Hal Perry, who has appeared with us in Terminus Americana, What If? (Vol. II 2009), Infinite Black Suitcase, and The Birds, appears in the "Gilbert and De La Harren" segment of the "Miami Model Mystery" episode of America's Most Wanted. Here he plays crime victim Craig Martin, who was blinded in a struggle during an attempted robbery of his convenience store in South Carolina.
The entire episode can be seen here, and Hal's segment starts at about the 19:30 mark.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Who Killed Jason? ("The Reunion" web series)
Who Killed Jason? will be a web series based on our production of The Reunion: Everything Changes. Everyone Stays The Same which ran in the summers of 2006 and 2007. It was a unique project for us that was co-written by the original cast, and co-directed by Danny Parker-Lopes, and former member Darcy Halsey.
The story of 10 year reunion of Woodrow Wilson High School's Class of 1984 remains intact, but there is a new twist. Jason was the guy who mysteriously died at the senior party, and ten years later, no one still knows for sure how he died and who was responsible. This will follow the interactive format of the play on the web, and you can see how it all works by checking out the website, and watching the short trailer.
And just to refresh your memory, check out this segment on the play by YourLA.
Who Killed Jason? LLC is comprised of Danny Parker-Lopes, Darcy Halsey, and Addi Gaash.
You can follow Who Killed Jason on Facebook by clicking here
The story of 10 year reunion of Woodrow Wilson High School's Class of 1984 remains intact, but there is a new twist. Jason was the guy who mysteriously died at the senior party, and ten years later, no one still knows for sure how he died and who was responsible. This will follow the interactive format of the play on the web, and you can see how it all works by checking out the website, and watching the short trailer.
And just to refresh your memory, check out this segment on the play by YourLA.
Who Killed Jason? LLC is comprised of Danny Parker-Lopes, Darcy Halsey, and Addi Gaash.
You can follow Who Killed Jason on Facebook by clicking here
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
“bobrauschenbergamerica”: Now-Feb. 28 @ [Inside] the Ford
By Cesar Cruz
bobrauschenbergamerica is incredibly entertaining. Directed by Bart DeLorenzo, written by Charles L. Mee and choreographed by Ken Roht, the play brims with colorful characters, 43 different scenes (a range of musical numbers) and is backed by explosive energy.
It’s a tribute to the late artist Bob Rauschenberg and his work; actually, it’s not about Rauschenberg but about what he saw. Rauschenberg’s work is a reflection of America, which consequently involves love stories, picnics, business schemes, shootings and, of course, a person in a chicken costume strolling across center stage. Through collages, Rauschenberg realized a technique that came to be known as “Combines,” which are collages created from nontraditional materials (e.g. pictures, familiar prints, sculptures, tennis balls, stuffed goats) that attempt to blur the line between art and life.
Reviewing bobrauchenbergamerica is like describing another description. The collage of scenes that makes the play, as well as the themes and characters, work more or less as a mirror than a story. There’s nothing logical about the production, yet it makes sense; like 10 people giving their interpretation of one piece of art – at the same time! Each scene takes you hostage and relentlessly impresses sheer exhilaration for living in a country where people make up their lives as they go.
The play works quite well. I barely notice that an hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission, passes. This depiction of America, as seen through Rauschenberg’s eyes and under DeLorenzo’s direction, is fearless and optimistic, but best of all unedited.
If you get tired of a scene, rest assured it will soon end. However, much like life, you don’t always like what you see or what you get. Some scenes may be outlandish, but in a way that forces you to acknowledge the myriad forms reality can take.
bobrauchenbergamerica, while sensitive and philosophical, gives your eyes a workout, then sends you back into the world.
[Inside] the Ford is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E., Hollywood. For more information, visit fordtheaters.org.
By Cesar Cruz
bobrauschenbergamerica is incredibly entertaining. Directed by Bart DeLorenzo, written by Charles L. Mee and choreographed by Ken Roht, the play brims with colorful characters, 43 different scenes (a range of musical numbers) and is backed by explosive energy.
It’s a tribute to the late artist Bob Rauschenberg and his work; actually, it’s not about Rauschenberg but about what he saw. Rauschenberg’s work is a reflection of America, which consequently involves love stories, picnics, business schemes, shootings and, of course, a person in a chicken costume strolling across center stage. Through collages, Rauschenberg realized a technique that came to be known as “Combines,” which are collages created from nontraditional materials (e.g. pictures, familiar prints, sculptures, tennis balls, stuffed goats) that attempt to blur the line between art and life.
Reviewing bobrauchenbergamerica is like describing another description. The collage of scenes that makes the play, as well as the themes and characters, work more or less as a mirror than a story. There’s nothing logical about the production, yet it makes sense; like 10 people giving their interpretation of one piece of art – at the same time! Each scene takes you hostage and relentlessly impresses sheer exhilaration for living in a country where people make up their lives as they go.
The play works quite well. I barely notice that an hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission, passes. This depiction of America, as seen through Rauschenberg’s eyes and under DeLorenzo’s direction, is fearless and optimistic, but best of all unedited.
If you get tired of a scene, rest assured it will soon end. However, much like life, you don’t always like what you see or what you get. Some scenes may be outlandish, but in a way that forces you to acknowledge the myriad forms reality can take.
bobrauchenbergamerica, while sensitive and philosophical, gives your eyes a workout, then sends you back into the world.
[Inside] the Ford is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E., Hollywood. For more information, visit fordtheaters.org.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Backstage review of "bobrauschenbergamerica"
bobrauschenbergamerica
TheSpyAnts at [Inside] the Ford
Reviewed by Jeff Favre
FEBRUARY 03, 2010
"Art was not a part of lives," says the character known as Bob's Mom in Charles L. Mee's 2001 one-act, nonlinear homage to the late American artist Bob Rauschenberg. And regardless of whether the character truly is based on Rauschenberg's real-life mother, Dora (the play's last line reportedly was spoken by her), the sentiment is false and telling because her stories show that art is all around for those who search for it—as Rauschenberg did by using found objects to create the iconic combines and collages for which he is best known. Few playwrights could be better suited than Mee to attempt to translate Rauschenberg's style for theater, because Mee shows more interest in juxtaposition of disparate images and emotions than in telling a coherent story. But those willing to mentally traverse this living museum for 90 minutes—led by a deft curatorial staff (aka TheSpyAnts' 10-person cast and director Bart DeLorenzo)—will discover a wealth of intriguing, visually captivating and funny vignettes among the more than 40 presented.
There are named characters, though it hardly matters, including Bob's Mom (Mari Marks), Phil the Trucker (Danny Parker-Lopes), Phil's Girl (Maria Tomas), and the nonspeaking Roller Girl (Breeze Braunschweig). There's also an entire barbershop chorus that delivers a mini concert. Mee's script delves into the building blocks of art and love, while the visuals involve a rolling bathtub, a man in a chicken suit, and a martini Slip 'n Slide.
DeLorenzo, who has directed a few Mee plays, successfully evokes whimsy when needed, as well as understated sadness, all while keeping a pace that's brisk enough to keep the less compelling moments from dragging down the performance. The cast works in harmony, flitting in and out of scenes as if each actor is part of a single entity. Ken Roht's choreography injects energy and humor to a couple of dance numbers. And Marina Mouhibian's set resembles a collection of Rauschenberg combines, which creates an ideal atmosphere. Not every scene of "bobrauschenbergamerica" is a winner, but as a whole it's entertaining and memorable.
Presented by TheSpyAnts at [Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. Jan. 23–Feb. 28. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 and 7 p.m. (323) 461-3673. www.fordtheatres.org.
TheSpyAnts at [Inside] the Ford
Reviewed by Jeff Favre
FEBRUARY 03, 2010
"Art was not a part of lives," says the character known as Bob's Mom in Charles L. Mee's 2001 one-act, nonlinear homage to the late American artist Bob Rauschenberg. And regardless of whether the character truly is based on Rauschenberg's real-life mother, Dora (the play's last line reportedly was spoken by her), the sentiment is false and telling because her stories show that art is all around for those who search for it—as Rauschenberg did by using found objects to create the iconic combines and collages for which he is best known. Few playwrights could be better suited than Mee to attempt to translate Rauschenberg's style for theater, because Mee shows more interest in juxtaposition of disparate images and emotions than in telling a coherent story. But those willing to mentally traverse this living museum for 90 minutes—led by a deft curatorial staff (aka TheSpyAnts' 10-person cast and director Bart DeLorenzo)—will discover a wealth of intriguing, visually captivating and funny vignettes among the more than 40 presented.
There are named characters, though it hardly matters, including Bob's Mom (Mari Marks), Phil the Trucker (Danny Parker-Lopes), Phil's Girl (Maria Tomas), and the nonspeaking Roller Girl (Breeze Braunschweig). There's also an entire barbershop chorus that delivers a mini concert. Mee's script delves into the building blocks of art and love, while the visuals involve a rolling bathtub, a man in a chicken suit, and a martini Slip 'n Slide.
DeLorenzo, who has directed a few Mee plays, successfully evokes whimsy when needed, as well as understated sadness, all while keeping a pace that's brisk enough to keep the less compelling moments from dragging down the performance. The cast works in harmony, flitting in and out of scenes as if each actor is part of a single entity. Ken Roht's choreography injects energy and humor to a couple of dance numbers. And Marina Mouhibian's set resembles a collection of Rauschenberg combines, which creates an ideal atmosphere. Not every scene of "bobrauschenbergamerica" is a winner, but as a whole it's entertaining and memorable.
Presented by TheSpyAnts at [Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. Jan. 23–Feb. 28. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 and 7 p.m. (323) 461-3673. www.fordtheatres.org.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
OUTSIDE THE BOX: BOBRAUSCHENBERGAMERICA AT [INSIDE] THE FORD (EyespyLA.com review)
OUTSIDE THE BOX: BOBRAUSCHENBERGAMERICA AT [INSIDE] THE FORD
By M.R. Hunter
What does a man in a chicken suit, a giant bowling pin, a rooster and a kitchen whisk all have in common? Everything and nothing in the LA premiere of Charles Mee’s zany collage-montage tribute to the late modern artist, Robert Rauschenberg at [Inside] the Ford.
One of the most forward-thinking artists of his time, Rauschenberg’s work combined ordinary materials and objects with spectacular splashes of color and familiar images to create pieces that were not entirely art and not entirely sculpture, but something in the space between. Predating the Pop Art movement, Rauschenberg’s “outside-the-box” method inspired the likes of Pollock, Joseph Cornell, and Oldenburg with his break from the traditional, fixed space of the canvas. Art then, literally became for Rauschenberg something outside of itself, a thing discoverable in the everyday and a hodgepodge of the seemingly contradictory connected in tandem and unity.
Inspired by Rauschenberg, Mee conceives a play not bound by conventional Aristotelian unities, but channels the absurdist and radical approach of the artist’s innovative spirit. Like a gallery of Rauschenberg collages brought to life, the action is both startling and disjointed, it confronts and challenges the very idea of art and performance itself, yet is cohesive enough to be visually entertaining. Bart DeLorenzo polishes what might otherwise comes across as amateur and raw into a provocative performance that if nothing else is definitely unlike anything else.
The only discernable thread keeping the wildly assorted vignettes from spinning completely out of control are the recollections of Rauschenberg’s early childhood, as told by his Mom (Mari Marks). Projected on a backdrop behind her are black and white photos of what is otherwise an ordinary, almost painfully average little boy whose humble beginnings hardly indicated the great influence in art he would one day become. As if these family photos were not convincing enough, Bob’s Mom ends each shared memory with the repeated refrain, “Art was not a part of our lives.” Whatever it was that taught Rauschenberg to see the world through his distorted kaleidoscope lenses is a wonder and will remain a mystery much like his vividly odd collages.
All the rest is simply off-the-wall non-sequiturs featuring some amusing anecdotes on relationships, acceptance, and love—if one is intent on ferreting out a theme here. It is better not to try to interpret or judge the merits of each scene, but rather to sit back and let the scenes roll on by like a passenger on a journey through a strange landscape or lucid dream. Eventually, nonsense becomes perfect sense in this wonderland filled with delightful, whimsical characters.
Where else can one find a Roller Girl (Breeze Braunschweig) gliding by on retro-styled skates, while a man dressed in a chicken suit crosses the stage? Then there is the shaken, not stirred body writhing martini bath or the random attack on a metal trashcan with a baseball bat. A pizza delivery boy (John Charles Meyer) recounts his homicidal past with casual indifference while Phil, the Trucker (Danny Parker-Lopes) delivers his own brand of torture with a series of chicken jokes—actually, the one about the egg is pretty funny. While these particular characters and scenes do not directly relate to Rauschenberg himself, they do capture the essence of his work.
Music numbers liven up the uneasy transitions with line dances and hoe downs choreographed by Ken Roht. Marina Mouhibian’s set design utilizes the open wings on of the proscenium, filling it with splattered canvases and bric-a-brac in keeping with Rauschenberg’s technique. A bicycle and a High Flyer cart hang from the catwalks and the otherwise minimalist space finds room for a ten-foot high stack of cardboard boxes.
Bob Rauschenberg would probably reject the idea of anyone trying to review this play. His vision defies interpretation, went against the grain of it, and like him this production by TheSpyAnts Theatre Company shouldn’t be read by proxy, but seen without any expectations. In the nonsensical yet cogent world of Rauschenberg, the best review for this show would be to tell a chicken joke and end with that.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the playground?
A: To get to the other slide.
Fin
bobrauschenbergamerica
Runs through Feb 28
Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm & 7pm
[Inside] the Ford
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East
Hollywood, CA 90068
PH: 323-461-3673
www.FordTheatres.org
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