The Piperline

Dainty Cadaver Director Postmortem: John Hurley

2011-02-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Rounding out our stellar roster of directors is John Hurley, artistic director of Impetuous Theater Group, whose work I first got to know with last year’s Saturday Night Saloon run of Crystal Skillman’s HACK!: An I.T. Spaghetti Western and then, in short order, Impetuous and The Brick’s production of Crystal’s NYIT Award-winning The Vigil or the Guided Cradle. The humor, sharpness and adventurousness of John’s work in those pieces was translated in full effect to the Dainty Cadaver Team C production of This Is a Brick. This was surely the most avant-garde of the three finished plays, and he totally rocked it. Read on to find out how!

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What projects have you worked on in the past that have prepared you for the speed and strangeness of the Dainty Cadaver process?
I think directing any sort of 'downtown' theatre in this city is a little like operating in an ER during a black-out (but in this case we did it on purpose!). "The Vampire Cowboys' Saloon" helped me get addicted to the speed, but nothing prepared me for the 'strange' (though Jeff tried).

You all found amazing casts who seemed game for anything and completely keyed into the concept behind the project. What’s the secret?
I thought Jordi's answer to this was great (like all her answers) so almost want to say "dito", but... in addition I'll point out the sappy answer-- "trust"--not just actors trusting the director-- but! the all important Director trusting the Actors-- trusting them enough to let them be a heavy part of the creation of the work (even if it's just watching for their impulses and not allowing the actors to censor themselves). I think when actors feel ownership of the work-- they fight for it (even if it's weird). Unfortunately, I tend to just tell actors what to do and then throw fits and sob (which works remarkably well thanks to their empathetic nature!!!). But the prior answer is what I say in public.

What was the biggest surprise you encountered when reading the script for the first time?
The characters kept getting killed off!

What was the biggest challenge you faced when you actually started to stage the plays?
The disjointed structure.

Did you go into the process with any sort of overarching interpretation of what the story and action of the play were about, or did you just let the chips fall where they would?
Yes, (oddly enough) even though most of the pieces had nothing to do with one another-- that (in and of itself) became the "interpretation," or maybe that's just my justification but the wonderful thing about "art" is that no one will ever know (except of course if you read the next answer... drat!).

On a similar note, how aware were you of the individual voices of the writers while you were directing – did knowledge that the script was penned by six different writers affect the staging and performance style?
It gave me permission to have stylistic disunity, and it felt appropriate to alter the 'voice' of each scene as the author's voices changed, but... I didn't keep that as a pure 'concept' (which would have been more academic than anything else). For example, the last two scenes were the only ones (of the six) which used the same characters and setting-- the first of which had a dramatic tone, and the second a comedic. I had altered the tone/tempo of each of the first four pieces, but treated the final two as one tone, one tempo. I think I did a disservice to Mr Comtois' writing in doing so (as I turned his drama into melodrama), but it (for a variety of reasons) was what the evening (as a whole) needed (with all apologies to James). So... the answer is that it made me feel guilty.

If you received the unlikely news that we’d be bringing your Dainty Cadaver script to Broadway or BAM, what would be the biggest budget item you’d want to spring for?
I had to cut the blood f/x out of the show (because of time constraints). I would want blood. I would want a lake of blood (and perhaps a small boat to sail in it when the show's over).

Which dead or super-famous playwright would you most like to include in a future Dainty Cadaver?
Lillian Hellman (as a joke answer). Nikolai Gogol would be fun.

What’s next on the docket for you?
I'm directing something Crystal Skillman has yet to write for "NY Madness" in a few weeks (wait! this sounds like... what!?!?). Impetuous Theater Group is planning on producing Lickspittles, Buttonholers, and Damned Pernicious Go-Betweens by Johnna Adams at some point in 2011 (which is as awesome and epic as it's title!).

Anything you want to add that wasn’t accounted for in these questions? It never ceases to amaze me how much organization it takes to produce chaos (if you want the real quality stuff). I tip my hat to Piper McKenzie (in general) and Jeff Lewonczyk (in detail) for a wild, fun, stressful, and rewarding festival. Thanks!

Dainty Cadaver Director Postmortem: Hope Cartelli

2011-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s going to be hard for me to write an intro for Hope Cartelli, seeing as how she’s my wife, my creative partner of 13 years and the mother of my impending child. Maybe I’ll just say that she’s the co-Artistic Director of Piper McKenzie, that she’s directed some of our hit shows – most recently Bethlehem or Bust and Jeannine’s Abortion – and that she’s acted in pretty much all the rest. And she directed Dainty Cadaver, Team B. Did I miss anything, honey?

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What projects have you worked on in the past that have prepared you for the speed and strangeness of the Dainty Cadaver process?
Without a doubt, it's my participation as actor, director and producer in the Vampire Cowboys Saloon lo these past four years with Piper McKenzie and, this past season, playwright Crystal Skillman, that most prepared me for the whirlwind timing. Also talking/scheming over numerous brunches and glasses of wine and middle-of-the-workday Gchats with Jeff about how he wanted to try to do this crazy-ass thing.

You all found amazing casts who seemed game for anything and completely keyed into the concept behind the project. What’s the secret?
Promise free donuts and coffee and chocolate for rehearsals. Really though, I've just been damn lucky to constantly find actors who are very open to such projects over the years. I enjoy selling actors on the role I have them in mind for too - it helps me even more clearly define the character for myself. Also, stressing the parameters of such a project up front (the amount of time we were going to have - which can be a great selling point as, hey, it's only a week! - the resources available, and advertising the want to keep things fun and open for everyone involved) definitely helped.

What was the biggest surprise you encountered when reading the script for the first time?
How quickly the conceit that this was all taking place in 1993 was lost over the course of the script. Coming in a close 2nd: how the final scene reduced the cast list to just three characters out of what had previously grown to be 13 people. Oh, yeah, and the fact that the rules are changed completely by a character named The Blue Fairy right smack dab in the middle. Can I pick three biggest surprises?

What was the biggest challenge you faced when you actually started to stage the plays?
Scheduling 11 actors! And striving to present the six scenes somewhat seamlessly in the end - a repeated compliment the end product received from numerous audience members was that they weren't sure where one writer ended and the next started for large swaths of the piece and how enjoyable that made the whole affair.

Did you go into the process with any sort of overarching interpretation of what the story and action of the play were about, or did you just let the chips fall where they would?
The actors and I just let the script guide us and made decisions as questions came up. We were willing to entertain the incongruities and just let the piece evolve from a thriller into a sort of magical realism. It didn't hurt one little bit that the final playwright, Qui Nguyen, gave us the best out ever to explain what the audience just sat through: time travel. Works every time.

On a similar note, how aware were you of the individual voices of the writers while you were directing – did knowledge that the script was penned by six different writers affect the staging and performance style?
I know all of Team B's writers and that knowledge definitely informed how certain scenes were handled. For instance, it was very apparent to me that Matt Freeman's scene, featuring a couple who is brought back to life after being shot in the head, needed to play out as a typical lovers' spat if his (typically awesome) brand of comedy was going to play just right - it couldn't be labored or overly dramatic. But, for all the different places the script went, the writers stayed pretty damn true to the characters throughout, even though those characters were sometimes very different stylistically from each other: Dragnet cops and grungy teens and fairy tale mothers and Jersey truck drivers turned British time travelers. Yep.

If you received the unlikely news that we’d be bringing your Dainty Cadaver script to Broadway or BAM, what would be the biggest budget item you’d want to spring for?
I need the time machine from the final scene to be amazing and real - the fearless time traveler, Al, his "daughter", Lindsay, and the cop, Dellogrosso, need to lift off over the audience in their machine and hover there and then the finale could feature the three of them along with the rest of the characters from the show plus people and creatures from across time singing "Seasons of Love": FDR, Don Mattingly, any dinosaur, the Marx Brothers, St. Joan, Betty White, a Viking, etc.

Which dead or super-famous playwright would you most like to include in a future Dainty Cadaver?
Paying homage to my own Piper McKenzie, it would most certainly have to be Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz.

What changes or innovations would you suggest for future iterations of the Dainty Cadaver? Do you think the writers or directors should be given any additional kind of formal restraint?
I wouldn't change a thing. I realize I got to see a bit more of the process than a lot of the folks involved, but the rules as they were this time around really encouraged the writers to balance continuing the play with putting their own stamp on it, and let the directors and their actors find their own ways through the scripts. It made things challenging and exciting and just plain fun.

What’s next on the docket for you?
First, I get back to a bit of the ol' acting for Trav S.D. in his newest production at LaMaMa in March. Then I'm supposed to, like, chill out and have a baby in mid-April. At least that's what my midwife tells me.

Anything you want to add that wasn’t accounted for in these questions?
We're already figuring out Dainty Cadaver II, Electric Boogaloo. Keep your ear to the ground for more info on that. And thank you again to all who participated in this first one! ROCK.

Dainty Cadaver Director Postmortem: Jordana Williams

2011-02-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Thank you to one and all who attended Piper McKenzie’s Dainty Cadaver! As you may have seen if you attended or read about it on Facebook or whatever, the entire project was a smashing success. However, if you were following this blog, you realize that I didn’t profile the directors of the three teams’ projects. The truth is that their contributions to the project were immense – there wouldn’t have been performances without them, after all – and I wanted to profile them AFTER their work was finished, when they’d had a moment to reflect on the process and the final results.

First up is Jordana Williams, who did wonderful work on Team A’s script, which was eventually called Soul Piper. Jordana is one of the minds behind Gideon Productions, and I actually first saw (and was knocked to the floor by) her work on Mac Rogers’ amazing play Viral. I’ve since gone on to admire her work in two very different Mac-penned Saturday Night Saloon pieces, Mother Sacramento and Control Room. Take it away, Jordana!

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What projects have you worked on in the past that have prepared you for the speed and strangeness of the Dainty Cadaver process?
The 24-Hour Plays and the Vampire Cowboys' Saturday Night Saloon were the best prep for the speed. I've certainly done projects of comparable strangeness, but having the tone and circumstances change midstream was a new challenge.

You all found amazing casts who seemed game for anything and completely keyed into the concept behind the project. What’s the secret?
I guess the secret is sticking around long enough that you know enough amazing actors never to have to work with anyone jerky. I've also learned not to try too hard to talk anybody into doing a project. If someone begins a process grudgingly, that can really bring things down for everyone. Not that people don't come around sometimes, but you can't count on it.

What was the biggest surprise you encountered when reading the script for the first time?
How much sense it made overall. I was expecting way worse!

What was the biggest challenge you faced when you actually started to stage the plays?
Hmm... probably "A PARASITE emerges from DOCTOR FLETCHER’s face. "

Did you go into the process with any sort of overarching interpretation of what the story and action of the play were about, or did you just let the chips fall where they would?
I think I went in with a pretty strong sense of who the characters were and what many of the moments should be, but not much else. There were some thematic through-lines and a bunch of things that almost added up but not quite. Usually I'm pretty rigorous about creating a consistent world that coheres to its own internal logic, but for this project I got kind of jazzed about abandoning those concerns and seeing what the process became in their absence. Basically, in my mind, these characters existed in a world where the ground shifted beneath them on occasion, forcing them to rediscover their footing, reset their expectations and, in some cases, totally redefine themselves. The real trick was how quickly and completely the actors could immerse themselves in the various new paradigms, and I was knocked out by their facility and commitment.

On a similar note, how aware were you of the individual voices of the writers while you were directing – did knowledge that the script was penned by six different writers affect the staging and performance style?
Team A's writers made some valiant attempts to continue with what they were given, so the transitions were often less abrupt than they might have been. In a couple of cases, it seemed more like a writer's voice took over midway through their scene, which was neat. Having six different writers primarily affected the staging and performance style in that it felt like a permission slip to mix things up a bit – to go whole hog with a style element for a while and then abandon it entirely a few pages later, which felt kind of transgressive and really fun.

If you received the unlikely news that we’d be bringing your Dainty Cadaver script to Broadway or BAM, what would be the biggest budget item you’d want to spring for?
I actually really dug the low-fi nature of the production, because this process felt very much about showing the seams. I went kind of purposefully crappy with a bunch of the props and effects - even more so than was necessitated by time and budgetary limits - because it felt right. I wanted to see how truthfully and powerfully we could play these moments when, for instance, you've got a guy talking to a bright green sock puppet inches from his face.

On the other hand, it would be really frickin' cool to have the entire set transform into a full-on spaceship for the last 15 minutes of the play.

Which dead or super-famous playwright would you most like to include in a future Dainty Cadaver?
Maurice Maeterlinck (that one's for Mac).

What’s next on the docket for you?
We're making some decisions about what to do in the next few months and starting development of Mac Rogers' alien invasion trilogy, The Honeycomb. But I'm also going to take a little time off. My house is a damn mess and my kids are covered in something sticky.

Anything you want to add that wasn’t accounted for in these questions?
Oh, I feel like I've blathered on plenty. But I really am grateful that you guys brought me on to direct one of these crazy plays. It was a ridiculous amount of fun and I actually learned a lot too!

Dainty Cadaver: A Salute to Our Incapacitated Comrades

2011-01-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the Night of the Century! Team A’s Dainty Cadaver is performed LIVE – ON STAGE – with Teams B and C to follow over the coming days. I have posted all the Mad-Libs interviews that I have in my possession, but I would like to take a moment to honor those playwrights who, for a diversity of reasons – bad weeks at the day job, home Internet connection failures, just generally having genuinely better things to do – have been unable to participate. Here are a few words for each:

Maggie Cino was seriously one of the first people Piper McKenzie met when moving to NYC in 1999. Hope encountered Maggie at a FringeNYC photo shoot for the now-defunct Flatiron Magazine – a shoot that, prophetically, also featured Brick co-founder Robert Honeywell and Brick/PMcK stalwart Richard Harrington among its ranks. Then we, like, hung out and went to each other’s shows and stuff. She’s worked with us as a performer in such shows as Babylon Babylo n and Willy Nilly, and I even wrote a profile for Nytheatre.com about how swell I think she is. Now she’s writing for us as part of Team C!

If any playwright I know has forged the way for a middle ground between literate sophistication on the one hand and balls-out whup-ass on the other, it’s Qui Nguyen. His work as a playwright with Vampire Cowboys is galaxy-renowned; his work as a fight director has graced PMcK shows such as Macbeth Without Words and Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury; and his moxie as a producer of the Saturday Night Saloon put our immortal creations Lady Cryptozoologist and Killer High on the map. Now, we offer him the chance to discipline Team B with his blade of steel.

Playwright, blogger, visual artist – Carolyn Raship is a woman of many talents, all of which are tied up in the package of one single kick-ass lady. The Brick has seen her theater work through her contribution to the Baby Jesus One-Act Jubilee and a benefit performance of her play Antarctica, which, when you think about it, has an uncanny amount of overlap with the themes and concerns of PMcK. Support our sister-in-arms – by visiting her blog, Caviglia’s Cabinet of Curiosities, and by clapping for her words as part of Team B!

So yes, Mac Rogers has written fascinating, critically acclaimed plays such as Viral and Hail Satan, produced by his home company, Gideon Productions. He’s also an actor of great notoriety, what with his prostitute-killing turn in Nosedive Productions’ Adventures of Nervous-Boy and other noted theatrical outings. But does any of that really matter here? (shuffles through note-cards) Oh. Yes, it does. Mac is the only Dainty Cadaver playwright who is actually performing in his own work – which gives him the unfair advantage of being able to rewrite his lines on the sly, but such are the vagaries of independent theater production. Come see Team A tonight and try to trip him up!

As for me, well, you’ve heard enough about me this week. I’m a Team A playwright. I produced this damn thing. Come see it. Thanks!

Visions of Dainty Cadavers Dancing in Their Heads...

2011-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

I attended Team A's tech rehearsal that night, and, in addition to become greatly excited about seeing the performance staged tonight, I managed to snap a few crappy photos! (I am full of quaint and unexpected talents, but photography is not among them.) Of the 80 or so I took, exactly three are usable. And here they are!

Rebecca Comtois, late of Bethlehem or Bust, dressed as a chef. Holding a hammer.

Dainty Cadaver playwrights Mac Rogers and James Comtois, both of whom are performing in Team A. I have no idea who looks more confused.

Jennifer Gordon Thomas and Sean Williams play a scene. That's a steering wheel she's holding. ... OR IS IT???...

Dainty Cadaver To Be Published!

2011-01-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

Exciting news! Piper McKenzie's Dainty Cadaver is going to be published by Midway Journal in February! Now, even if you're not able to make it to his weekend's shows - or even if you can, and you're like, WTF does that script even LOOK like - you can pore over every word of these remarkable collaborations in the comfort of your own living room, massage parlor or casino-top penthouse-cum-secret-rocket. Relive the memories! Create new ones! Celebrate life! You can check out the current issue of Midway here. For those of us too lazy to click through to another website, here are a few words describing what Midway's all about:

Just off of I-94 and on the border between St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Midway, like any other state fairgrounds, is alive with a mix of energies and people. Its position as mid-way, as a place of boundary crossing, also reflects our vision for this journal. The work here complicates and questions the boundaries of genre, binary, and aesthetic. It offers surprises and ways of re-seeing, re-thinking, and re-feeling: a veritable banquet of literary fare. Which is why, in each new issue, we are honored to present work by both new and established writers alike.

We are looking to act not only as a bridge between aesthetics (and maybe even coasts) but we are looking to create a sense of place as well. And like any good fair, place is a relative term as the contents and attractions change frequently. So, if you’ve come here seeking the traditional quarterly magazine, well, you’ve come to the wrong place.

So get ready for the excitement - and thank you, Midway, for supporting this strange effort! There will be further updates when the journal is published - in the meantime, do you have your tickets yet for Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday???

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Rich Lovejoy

2011-01-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

Rich Lovejoy has his finger in a number of different pies. I first knew his work as an actor (via Eric Bland’s Death at Film Forum), and then directed him myself in our production of Trav S.D.’s Willy Nilly: A Musical Exploitation of the Most Far-Out Cult Murders of the Psychedelic Era. Then I find out about this whole writer thing, with his work on standout Brick shows Adventure Quest and A Brief History of Murder. He’s also an impresario, a filmmaker, a burlesque performer, and the Most Holy Incarnation of the Messiah for a smallish cult of agrarian-utopian anarchists based in rural Idaho. Team C cannot do without him.

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If I could rewrite the ending to any play it would be Caligula because someone (other than Chairhead) needs to get that elusive fucking moon.

No one’s gonna stop me from doing whatever it is I do in my spare time when I'm anywhere really.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was "This calls for straightforward naturalism!" Then, I thought "or maybe not." Finally, I enjoyed a sandwich.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was 4'33.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget to floss, for dental hygiene is vital.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I am a hollow shell.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be the power to vomit live fire ants when lonely.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury / Signifying boobies.

The first play I ever wrote was indulgent. After that I indulged.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be largely miraculous due to my desire to just keep fucking going on and on forever as though I have something important to say and that I have to say it using as many words as possible and repeating as much information as necessary to draw the point I'm trying to make out for as long as possible and far longer then is humanly decent because really I could just go on forever and it is only by happy accident (usually in the form of a well placed shiney object) that I even consider stopping once I've started to blather about incessently about things which really couldn't interest anyone unless they were interested in cool things like radios, board games, death and other topics which include food, basbeall and bolagna but certainly not anything that Praust ever wrote about when he said "Their honour precarious, their liberty provisional, lasting only until the discovery of their crime; their position unstable, like that of the poet who one day was feasted at every table, applauded in every theatre in London, and on the next was driven from every lodging, unable to find a pillow upon which to lay his head, turning the mill like Samson and saying like him: "The two sexes shall die, each in a place apart!"; excluded even, save on the days of general disaster when the majority rally round the victim as the Jews rallied round Dreyfus, from the sympathy--at times from the society--of their fellows, in whom they inspire only disgust at seeing themselves as they are, portrayed in a mirror which, ceasing to flatter them, accentuates every blemish that they have refused to observe in themselves, and makes them understand that what they have been calling their love (a thing to which, playing upon the word, they have by association annexed all that poetry, painting, music, chivalry, asceticism have contrived to add to love) springs not from an ideal of beauty which they have chosen but from an incurable malady; like the Jews again (save some who will associate only with others of their race and have always on their lips ritual words and consecrated pleasantries), shunning one another, seeking out those who are most directly their opposite, who do not desire their company, pardoning their rebuffs, moved to ecstasy by their condescension; but also brought into the company of their own kind by the ostracism that strikes them, the opprobrium under which they have fallen, having finally been invested, by a persecution similar to that of Israel, with the physical and moral characteristics of a race, sometimes beautiful, often hideous, finding (in spite of all the mockery with which he who, more closely blended with, better assimilated to the opposing race, is relatively, in appearance, the least inverted, heaps upon him who has remained more so) a relief in frequenting the society of their kind, and even some corroboration of their own life, so much so that, while steadfastly denying that they are a race (the name of which is the vilest of insults), those who succeed in concealing the fact that they belong to it they readily unmask, with a view less to injuring them, though they have no scruple about that, than to excusing themselves; and, going in search (as a doctor seeks cases of appendicitis) of cases of inversion in history, taking pleasure in recalling that Socrates was one of themselves, as the Israelites claim that Jesus was one of them, without reflecting that there were no abnormals when homosexuality was the norm, no anti-Christians before Christ, that the disgrace alone makes the crime because it has allowed to survive only those who remained obdurate to every warning, to every example, to every punishment, by virtue of an innate disposition so peculiar that it is more repugnant to other men (even though it may be accompanied by exalted moral qualities) than certain other vices which exclude those qualities, such as theft, cruelty, breach of faith, vices better understood and so more readily excused by the generality of men; forming a freemasonry far more extensive, more powerful and less suspected than that of the Lodges, for it rests upon an identity of tastes, needs, habits, dangers, apprenticeship, knowledge, traffic, glossary, and one in which the members themselves, who intend not to know one another, recognise one another immediately by natural or conventional, involuntary or deliberate signs which indicate one of his congeners to the beggar in the street, in the great nobleman whose carriage door he is shutting, to the father in the suitor for his daughter's hand, to him who has sought healing, absolution, defence, in the doctor, the priest, the barrister to whom he has had recourse; all of them obliged to protect their own secret but having their part in a secret shared with the others, which the rest of humanity does not suspect and which means that to them the most wildly improbable tales of adventure seem true, for in this romantic, anachronistic life the ambassador is a bosom friend of the felon, the prince, with a certain independence of action with which his aristocratic breeding has furnished him, and which the trembling little cit would lack, on leaving the duchess's party goes off to confer in private with the hooligan; a reprobate part of the human whole, but an important part, suspected where it does not exist, flaunting itself, insolent and unpunished, where its existence is never guessed; numbering its adherents everywhere, among the people, in the army, in the church, in the prison, on the throne; living, in short, at least to a great extent, in a playful and perilous intimacy with the men of the other race, provoking them, playing with them by speaking of its vice as of something alien to it; a game that is rendered easy by the blindness or duplicity of the others, a game that may be kept up for years until the day of the scandal, on which these lion-tamers are devoured; until then, obliged to make a secret of their lives, to turn away their eyes from the things on which they would naturally fasten them, to fasten them upon those from which they would naturally turn away, to change the gender of many of the words in their vocabulary, a social constraint, slight in comparison with the inward constraint which their vice, or what is improperly so called, imposes upon them with regard not so much now to others as to themselves, and in such a way that to themselves it does not appear a vice," hey you skipped to the end, didn't you?

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked in concord with my usual process by being a process involving writing.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be nightmarish.

Soylent Green and Soylent Green and Soylent Green: that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet affects the ways we make theater in that it exists.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the previous.

When walking down themiscellaneous screen somewhere in Daventry, King Graham picked up a tridentalong the shore. It belonged to Neptune, and King Graham had to return it.

In the beginning God createdsheep. And the sheep floated in the void, bleating into nothingness.

I couldn’t live without my brain, but the part of it I could live without is all that emotional damage.

Have you ever noticed thatthey are always like “Here is an example of how we are awful,” while we are always like “Those guys are awful?”What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmickperfection abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Eric Bland

2011-01-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Eric Bland - in company with the aforementioned Crystal Skillman - ranks as one of the very few living writers whose work we've produced (at least up until this project). Though on paper his play Jeannine's Abortion: A Play in One Trimester might seem to be an odd fit with PMcK, it turned out to be exactly the right show at the right time for us, and our co-production with Eric's company Old Kent Road Theater was one of our high points of last year. Of course, we've known Eric's work for several years before then, and we were happy to see so many of our friends and collaborators in his latest moving stage picture, Emancipatory Politics: A Romantic Tragedy. As Team A playwrights go, he's alright, I guess.

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If I could rewrite the ending to any book it would be Ulysses, because _no. ...Welllll, maybe, probably, but I'm not--I'm just, I'm almost definitely...there...I mean, most likely, ish, ishhhh, I'm very "ish" on this--no no no that's a GOOD thing! ...I am soooooo close to committing, you really are everything I ever wanted…baby. --Okay okay yes, for real, let's do it! Yes!

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget slavery.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I see Jeff has that wrapped up, so I took to reading the New York Review of Books and accidentally leaving it on my seat at the Brick to carve out a niche.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be SIDS.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That begets modernity, / Freud and his fraternity, / How Prufrock could discern a tea. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of Poundian sound and a Woolf's fury, / Signifying nothing but eternity.

The first play I ever wrote was whatever, I wrote reams of undelivered poetry to girls on the soccer team in high school while listening to Tool and Nirvana. After that I became less privately creepy.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be a better catch and sadder.

The courage to challenge old forms and a remarkable capacity for abstract, digressive thinking and hyper-curious minds that want to be taken to museums: that’s what little girls are made of.

In the beginning God created tarragon chicken salad with macadamia nuts (the macadamia nuts were in error, everyone fails, and the next dinner party was basically a bunch of people telling God how wonderful the whole spread was without directly comparing it to the first one when He put macadamia nuts in the chicken salad and you were like, "What is He thinking?" as you ate this otherwise decent salad only to suddenly arrive at a macadamia nut and it's like, your teeth, are they falling out, have they fallen--is THIS my tooth?!--I mean, each one was like a little terror you had to linger over, could those things, "What are these...small stones? Jawbreakers? Could you not FIND a softer nut at the grocery, I mean, God, did you really--'Suze, hey Suze, shhhh, but did He really do this? Macadamia nuts? I mean I'm not complaining but really, Suze. I mean really, it just makes one understand the concept of pity'")_.

Have you ever noticed that cellos are always like “I'm beautiful,” while cancers are always like “although I'm ravaging your body, I agree with the inexorable beauty of cellos?” What’s the deal?

The next project I'm involved with is writing 31Down's new show Here at Home, a meditation on war, premiering at the Bushwick Starr in May; and later on I will be working on an indeterminate, irruptive piece with Piper McKenzie. Yes!

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Alexis Sottile

2011-01-25T16:39:00.000-08:00

In summer 2001, I worked with Hope and Alexis Sottile on developing a show from scratch, and a week before opening we realized we’d gone off the rails – it was a big, dull, earnest, half-baked disaster. So we went to Veselka and sat there for a few hours breaking the show down to its component elements and then building it back up again – and, as a completely different play from what we had planned, it turned out pretty awesome. It was called A Different France, and it was about two high school girls causing mischief at a mall on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War. Alexis wrote most of her character’s material, and I was like, man, she’s good! Little did we know that 9/11 was around the corner – oops. Sorry about that. She’s most recently been seen as a performer in Emancipatory Politics and The Brandywine Distillery Fire at the Incubator Arts Project. Look out, Team B!

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The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was, well, to use one that didn't make it into the piece, "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," by UB40.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget [ED NOTE: I refuse to look up the rest of this quote for you, unless you pay me my hourly Google rate.]

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be vagina dentata.

The first play I ever wrote was "Freedom Song," when I was about 11 or 12 years old, about a girl who is half-swan/half-girl and who sings a song of freedom. After that I probably had a grilled cheese sandwich and swam in my Nana's pool.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be the lyrics to the song "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process by having me hand in a writing assignment ahead of schedule.

Swans and grilled cheese and vaginas: that’s what girls are made of.

I think the Internet does affect the ways we make theater in that it allows me to listen to songs on YouTube whilst I write.

In the beginning God created the New York Yankees, and He gave them dominion over all the birds that fly, and the fish of the sea, and the creatures that crawl upon the earth, especially the Red Sox and Phillies.

Have you ever noticed that people in episodes of Seinfeld are always like “What's the deal with [variable X]?” while people who make fun of The Jersey Shore are always [secretly] like “I wish I too lived life to the fullest like these guidos with their joie de vivre... I am obviously just jealous.” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick Brandywine Distillery Fire abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: John DeVore

2011-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

These days, John DeVore is known for being a self-proclaimed media whore, with sidelines as a blogger, a Twitter personality and a liberal shill for Fox News. He’s also, to his eternal shame, a playwright; in fact, performing together in his play Tupperware Orgy is the reason that Hope and I are married. (There is actually no truth to that whatsoever.) He’s actually the man who originally dubbed us the Legion of Doom 11 years ago (see the Dainty Cadaver origin story for context), so we keep him around as a kind of mascot. He is the token white guy on Team C.

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If I could rewrite the ending to any play it would be Hamlet because the twerp should live long enough to find out he's an idiot.

No one’s gonna stop me from making an obscure pop culture reference in my car, which you are welcome to get into, once you get out of my dreams when I'm not interested in finishing this, Jeff.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was Shit, my ten pages is due in three hours. Then, I thought Why did I take that nap! It's due in an hour and a half. Finally, I turned it in at 11:59.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was Take The Long Way Home by Supertramp

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget that time I watched Harold and Maude on acid and cried and cried and then hung out for a month with an older English lesbian who taught me how to read tarot cards.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now Piper McKenzie is finally going to learn how to fly.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be super self-loathing.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / I can't improve upon or mock this, Jeff. I'm going to move on, if that's alright with you.

The first play I ever wrote was a play about a native american warrior named ravenclaw scalping the cowboys who killed his family. After that I was sent to the school shrink.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be no.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process because I'm not usually use to a strict deadline for a play. Plays are abandoned. This play was snatched from my hands.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be wealthier.

Dreams and hope and sinister plots: that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet does not affect the ways we make theater in that it is not entirely dissimilar from theater. Both are live mediums performed for an audience that can talk back to you.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: I wrote a bunch of dick jokes.

In the beginning God created a couch, before moving on to light.

I couldn’t live without my testicle, but the part of it I could live without is the uncomfortable third one.

Have you ever noticed that playwrights are always like “I'm a playwright” while regular people are always like “so what?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick thank you for including me in Dainty Cadaver, Jeff. It was a lot of fun. You're a good guy, Jeff. Always liked you. Except for that once abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

21. The next project I'm involved with is.... well, why don't you follow me at twitter.com/johndevore or friend me at facebook.com/misterdevore?

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Art Wallace

2011-01-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

Last year, I had the pleasure of performing in Art Wallace’s play The Plowman’s Lunch, which as part of The Brick’s Tiny Theater Festival. At the end of 10 minutes of methatheatrical tomfoolery and exhaustive off-centeredness, there was this incredibly long (like a full minute) pause as the lights painfully faded, and every night it was nearly impossible (okay, entirely impossible) for me and my fellow performers not to completely break from the sheer, naked absurdity of it all. This breaking, was, in turn, an integral part of the full vision. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a brief treatise the uniquely left-field work of Art Wallace (who has also starred in many a production, including our own Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury). TEAM A!

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If I could rewrite the ending to any book it would be Huckleberry Finn because it is too long.

No one’s gonna stop me from laying in my piss when Jesus comes.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was this is bullshit! I don't know what to do! Then, I thought this is really bullshit. Finally, I got it done at Hope and Jeff’s regifting party all wined up.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was Straight Outta Compton.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget It Must be Butt Day Three.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now my dreams depress me.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be imitating Pauly Shore.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That cloys / mewls / abates. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of bleak afternoon dust-motes / Signifying Cry of Anal Two.

The first play I ever wrote was Abe Blinkin. After that I went on to 7th grade.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be tantamount.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process by making me use a time limit and someone else’s ideas and then there were these other rules.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be waiting to see how God kills me.

Lentils and boiled urine and time shift theories: that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet does affect the ways we make theater in that it allows me to find all about David McCallum and boiled urine instantly.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: chip in head making low thrumming sound shrieks white light abandon.

When walking down the Father Demo Square, Flozell Baines picked up a crayon along the small metal ledge slipping in and out of existence. It was, and was not, he had to possess it.

In the beginning God created itself.

I couldn’t live without torture, but the part of it I could live without is the horrible pain.

Have you ever noticed that opposites are always like “different” while one of these things are always like “Not like the others?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick and with his Vorpal blade abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Matt Freeman

2011-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

Matt Freeman has put onstage a man in a lobster suit in deep dialogue with a rabbi, and for that I am forever grateful. He’s also written a number of other significantly interesting and interestingly significant plays (including Glee Club, which premiered at The Brick’s Antidepressant Festival), and he’s a noted, notable and notorious blogger. As the right arm of the playwriting Voltron that is Team B, he aids the Dainty Cadaver in its mission to crush all other exquisite-corpse-style playwriting projects that threaten the sanctity of our forest planet.

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If I could rewrite the ending to any movie it would be Steven Speilberg’s A.I because the Ben Kingsley voiceover made me want to throw shit at the screen.

No one’s gonna stop me from dancing in my underwear when I’m alone.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was I look forward to punching the author in the face. Then, I thought, “Wow, that’s probably an overreaction.” Finally, I wrote something anyway.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was “Seasons of Love,” and I hate that song.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget the churlish amoeba.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I’m more hollow than ever.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be the ability to go blind.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That suckles / brandy / titties. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of cloverleaf mudpies / Signifying the beginning of the war.

The first play I ever wrote was for a fifth grade class. After that I didn’t quit, for some reason.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be an excellent sentence.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process by forcing me to share, which is the opposite of the reason I write.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be rich.

[Expletive] and [Unprintable] and [Censored]: that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet does not affect the ways we make theater in that it is still just a bunch of words and pictures and c’mon, let’s be real.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: a chaotic, weirdly sad, compromise.

When walking down the lane, Charles Ludlum picked up a bucket of buckshot along the way. It overflowed, and Charles had to use it.

In the beginning God created nothing.

I couldn’t live without beer, but the part of it I could live without is farting.

Have you ever noticed that rabbits are always like “Let’s kick it,” while Bears are always like “What gives, Rabbit?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick Slartibartfast abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: James Comtois

2011-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

James Comtois is the playwriting mind behind Nosedive Productions, one of Piper McKenzie’s sister companies. No one knows more than James how much it pains me to say this, but he’s a great guy and an excellent writer, with recent credits such as The Little One and the NYIT-nominated Infectious Opportunity (a production of The Brick’s Antidepressant Festival) under his belt. He will be bringing his unique brand of smooth jazz-funk fusion to the performances of both Team A (as an actor) and Team C (as a writer). Lord have mercy upon us all.

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No one’s gonna stop me from masturbating and crying in my living room when Twin Peaks is on.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was confusion. Then, I thought "Fuck it." Finally, I found and angle and went with it.

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I lie on the couch all day watching Roku while eating ice cream. I'm a new man, baby!

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be teleportation.

The first play I ever wrote was simply entitled The Show. After that I wrote a play called Celene.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be a fucking miracle.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked in concord with my usual process by letting me do what I always do: make the stuff up as I go along.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be married with children and a contributing member of society. Gross!

In the beginning God created Light? It's Light, right? It's been so long. Or wait. I had to write something witty, didn't I? Like Boobs. Can I change my answer? In the beginning, God created Boobs. Wait. That's no good. Lemme get back to you.

Have you ever noticed that theatre people are always like “Fuh fuh fuh fuh,” while book people are always like “Buh buh buh buh?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick flippertippy abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Crystal Skillman

2011-01-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Crystal Skillman has the unique advantage of being, until now, one of the very few living writers (along with fellow members of Team A Eric Bland and, er, me) to have her work produced by Piper McKenzie. Her serial Killer High (directed by Hope Cartelli as part of the Vampire Cowboys’ Saturday Night Saloon) was a highlight of our recent season, and it’s been a pleasure to work with a simpatico writer. Did we mention that she won the NYIT Award last year for her script The Vigil or the Guided Cradle (a co-production of Impetuous Theater Group and The Brick?). Now you know.

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If I could rewrite the ending to any play it would be Driving Ms. Daisy because I just saw the revival with the fam and was honestly pretty moved by those simple moments til the end. Then I'm like - we're going to end the play on feeding pie? I'm pretty sure they're supposed to blast off into space or something. Hey that's what we do!

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was everyone's dead! Then, I thought awesome! Finally, I get to resurrect the dead and bring in da love.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was the Mumford & Sons new album and Matt and Kim (Don't Slow Down).

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget 9/12. Opps 9/11! (Totally stole that from Children's Hospital by the way. Love that show!)

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I'm hollow AND happy! Tee hee. Actually I'm full of even more bouncy-ness than usual.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be knives in my knuckles. I mean man I just freakin' cut myself on this amazing German knife my hubby Fred got me on Xmas!

The first play I ever wrote was a poetic absurd play called The Organ Grinder about a boy who leaves a girl, which put to use the experiences of a big horrible recent breakup for me. After that I cried by eyes out at 2 in the morning over the printer at the college computer center as the pages spilled out (this was in Hartford, CT.) It was my first inkling that I should be a playwright not a photographer because my photographs, as much as I love making them, never made me cry.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be SHAZBOT!

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process by having to only struggle with one scene. That's a gift dude! I want you all to come to my house and write all my plays.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be dead in a cardboard box in the corner of the street with people passing by laughing.

Grit and Dirt and clever snarls: that’s what little girls are made of.

In the beginning God created coffee!!

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick SHAZBOT!! abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Danny Bowes

2011-01-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

I’ve known Danny Bowes longer than any other playwright on the Dainty Cadaver roster, no joke. I directed him in his first play at Bard College (Ostrovsky’s Too Clever By Half, aka Diary of a Scoundrel, if you must know) when we were both students there, and we’ve been friends and colleagues ever since. Little did I know back then that he’d go on to be a talented writer and integral member of The Brick family – though the fact that we’d be drinking buddies seemed pretty likely. Check out his hyperkinetic film criticism on his blog, Movies by Bowes, and check out his pop-culture/sci-fi writings on Tor.com. Do it!
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If I could rewrite the ending to any book or movie it would be Wuthering Heights because ninjas.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was “OH MY GOD I'M IN OVER MY HEAD! NOOOOO!!!!.” Then, I thought “But wait . . . if I just . . . yeah, that should work.” Finally, I took a step off the cliff and enjoyed all the pretty scenery.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was “Monster” by Kanye West (which made it very hard to resist the impulse to make my scene about fire-breathing Muppets destroying Tokyo, but resist I did).

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget how we just OWNED these chumps in this battle. Shit was TIGHT.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I'm a hollow shell of a human being with more whiskey inside.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That was the title of the first play I wrote at the Brick / Walking Shadow, that is, not A Poor Player / It was in the Baby Jesus Festival in 2005. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of dialogue / Signifying something or other.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be about a page long with thirty commas and several parenthetical asides.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked in concord with my usual process by facilitating a necessary surrender of ego and a consequent devotion to the work itself rather than the individual glory to be derived therefrom.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be claiming I did to get chicks.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: snow, mall, investigate, brigandage. perspicacious, deceptive, shockingly.

When walking down the Boulevard de Rochechouart, James Mason picked up a lady of the evening along the way. It transpired that James Mason had forgotten to change any pounds into francs, and he had to say fuck it.

In the beginning God created cards, because he doesn't play dice with the universe.

Have you ever noticed that Daleks are always like “Cybermen are superior [to Daleks] in only one respect . . . YOU ARE BETTER AT DYING,” while Cybermen are always like “Cybermen plus Daleks. Together we can upgrade the universe?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick, but if we're really being honest with ourselves, abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Justin Maxwell

2011-01-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Today’s Dainty Cadaver Playwright You Should Know is Justin Maxwell. Vital Statistics: Based in Minneapolis; freelance writer; Drama Editor for Midway Journal; author of Your Lithopedion, a merry comedy about the impact of serial killing on marriage, which appeared at The Brick’s Antidepressant Festival and the Minneapolis Fringe. He’s also written a play called Marie Antoinette’s Head, which is awesome. Come enjoy his indelible contribution to Team C on January 30!

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If I could rewrite the ending to any book it would be The Bible because ...really, have you read how that thing ends?

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was Grinderman's "Worm Tamer."

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget ... oh, wait, what? Damn it!”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I'm full of nougaty goodness.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be patience.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be uninspiring.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked against my usual process because I had to set up something for the next writer.

Hydrogen and Carbon and Oxygen: that’s what little girls are made of.

In the beginning God created drama.

I couldn’t live without the Internet, but the part of it I could live without is the part where Sarah Palin lives.

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick; thusly, abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Johnna Adams

2011-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

So the first time I encountered Johnna Adams is when she wrote nice things about my flawed, grandiose, 31-actor play Babylon Babylon – so needless to say, I liked her immediately. Later that year I saw the first part of her Angel Eaters Trilogy (which I’m still angry I was too busy to see the other two parts of) and was blown away by the scope of her vision and the precision of her voice. (Later still she played the mother of the guy who married a shark in a play I wrote.) I am electroshock-level thrilled to be able to feature her as a part of the Dainty Cadaver’s Team A!

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When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was I'VE MET MY SOULMATE. Then, I thought OH, WAIT, I DIDN'T MEET THE WRITER AND DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE. Finally, I WENT BACK TO STARING AT THE EHARMONY HOME PAGE THINKING THAT MIGHT WORK BETTER THAN DAINTY CADAVER TO FIND A SOULMATE. THEN I GAVE UP ON THE SOULMATE THING AND PLAYED TOTEM TRIBE GOLD FOR 25 HOURS STRAIGHT.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget PLAYS ABOUT ALIEN INVASIONS.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I'M STILL A HOLLOW SHELL, BUT SORT OF LIKE A CHOCOLATE BUNNY IS A HOLLOW SHELL AND NOT LIKE AN INFLATED CONDOM OR SOMETHING.

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked in concord with my usual process by FORCING ME TO WRITE A SCENE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON IN THE PREVIOUS SCENE-- I NEVER KNOW WHAT THE HELL I JUST WROTE EVEN WHEN I AM THE ONLY ONE WRITING.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be SO GOOD AT BELLY DANCING IT WOULD BE INSANE.

I think the Internet affects the ways we make theater in that it WASTES A CRAPLOAD OF TIME THAT I COULD USE TO WRITE.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: MOUSE BONE HEADED STEAMPUNK 50S MONSTER MOVIE EMBARASSING MYSELF WITH GIBBERISH HOPE THIS DOESN'T END IN TEARS COULD I CONVINCE THEM TO NEVER REVEAL MY NAME? I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF A great Formissle and council of the Revolvergorgons. I'M SO HUNGRY SINCE I FINISHED WRITING.

I couldn’t live without WRITING, but the part of it I could live without is WRITING.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: Cara Francis

2011-01-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

Actor, writer, ensemble member of the New York Neo-Futurists since 2008 – is there anything Cara Francis can’t do? (Well, I’m not sure whether she’s a plumber. Or a notary public. Cara?) I had the misfortune of missing the NYIT-nominated The Soup Show last year, but Hope saw it and was thoroughly impressed – hence the appearance of her voice in Team C’s epic ramble. Check her out in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind through January 29!

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No one’s gonna stop me from poo-in in my bathroom when I have to.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget the future.”

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I ate spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be the power to fly a plane as a licensed commercial airline pilot because I think that job must be really taxing and stressful.

The first play I ever wrote was titled "Red Wine And Razorblades. After that I was ashamed.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be completed.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be at church.

Sugar and spice and two pencil eraser-sized bumps of heroin you thought was coke that a guy gave you in the bathroom of the last bar you went to: that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet affects the ways we make theater in that it makes research easy and focus hard.

In the beginning God created math.

I couldn’t live without H2O, but the part of it I could live without is natural occurring elemental hydrogen.

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick dial 911 I'm having a stroke abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

Dainty Cadaver Mad Libs-Style Blog Thing: August Schulenburg

2011-01-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today begins our series of Dainty Cadaver playwright profiles on The Piperline. However, instead of simply doing a hackneyed standard-issue Q&A with our talent, I’ve decided to try something more in the spirit of the project itself: a Mad Libs-style series of sentences for which each playwright has been invited to fill in the blanks.

First off we have August “Gus” Schulenburg, founding member and artistic director of the estimable Flux Theater Ensemble. I first met Gus a few years ago, when he made the mistake of reaching out to introduce himself to me via email, at which point I pleaded to be included as a writer in the Imagination Compact, a series of short plays Flux was organizing based around individual characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (I drew Theseus.) The next year he asked me to be involved in Poetic Larceny, a daisy-chain of plays based around themes from Adam Szymkowicz’s Pretty Theft. (That time I wrote about a guy who married a shark.) These two projects were definite inspirations for the idea that has grown into the Dainty Cadaver, and I’m thrilled to reciprocate Gus’s faith in my writing by featuring his work via Piper McKenzie!

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If I could rewrite the ending to any play it would be Other Bodies because I think it will be my best play when I'm able to finish it right.

No one’s gonna stop me from getting insane in my membrane when the rain in Spain falls mostly on the plain.

When I first read the Dainty Cadaver scene that came before mine, my initial reaction was I don't think this is Mac's or Johnna's, because I'm not sobbing or unsettled. Then, I thought it's probably not Crystal's either, because the sentences don't have those little breaks in them where the characters' hearts slip through. Could be James, though, there's that witty banter and foreboding, and I feel like he'd describe that one character exactly that way. Finally, I realized it was like 5PM and I probably should start writing.

The song I listened to most/had in my head while writing my scene was Jolie Holland's December 1999. It has that lonely road and late night driving feel I mostly wanted.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget that time when it was in school, and too small to be one of the cool planets, and half in love with Venus and all the way in lust with Mars, but it was Moon, of all the heavenly bodies, Moon, that little nattering scrapbag, that stuck up for the world when Jupiter sent those comets like spitballs against her neck, and so it was Moon she chose to circle as they all went round the sun, and the sun warily circled that black hole in the center that was sopping up the Milky way with it's bread of darkness."

Before I had Piper McKenzie in my life, I was a hollow shell of a human being. Now I butter my toast on both sides.

The superpower I would least want to have would probably be the power to foresee great jokes before they happen.

Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That cuts her debts with hours of extras' wage / And then is shown the door. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of clowns and worry / Signifying you're on.

The first play I ever wrote was titled Untitled. After that I had to say over and over again, no, Untitled is the title, really.

If I were to finish this sentence it would be so irresistibly hot you would evaporate into quantum parts and cruise like bees through the interwebs to reassemble on my knees, and then, oh then, we would

Writing for the Dainty Cadaver in this manner worked in concord with my usual process by delighting me more than it probably should.

If I didn’t write plays or do things like Dainty Cadavers I’d probably be a physicist or classical pianist or drunk.

RNA and DNA and neurons; that’s what little girls are made of.

I think the Internet does affect the ways we make theater in that it um, foursquare innovation crowdsourcing, plus something Clay Shirkey said, and then demographics! More demographics! And to close, my blog brings all the boys to the yard. #hashtagswitheggsovereasy.

The jumble of random nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs I would use to describe my Dainty Cadaver experience includes the following: furious peanut butter, zounds the filthy wound stealthily flying, and pi is pie to magpies named Maggie.

When walking down the thing you walk down,, someone picked up a thing one picks up along the long stretch of somewhere. It said "name all these unnamed things, or I will name you", and so the someone holding it had to name it.

In the beginning God created the end.

I couldn’t live without life, but the part of it I could live without is death.

Have you ever noticed that declarative sentences are always like “thank God I'm in quotation marks,” while interrogative sentences are always like “why do I have to be in quotation marks all the damn time?” What’s the deal?

Snabfllp nibminimmbinmtt falalaboocheray toddlesmick drinkandbewholeagainbeyondconfucious abbib simblantfermay pobbadooblemirph.

The next project I'm involved in is Dog Act at Flux Theatre Ensemble. $12 tix for opening weekend with the discount code "SQUISH": http://www.fluxtheatre.org/

The Secret Origin of the Dainty Cadaver

2011-01-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Eleven years ago, when we were still pretty new to the city, Hope and I fell in with a group of associated theater artists who would meet once a week in the long-defunct (and, so far as I know, still tragically empty) East Village community space known as Charas, where we’d read each other’s works and have impassioned discussions about Theatre (capital T and British spelling). With tongues practically breaking through of the insides of our cheeks, we called ourselves the Legion of Doom. This, not incidentally, is the fertile topsoil out of which The Brick eventually grew.

I recently uncovered a cache of Hotmail printouts from those heady days. There were two primary categories – in the first, screeds and quasi-manifestos written during temping lulls in which we picked apart the vagaries of the artistic soul in a commercial era, and, in the second, an odd sort of collaborative epistolary experiment in which we sent each other emails in character as a variety of freakish misfits, Edward Gorey-esque weirdos and incipient serial killers, which I remember desperately trying to bend in the direction of some kind of narrative. It was completely stupid, but fun, and it led me to my next big idea, something I called The Blindfold Game.

The Blindfold Game was essentially an exquisite corpse for playwrights. One playwright would write a scene. A second playwright would read the scene and write a follow-up. A third playwright would read the second scene – but, crucially, not the first – and write a follow-up. And so on. I’m not sure why I like the idea of placing vast obstructions in the path of coherent narrative while still craving coherent narrative – but there you go. This was my baby.

I wrote the first scene of the Blindfold Game myself, in January of 2000 while working a temp job in a corrupt and highly dysfunctional construction trailer out in Jamaica, Queens. It involved a man who dragged his whole family away from American culture to live in the impossible purity of an igloo near the North Pole, and the weird interlopers who showed up one day to find shelter from a possibly apocalyptic snowstorm (including one character who was a were-polar bear). I was proud of it, as any young writer might be, and I passed it along to the next writer.

By the time it reached the fourth writer, several months later, the whole thing was an insane, unstageable mess. Narrative had been thrown to the winds, and there was now a weird series of loosely strung words and images, some ridiculous, some sublime. By the time it reached a sixth writer, towards the end of the year, I had exhausted the resources and interest of the group, and I realized I had to finish it myself. The ending somehow involved someone turning into a jellyfish.

We finally had a read-through, in the living room of one of the writers (Charas had already cloed by that point - youth is fleeting). It made about as much sense read out loud as it did on the page. Afterward, it was suggested that, if I wanted to do it again, I might temper my frustrations by creating more rules and tighter deadlines, to prevent the dropping-out and procrastination I encountered the first time around. So in early 2001, I tried it again. This time, the story was going to be written in reverse order – a la Betrayal, but meant to be read chronologically – with a number of other elaborate restraints. I wrote a scene about a dying mermaid in a decrepit houseboat anchored illegally in the Jersey Meadowlands. Of the writers I had tapped, one dropped out after the next, until I was finally forced to give the whole thing up with only one scene written in addition to my own. I put collaborative writing games behind me for a while.

So why am I telling this dumb story? Because I think I finally realized that games are most fun when you take them a little seriously, and that, having had time to grow up and expand our community a little bit, the time is right for a redo. The Legion of Doom hasn’t existed for nearly a decade, but four of its members comprise the core staff of The Brick. Other members have moved away from the city, others still have gone on to bigger things, but the rest of us have been absorbed into a larger community of gifted artists who are still besotted by the theater and its possibilities. And this wider community, I realized, might be ripe for an evolved version of the Blindfold Game.

And I was right. Piper McKenzie’s Dainty Cadaver is going to appear at The Brick from January 28-30, and it’s ambitious far beyond the scope of the original idea. There are three teams of six writers each, all of which are in the midst of writing strange and uncanny plays that will be staged by three different directors for one night only at The Brick, natch. Watching the three different plays simultaneously embrace and struggle against chaos, entropy and (inevitably) the vagaries of the artistic soul in a commercial era is proving to be a great joy, one that I’m hoping will be shared by audiences later this month. Will any of these plays be masterpieces for the ages, winning places on the organic microchip-embedded curricula of future intergalactic universities? Probably not. (But maybe!) Will they be unique manifestations of creative collaboration that could only ever exist in this lovable, damnable medium we know as Theatre/er? Absoflippinglutely.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing Mad Libs-style interviews with the Dainty Cadaver playwrights and directors, in order to whet your whistle. I hope they give you an idea why I love these writers, and why I’m so happy to have them supporting my folly. Come on back and give them your love!

Year-End Greetings and Appeal for Goodwill from Piper McKenzie

2010-12-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend,

What's that? It's almost 2011, you say? You're kidding. Really? Are you sure? Wow. That's... wow.

We here at Piper McKenzie have been a sprint all year, so maybe it makes sense that December has ambushed us like this - despite the fact that we're currently running a holiday show! A tally of the past year's activities bears this out:

JANUARY: We finished up our second season of our serial Lady Cryptozoologist at the Vampire Cowboys' Saturday Night Saloon, putting two dozen actors on the tiny Battle Ranch stage to play assorted scientists, creatures, and semi-sentient spores. (Maybe you had to be there.)

MARCH: We brought back a full-length run of our 2009 Fight Fest hit Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury at The Brick, pleasing audiences with our tale of world-shaking simian love.

JUNE: We partnered with Old Kent Road Theater to present the premiere of Eric Bland's play Jeannine's Abortion: A Play in One Trimester, at The Brick's Too Soon Festival. A definite departure for PMcK, the show opened up new directions for us.

JULY: As part of The Brick's Game Play festival, we created Theater of the Arcade: Five Classic Video Games Adapted for the Stage, in collaboration with The Fifth Wall. The New York Times called it "Brilliant," and it even made Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish. With every performance sold out (including an extension), this has been PMcK's most successful production to date.

AUGUST: We filmed our first ever music video, for The Electric Mess' song "She Has a Funny Walk." It was an ungodly amount of fun, and certainly not the last of PMcK's film/video endeavors.

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER: We returned to the Saturday Night Saloon with Crystal Skillman's Killer High, a schoolyard riff on Apocalypse Now - final episode to perform in January!

DECEMBER: We rounded out the year with a show created for family audiences: Bethlehem or Bust: How the Three Kings Teamed Up to Deliver the World's First Christmas Presents. Not only are kids and grown-ups alike loving it, it's also going to be Jeff's first published play! (If you had a chance to see it, there are two final matinees on Saturday, January 1 and Sunday, January 2.)

As always, we have an ambitious slate planned for next year - even despite the fact that Hope and Jeff are expecting their first child. (Yup, it's the truth - figured this was as good a place as any to spill it.) Some of our other planned productions include:

Piper McKenzie's Dainty Cadaver: This ambitious collaborative playmaking project brings together 18 playwrights and three directors to create, Exquisite Corpse-style, three completely new plays to be staged as workshop performances at The Brick in late January.

The Pow (working title): Our proposed entry to The Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival in June, this original play will enlist five comic artists to support the story of a lifelong fan who loves comics so much he's developed the power to enter the stories himself - with unexpected results.

Fill the Valleys, Flatten the Hills: A planned 2012 project that will enter pre-production next year, this promises to be PMcK's most ambitious show to date - a Depression-era Southern Gothic alien invasion trunk show with a live, original folk score.

PMcK Repertory: We'll be actively seeking out opportunities this year for revivals of some of our greatest hits from the past - our Bizarre Science Fantasy anthology, Macbeth Without Words, Theater of the Arcade and more.

Exciting, huh? It's probably very clear that, in order to accomplish all of these things, we'll be asking for your help. But we're not simply asking for money - we're seeking a relationship. Community is very important to us, and, by sending you this note, we're asking if you'd like to become an integral and crucial member of the Piper McKenzie community. Art can't happen in a void, and so we're seeking out your support. In return, we plan to honor your commitment by creating exciting, entertaining, enlightening and enlivening new theater, for you both to enjoy for yourself and to offer as a gift of enjoyment to others. No contribution is too small - whether you can give us $5 or $5 million (ha!), you'll still be a colleague, a collaborator, and a pillar of our community.

In the meantime, we hope you're having a peaceful and healthy holiday season, and that you'll be able to join us in the audience or online for some of PMcK's upcoming endeavors. Let's hope 2011 is as full and festive as possible - thank you for everything!

Best Wishes,
Hope Cartelli & Jeff Lewonczyk
Proprietors

SO YOU'RE DOING A PLAY ABOUT ABORTION...

2010-06-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, pretty much anyone involved in this production will tell you that it's not ABOUT abortion - it just has an abortion in it. I guess that dealing with the subject in such a casual manner is controversial in its own right, though, which is probably what makes it all so interesting.

In case you just came in (or haven't been following us on Facebook, etc.), the production is Jeannine's Abortion: A Play in One Trimester, and it's a collaboration with Old Kent Road, written by Eric Bland and directed by Hope Cartelli, featuring a cast of a half-dozen fresh young faces and one grizzled curmudgeon (i.e., me). It opens this Thursday as part of The Brick's Too Soon Festival, and there are a number of reasons you should see it.

However, I will hand the reins over to the playwright himself, who has crafted the following platonic dialogue with a platonic audience member describing the what-the-what about the show:

PERSON: Is this play about abortion?
ME: Someone has an abortion in it, yes.
PERSON: …Why?
ME: Because. That happens.
PERSON: Is the play funny?
ME: Sometimes.
PERSON: Why?
ME: Because that happens.
PERSON: Is it political?
ME: Man is a political animal.
PERSON: That’s sexist.
ME: Like the world?
PERSON: You’re silly.
ME: Your face is silly.
PERSON: Hah. I’m not even wearing a face. You don’t know who I am.
ME: No one knows anyone, do they?
PERSON: Tragic.
ME: Heroic.
PERSON: Look at my fingernail. It’s about to fall off. I got it caught in a lawn-mower yesterday. I guess, knowing that, all you can really say is, I was lucky.
ME: I love you.
PERSON: I love the idea of you.
ME: Would you like to take the idea of me out dancing?
PERSON: Well, I should remind you, about my finger, so, factoring that in, break-dancing might be out of the question, but most forms—
ME: Salsa.
PERSON: Now you’re talking.
ME: No, now I am.
PERSON: Now you’re not. You’ve grown quiet just as a plant on a brick wall or a fence—such as ivy—grows, not so much ‘quiet’ as…anywhere.
(Me nods.)

fIN

Tickets are available HERE.

GREAT MOMENTS IN SIMIAN VIOLENCE #5: WHEN MONKEYS RULED COMIC BOOKS

2010-03-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the sci-fi blog i09 displayed incredibly astute timing by running a gallery of great ape-related DC comic covers – mere hours before the opening of Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury. We took it as some form of hulking, hirsute kismet and went on to have a wonderfully strange opening weekend as a result.

The blog quotes DC artist Sheldon Moldoff as follows:

It was a question of trying to find something that sold, and if one issue came out and it happened to sell, then immediately they would follow that type of story. Now, it didn't neccessarily follow through that they were going to sell. Now, I know Jack Schiff, when he was the editor of Batman, he followed sales very well. When he found that a gorilla on covers sold, then you could be damn sure that in an issue or two you're going to have another gorilla story.

Come help Craven Monkey the theatrical equivalent of this phenomenon – buy your tickets today! More monkeys in indie theater!

GREAT MOMENTS IN SIMIAN VIOLENCE #4: THE ORANGUTAN RECORDING

2010-02-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

A few years back we discovered the 365 Days Project, an incredible year-long audio endeavor that posted a new bizarre, obscure and/or outsider recording every day in 2003 (with a follow-up edition in 2007). On March 27 of that year, contributor Greg (The Librarian) McCarthy posted a recording called Orangutan. McCarthy recorded it from the airwaves on WBZ Radio Boston in the early 1970s while listening to a Friday-night call-in program called the Larry Glick Show. You can read the full story of its origins here.

The recording features a man from North Carolina who called in to read a local newspaper item about an orangutan who went berserk on his hapless owner. The story follows the general contours of Great Moment in Simian Violence #2: Run Red Run, but this piece is all in the telling. What starts as a routine radio call-in turns into a demented laughing fit straight out of a weirdly infectious hell – I swear, I have never heard two grown men struggle through such helpless hysterics in my life, especially when talk of blood and bite wounds is involved.

If you’re remotely interested in anything, ever, you should check out the 365 Days Project, which is currently housed at the invaluable UbuWeb as well as wfmu.org, the site of the world’s best radio station. A broader span of the vagaries inherent in the Audio Age can hardly be imagined. Another thing for people interested in things is Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury – being a dance-theater piece, however, a radio version of it would lose something in the translation, so you should buy your tickets to check it out at The Brick. It opens TOMORROW NIGHT, for Pete's sake!

GREAT MOMENTS IN SIMIAN VIOLENCE #3: MONKEY SHINES

2010-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Neither Hope nor I have seen the 1988 George Romero thriller Monkey Shines, but I remember the commercials on TV. There was a paralyzed guy and a helper monkey and some creepy ambience. Today, without even having looked at IMDB except to get the year and accidentally see that it was actually made by a director of some pedigree, I will recreate the entire plot of the film using only the power of my mind.

Max (Bill Pullman) was a fast-living, cocaine-addicted Hollywood agent whose work-hard/play-hard lifestyle led him straight to a late-night six-car pileup on the L.A. freeway. When he wakes up, his doctor (a strangely mild-mannered Christopher Walken, before the first of his multiple comebacks) advises him that he’ll never walk again, and that use of his upper limbs is confined to the ability to flip his right middle finger with significant effort. The doctor advises his despondent patient – who has no non-estranged family members to wipe his ass for him – to purchase an experimentally trained monkey named Bobo who can undertake cleaning and grooming tasks on his behalf, such as shaving him with the old-fashioned straight-razor that’s always been one of Max’s expensive quirks.

So Bobo, who starts out all cute and shit, is gradually corrupted by Max’s abiding guilt and misanthropy into becoming a vessel of pure evil. While Max sleeps, Bobo takes his razor and goes out to slit the throats of Max’s enemies – the owner of the high-powered agency that laid him off after his accident (David Paymer), his estranged mother (Mamie Van Doren) and the high-school bully who used to beat him up (a weirdly miscast Tony Shalhoub). Max himself only slowly becomes aware of his connection to these crimes through the ministrations of Gwen (Lori Petty), a spunky reporter who befriends Max and tries to show him, despite her tender years, that the way to redemption is through the confrontation of his darker emotions.

This being a Romero film, of course, they both die during a grisly climax in which Gwen, after one final attempt to reform Max, tries to call the police and is killed when he can’t bring himself to call off Bobo. His self-loathing anguish at his own inaction – even a paralyzed man has the potential to take action – channels through his intimate psychic bond with Bobo and causes the monkey to turn on him and slit Max's own throat. Ironic! Christopher Walken shows up to identify the body and says something cryptic.

Anybody out there ever seen the movie? How did I do?

Rest assured that the monkey violence in Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury is less psychological and more kind of awesome. Buy your tickets today!

GREAT MOMENTS IN SIMIAN VIOLENCE #2: RUN RED RUN

2010-02-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

In November 1959, the Coasters (not to be confused with the Platters) released a single called “Run Red Run.” Like the group’s biggest hit, “Yakety Yak,” this track would be classified as a “novelty song,” which basically just means that it’s ghettoized in a special category for being funny as well as being good.

Which is a shame, because it stands out as quite possibly the most important rhythm-and-blues song about simian violence ever recorded. Click here to listen to it for yourself on what would appear to be a Coasters MySpace page. If you can’t listen, take a look at the lyrics down below. If Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury were to be set in the late 1950s, this is almost exactly how the plot and the details would play out. It’s like Every Which Way But Loose gone horribly, horribly right.

Oh, Red went and bought himself a monkey

Got him from a pawn shop broker
Taught that monkey how to guzzle beer
And he taught him out to play stud poker
Last night when they were gambling in the kitchen
The monkey he was taking a beating
The monkey said, “Red, I'm going to shoot you dead
Because I know that well, you been a cheating."

Chorus:
Well, run Red run, because he's got your gun
And he's aiming it at your head.
Run Red run, because he's got your gun,
And he's aiming it at your head.
You better get up and wail,
You better move your tail before he fills it full of lead.

Oh, Red jumped up and started to move like a P80-Saber Jet.
He zoomed around the corner, and he disappeared
And everybody started to stare.
The race was on, you know the chase was on
And Red he was all shook up
But, let me tell you sport, don't sell that monkey short,
Because he's a travelling son of a gun.

Repeat Chorus

(Saxophone playing)

Monkey trapped Red in a parking alot.
Down along the Avenue,
Monkey said, "Red, you've made a man out of me,
Now I'm going to make a monkey out of you.
Give me your car keys, give me your wallet
Give it to me here, or I'll shoot
Going to put on your brand new Stetson hat
And go to town in your new brown suit."

Repeat Chorus

Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury opens this weekend - don't forget to buy your tickets soon, or we’ll sic Red on ya.

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GREAT MOMENTS IN SIMIAN VIOLENCE #1: THE MASSACRE AT MOROVEREEN

2010-02-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

This week marks the re-opening of our Fight Fest show Craven Monkey at the Mountain of Fury. To honor this occasion, we’ll be spending the week walking you through some of history’s most notable instances of simian aggression.

The pioneering Victorian primatologist and Oxford professor Peddigrew Alfonse Makebutton, an early supporter of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, once embarked upon one a short-lived and little-known experiment to prove – or so he imagined – the tenability of Darwin’s work. Amassing a large number of assorted baboons snatched from the African wild by a group of paid bush hunters, Makebutton established a colony on the small North Sea island of Morovereen, right off the eastern Scottish coast. With the full cooperation of the university, he dressed his simian charges in human clothing, gave them little cottages and set them to the task of developing, under his guidance, a fully functioning society.

The experiment lasted approximately four hours. Having arranged for all of the necessary accoutrements of proper British living, Makebutton inadvertently created a culture of jealousy among the unsuspecting baboons. His diligence even went as far as mimicking the hairstyles of the day, leading some of the apes to have their faces partly shaved while others were allowed to sport the flowing muttonchops then in style. After a period of mutual wariness, in which they sauntered up and down the village’s central boulevard like well-behaved petit-bourgeois, the shaved monkeys, envious of their fellows’ more demonstrative facial hair, attempted to grab the chops right off each others’ faces. Needless to say, equipping the baboons with small but effective swords was a poor idea. The apes rioted, as can be seen in this contemporary engraving, forcing Makebutton off the island, but not before removing most of his clothing, several pints of blood, part of his left ear, and approximately 98.7% of his dignity.

The baboons continued to mate and quarrel on remote Morovereen Island until the 1950s, when it was chosen as a site for British atomic testing. Whether the nine-foot-tall, preternaturally aggressive mega-baboons that spawned in the radioactive aftermath will one day swim towards the mainland and enact a bloody revenge remains an open question.

Craven Monkey at the Mountain of Fury opens this weekend - don't forget to buy your tickets soon, lest you risk the fate of becoming a latter-day Makebutton.

THE RETURN OF THE CRAVEN MONKEY

2010-02-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

Our December production of Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury at The Brick’s Fight Fest was a wild success – so much though that we’re moved to present a “remount” (ahem) later this month. We were thrilled by the critical response to the show, so in order to whet your appetites, here are some of the great quotes we received.

“This show is worth checking out for the costumes alone—sparkly, hairy, vibrant realizations of a world without rules, designed by Julianne Kroboth. But the actors’ spot-on, endearing performances are what make this show thrive. Although they have no dialogue, they bring fantastic creatures to life."
--Time Out New York

“In Lewonczyk’s play, Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury, anything goes, but you can be sure it’s done with finesse and delicately choreographed fight scenes. Not one character fell flat and by the end of the show, all the actors had a good reason to stand tall.”
--New York Press

"If epic animal battles, extensive monkey humping, and overall extreme silliness are what you've been craving, then head over to the Brick Theatre for Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury... The playfulness on the part of the team of monkey/creature-actors makes this show all the more fun. Maybe we can see a little of ourselves in this story of a simple monkey humping and battling his way through this crazy world."
--Nytheatre.com

“A dirty joke slips into poetry… the nonverbal cast stomps home a timeless semaphore of love, striving, and projectile poop. In the elegant interplay and affirmative physicality of “Craven Monkey”’s considered slapstick is a vision of passionate impulse bestowed with purpose, and essential conflict tamed as art.”
--ComicCritique

You can read more about the show itself at PiperMcKenzie.com, and you can check out our Flickr feed for more photos.

PANEGYRIC FOR THE SALOON

2009-11-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

There’s a lot of hand-wringing to be done about the struggle of theater to be relevant and popular in a digital age, but you wouldn’t know it if you came to an edition of the Vampire Cowboys’ Saturday Night Saloon (the next of which is tomorrow, so look sharp!).

Their name may imply a take-no-prisoners form of swaggering, maverick carnage, but despite all appearances the Vampire Cowboys are have pitched their tent squarely in the camp of the angels. Supplementing the great productions they stage each year and their ongoing fight workshop, the Saloon is a theater experience unlike any other, in my opinion, and one that is of great benefit to both artists and audiences: a raucous, beer-drenched monthly affair in which dozens of enthusiastic showgoers cram into a sweaty room for several hours to whoop and holler and stomp their feet for not one but SIX intricate serial narratives crafted by an astounding menagerie of incredible artists. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I am one of these awesome artists.)

Despite the immense stylistic divergences that have characterized the work I’ve seen over the past three seasons (kite-flying revenge musicals, post-feminist Catholic spook shows; outer-space high-school sit-coms), the shows at the Saloon all have a few things in common:

They all draw from diverse pop-culture elements to create unique and strange personal mythologies.
Each episode is made for approximately no dollars.
Every single artist – from the writer to the director to each individual performer – seems to be having a blowout time.
The shows provoke immediate and visceral audience reaction.
Though each serial stands on its own, they come together in a flare of friendly one-upsmanship, with artists and companies consistently trying to top each other’s successes.
The level of writing and conception is such that you can hop on at any time and find something to hold onto, even if you’ve missed the previous episodes.
Each show is built upon a rock-solid framework of (ahem) Love.

Together, these attributes flip a fat bird in the face of the reigning modes of the more boring elements of American theater culture. The Saloon is not a commercial enterprise for tourists, nor is it middlebrow not-for-profit fare, nor is it avant-garde onanism. It’s the embodiment of a nascent community, one that lives in the culture of our present moment and combines the DIY aesthetic of punk with the geek’s love of genre minutiae to create something both more ancient and more cutting-edge than either: a public forum where artists are invited to experiment out loud, in real time, with ways of having fun in a roomful of people thirsty for stories.

To give them their due, the audience has much to do with the success of the Saloon. Over the course of anecdotal conversations with friends and strangers, I’ve seen that many people have arrived strictly as fans of the Vampire Cowboys or one of the participating artists/companies and then left burning with excitement for them all. The format is conducive to this – everyone wants to know What Happens Next, and the Saloon offers more cliffhangers per month than a 1930s movie matinee. Storytelling as community needn’t be confined to online chats about Mad Men and Lost – it’s something we can create right here, right now, together, in Brooklyn, with actual beer and belching for all.

Several works from the Saloon are moving on to have lives outside of it the fecund confines of the Battle Ranch, as well they should (Piper McKenzie for one is planning a multi-season rep production of our contribution, Lady Cryptozoologist, to choose an example entirely at random). But in order to do so, they will have to be translated from the rough nuggets of playmaking dug up at the Saloon into something a bit cleaner and shinier. In the end, whatever success they find won’t be a substitute for the distinct pleasures of the Saloon, which Hope and I and all of our collaborators have been so fortunate to be a part of these past few years.

And yes, of course, I’m biased – that’s the whole point, isn’t it? But seriously, come check it all out this Saturday. Here’s the rundown of the shows, all of which ROOL:

LET'S NINJA SCIENCE RANGER TEAM GET!
by Dustin Chinn (Member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab)
directed by RJ Tolan (Co-Artistic Director of Youngblood), Qui Nguyen, & Jeff Whitted

MOTHER SACRAMENTO
by Mac Rogers (Universal Robots; Viral; Hail Satan)
directed by Jordana Williams (Member of Gideon Productions)

ENTRENCHED
by James Comtois (Infectious Opportunity; Adventures of Nervous Boy)
directed by Matt Gray, Patrick Shearer, & Adam Swiderski

HACK
by Crystal Skillman (The Telling Trilogy; 4 Edges; Birthday)
directed by John Hurley (Artistic Director of Impeteous Theatre Group)

JACK O'HANRAHAN AND THE TROUBULATION OF DOOM
by Brent Cox (The Dog & Pony Show)
directed by Padraic Lillis (Member of LAByrinth Theater) & Courtney Wetzel

LADY CRYPTOZOOLOGIST: SEASON 2
written & directed by Jeff Lewonczyk (Babylon, Babylon; Macbeth without Words)

Produced by Lex Friedman, Robert Ross Parker, Daniel Rech (Thanks, guys!)

CONFESSIONS OF A TIRESOME CURMUDGEON

2009-11-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

As a borderline-articulate individual who adores the sound of my own adenoidal baritone, I’ve often been asked why I don’t have a blog. It’s like being handed a free megaphone, after all, and since I’m (whether I like it or not) a creature of the stage – and one that never seems to want for an extra word or eight – a blog would seem to perfectly suit my need to EXPRESS.

Well, it’s true that I have this blog, but there are several ancillary reasons I haven’t yet made more it, most of which can be boiled down to lack of time. But in my mind these pale before one unavoidable fact: I am a small, petty individual. I am jealous and peevish and begrudging. After nearly 12 years of creating and producing shows with Piper McKenzie, I have a knee-jerk tendency to view the theater world and the work of my peers through the lens of my own thwarted genius. “That should have been my opportunity.” “Why wasn’t our show called out for that kind of praise?” Et cetera, ad nauseum, ad somnium.

On the surface I’m a nice guy, and deep down I really do wish the best for my friends and colleagues, but on that middling animalistic level boiling between the hard, brittle shell of social manners and the enduring flame of human compassion, I’m an asshole. Or worse – a whiner, a glass-half-emptier, an imaginary slightee, both a bore and a boor. I’ve tried to set a rule for myself that I can’t write any Facebook status updates that are merely complaints about the surface frustrations of my really quite fortunate day-to-day existence. My Facebook friends will note that I often go many, many days without updating my status.

So this is why, to date, I haven’t made a serious go at blogging. To complain about my friends’ successes, to snipe at what I’m too dense or distracted to admit I don’t fully understand about their productions, to embark upon litany after litany bemoaning the indignities of my own creative process – who the hell wants to look at THAT? Heretofore, the world has been lucky enough not to know what it’s been missing.

As of today, the world’s tenuous good luck has been shaken. Anti-manifesto, aside, here’s what’s inspired me to blather like this: our superesteemed colleague Mr. Trav S.D. has posted an entry on his blog Travalanche that sums up much of how I felt regarding the critical reaction to our Fringe production of Willy Nilly – and he’s done it in a way that, while not giving short shrift to the disappointment engendered by such a response, manages to be dignified and idiosyncratic and funny and, in its own perverse way, optimistic. Take a minute to read it, if you haven’t already.

Trav brings up so much good stuff that I hardly know where to begin. The problems he addresses are the problems that any of us face who create theater in a city that doesn’t particularly seem to have much use for it. In particular he rails against the critics. To wit:

• You get reviewed for your marketing rather than what you put on stage.
• Critics (and often audiences) tend to treat you as guilty until proven innocent – or rather, stupid until proven smart.
• Experiments with humor are viewed as inept, failed attempts at same.
• If your work can’t be put in a recognizable bucket, it’s either disregarded or maligned.

Are these gross, unnuanced simplifications of exactly the type I’m railing against? Of course! Did the Willy Nilly critics have a point at times? Most likely! Is this the same lament that has been wailed from the rooftops by artists of every generation since there were rooftops to wail from? Almost definitely!

Despite this, the fact that we all persist in making theater despite an overcrowded and underfunded market – performing largely for fellow artists who have taken a break from bailing out our collective leaky rowboat to cheer on the deft bucketwork of their neighbors – is something that fills me with breathless awe when I’m not too busy feeling depressed about the holes I’ve volunteered to plug up myself. It’s a pain in the ass to do something for the love of it, and anyone who pretends it’s not has probably known neither love nor ass-pain. But here we are all together, and here’s Trav writing a heartfelt missive addressing these frustrations on the eve of an incredible-sounding new project, and, well, it inspired me. Can exposing my own dissatisfactions with the peculiar challenges facing pragmatic dreamers of our ilk make for interesting reading, provide value to any peers undergoing similar self-imposed trials, and – most importantly – make me feel better?

I hope the answer is yes, because this is a pretty high word count for maybe. In this age of social media (when people really shouldn’t be writing at this length and expecting people to get to the end), I don’t need to confine these thoughts to intensive conversations with Hope while she’s trying to get to sleep – I can fold them up into little paper boats and loose them upon the raging currents of the Internet!

I’ll try to write up some more screeds like this as we work on our current projects – Lady Cryptozoologist and Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury, both of which are desperately dear to my heart despite their relative lack of easy explanation. Perhaps folks who come to check them out – or be in them, or hate them from afar or whatever – will read this and say, “Oh. Okay.” And maybe – just maybe – I’ll actually find something positive to say in the process!

Meanwhile, best of luck to Trav and the cast and crew of Kitsch, which opens tomorrow night at Theater for the New City!

THE NEXT STEP IN OUR EVOLUTION

2009-10-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is the image we will temporarily be using as our production still for our upcoming show, Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury:

And here's the tagline we're considering:

"A Darwinian Martial Arts Fairy Tale in Which Monkeys and Monsters Beat the Crap Out of Each Other"

Just though you might like to know.

Willy Gets Extended!

2009-08-31T10:21:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: Ken Stein/Runs With Scissors

Yes, folks, you heard it here first (unless you heard it on TheaterMania, Broadway World, Facebook, or somewhere else) - Willy Nilly has been extended as a part of the FringeNYC Encore Series! That means you have FIVE-FIVE-FIVE more chances to tune in, turn on and freak out:

Thur 9/17 at 10:30pm
Fri 9/18 at 10pm
Sat 9/19 at 2pm
Sat 9/19 at 10pm
Sun 9/20 at 8:30pm

All the shows will be at The Actors' Playhouse in the West Village. We don't really get to call it our Off-Broadway debut, but it sure is an Off-Broadway theater!

Buy your tickets at http://www.fringenyc-encoreseries.com and stay tuned for more madness...

Willy Nilly Week Two: The Puppies Come Around

2009-08-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: Ken Stein/Runs With Scissors

After selling out three of our four performances so far, the public is coming around to what we knew the whole time: Willy Nilly is psychogroovatronadelafreakic. For your delectation, here is this week’s roundup of press – all of it is great, actually, even the one negative review from the guy who was offended (it’s an offensive show!). Still here it all is, in a rough spectrum from rave to grave:

Over at Off-Off Blogway, Ludlow Lad makes us a Fringe recommendation and calls the production “outstanding”: http://ooblogway.blogspot.com/2009/08/fringenyc-2009-recommendations-part-2.html

In the midst of a rigorous grokking of the show at the ComicCritique Blog, Friend of Piper Adam McGovern calls Willy “the most hilarious show about brainwashing and ritual slaughter you may see all month!”: http://blog.comiccritique.com/?p=72

Fusion on the Fly revisits the show and says it has “hit potential” – “It is wild, free wheeling and a little 'off' in a good way”: http://chefprivato.blogspot.com/2009/08/fringe-actor-promotionsmore-eats-and.html

Esteemed colleague Michael Roderick, over at One Producer in the City, says “With crazy music, a twist on a dream ballet you have to see to believe, and plenty of double entendre, this is a show that truly lives on the Fringe”: http://oneproducerinthecity.typepad.com/one_producer_in_the_city/2009/08/oh-a-fringeing-i-will-go.html

Trav S.D. gets the bigshot interview treatment at Paper Magazine: http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2009/08/stage_notes_willy_nilly.php

Jeff Lewonczyk is given full rein to talk till he’s blue in the face on Playbill Radio: http://www.playbillradio.com/podcast/podcast.html?item_id=1406

Patrick Lee at Just Shows To Go You says, “My reaction to this one-act musical went from mild amusement to annoyed tolerance to outright loathing within 20 minutes… a new low in cynicism.” That’s hard to top: http://justshowstogoyou.com/blog/2009/08/23/willy-nilly/

Our final performance on Saturday night is, regrettably (for you, not us) sold out. Keep your fingers and devil-horns crossed for an extension!

Willy Nilly: The Puppies Have Their Say

2009-08-18T17:17:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: Ken Stein/Runs With Scissors

Well, Willy Nilly’s open – has been since Friday, the same day Squeaky Fromme was released from prison – and so this seems like as good a time as any to do a roundup of the really kind of staggering amount of press we’ve received to date. We wish we could say it’s all good, but that, as they say, is show biz. The truth is, we nearly sold out our first house, we completely sold out our second, and a lot of people have been visibly and vocally enjoying themselves, even as others sit beside them in stony silence. In a word, it’s another Piper McKenzie production.

In the interest of full disclosure, here’s the breakdown, with the good stuff first, so the media (including bloggers) can praise us before they bury us.

Have YOU seen the show? Let us know what you think via the comments section, why doncha?

THE GOOD STUFF

We performed at the FringeNYC press preview, which was awesome (pictured above, before we got rained in and performed on the stage).

Michael Musto, after nearly giving us a heart attack, reveals that he found the show “a tastily eccentric ‘psychedelic-atessen’”: http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-08-18/columns/blind-items-about-raw-sex-and-meth-habits/1

Time Out New York chooses us as one of its top picks for the Fringe: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/theater/77602/fringe-fest-what-to-see

Metromix says of Willy Nilly, “We suspect it’ll be the year’s breakout hit”: http://newyork.metromix.com/events/article/new-york-international-fringe/1370960/content

Gothamist names us its number one (and really only) Fringe pick: http://gothamist.com/gothamlist/2009/08/14.php

AM New York makes us a top ten Fringe pick: (Not online, dammit)

Downtown Express gives us some love: http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_329/fringenyc.html

The garage-punk community comes out in favor of the show: http://blog.garagepunknyc.com/labels/pipsqueak.html

A very wonderful person left us a highly supportive comment on the Times’ listing of the show, saying “if this isn’t THE must-see show at this year’s Fringe, I don’t know what is” – thank you, whomever you are!: http://theater2.nytimes.com/gst/theater/tdetails.html?id=1247463494189

THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF

Jason Zinoman dismisses the show in the New York Times ArtsBeat blog: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/at-the-fringe-growing-up/

Jason Zinoman then goes on to fault us in the same blog for not making more of a flying beach ball accident: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/at-the-fringe-when-things-go-wrong/

Alexis Soloski cites the same beach ball incident in her pan of the show in the Village Voice (LESSON: beach balls and theater critics don’t mix): http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-08-18/theater/three-days-at-the-new-york-international-fringe-festival/

Raven Snook’s lukewarm but respectful Time Out review: http://newyork.timeout.com/events/fringe-festival/298327/4127087/willy-nilly

The Male Nudity in New York Stage blog cites an erroneous report about our show: http://mnnys.blogspot.com/2009/08/report-from-ny-fringe-2009-1-wily-nilly.html

Which is then officially rebutted after coordinated action from certain cast members: http://mnnys.blogspot.com/2009/08/rebuttal-re-report-1-ny-fringe-2009.html

Fusion on the Fly generally pans the show but takes close note of one special actor: http://chefprivato.blogspot.com/2009/08/willy-nilly-and-best-food-around-venue.html

Theater Online takes us to task for having limited tech time in the space: http://www.theateronline.com/reviewShow.xzc?PK=21950&Action=Review

TheatreIsEasy.com decides that we’re having too much fun, and that the proceedings are too silly, for this to be a good show: http://mmtheatre.blogspot.com/2009/08/willy-nilly-fringenyc.html

Stage Mage blah blah blah: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/theater-reviews-nyc-willy-nilly-and/

Willy Nilly on NYTheatrecast

2009-08-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Supporters of Piper McKenzie, Trav S.D. the NY International Fringe Festival and theater in general will thrill to the recent podcast from NYTheatrecast, in which Trav engages John Clancy, one of the co-founders of the Fringe, in a conversation about each other's shows in this year's festival.

This Fringe is pretty historic for Piper McKenzie: it was ten years ago, in 1999, that we had our first performance in New York City, as part of that year's Fringe. It was a two-character show called The Walking in Space Show that... well, we're really, really happy with the work everyone's been doing on Willy Nilly ten years down the line! Another milestone: that first NY production of ours was at the old Dixon Place, while Willy Nilly is at the new one. Synergy!

Check out more info on John's show - The Event - and be sure to listen to the other NYTheatrecast episodes about the Fringe!

Get the Willies!

2009-07-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

At 12:01am on Friday, July 24 (i.e., right after midnight tonight), tickets go on sale for the New York International Fringe Festival at fringenyc.org. That means that tickets go on sale for Willy Nilly, which, if you're reading this, we're pretty sure you know is part of said Festival.

We won't jerk you around: the show is probably going to sell out. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not Monday at 3, but AT SOME POINT. Do you want to risk being closed out? We hope not. That's why we encourage you to buy tickets.

More to the point, Trav S.D. encourages you to buy tickets in this special audio promo, with music by our psychedelic house band, The Four Hoarses.

Now, look at this picture of Willy and the Girls:

So there.

Congratulations to Our NYIT Award Nominees

2009-07-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Piper McKenzie is freaking thrilled to announce that, thanks to a couple of our talented comrades, our December 2008 production of The Granduncle Quadrilogy has been nominated for two New York Innovative Theater Awards!

Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role: Ivanna Cullinan

Outstanding Lighting Design: Ian W. Hill

Congratulations, Ian and Ivanna! The awards will be later in the year, so keep your many, many fingers crossed for these fine folks.

Photo Credit: Ken Stein/Runs With Scissors

Pictures of Filthy Hippies (as Opposed to Filthy Pictures of Hippies)

2009-07-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Lo and behold! Kodaksopeia, Muse of Photography, has bestowed upon Piper McKenzie not merely a handful of snapshots, but an entire photostream on Flickr! Visit it right now in order to view, well, a handful of snapshots.

But they're not just ANY snapshots, nay! They're the first batch of photos illustrating the dose of lycergic madness that is Willy Nilly! You'll see some cracked-up character shots, a shockingly wide spectrum of costumes, and images of behind-the-scenes tomfoolery. (Featured above are Mateo Moreno and Michael Criscuolo as a pair of good-for-nothing beatniks.) Keep you eyes on this space for even more, even better pics as the process develops!

Meanwhile, our good friends at Nytheatre.com have published a Willy Nilly preview in which Trav and Jeff say some pretty awesome things about what we all hope will be a very awesome show. Give it a read, then check out the preview articles about our many other brethren in this year's Fringe!

Willy Nilly Has Dates

2009-07-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's true that times and dates are nothing more than arbitrary constraints used by The Man to crush our spirits and prevent us from being Free, but that doesn't change the fact that, if you want to see Willy Nilly, you're gonna have to show up at the right place at the right hour. Luckily for us, FringeNYC has given us a handful of places and hours that we can now pass on to you, our faithful water brothers. Drink deep, friends:

Fri 8/14 at 5pm

Sun 8/16 at 8:30pm

Fri 8/21 at 11pm

Sat 8/22 at 4:45pm

Sat 8/29 at 8pm

Etch these words and numbers into your foreheads and proclaim to all the world your fierce devotion to Willy Nilly!

Help Piper McKenzie Make Theater Magic!

2009-07-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer from Piper McKenzie! As the Solstice kicks in, making the days simultaneously shorter and hotter, we are preparing to dive into an exciting series of projects for 2009. Would you like to take the plunge with us?

In 2008, your donations to PMcK helped bring three major projects to life: the environmentally-staged 30-actor historical comedy Babylon Babylon; PMcK's first-ever film, the short silent horror pastiche The Poison Kiss; and The Granduncle Quadrilogy: Tales from the Land of Ice, a twisted alternate-reality holiday story. (For more information on all of these projects please amble over to pipermckenzie.com.)

Now, we're ready for more! We have several thrilling projects in the works for the upcoming year, and we'd love for you to be a part of them:

WILLY NILLY: A Musical Exploitation of the Most Far-Out Cult Murders of the Psychedelic Era

A selection of the New York International Fringe Festival, this rock musical spoof by indie playwright and vaudeville historian Trav S.D. (No Applause, Just Throw Money) will combine Charles Manson with Mad Magazine to create a kind of anti-Hair that turns the mythology of the late 1960s on its shaggy, unwashed head.

CRAVEN MONKEY AND THE MOUNTAIN OF FURY
PMcK's proposed entry for December 2009's Fight Fest - the Brick Theater's inaugural festival devoted to the art of stage combat - is a Darwinian martial-arts fairy tale told in the same movement-theater style as PMcK's 2007 hit Macbeth Without Words.

TWO-FISTED TWILIGHT

We're ready for our next close-up with the development of PMcK's first full-length feature film, a WWII ghost story that brings G.I.s, Nazis, dancing girls and avant-garde artists together in a haunted chalet in the French countryside soon after D-Day.

LADY CRYPTOZOOLOGIST, SEASON TWO

Finally, this fall PMcK will return to the Vampire Cowboys' Saturday Night Saloon with a sequel to our wildly popular sci-fi-romance serial Lady Cryptozoologist, a comedic adventure equal parts globe-trotting pseudoscience and interspecies romance.

We clearly can't maintain such a gleefully prolific output on our own. This is why we would like to humbly, gratefully, and very politely ask if you might be interested in giving us a hand. By making a tax-deductible donation to Piper McKenzie via our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, you'll be providing us with rehearsal space, costume materials, and every imaginable expense in between. A donation as small as $10 will ensure that our shows get the time and attention they need to entertain and enchant audiences to the fullest. Read on for our giving levels, and help us shine in 2009!

PIPER McKENZIE's CRYPTOZOOLOGY-INSPIRED GIVING LEVELS

JERSEY DEVIL: $10 AND UP

CHUPACABRA: $50 AND UP

SASQUATCH: $100 AND UP

YETI: $500 AND UP

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER (We will call you Nessie for short): $1000 AND UP

So how can you contribute? There are three easy methods:

TO DONATE ONLINE

Visit https://www.fracturedatlas.org/donate/1160 to reach our donation page on Fractured Atlas.

TO DONATE VIA MAIL

Make your check out to "Fractured Atlas" with "Piper McKenzie Productions" in the memo and just send it to

PIPER MCKENZIE PRODUCTIONS

c/o Hope Cartelli and Jeff Lewonczyk

282 20th Street

Brooklyn, NY 11215

TO DONATE VIA TELEPHONE

Simply call (212) 277-8020

Please note: Fractured Atlas is a 501(c)(3) public charity; all donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you in advance for your generous support. In the precarious world of independent theatre, companies like ours don't have a prayer without the assistance of patrons like you. Dedicated audiences and donors have long been the backbone of our success, and will continue to be so well into the future. We look forward to having you as a partner while we forge new artistic ground over the next ten years, and beyond!

Yours until such time as we have nothing left to give,

Hope Cartelli & Jeff Lewonczyk,

Proprietors

Oh Say Can You See

2009-07-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

It’s July Fourth, and what’s more American than self-promotion? Certainly not apple pie – apples are red, like commies. But another red thing is blood, the flowing of which is an important component of the show we’re trying to promote – Willy Nilly: a Musical Exploitation of the Most Far-Out Cult Murders of the Psychedelic Era.

The show will be performing at Dixon Place as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in August. Ever read a Fringe blurb? Well, they go something like this:

Charles Manson meets Mad Magazine in this tasteless rock’n’roll spoof about a filthy faux-Messiah, his cult of wanton women, and high Hollywood murder. With a raucous score, gratuitous nudity, acid freakouts, excessive gore, cruel stereotypes and slapstick misogyny, consider this fictionalized musical satire the anti-Hair.

The script and songs are written by none other than the inimitable Trav S.D., the show is directed by Piper’s Jeff Lewonczyk, and dig this crazy cast:

Becky Byers
Hope Cartelli
Maggie Cino
Michael Criscuolo
Betsy Head
Daryl Lathon*
Rich Lovejoy
Mateo Moreno
Avery Pearson
Trav S.D.
Esther Silberstein
Adam Swiderski
Elizabeth Hope Williams

So how the hell about that – American enough for you? If not, consider this: during the real-life Tate murders, there was a giant American flag draped over the back of Sharon Tate’s sofa in the room she and her friends were killed in. Macabre? Sure. Effed up? Uh-huh. American? Oh yeah.

*member AEA

We Care Enough to Blog for You

2009-06-28T13:38:00.001-07:00

Piper McKenzie is proud to present this obligatory post welcoming you to our blog and our blog to the world. We will be using this space to converse with our audience and curious passersby about what we’re doing, who we’re doing it with, and when, where, why and how we’re doing it.

We don’t anticipate this to be a process blog, per se. The intensity of our fascination with our process is likely to be inversely proportional to your own lack of interest in the particulars. Instead, we hope to store and share words and thoughts and images that relate to the various projects we’re working on, hinting and prodding and pulling and poking at your impressions and our own while presenting a kind of background to and running commentary on the art and entertainment endeavors we always seem to be embarking upon. Along the way, we hope to provide you with some fleeting amusement and, when the opportunity presents itself, actual information.

We expect that future posts will be marginally more interesting than this one.