:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 6:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 5pm
Answers by Moe Rosen
(Writer / Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Moe: The title has to do with my name and changing it, that is so impossible to understand that I literally had to write a one man show about it in order to explain it to friends.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 17, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Man Saved By Condiments!
Company: Theatre Arlo
Based on the true story of a man whose car went off a bridge, broke his hip, and survived for five days by eating the packets of condiments he found under his seat.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 9:30pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 11pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 3:30pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 6:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 11pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 9:30pm
Answers by Bill Stiteler
(Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Bill: It’s based on the true story of a man who was trapped in his car for five days. He survived for five days by eating condiment packets.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 17, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Musical Pawns
Company: Lost Music Productions
Musical Pawns mixes fact and fantasy, humor and pathos in attempting to explain why David Nowakowsky’s musical masterpieces have disappeared for almost 100 years. A musical treat by North America’s best singing actors.
Show Times:
- Fri 2/24 @ 5:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 4:00pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 9:00pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 6:00pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 8:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Ron Graner
(Writer/Producer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Ron: They were “Musical Pawns” in a deadly game of political chess.
There are many governments who still try to suppress the arts and especially music. In Turkey it is still dangerous to play Kurdish folk-tunes. The government fears the music may spur “Nationalist feelings” among the Kurds, who will try to separate from the country and form their own independent state. Cambodian music and dance found safe refuge in Canada and the United States and other Western democracies during the Kymer Rouge period, before being restored to its original home. . There are many, many examples where music, poetry and religion are considered dangerous. Think of what’s happening now in Tibet! Even Elvis Presley, and The Bare Naked Ladies have had their troubles with bureaucracy and they live(d) in a modern democracy!
In the case of David Nowakowsky (1848-1921) his music disappeared until 1989. Even his tomb-stone was destroyed!
I am trying to tell the story as political satire, and to have as much fun with the political absurdities as I can. The music is drop-dead gorgeous. The Dance numbers are insanely funny. I can say this in all modesty, because I only wrote the words. The music (for the most part) is Nowakowsky’s and the dances were created by Sean Hawk, one of our multi-talented singing-acting-dancing performers.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 16, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Company: Crowning Monkey Productions
Written by: Rachelle Elie
Fringe veteran and winner of the 2008 Ottawa Fringe Festival Outstanding Comedy Award, Rachelle Elie returns with a dazzling new show about Haitian fathers, Kenyan night clubs, and aging Barbies.
Show Times:
- Fri 2/24 @ 8:00pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 6:30pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 6:30pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 6:30pm
- Sun 3/3 @ 6:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:00pm
Answers by Rachelle Elie
(Writer / Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Rachelle: INTRO… I had just returned from Kenya and found the experience left me feeling overwhelmed with tears of joy and sadness. When girls grow up, have kids, and get married, and pursue a satisfying carreer…or not get married, not have kids but pursue a career, we’re expected to get our emotions together and we’re not supposed to cry. The reality is that we do cry and we want to cry. We also live in a society where people shut themselves off from their emotions and my job is to delve deeply into feelings and share them with the world.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 16, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
The Traveling Musicians
Company: 3 Sticks
Music by Andrew Lynch
Inspired by the Grimm fairy tale, The Traveling Musicians chronicles the tumultuous career of the greatest animal rock band to ever break out of the cage and on the stage in this one of a kind theatrical rock show.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 6pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 4pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 7:30pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 1pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 5:30pm
Answers by Andrew Lynch
(Composer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Andrew: Our show is inspired by the Grimm Brothers fairy tale The Musicians of Brementown, sometimes referred to as the Traveling Musicians. While the title is not terribly original, we hope our animal glam rock band interpretation is.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 16, 2012
Wendy Herlich is many things, but “awkward” is not one of them. In her new show An Evening of Awkward Romance currently playing at The Tank Ms. Herlich proves that she is not only a gifted writer with the ability to create short sketches which manage to be sweet, funny and (yes) awkward all at once, but she is also a deft comedic actress who can play any number of roles ranging from whimsical to deadpan with equal results: an audience that finds itself erupting in laughter as one scene after the next plays out.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 15, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Initium/Finis
Company: Theatre Reverb
Written by: Kristin Arnesen and Radoslaw Konopka
A sensual tale of violence and revolutions 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.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 8:00pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 9:30pm
- Tues 2/28 @ 8:00pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 8:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 8:00pm
Answers by Kristin Arnesen
(Co-creator, Designer, Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Kristin: Initium-beginning; Finis-end (Latin). When it’s connected it means “the beginning of the end.” We put a “/” in between the two words to imply a connection in their meaning and a reversibility of the terms. Our piece explores the connection between creation and destruction in a journey through East/West mythology and science fiction media. This piece is a section of a larger production we are developing so it comes at the beginning of our end times project and the title also fit the subject matter so that’s why we picked it– though it’s hard to pronounce so we are having second thoughts! The larger project we are working on is called “Reliquum” which has a double meaning: mortal remains, and things yet to be. We are hoping to finish it next year.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 15, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour
Company: Heroics in Hotpants
Directed by: Cyndi Freeman and Brad Lawrence
Cherry Pitz (Cyndi Freeman) and Scratch (Brad Lawrence) present a burlesque melodrama & variety show. Cherry wants to do a duet act like Sonny & Cher, Burns & Allen, or Captain & Tennille! In exchange Scratch wants Cherry’s soul.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 10:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 7:00pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 10:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 4:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 8:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Cyndi Freeman
(Writer/Performer/Director/Producer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Cyndi: The Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour is a show about how the Devll “Scratch” offers Cherry Pitz her wildest dream in exchange for her soul. Cherry’s dream is to have a Variety show Like Sonny and Cher, Captain & Tennille. And this is the show!
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by The Happiest Medium on February 14, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Big Plastic Heroes
Company: Plastic Thunder
What happens when you try to be your idol? Award-winning PBS special storyteller, Slash Coleman, and SexyNurd writer and performer, auGi, share the answer in their comical and painfully true double feature, Big Plastic Heroes.
Show Times:
- Fri 2/24 @ 6:00pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 2:30pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 10:30pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 10:30pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 5:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Slash Coleman
(Writer/Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Slash: I think most of us Gen X-ers have reached a nostalgic point in our lives. Now, instead of being embarrassed by the things that populated our childhood worlds, we’ve come to accept them as cool (probably because the rest of the world has embraced these things too). With my little miniature Evel Knievel figurine and his plastic motorcycle I spent hours alone in my room emulating my real-life hero. Hence the title – Big Plastic Heroes.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 13, 2012
There’s a terrific moment in Eddie Antar’s The Navigator when main character, Dave, is beginning to realize the true capabilities of his GPS system. Not only did the soothing female voice guide him to the proper exit, but she (albeit a bit cryptically) pointed him toward a great stock tip, gave him some advice on how to discipline his daughter, and – if that wasn’t enough – anticipated a huge accident and directed him off the highway in the nick of time. Not quite sure how it’s all working, Dave says “I like having answers but… how do I know what the questions are?”
And that’s really the heart of the this little gem of a play: getting the right answers to some questions? That’s good … great, even. But if you’re going to have the equivalent of a Magic Eight Ball that’s omniscient at your disposal, you need to know which questions to ask … because if you’re not being selective about the questions, you’ll be tempted to ask that voice everything. Soon you’ll find you’ve given up the very thing that make you human: choosing. Failing. Getting back up again. What The Navigator does, and does wonderfully, is show the initial seduction, the subsequent joy, and the ultimate frustration of always knowing the next decision you make is absolutely the right one no matter how crazy it sounds.
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