31 Plays in 31 Days: #14 - "Work-Life Balance"

This piece is about superheroes, including Wondra from piece number five. I think this one came out pretty cute and funny, more fully realized than its predecessor. Here Wondra confronts a fellow superhero, Bantam, on a rooftop while on patrol because he took care of a crime in the area of the city she's supposed to protect. Perhaps I should delve more into writing humorous commentary on what it's like to live the life of a superhero, as this piece is rather successful.

I give full credit for the joke about Bantam's name to , who said it to me on Twitter.


Day #14 - "Work-Life Balance"

(BANTAM, a superhero in costume, perches of on a ledge overlooking the city. Suddenly another costumed hero, WONDRA, leaps out to land behind him.)

WONDRA: Bantam!

(He spins around with a start and goes into ready mode, but checks himself when he sees that it’s her.)

BANTAM: Whoa! Wondra! What gives?

WONDRA: You poached my collar!

BANTAM: What are you talking about?

WONDRA: You did! You foiled a crime on my turf yesterday! The heist on 24th Street!

BANTAM: Oh, come on.

WONDRA: You know that the west side is my territory— everything from the Cloverleaf Mall over.

BANTAM: The mall is on the border, it’s fair game. Plus, you never showed up!

WONDRA: I was on my way!

BANTAM: Yeah, well, if I waited for you to get there, I might as well have just driven the getaway car for them.

WONDRA: I had… something else to do.

BANTAM: Well, somebody had to take care of things, and I was right there!

WONDRA: Oh, you weren’t busy, imagine that! The only other thing you have to do is correct people about your stupid name.

BANTAM: It’s not stupid!

WONDRA: “No, it’s Bantam, not Batman…”

BANTAM: It’s like bantamweight boxer!

WONDRA: “No, it’s not Phantom either, it’s with a B!” What even is that?

BANTAM: It’s a kind of fighting bird!

WONDRA: It’s still a chicken, dude.

BANTAM: Better than being that special flour for making gravy!

WONDRA: It’s supposed to sound like “wonder!” When did everybody become a sauce expert all of a sudden?

BANTAM: Whatever. I handled it, it’s done. Just remember, if you’re going to say you’ve got the west side covered, try penciling a patrol or two into your busy schedule.

WONDRA: Yeah, well, let’s see how prompt you are getting to crimes in progress when you’ve got a kid you have to take to ballet class.

BANTAM: You’ve got a kid, huh?

WONDRA: Yeah. An eight-year-old girl. So sometimes I’ve got other stuff I have to do instead of chilling on rooftops all day long.

BANTAM: Hey, I’ve got responsibilities too, you know. You’re not the only one with people in their life.

WONDRA: Yeah? You got any kids?

BANTAM: No… but my parents live in town. And they get on my case if I can’t make it to dinner every Sunday. So I get the passive-aggressive phone calls, even though it’s not like crime takes a regular night off.

WONDRA: Oh, that’s the worst.

BANTAM: If you’re in the middle of taking out some robbers or something, and your cell phone won’t stop ringing.

WONDRA: And Mom leaves you six hundred messages about how you don’t call enough.

BANTAM: Because even though you’re in the process of cleaning up the streets they walk every day, apparently you’re still the worst and most ungrateful offspring ever.

WONDRA: So you end up having to blow off a few patrols you should be making just to get them off your back.

BANTAM: That’s for sure. If I tell my girlfriend I have to work late one more time, she’s going to start thinking I’m having an affair.

WONDRA: You haven’t told her?

BANTAM: No. We’ve only been dating a couple months, and well… got to be careful with your secret identity.

WONDRA: I know what you mean.

BANTAM: One bad breakup, and you could have every supervillain in the tri-state area showing up on your doorstep. Also, I want to make sure she isn’t going to think I’m a freak.

WONDRA: No kidding! My husband thinks we’re all crazy. For running around in skintight leotards risking our lives.

BANTAM: Geez, how that does work? Is he on your case all the time?

WONDRA: He… still doesn’t know.

BANTAM: He doesn’t?

WONDRA: Well… I took it up after we got married. It’s a hell of a thing to spring on somebody.

BANTAM: It’s true. But it’s either that or lie to them forever and feel guilty.

WONDRA: Oh, wait till you have kids. You might have been up every night this week making the world a safer place for them to live, but if you miss even one school play, you’ve ruined their lives. Then you’ll know what it’s like to feel guilty.

BANTAM: Talk about ungrateful offspring.

WONDRA: When we’re just trying to do the right thing.

BANTAM: To keep people safe.

WONDRA: To keep them safe. That’s just… not all they need from us.

BANTAM: Yeah. So… sometimes you can’t be out there to foil every crime.

WONDRA: Even if it is in your territory.

BANTAM: I guess… we’ll just have to cover for each other when we can. Watch each other’s backs, like.

WONDRA: That sounds pretty good.

BANTAM: You know… I got this family thing coming up next Thursday, they’ll skin me alive if I can’t make it… and the First National Bank over on Treadwell Street’s been seeing some suspicions vans driving around the place. If you’re not busy, maybe you could keep an eye on things for me that night.

WONDRA: My kid’s going to be visiting her grandparents then. I think I can do that.

BANTAM: Thanks, Wondra. That’s really cool.

WONDRA: No problem. And… good job yesterday on 24th Street.

BANTAM: No big deal. I’m usually pretty free on Monday nights.

(They nod at each other. WONDRA bounds off, while BANTAM goes back to keeping vigil from the ledge.)

Grumble grumble grouch grouch

Grouchy. I wanted to finish recording Gigi's parts in the first and second episodes of Tailor of Riddling Way last night, but there was an unaccountable buzz being recorded by the headset. This is a new thing and we couldn't figure out where the hell it was coming from. It was very consistent, so Bernie could edit it out mostly, but it was very hard to get it so there wasn't any distortion remaining in the line. We managed to get all her lines for episode one done, which means we could focus on producing that for release in the meantime, but I wanted to get the couple of remaining pieces of episode two as well. Gigi is going home for the summer at least, and though there is a strong chance she will be attending Boston College Law School this coming semester and will be accessible then, at least for the meantime she will not be readily available. I hate when this sort of technical error happens, because I hate anything in my projects happening that is beyond my personal ability to fix. Also, chances are I'll have to spend money on new equipment to deal with this, which I really, really don't want to do, and I'll have to make sure any new equipment records a sound that isn't radically different from the recordings we've already got.

Also, I hurt my ankle a few days ago and it is getting in my way. It feel fine as long as I'm sitting on my ASS being USELESS, but I have too many things to do and I do enough sitting as it is. Unfortunately the more I walk on it, the more painful it becomes, not all that much but just enough to be really, really irritating. I have dance I want to work on, and this is not helping at all.

The Esmeralda Series

So as you may remember, I did a photoshoot involving polaris_xx* as my lovely model and in_water_writ* as brilliant costumer and stylist. Though I don't currently have access to the software I want to really edit these photos, it's about time I posted them in at least rough form so you could take a look at them.

Gigi is playing Esmeralda, a society lady with a secret. Can you see what it is?

So maybe it's not that secret. ;-)

Photo shoot with Gigi and Jenn

God knows the very thing I need is more projects, but I like keeping busy and making neat things, especially when lovely friends and collaborators are involved in the process. Yesterday I had the chance to do just that with and the invaluable help of , and I'm really pleased with how it went.

Both Jenn and I have had the very honor to be the subject of a photo shoot by the lovely and talented , who sets up gorgeous scenarios with settings and costuming, gives wonderful direction on how to model the idea behind the shoot, and has an eye for just the right shots. It was so much fun, and I really admire the works that Haz makes. Though I don't have a fraction of her knowledge and experience, I found myself wanting to try my hand at something along those lines.

I liked the idea of coming up with a little character and plot and setting up a photo shoot to depict that story visually. My first idea I particularly wanted to be the sort where you look at the picture is ostensibly about one thing, but if you examine it more closely to can figure out what's really going on. I will not tell you what my theory was here, because I'd prefer to see who gleans it from looking at the finished series of photos.

For this first time the person I wanted to work with was , who is a talented, expressive actress, lovely to look upon, and always wonderful to work with. I thought she would be perfect for this character, a fancy society lady named Esmeralda. But of course she needed to be costumed for the part, so naturally I turned to the expert in the matter, everyone's favorite Costume Fairy Jenn. She provided two lovely evening gowns, one a clingy dark blue with sparkles all over it, the other a sleek one-shoulder burgundy with a sweeping skirt. They were absolutely the right look, and Gigi looked fabulous in them! Jenn has such a good eye, and not only for that. As we set up the space, wrangling my house into an appropriate setting for the little drama-in-pictures we wanted to tell, Jenn had a wealth of ideas for shots, for tweaks to optimize the image we were trying to portray, and notes for Gigi's acting. And Gigi was as awesome as ever. She has so much talent and her incredibly expressive face is just perfect for getting things across in a visual medium. Also, she is willing to try anything and just throw herself in to the best of her ability. That might be my favorite thing to work with in a collaborator of any kind, a willingness to throw out ideas and try and experiment and see what works. I'm so grateful to both of them for taking the time to lend their talent and efforts.

It took hours, and we wrecked the place with all our props, costumes, and tools, but I learned a lot about what to expect from running a photography shoot. I think I will be a lot more prepared and streamlined in the future. Here's a teaser for you all, a very roughly edited shot from the shoot that I think captures a particularly get moment from Gigi. The rest I'll post once I've had a chance to go through them all, and put them through a real editing program.

Merely Players Hoot review

‘Merely Players’ more than just a side-project for HTP'

By Candice Bautista
November 18, 2011

“Merely Players” was a wholly successful side-project put on by the Shakespeare group Hold Thy Peace this past weekend. A comedy by Brandeis graduate Phoebe Roberts ’09, M.A. ’12, “Merely Players” playfully mocks theater troupes’ and actors’ constant bid for the spotlight while still glorifying them.
The play was put on in Schwartz Auditorium, a venue that I personally had never seen used for a show, having only attended lectures in there. HTP successfully utilized the space, however, by moving the desks out and moving in tables for a sort of dinner show/cabaret setting. Indeed, placed on the tables were pieces of papers that doubled as mini-playbills and menus. Proceeds from items ordered went toward HTP fundraising. HTP actresses not acting in the show were waitresses as they took my table’s orders for brownies and cider. It was a very welcoming and surprising part of the setting that helped set the jovial mood for the play beforehand.

While we ate and waited for the show to begin, the actors in the actual show appeared in character and engaged in hilarious banter. At one point, Malcolm, the pretentious lead played by Ben Federlin ’14, yells to another actor, “You fungal growth! You’re homeless! Go back to under the bridge where we found you!” before hitting her on the head with his copy of “Othello.” These conversations occurred mostly along the sides of the stage portion of the auditorium, but occasionally the characters would venture into the audience along the side rows of the theater to great effect.

The humor only continued to flourish when the show began with the introduction of Cornelia (Stephanie Karol ’12) as the reluctant leader of the Shakespeare group. She discussed the difficulties of the burden of leading and how repulsed she was by actors. Karol, dressed in all black and donning white gloves, was hilarious and simultaneously terrifying. Having spent much of the pre-show act rolling around on various surfaces in Schwartz Auditorium, her entrance was doubly funny.

After her introduction of the theater troupe, the group breaks into a well-choreographed scene depicting the different aspects of acting, from applying make-up, to practicing lines, to struggling to get so much done in such a short period of time. From then on, the play depicts the actors rehearsing for Shakespeare plays that are clearly noted by a sign on the side of the stage. This works incredibly well as it gives the actors something with which to pretend to be preoccupied while also having source material at which to poke fun. For example, at one point in the play, Malcolm and Orlando (Andrew Prentice ’13) fight for the attention of newcomer Sylvia (Gabrielle Geller ’12) and end up pulling her back and forth during the “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” rehearsal. Other plays mentioned include “Hamlet,” “The Tempest,” “Henry V” and “King Lear,” which features a particularly hilarious bit with Malcolm tearing his shirt open, ripping off one of his buttons. Whether or not that was intentional will never truly be known by this audience member.

“Merely Players” differs greatly from the main shows that HTP puts on due to the fact that it is not written by Shakespeare, but the underlying emotions and passions the group has for Shakespeare carries through to put together a great show. Arcite the fool was played by Lenny Somervell ’12, well-known for her comedic roles in previous HTP shows, and this translates extraordinarily well in the small Schwartz venue. She showed no restraint when it came to breaking down the fourth wall and walking into the audience, petting one of my tablemates, and going around to give someone else her phone number. Truly Karol’s and Somervell’s performances were the highlights of the play, their acting pulling the various pieces of the show together into a clever whole. The show ended with just the two on the stage, concluding the show with Arcite’s line, “Better to be a witty fool than a foolish wit,” a reference to “Twelfth Night.”

The exact allure of “Merely Players” is hard to pinpoint because of the various phenomenal parts of the show, but a great contributing factor is the DIY nature of the show. Every part of the performance from the food, to the wait staff, even to the script was all made for and provided by the HTP members. At some points, it felt as though I was just in my friends’ basement on a Friday night, finally seeing the show my friends had been preparing. In fact, since HTP’s fall show “Margaret: A Tiger’s Heart” was put on about a month ago, the members must not have had that much time to put this together. All in all, “Merely Players” was a very good show with a homey feel that showcased not only HTP’s talent but also their dedication and affection for Shakespeare.

Merely Players triumphant

Merely Players came to its triumphant conclusion this weekend, and I am incredibly pleased. We filled our little house both nights, and most gratifyingly of all, they laughed! They followed the show and got the humor! Thanks so much to all you lovely people who came out to see it. Your support means a great deal to me.

Plus we got to test the unusual performance format. More than just our show doing well, I am pleased by the proof of concept. People will come to a show with a cabaret-style setup and buy the snacks and have a good time. That is a doable endeavor that will succeed. Hold Thy Peace could use this format for side projects in the future.

Schwartz is a shit theater space, let me tell you. It's more meant to be a lecture hall than a performance venue, so opportunities for tech are minimal-- a presention sound system and a couple of light switches you can flip on and off are pretty much the extent of it. But we chose it because it fit the aesthetic of our show. I didn't want the polished atmosphere of trying to immerse you in the illusion of another world that so much theater aims for. Instead we wanted, as I like to say, all the nuts and bolts of theater on display. Instead of hiding the trappings of a production, we used them as our set dressing-- you could see our cruddy worklights on the side aisles, the props tables and costume rack set out in plain view. And on top of that, the actors were almost never out of sight, always in character off to the sides even when they weren't on the stage. It drove the point of the metatheater home nicely, and created an immersion of another sort, one where the audience almost feels like it's on the inside of the production rather than just being witness to the final product of it.

It wouldn't have happened without our fabulous staff. Sari, Sam, and Elena came in to wrangle the lousy space and equipment into submission, making our technical functions work in spite of everything. The hardworking waitstaff made up of Plesser, Caitlin, Charlotte, Tziporah, and Simon I thank most graciously for lending their time and effort to pulling off this whole "cabaret with concessions" scheme. Rachel is consistently one of the only designers I feel like I can simply hand off the job to, because I always trust her to do good work. And of course there's Bernie, for whom none of my theatrical endeavors would ever get off the ground. He supports me tirelessly with his work and expertise, and I can't express how amazing I find it that he can take the entire technical burden off my shoulders and make it appear, almost by magic, for me every single time.

My cast was great as well. Lenny, for example, blows me away with how incredibly generous an actor she is, having an excellent sense of how to balance the push-pull of onstage interaction. I chose the role of the Fool for her just to watch her GO, and she did not disappoint. For someone so big and active onstage, she really know how to share it, to extend when it's her time such that she holds the eye captive, and to withdraw to allow attention to shift to those onstage with her. She and Andrew have a particularly remarkable ability to read one another, to pick up on where the other is going and then to move to meet and balance them. I saw it first in Othello when they played Iago and Roderigo, but it definitely showed here too. Andrew himself is finally really hitting his stride as an actor, learning how to use his physicality, make effective choices, and convey expression with his voice. I can't wait to see how he continues to grow; this was a very good semester for him, first with an important serious role in Margaret, and then a comedic one in Merely Players.

Steph was so great in her part as the Director. The character was very much outside her acting experience, and she'd also never done comedy before, so the great work she did here really impressed me with her stretching. The character is in many ways one big parody of yours truly, and Steph exaggerated many of my habits and mannerisms to great effect. I loved how she threw herself into it, pushed herself and tried stuff to see what worked. I think she was one of the funniest parts of the show and probably my favorite of the characters.

I love Gigi's acting. I find her to be incredibly expressive and her enthusiasm makes her a joy to work with. She was my first choice for the role of the Ingenue because pretty much all of her previous roles required her to portray a more mature and dignified presence, something she is very good at, but I love seeing people do things that are different. She was adorable and charming, using a lot of her natural energy to bring the character to life.

Ben was just perfect as the Lead. I don't think he's ever had such a large important role before, so the chance to really get into and develop a character helped him immensely. I find it is often the case that an actor with growing room will often make a lot of progress if trusted with a part he can really work with. Ben has a gift for comedy, which helped, but I think it also encouraged him to create a definite physicality and expressiveness in letting him cut loose and really own the stage. I wonder if he can translate that forward leap into drama as well, and I look forward to seeing what he's like in his next role.

I just fell in love with niobien*'s work. The play would not support another person with dialogue, but I wanted to have a stage manager character in there. It was Bernie's suggestion to make the character silent. It turned out to be the coolest idea. People have a prejudice against non-speaking roles as less important, but pantomime is a difficult and dying art and I did NOT write this role to be a throwaway. It takes a lot of skill and effort to convey yourself without getting to say what you're thinking. Carolyn was amazing at that. She's never done a show as an actor before, but she was so enthusiastic and adventurous. Her expressions and her instincts were wonderful, making the character funny, endearing, and totally readable. I'd love to work with her again in a speaking role, but I am so glad that I trusted the difficult challenge of building a character out of pantomime to her.

April made for an excellent Diva. She learned to balance the over-the-topness of her character's humor with the occasional moments that demanded real, serious acting. She had great chemistry with Ben, and they made for some really fabulous interaction. Those two characters are supposed to constantly try to outdo each other, and it's no small thing that they managed to convey that without actually upstaging each other or failing to work together on the meta-level.

I also loved the visual texture provided by the techie characters, Emma, Jenna, and Miriam. Having them support the scenes made for so much additional humor. Their pieces required a lot of timing, energy, and discernment to nail just right, and they did wonderful things with it. This is a very pro-techie show, you'll notice, depicting them as the most competent and least screwed-up people involved. Though make what you will of my choosing to make the stage manager the silent character; some would say I have stolen that technical voice, while others may see it as a a reflection of how she's given up in the wake of so much actor madness.

Thus concludes my second produced play. Here's hoping that things continue on this vein, and I am blessed with such wonderful collaborators who will help me put on my work. Thank you again, all who shared the experience with me, and came to see the results of our labors. <3

Official Invitation: Hold Thy Peace presents MERELY PLAYERS

“All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” —Jacques, As You Like It, II.ii.139-166









Meet the Walking Shadows, a ragtag little troupe of Shakespearean actors as they struggle to revitalize a company that has seen better days! Come join us for this fun and funny Shakespeare revue that intersperses scenes from the Bard's most famous work with original comedic material poking fun at the nature of performing in a troupe and working together to make theater.

Seating is cabaret-style, with drinks and snacks available for purchase! All proceeds benefit future productions of Hold Thy Peace. Cash only, please.

Two nights only!
November 11th at 8PM
November 12th at 8PM

in Schwartz Auditorium at Brandeis University

Runtime: ~1 hour

Admission is free, donations gladly accepted

CAST
CORNELIA, the Director - Stephanie Karol (Goneril, Helena, Mark Antony, Thalia, Duchess of Gloucester)
SYLVIA, the Ingenue - Gabrielle Geller (Lady Capulet, Portia, Hermione)
DIONYZA, the Diva - April Farmer (Regan, Nurse, Decius, Shepherd)
MALCOLM, the Lead - Ben Federlin (Montano, King Lewis of France)
ORLANDO, the Lover - Andrew Prentice (Lord Montague, Cleomenes, Roderigo, Edward of York)
ARCITE, the Fool - Lenny Somervell (Edgar, Theseus, Autolycus, Iago)
VALERIA, the First Chorus - Jenna Schlags (Oswald, Clown, Emilia)
CRESSIDA, the Second Chorus - Emma Lieberman (Perdita, Bianca, Lady Bona)
CHARMIAN, the Third Chorus - Miriam Goldman (Brabantia)
Introducing
AUDREY, the Stage Manager - Carolyn Daitch
with
Waitresses - Caitlin Partridge (Juliet, Casca, Euphrosyne, Camilla, Desdemona, Margaret) and Charlotte Oswald (Hippolyta, Selene, Duchess of Venice, Duke of Gloucester)
Bartender - Jonathan Plesser (Albany, Lysander, Friar Lawrence, Julius Caesar, Damon, Polixenes, Othello, Duke of Suffolk)

CREW
Writer, Director, Costume Designer - Phoebe Roberts
Stage Manager, Technical Designer - Bernie Gabin
Producer, Research Assistant - Stephanie Karol
Hair and Makeup Artist, Choreography Assistant - Rachel Feldman
Choreography Assistant - Carolyn Daitch