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We wrapped up the revue last week and I have a few random thoughts….

1-Once again, veterans Chris Nollet and Cheri Tesarek saved my bacon by appearing in a Rubber Chicken show.  Just like they did in “Bushed”, they helped the newbies with their strong characterizations and talent.  More than anyone else this year, Rubber Chicken owes Chris and Cheri a lot.

2-The folks who have never done a revue before were amazing.  Minden, Greg, Nate and Tony were funny and strong.  We all had our favorite backstage moments with these four.  Mine were Minden’s excited Max the Dog portrayal, Nate’s “Home School Musical” dancing, Tony’s emotional moment when Batman gave him a homemade frame, and watching Greg’s bravery onstage every night with some of his offbeat but wonderful sketches.  (And wearing a Renegade tshirt every night as the evil Joker?  Brilliant.)

3-Apparently, Paul Brissett was crabby he had to come out in the snow to see a show.  Sorry, Paul, but that’s no reason to go all “Dominic” on your review.  You don’t like the show?  Fine, that’s your perogative, of course.  But please leave out the personal attacks and mentions and just review the show.  Oh, and also?  It’s not your place to tell potential patrons that the ticket cost is too much and the drive is too far.  I would love to work WITH the Duluth News Tribune to combat that challenge, not against it.

On to the next project!

Well, it’s finally over.  I read Bart’s script over a year ago, had some personal unpleasantness in February, started a desperate search for actors over the summer, started an even more desperate search for musicians in early fall, rehearsed, memorized, danced, sang, and performed!

It all came together and it’s a show that puts a giant rubber feather in the giant rubber chicken hat.  The crowds slowly grew into big, appreciative audiences.  And we even made a buck or two while paying actors.  Gotta love that!  I will always be grateful that Bart decided to stay with me and let me stage the world premiere of his script.  I think he is happy with how it came out, and I am proud to be associated with it.

Show is open.  We’re finally here.  This has been an interesting and fun piece to head up.  I took a couple of parts in the show as well, which is always a challenge.  I hate the director/actor position.  But we got it done.

I hope the crowds turn out and that we can get this show in front of a whole buncha people.  Bart’s script is delightful, insightful, angry, funny and sad.  They don’t get much better than that.

The cast has been a joy to work with…are we ever lucky that Chris Nollet could do this show!  He carries the entire show on the weight of his shoulders and he pulls it off wonderfully.  He sings!  He dances!  He’s George W. Bush!  Taylor, John, Susan, Betsy, Ric, and Cheri also do a great job with a difficult script.  

Read my lips.  See this show.

Well, the show is over and it was a blast, as always.  I am always amazed at how these come together, especially with all the little things than can get goofed up during a live show.  But the actors (Tony Davis, Cheryl Skafte, Cathy Berggren, Tom Martinson and John Munson) always move it along, improvise on the spot, and it always comes off great.

If I could figure out a way to get paid to do these shows, I would gladly do it for the rest of my life.  Radio is fun.

Tonight we get ready to air our second Rubber Chicken Radio Hour.  Combined with our Renegade Radio Hours, John Munson and I have produced almost 20 of these bad boys now, and it is always a good time.  

I love the format of radio.  You can add last minute sketchs, provided they don’t need preproduced sound effects, you don’t need costumes or props, you don’t need to memorize lines…it’s great!  But more importantly, it’s that theater of the mind.  We can do whatever we want because it’s radio!  We can set a sketch in the future with Russ Stover and I riding on hovercraft chairs looking down at people riding elephants on Superior Street.  We can bring Herb Bergson into a super secret cave under the DECC and show him Duluth’s secrets, including how the polar bears at the zoo really control the budget.  There is no end to the fun that can be had in radio.

A few years back I saw Garrison Keillor when he brought “Prairie Home Companion” to Duluth and I was impressed with how much fun he was having onstage.  Dancing, smiling, singing…none of it evident to the folks listening on their radios but it was there for us in the live audience and it was great!

I’m going to keep doing these until John doesn’t let me anymore.  But I hope that’s not for many years to come.  

Next one is October 30, live from Hell’s Kitchen in Canal Park!  Hope to see you there!

So I’m looking at needing one more show for the Rubber Chicken 2009 Season.  It would go up in March and/or April.  Any suggestions?

In no particular order:

Because you can do it anywhere.  We are proving that this weekend with the Finnish Dinner Theater.  All you really need is a place for an audience, a place for the actors, and you can be transported to three distinct worlds.  All the way from a 1930′s house in Virginia, Minnesota, to a rural farm house in Finland in 1866.

Because you laugh.  We are still giggling every night at things that made us laugh five weeks ago.  That’s a good sign. 

Because it’s fun.  New discoveries every night, surrounded by good friends, what could be better than that?

The people.  This area constantly surprises me with the wealth of talent.  Go ahead and pick a script that you love, or write one.  The roles will be filled with the right people.  It just seems to have a way of working out that way.  Our local actors, especially the ones I have been privileged to work with at UWS, are every bit as creative, hard-working and professional, as anyone in the Cities or other markets.  Hands down.

The audience.  Once the circuit is complete and the waves of laughter are washing over these actors and their antics, a real sense of accomplishment sets in.

The next project.  There is always another performance, waiting in the wings, ready to be brought to life on an area stage.

I love it.

We had a staged reading last night for Bart Sutter’s play “Bushed: A Poetical, Political, Partly Musical Tragicomedy in Two Acts”. It went very well, in my opinion. Interesting to hear Bart’s beautiful, lyrical, angry, and funny poetry read out loud. I could start to see how things are going to tie together in the October World Premiere at the Harbor City Theater.

The feedback we received afterwards from the invited audience was very instructive as well. I appreciated how specific and helpful much of it was, especially from Bill Payne and Stewart Platner. Ann Gumpper and Mark Harvey also had some brilliant observations. And Mara Hart and Francis Heid shared some wonderful insights as well. I scribbled notes as fast and furiously as I could. Now if I could only read my writing….

I was also impressed with how quickly the cast dove in, considering many of them were just seeing the script last night for the first time. I hope that most, if not all, of them can do the show. “Bat Boy” up at St. Scholastica goes up at the same time and has a ton of talented people committed to that show. But we’ll find folks! I’m sure of that.

I can’t wait to dive into this show! But first, some Finnish Dinner Theater is in order…..