Kim Estes in "Drunk Talk"

You can see our longtime member Kim Estes (The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild, Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion) in a show called Drunk Talk at the Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood

This is an interactive show that transforms the theater space into an actual bar, and here is the show description from its website:

DRUNK TALK is an original play that transforms an actual bar into an interactive, high-spirited comedy. So enter the world of McSwiggen's Tavern where you're not just an audience member, but a patron. But watch out because you never know who is "IN" the show or just "AT" the show.

Follow the cast of zany characteristics as they try and cope with the looming reality that their local bat is closing down after tonight. Now with no place to drink up and chew over their aspirations, will they have to actually get out there and live their lives...or will the bar be saved?

Come join us for a round of DRUNK TALK and have a cold one while you do! Full bar open throughout the entire show. Come thirsty, my friend.

Ticket includes a free McSwiggen's special cocktail during the show!

Must be over 21.

Drunk Talk runs Sunday nights at 8pm through August 1 (except for July 4th), and tickets are $15.

Read a review here, and buy tickets here.

Thanks!

Kim Estes being considered for an Emmy

Our longtime member Kim Estes (The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild, Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion) is being considered for an Emmy Award for his work on the series House, MD.

From Kim's Facebook Page:

"So that you all know, as of yesterday morning...in Category 63 on the Emmy nomination ballot...my name is listed for your consideration as "outstanding guest star actor in a drama series" for my performance in the series House, MD. Which means, that I have officially entered the Emmy Award race. So please pass the word ...to your friends who are Academy Television Arts and Sciences voters that I would welcome their support along my journey.

You many view the nominated scene from House, MD. by clicking here."

Congratulations Kim!

Actor's Reporter video on "bobrauschenbergamerica"

Here is a post from our own Kim Estes on Actor's Reporter.com, which features a short video about the show, including introductions by the cast, and director Bart DeLorenzo.

Kim Estes for Actors Reporter on "Lions"

Kim Estes (The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild, Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion) has posted interviews with the cast of the long running play Lions, along with it's writer Vince Melocchi, and director Guillermo Cienfuegos on Actor's Reporter, which you can see here.

Lions is currently up at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, so check it out while it lasts!

Kim Estes demo reel

This is the demo reel of our longtime member Kim Estes (Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion, The Birds).

Have a look and enjoy!



Link

"Choke.Kick.Girl" at LA Comedy Shorts Festival March 6th/"Kill A Kitten"

"Choke.Kick.Girl is a short film written by our Ryan Churchill (Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion) directed by Danny Parker Lopes (Kidnapped by Craigslist, The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild, The Reunion) and starring Ryan, Jenny Vilim (Tulsa Lovechild, The Reunion, The Birds), Kim Estes (Tulsa Lovechild, Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion), Linc Hand (Tulsa Lovechild, Infinite Black Suitcase, The Reunion) Eric Bunton (Kidnapped by Craigslist, Tulsa Lovechild, The Reunion) and many many more of our members has been chosen as an official selection of the 2009 L.A. Comedy Film Festival sponsored by The Onion and Funnyordie!.com.

You can see a clip here.

The festival is a four day celebration of comedic short films that takes place March 5-8 in Downtown Los Angeles. Choke.Kick.Girl. screens in the "I'm Gonna Git You" block from 2-4pm on Friday, March 6th - it's the last film in that block of time. There will be a short Q&A following the screening, and then, stick around for a film with one of our former members Darcy Halsey (co-director along with Danny of The Reunion) called Kill A Kitten (written by our Ryan Dornbusch, and Adam Dornbusch) in the block starting at 4:15 pm.

The festival is hosted by Adam Carolla and a bunch of other comics so it's going to be a fun and exciting time, and we hope you can make it!

Click here for more details and ticket information.

LA Splash review for "Infinite Black Suitcase"

LASPLASH.COM: Los Angeles Performances

Infinite Black Suitcase - Review

By Keisha7



It's been said that everyone deals with grief in their own way. TheSpyAnts' latest production at the Lillian Theatre delivers a healthy dose of that adage for a full uninterrupted 90 minutes. Stories of lost and languishing life unfold and overlaps onto themselves, entwining and pulling at the living in EM Lewis' Infinite Black Suitcase.



The play is an anthology of stories, all unique in their perspective of impending or sudden death. Young Kal Kalinski (Linc Hand) is the face of utter denial as he repeatedly tries to extract a reasonable explanation of a recent family death from Stan Kalinski (Ken Arquelio). Meanwhile Stan is trying to ward off Kal's barrage of questions long enough to fit a proper black dress onto his catatonic sister Janie (Marina Mouhibian). He has no time for sorrow; he has to get everyone to the funeral on time. He's the one that keeps going even when everyone else stalls.



Dan Hanlon's (Eric Bunton) withering figure makes his slow and agonizing trek to his hospital bed even as the audience continues to fill the theater, well before curtain. Having arrived at acceptance, Dan lies patiently in wait until death comes for him. Hooked up to an IV drip, he waits for death in the company of the witty, plant toting, affectionate and consoling Stephen (Jerry Pappas). Throughout the show, they play out a bittersweet goodbye that is taking too long for each of them.



Somewhere in the same hospital, Katie Barnes (Darcy Halsey) tries to bring her ex, Joe (Ryan Churchill) and new husband Tony (Kim Estes) to a truce regarding her children before she dies. There is the sense that the two men have always been at each other, and even Katie's approaching death is not enough to get the two to see beyond their petty bickering. Anything to avoid talking about the fact that she's dying.



Perhaps my favorite segment was between Father Sebastian (Bill J. Stevens) and the non-Catholic Frank (Hal Perry) who finds his way into a confessional that fateful afternoon. The priest's indulgence of the inebriated lost sheep is quite funny. When it is revealed that Frank feels guilt over the recent suicide of his father, the priest's kindness is heartwarming.

TheSpyAnts Company takes an introspective piece about death and dying and blends in a great balance of humanity and humor. The production, directed by Danny Parker-Lopes, shuffles the 17-member ensemble through space and storylines with ease. The screenplay keeps the points of view rotating, a key element that allows the play to avoid being overly sentimental or dark. It explores the rip effect death can cause in one's personal well of guilt, that often exists long before any loss is experienced. Moreover, it examines our innate need to fill that loss of life with something: sex, alcohol, a reason.

'Infinite Black Suitcase' runs now through May 06, 2007
Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm, Sundays @ 7pm at:

Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way
Hollywood, CA 90038

For more information visit: http://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp

Photos by Jeff Ellington

Official website: http://www.thespyants.com/

Backstage review for "The Reunion"

Backstage West - Michael Holder

THE REUNION: Everything Changes. Everything Stays The Same
at the Howard Fine Theater. CRITIC'S PICK

With confessed deference to Tamara, in which the audience followed actors from room to room and hoped to unearth as many story points on their individual journeys as possible, The Spy Ants has brazenly taken the concept and moved it from an Italian villa in the 1920's onto the grounds of the fictional Woodrow Wilson HIgh School circa 1994. The audience once more becomes part of the action, asked to attend the 10th reunion of the Wilson Warriors Class of '84, and spy on the students who had the cajones to once again face their incredibly messed-up classmates, folks with enough residual damage to keep a psychiatrist in teeoff fees for years.

Even the "class clown" who became a shrink (Ryan Churchill) isn't immune to the wreckage; indeed he's creating more. As he confesses his date (Lana Underwood) is also his 19 year old patient, he finds time to surrepitiously distribute a new, unapproved drug guaranteed to make girls get jiggy and spread rumors from an unbalanced classmate (Dawn Merkel) about who was doing what to whom the night of the graduation party while one poor kid turned crispy in a boathouse fire. Director-writers Darcy Halsey and Danny Parker do an impressive job keeping the audience hopping as they tag behind the certifiable students and suitably war faculty members, winding the characters' stories together masterfully and adding a few surprises, such as having Johnny Cochrane (Kim Estes) present as the secret lover of one lusty attendee (Jenny Vilim), the former girlfriend of the football star (Linc Hand,) crippled in another grad night "accident."

The cast is golden, all members brilliant at making their characters real despite the need to keep them talking and moving at once. But like Tamara,the problem with becoming a fly on the wall of this facinatingly dysfunctional gathering is that there's not time to unravel the mysteries in one evening. After the understandable minor clunks of opening night smooth out a bit, this is one production worth a second, third, or even fourth look. And that big red star next to algebra on the back of your program/report card lets you do just that at a discount.

"Birds" Playwright David Cerda on our show

David Cerda, one of the co-writers of The Birds came in from Chicago to see our show at the McCadden Theater over the weekend, and posted his take on it on his blog, and here's what he had to say:

So you're all dying to know...How was it? Saturday night, Chris myself and the Yourex lot attended 'The Birds- A Tail of Ornithic Proportions' (they chose that subtitle) at the McCadden Place Theater in Hollywood, California, baby. The theater was small, holding about 55, which adds to the claustrophobic effect that suits this play so well.

For those of you out of the loop , or for those who weren't in Chicago during the fall of 2001, I'll fill you in about what 'The Birds' is all about. The Birds is a combination, parody and backstory of Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. But wait, there's more..., It's also a feminist drag deconstruction of the film with 90's pop culture icon Camille Paglia serving as the tour guide to the inner sanctum of Tippi Hedren's journey into the darkness created by the HUGE shadow Alfred Hitchcock cast once he decided Tippi was to be his personal property. Unfortunately for Ms. Hedren, this is all true, and the making of 'The Birds' was quite an experience for her.

The feminist deconstruction part was inspired by many things a, including my own take on the film but the nail that solidified this view was Camille Paglia's brilliant, and compulsively over the top essay on the film for British Films Institute. When Camille, like myself, likes something, she doesn't 'sort of' like it, she embraces it, swallows it whole, much like myself.

Soooo..., this is not an easy show to do. There's the problem of bird attacks.There's the mimicking of the film style of the period, there's the very silly jokes and double takes mixed with the very real and disturbing systematic 'pecking' at Tippi Hedren's psyche, and there's a Camille Paglia interrupting and interacting with the cast. Particularly Tippi and Suzanne Pleshette. I read a review that says 'Alfred Hitchcock asks Camille Paglia to travel back in time to help psychologically dismember Tippi Hedren'. Okay..., The wonderful thing about theater is that I don't have to explainthingslike the fact that Camille Paglia pops up out of nowhere. She's just there. If people want to think she traveled back in time, then I guess that's okay, but for the record, Pauline Pang and I didn't really think that when we wrote it.

Where was I? Oh, yes, how were they? They were wonderful. They made bold choices, they were funny, they were scary, they were committed- they obviously loved the piece, and it shows. Did I like every single thing they did? No. But they made their choices, and director Kelly Ann Ford did some amazing things and staged the show beautifully and smoothly, and that is NOT an easy thing to do with the size of the cast, the scenes and the space. Everybody knows I love my Tracy Repep (Chicago Tippi) , but Lori Evans kicked ass as Tippi/Melanie, and I was so pleased with her performance I was like a smitten little school boy with her after the show. She even held the cotton swab the correct way, and in my world, things like that really matter. LA Suzanne was a feisty, lusty woman with a commanding stage presence, and her powerful take on the role was different then mine, but it worked, and the actress, Maria Tomas plays it it to the hilt. Brett Hren as Mitch is cute as hell, and has this Ewan McGregor thing going on, that literally charms the pants off of you when he smiles; and LYDIA...., Well, that would be the handsome Eric Bunton, who immerses himself in the role and is dressed to the nines and is a little more affectionate with Mitch then the movie or Chicago version. He's hilarious, and he's also the man to go to when you need to learn about any of the cast members. Peggy Robinson took the Natasha Fatale route with the beautifully sadistic Marina Mouhibian and Mrs. Bundy was played by (gasp) a WOMAN, the dead on Randi Pareira. Darcy Halsey was a smart and sexy ass Camille Paglia and gee, I can't mention everybody, but they were wonderful and so nice. Kim Estes was an incredibly scary and sexy Birdman in wings made by Brett Hren! Mrs. MacGruder was played by Patrik Carlok who was in the original cast of HAIR- he was wonderful, and it was such a blast feeling that theatrical connection. Oops, let's not forget the ugliest little girl in Bodega Bay, the darling Hal Perry as Cathy Brenner.

Like I said, it's difficult for me to gauge anything I've written, but Christopher thought the show was great and he's always brutally honest with me, so there. Go see it! The LA Times was there the night I went and if the review comes out it will be Thursday I'm told, so keep your fingers and toes crossed that she 'got' it.

LA Splash review of "The Birds"

The Birds

By Jane Emery

Deep in the center of this famed little town called Hollywood, I made my way to the McCadden Place Theatre to see the west coast premiere of 'The Birds'.  Like most theatres, the lobby was small, but as I entered, I was immediately transported to the world of The Birds'. Joel Daavid's set design was incredible and Bosco Flanagan's lighting was mesmerizing and dramatic, giving the look many dimensions. Both captured the energy and vibe of the story in an extremely clever way. It was like walking into a themed Disneyland production, and I mean that in a good way. It took you to another place, and as you stepped into it, you knew you were going for a ride.

And quite a ride it was. The play takes us on two journeys simultaneously and intrinsically.

Director Kelly Ann Ford explains 'David Cerda has created a piece that give me two worlds to explore: The theatrical and the cinematic. He has turned the world of the movie upside down into a place where I can explore an extreme comedic, non-naturalistic and stylized form that is pure theatre through and through. At the same time, he has provided the world behind the scenes of the movie, where I can delve into the absurd yet realistic aspects of the tragic-drama that went into the making of the film. This part of the work is grounded in a realism-based acting style more akin to what we're used to seeing in the movie theatre. These two worlds challenge the versatility and craft of the actors and myself on every level. This kind of work is a rush to perform because 1) it's not easy and 2) because it requires us to have enormous faith in our audience to suspend their disbelief and join us on the ride - both scary and thrilling prospects for any artist."

The cast that worked together so succinctly, their physicality, movement in their use of the space and their ability to navigate the text and double story, added an extra entertaining element.

Another glorious element that made it such an enjoyable experience was Lori Evans Taylor in the role of Tippi. Her comedic range, solid acting talents, and her ability to navigate two simultaneous stories within a story flawlessly made it worth the price of admission alone. She kept me with her on her journey, experiencing it as she was. That's the best you can hope for. Besides all this, she performed physical stunts like an expert. This girl is a pro's pro.

Maria Tomas was a dynamo of husky-voiced energy, very multi-fasceted within her character. She made it great fun.

Last but definitely not least was the amazing sound design by Dino Andrade, which within itself, formed the story, the drama, the emotions and gave this piece added dimension to make it a total experience. It was rich and generous and completed this work of art, down to the same mechanical seagull sounds used in the original film.

This cast does a masterful job, taking the audience on a fun and artistic experience, including Brett Hren, playing the handsomely wicked Mitch, Eric Bunton (Lydia), Darcy Halsey (Camille), Randi Pareira (Mrs. Bundy), Marina Mouhibian (Peggy Robinson), Patrik Carlok (Mrs. MacGruder), Kim Estes (Birdman), Kendall Linzee (Sam), hilarious Hal Perry (Cathy Brenner), Linc Hand (Mike), Maureen Darosa, and Shelby Kyle...thank you all for entertaining us so well.

This is a SpyAnts Production. They formed in 2000, and are known for sold-out, highly successful shows. The Los Angeles Times wrote "...the hopes are high for this group because their passion for the theatre hits all the right notes"...and I wholeheartedly agree. The SpyAnts are committed to serving the community by providing quality theatre and continually being involved with local organizations. Having a non-profit status, they have been able to raise money for organizations such as Glaad, Project Angel Food, AIDS Project L.A., and AIDS Ride L.A. They are currently working with The Hollywood and Long Beach Boys and Girls Club on developing an after school theater troup that will lead to the production of several plays. Visit www.thespyants.com

"The Birds" runs from July 29th through August 28th, Thursday thru Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. For tickets to "The Birds" call: (323) 860-8786