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Friday May 21 2010 Dystopia Gardens @ The PIT - 5.15.10
Friday, May 21, 2010 at 12:39PM Will Nunziata and Jerry Miller in Dystopia Gardens. - Photo: Keith Huang By: Michael Martin
Dystopia Gardens, the sketch comedy play by Will Nunziata and Jerry Miller, is a lunatic romp through the goofy conventions of neo-futuristic sci-fi. While structured episodically as individual sketches, recurring situations and characters are abound--all 20+ characters in the show are portrayed by the same two actors and they manage to keep each one distinct, despite the sometimes break-neck pace. The show has a thematic and dramatic continuity which rises above the usual expectations of sketch comedy to become, categorically, a play. It is all of a unified piece, carrying the action through to an inevitable conclusion.
The show opens with a glimpse of a supposedly better world and then, through the machinations of a scheming benevolent "Leader," the stage is set for the promised descent into an unpleasant future. This is seen in a series of sketches featuring people of all walks of life--from fast-food clerks and night watchmen, to an over-cloned Leader--a drooling imbecile played with pants-pooping malevolent glee by Nunziata.
Recurring video elements give us a peek of future newscasts. An early scene featuring a museum outing with a father and young son sees Miller playing the best 30-something 10-year-old you are likely ever to see. His spittle-flecked innocence is the set-up for a view of the dark edge which is ever present in this effectively frightening universe. The sketch between two night watchmen presents a tomorrow where privacy is long forgotten and it builds at an expertly controlled pace into some of the most hysterical bits in the entire piece. The show contains a bathroom joke to end all bathroom jokes and the whole thing wraps up with a Broadway song parody that not only brings back every character previously seen all in a four-minute blitz of comic virtuosity, it also maddeningly hints at a sequel which may either be joke in itself or the promise of more to come.
Most striking of all is that the play has genuine heart. Very little of beauty might grow in any dystopian garden but where it does, these writer/performers have cultivated it with great love. It is a rare thing to strike sentiment without sentimentality but here it is. You can do a heck of a lot worse with 10 dollars and an hour or so of your time, but if you like the sketch comedy form, or are a fan of dystopias, or want to see a comedy duo tailor-made to write and perform together, it'd be hard to do much better. Also, if you like bare ass. There is a little of that for you too.
Dystopia Gardens continues its run at The PIT the next two Saturdays, 5/22 & 5/29, at 8PM.
The Apiary | Post a Comment | 3 References tagged Dystopia Gardens , Jerry Miller , The PIT , Will Nunziata in Reviews , Show Recap Friday Apr 23 2010 URDB Live @ Joe's Pub - 4.21.10
Friday, April 23, 2010 at 4:24PM The Universal Record Database held its friendly and spirited monthly live show at Joe's Pub on Wednesday. A wide variety of astounding records were set, but which will stand the test of time?
NOTES
--Box office profits and $525 dollars worth of items auctioned during the show were donated to the Boys and Girls High School basketball team of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn who can be seen here setting a URDB record on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last month.
--The MOMENT OF THE EVENING belonged to birthday boy, Paymon Parsia (pictured above), who successfully snagged the Most People To Kiss One Person At The Same Time record. Also in that photo: the hand of Opus Moreschi giving a thumbs up.
--CollegeHumor's Jeff Rubin attempted the record for Most Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition Movie Questions Correctly Answered in 60 Seconds but he was answering them so quickly I think he more accurately set the record for Most Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition Movie Questions Correctly Memorized in 60 Seconds. Judges??
--Late Night's warm-up comedian, Seth Herzog, was pumped and gunning for The Most Audience Members' First Names Rhymed in 30 Seconds By a Dude in a Wonder Woman Unitard. As the clock started, Seth was immediately derailed like a night train off a scenic bridge when he called on some guy who might as well have been named Orange. This unfortunate opening stumble ate 20 seconds of time, leaving the door wide open for every other man dressed like Wonder Woman to go after Herzog's glory. Stay home, people with names that are hard to rhyme!
--MESOTHELIOMANIA: Joe's Pub's parent company/next door neighbor, The Public Theater, had notices posted on their entrance warning theatergoers that asbestos is going to be removed from the space. Oh good!
Owen Biddle of the legendary Roots crew set the universal record for Jamming With the Most Crybaby Pedals Plugged Into a Bass Guitar... 2! The Apiary | Post a Comment | 8 References tagged Dan Rollman , Joe's Pub , Owen Biddle , URDB , seth herzog in Reviews , Show Recap Thursday Mar 04 2010 Show Recap - Vodka Shoes, 2.26.10
Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 11:00AM Leslie Goshko | Photo: Craig Ruttle
When Leslie Goshko describes the struggles of her youth in her new solo show Vodka Shoes, it helps for the sake of a compelling tale that she grew up in a wacky family where everyone battled a different set of problems. But what sets this show apart from others is how masterfully and economically Goshko handles every sentence, building up entertaining subplots that flush out a grand epic filled with looming failures and quiet victories.
NOTES
* This isn't Leslie's first foray into storytelling. Ardent Goshkoholics will recognize her from her previous solo show S.C.A.B.s Stick Together, as well as her frequent performances in The Liar Show, Speakeasy and her own monthly gig Sideshow Goshko.
* The characters in her story begin as broad comical tropes that grow and develop over time, with intriguing histories that inform their denouements.
* Usually when you hear about molestation within a family, it's cause for concern, but here, it's described as a fun game.
* She dons a pair of stunning ruby-red slippers that whisk her off to a place much more wonderful and frightening than any fantasy world.
* There’s one part where you may suddenly find yourself crying when you least expect it.
Vodka Shoes runs through SUN, MARCH 7 at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place in the East Village) as part of the FRIGID New York Festival (Tickets).
--Andrew Singer
keithhuang | Post a Comment tagged Leslie Goshko in Show Recap Tuesday Feb 23 2010 Tom Green @ Comix 2.18.10
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 1:18PM Daddy would you like some sausage?? | Tom Green's World Standup Comedy Tour came to Comix
NOTES
--Following a brief set by Mike Birbiglia and a timespender by Shawn Halpin, Tom Green emerged from the wings to Don't Stop Believing and toddled through the venue doling out high fives with slow deliberation to the crowd of giddy 20-somethings while grabbing the side of his pants and nose-breathing like an oncoming train.
--Tom touched upon his experience getting screamed at by Donald Trump, the likelihood of Ellen Degeneres' shitty taste in music, Tom's 7-month marriage to Drew Barrymore, and the revelation that he and Drew once tried to adopt a Vietnamese child named Maddox.
--Aside from the Freddy Got Fingered callbacks, one highlight for us was a demonstration of the evolution of man from neanderthal to modern human to our future as curdled blobs with oversized thumbs used exclusively for text messaging.
--Tom got kind of serious at the end of his set to tell us how he found God while staring down the barrel of ball cancer. "Apart from wanting to get up onstage and have a great time with all of you folks who are coming to see me live, I also want to talk straight," Tom wrote in a recent blog entry, "I think we all need to lighten up, goof off, make fun of each other, ourselves, and everything else. Because at the end of this ride, every single one of us will meet the same fate. We are not going to be around forever. So let's enjoy ourselves while we can, laugh, and have a good time."
--Tom's tour actually does go around the world. This spring, he's heading to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and he'll also be putting his bum on the Swedish once again.
An onslaught of fans surrounded Tom after the show just before eating him
The Apiary | Post a Comment | 5 References tagged Standup , Tom Green in Show Recap Thursday Jan 28 2010 Prison Freaks: A Talent Show
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:00AM Shannon O'Neill as "Poly" | Photo: Matt Mayer
By: Keith Huang
In Shannon O'Neill's "Prison Freaks: A Talent Show," the veteran UCB improviser and teacher has compiled a cavalcade of prison misfits so freakish in looks and behavior that they come full circle to funny. Set in the fictional (or prophetic) Charlie Sheen Prison, the show starts with a computerized emcee who offers tips on how not to get attacked by the inmates. O'Neill (Stepfathers, Thunder Gulch) then gets introduced as four different characters, each of whom is a powder keg of pain, suffering and fury just waiting to explode. How each character seemingly hides that is what makes O'Neill so masterful at balancing comedy and tension. With direction from Will Hines (The Stepfathers), intricate video and graphic design by Matt Mayer and stage and costume help from Polo Tate and Kat Toledo, "Prison Freaks" is a perfect representation of O'Neill's sense of humor -- you won't find anything conventional here. But that's just how she likes it. At the risk of getting stabbed in the neck with a dull pencil, The Apiary asked O'Neill a few questions about the show:
What was the inspiration for "Prison Freaks: A Talent Show"?
Five years ago I did a show called "Laid Up" with Julie Brister and Erin Rose Foley. When writing the sketches, we kept the idea or theme of prison in mind, and most of our sketches wound up being about the characters that felt like prisoners of their own body or life situations. We had purchased prison jumpsuits to use for promoting the show, and when I put mine on the first time, I knew I was going to have to do a show all about prison. Little did I know it would take me five years to make it happen and figure out exactly what it would be.
You've been in numerous shows on the UCB stages, but this your first one-person show. Why did you wait so long?
It is funny you ask that, because just the other day I finally realized myself why it has taken this long. Ten years ago I moved to New York and started taking classes at The UCB. It only took me about six weeks to get the first draft of this show written, but I honestly feel that it has taken me 10 years to find myself, believe in myself and trust myself, both as a person and a comedian. A one-person show is terrifying -- I am putting who I am out there. Even though I am not telling a life story, I am telling the audience that I think this is funny. And I finally, 100%, trust my own sense of humor (insert fart noise).
After I saw your show, two of the phrases I heard most from people at the bar were: "hilarious" and "fucked up." What do you make of that?
That means I am doing the job I set out to do, which is to be myself. I have a dark, warped sense of humor so I don't get compliments like: "That was really cute and adorable." I usually get: "What's wrong with you?", "Jesus Christ" and "YOU'RE Married?" And those are the ones I enjoy the most.
There's also a lot of improv in "Prison Freaks: A Talent Show." Do you prefer the improv over the written material?
I could never choose, which is why I think I had so much fun putting both in my show. I really love those improvised moment, but I'm also thankful to have things planned out that I believe in.
What did Will Hines bring to your show as a director that you didn't already have in place?
Will has a brain that functions on a much more human level than my own. One of the biggest and smartest decisions was the order of the characters, and that was Will. He explained it to me from a human's point of view. Will also gets my sense of humor. We took a sketch class together back in the late 1700's and I remember him laughing at my weirdness back then. So I knew he would support and trust my choices, but he also knows when to say "Hey, weirdo, I like the idea, but it is too fucking weird, re-word it so it's not so fucking weird, you weirdo."
How would you describe your writing process for this show?
When I was writing "Prison Freaks" I gave myself the challenge of doing a new character every week for four weeks. I am lucky enough to have very supportive friends: Justin Purnell gave me three school Night slots and Steven Michael Rondel and Molly Lloyd gave me a slot at Muffins in the Window. I was able to test all these characters individually in front of an audience before writing a show around them. So deadlines are what make me write; unfortunately, self-imposed deadlines are hard to keep. But lately I have finally realized I am not a spry little comedy lad anymore, so the deadline of DEATH has resulted in me being much more productive.
* THE PLUG: Don't miss "Prison Freaks: A Talent Show," happening FRI, JAN. 29 @ 8PM (and Feb. 11 & 25) at The UCBT-NY | $5
enda - I love mustaches and wigs, so I put them on, talked and walked around and figured her out.Poly - the first character I came up with. I signed up to do a character at School Night, having nothing prepared at all yet. I opened up my prop bin at home, found my jumpsuit and a mask I purchased a year or so ago, put them both on, walked around, found a voice and figured it out. After that school night, I knew I had a show Idea I believed in.Dinkle Toots - I was at a point where I knew I was now building a prison Talent show, so I was just searching for more freakish looks, again looked in my prop bin, found some unused items and decided this dude likes to tell jokes.Howard Defendorfer - the name comes from my childhood. My dad used to say it all the time, and I honestly don't know why, I should probably ask him. I think it made us laugh as kids. It is such a cartoonish name, so I created a character that to me is a caricature of a prisoner, so it just made sense that he also likes to draw caricatures. keithhuang | 5 Comments | 2 References tagged Prison Freaks: A Talent Show , Shannon O'Neill , UCBT-NY in Show Recap Thursday Jan 21 2010 Ryan Paulson - "I'm Uncomfortable" @ The UCBT - 1.13.10
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:48PM Ryan Paulson in I'm Uncomfortable at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre NOTES
--Ryan Paulson's I'm Uncomfortable is an extension of his previous autobiographical one-man show, Pentacostal Wisconsin. This one gazes deep into the navel of an ultra-conservative boy who fumbles his way into secular manhood. There's songs, there's stories, and a couple of weird takeaways like learning that some people are taught that "angels rejoice at the sight of two virgins on their wedding night." Pervy! Ryan has been out on the festival and fringe circuit perfecting his thing.
--Couldn't help but wonder if God's Pottery knows about this guy? Seems like they should go on tour together, or at the very least, someone should stage a religious themed theatrical event with I'm Uncomfortable, Minnesota Muslim and Unpronounceable.
--Though Paulson is quite affable and his showmanship is polished, I felt somewhat of a disconnect between his stories and his motivations. It was unclear why Ryan left his church or why he moved to New York or why he decided to sin all the time. He said before moving to the city that he was on track to become a Pentacostal minister. More backstory pls!
--Ann Carr was SPOTTED in the audience a couple seats away from me. Ms. Carr said she's hard at work on a GRITTY NEW WEB SERIES called The Actress. Watch and weep.
Ellis and Park helped sing us out with a spirited number about the "raft of God"
The Apiary | Post a Comment | 1 Reference tagged I'm Uncomfortable , Ryan Paulson in EXCLUSIVELY at The Apiary , Show Recap Friday Dec 18 2009 Fight Fest @ The Brick Theater - 12.17.9
Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:46AM
ENTER THE DOWNSTAGE: A shadowy figure resolves the escalating conflict in The Ninja Cherry Orchard, one of the plays at Fight Fest, a three-week long festival of new works featuring stage combat and fight choreography.
NOTES
--A couple years ago I caught a play called The Jaded Assassin and got giddy over its use of kung fu fighting, dark humor, and theatre trick geekery. It was so unique and fun that in the back of my mind, I patiently waited for some type of Broadway movement of less singing, more sword swinging to take root. It never did! But far away from Broadway, in a tiny theater hidden in Williamsburg, the idea has been kicking around through the mind of the guy who wrote Assassin, Tim Haskell. The outcome is Fight Fest, 8 plays and 20 days of well-timed ass-stomping.
--I sat in on three that sounded appealing: Last Life, a surly dystopian survival drama, The Ninja Cherry Orchard, Chekov's classic reworked to include more shinobi ninjas, and Deck the Hallmans, a semi-improvised holiday sitcom. Last Life showcased the most technical prowess, with one of its dark scenes ending in a devastating maneuver known only to UFC champions. An on-stage squibmaster would mosey his way into violent battles to spray blood and hand props, such as sliced ears and loose teeth, to actor-combatants. The Ninja Cherry Orchard provided the most laughs but could benefit from a katana blade to 15 minutes of non-ninja action. For the safety of its actors, the fights in Deck the Hallmans, were not improvised.
--Reviews of all the shows are at Time Out's Fight Fest Round-up: Part 1 & Part 2. The fest ends this weekend, each play goes up at least one more time.
--If there's not enough fake feuding in Brooklyn to sustain you, Hannukkaos goes down at the UCB this Saturday night. Perhaps the UCBW and The Brick Theatre should team up if there's a Fight Fest 2: Championship Edition.
Fighters engage in mortal combat in Last Life
The Apiary | Post a Comment tagged Brick Theater , Fight Fest in Show Recap Friday Dec 11 2009 The 2nd Annual Channy Awards - New York Edition @ 92YTribeca - 12.10.9
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 1:32PM Channy Awards Show host Rob Lathan | Photo: Mindy Tucker of With Reservation
Last night, the most supportive group of video-making, HD-camera toting, boom-mic dangling rockstars gathered at 92YTribeca to celebrate the 2009 Channy Awards, the official recognition ceremony of the New York chapter of Channel 101. Originally created by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab in Los Angeles, Channel 101 is the premiere platform for amateur filmmakers to shoot five-minute TV shows that get screened by a live audience and voted on for renewal or cancellation.
Apiary pal and unofficial correspondent Trevor Williams sent us the winners' list and a few highlights: "John Gemberling presented the best show award; Rob Lathan was a hilarious host performing a musical number at the beginning; Ed Mundy (Adult Swim) recieved lifetime achievement award; I ripped off Obama's 'Yes, We Can' speech when we accepted our award; and my parents came." Ed Mundy also chimed in to say: "Rob Lathan did an awesome job hosting; Chioke Nassor directed an opening song/dance number; and we had lots of original videos that will be posted online in the next few days."
Trevor Williams, Adam Newman (Best Show) and Ed Mundy (Lifetime Achievement Award) | Photo: Mindy Tucker THE WINNERS
Lifetime Achievement: Ed Mundy
Best Failed Pilot: Home Office
Best Commercial: "We can't have children" (Bloomberg for Mayor) (Ed Mundy/Trevor Williams/Andrew Jedlicka)
Best Original Song: "Roboticus" (Roboticus)
Best Production Design: Sandwich of Terror
Best Special FX or Animation: 9AM Meeting (Dan McCoy)
Best Non-Human Performance: The Puppets (Dos Bolas)
Best Female Performance: Jess Lane (101 Plaza, Chicks in the City, Body Buddies, Sandwich of Terror)
Best Male Performance: Chris Prine (Stryker Files, Sandwich of Terror, Scissor Cop)
Best Writing: Matt Koff, Dan McCoy (9AM Meeting)
Best Director: Jeremy Westphal (Stryker Files, Sandwich of Terror, Scissor Cop)
Best Show: The Nice Brothers (Adam Newman and Trevor Williams)
RELATED
* Mindy Tucker's photos
* The cast of NBC's "Community" presents the Best Show Award (Channy Awards - Los Angeles)
ew five-minute shows from the best young writers and directors in NYC battle it out for the right to be turned into a series. keithhuang | Post a Comment | 8 References tagged Channel 101 NY , Channy Awards in Show Recap Page 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7 ... 21 Next 8 Entries » Copyright © 2011, [theapiary.org]. All rights reserved.