There's a lot going on this month. We're doing a one-night-only revival of Time's Arrow, and a brand new improv show called Yes And Dystopia (see the Calendar for more). That's two narrative improv shows in one day, and if you know how much I love narrative improv, and how long it's been, then you know what a big deal that is for me.
But as much as I love them both, it's a scripted show that's taking up most of my brain space right now.
Within A Show is a full-length play (my first), and a 20-minute preview of it is in the running for Battle of the Bards an annual competition/fundraiser for Ghostlight Theatricals at the Ballard Underground, February 17-18, where the winner gets produced as part of Ghostlight's next season.
But as much as I love them both, it's a scripted show that's taking up most of my brain space right now.
Within A Show is a full-length play (my first), and a 20-minute preview of it is in the running for Battle of the Bards an annual competition/fundraiser for Ghostlight Theatricals at the Ballard Underground, February 17-18, where the winner gets produced as part of Ghostlight's next season.
What Is "WiTHIN A SHOW"?
Within A Show is a show about shows within shows within shows. It aims to answer the question "how many shows within a show can one show have?" The answer, as it turns out, is "quite a lot".
The show draws on centuries of inspiration, from Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (the first recorded play within a play) to Christopher Nolan's Inception, tipping its hat along the way to Hamlet, Noises Off, [title of show], and everything in between.
As you can imagine, it's very hard to summarize. It's hard enough to follow what's happening, even for me, and I wrote the thing. So when Ghostlight asked me for a short summary, I wrote them a poem instead:
The show draws on centuries of inspiration, from Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (the first recorded play within a play) to Christopher Nolan's Inception, tipping its hat along the way to Hamlet, Noises Off, [title of show], and everything in between.
As you can imagine, it's very hard to summarize. It's hard enough to follow what's happening, even for me, and I wrote the thing. So when Ghostlight asked me for a short summary, I wrote them a poem instead:
Old William T. Shakespeare, that eloquent sage,
Once said, or, rather, wrote, that “The whole world’s a stage”.
But then if you accept that that statement as true,
Every stage in the world must be on that stage, too.
And to follow that logic, then what is implied
If those stages have also got stages inside
In a massive stage-fractal of shows-within-shows…
Care to find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes?
Before, you say anything: yes, I know that's not Shakespearean meter*. So sue me. (Please don't sue me.)
I should say that besides just being fun, it also tackles issues from trust and betrayal, to the nature of reality, to the point of making art in a world that's falling apart. Cheap jokes and navel-gazing are easy, and if I wanted easy, I would have gone into Finance.
Anyway, the play is also very fun. The 20-minute version we'll be doing at Battle of the Bards is great. Our cast is phenomenal. I'm so excited to see this thing onstage, and even more excited about the possibility of having a real theatre company behind a full production next year.
I should say that besides just being fun, it also tackles issues from trust and betrayal, to the nature of reality, to the point of making art in a world that's falling apart. Cheap jokes and navel-gazing are easy, and if I wanted easy, I would have gone into Finance.
Anyway, the play is also very fun. The 20-minute version we'll be doing at Battle of the Bards is great. Our cast is phenomenal. I'm so excited to see this thing onstage, and even more excited about the possibility of having a real theatre company behind a full production next year.
So What Does It Take To Win?
Votes.
Or, in other words, money.
Since Battle of the Bards is a fundraiser for Ghostlight Theatricals, it is possible (actually, encouraged) to buy votes. Every $1 donated by our fans is a vote for our play, and the play with the most votes wins.
You don't even need to come to the show to vote! If you CLICK HERE, you can vote (donate) as much as you want! And it's tax-deductible, so if you've got $1000 lying around, you can pretty much guarantee that we'll win. :-)
Seriously, though, every little bit helps. Even a $10 donation would mean the world to me. And if the most you can do is send good vibes my way, I'll take it. You are the wind beneath my wings.
[UPDATE: I head people like Kickstarter, so I'm offering reward tiers for anyone who donates. Click here to read more about that.]
Thanks for reading this far. That means a lot to me, too. Hopefully I'll see you at the show (buy your tickets early, they will sell out)!
And if I don't see you:
Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!
Or, in other words, money.
Since Battle of the Bards is a fundraiser for Ghostlight Theatricals, it is possible (actually, encouraged) to buy votes. Every $1 donated by our fans is a vote for our play, and the play with the most votes wins.
You don't even need to come to the show to vote! If you CLICK HERE, you can vote (donate) as much as you want! And it's tax-deductible, so if you've got $1000 lying around, you can pretty much guarantee that we'll win. :-)
Seriously, though, every little bit helps. Even a $10 donation would mean the world to me. And if the most you can do is send good vibes my way, I'll take it. You are the wind beneath my wings.
[UPDATE: I head people like Kickstarter, so I'm offering reward tiers for anyone who donates. Click here to read more about that.]
Thanks for reading this far. That means a lot to me, too. Hopefully I'll see you at the show (buy your tickets early, they will sell out)!
And if I don't see you:
Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!
*Yes, the poem doesn't scan in iambic pentameter,
It's actually in anapestic tetrameter.
Or, to put it a way that’s not quite so abstruse,
It’s a little less Shakespeare, and more Dr. Seuss.
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