Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
GIANTS
After all, you’re basically putting yourself out there, risking possible humiliation should your idea of comedy, acting, entertainment, artistic what-have-you, not meet the expectations of your audience members.
(If you don’t believe me, just go to YouTube and search for “hecklers at comedy shows” – 'Nuff said!)
Nothing can be more unpleasant than feeling that intense sensation of dread when a joke is met with dead silence or a video, lighting and/or audio cue gets f***ed-up, leaving you to improvise on the spot.
Being an artist is not for the weak. And that’s why it’s no surprise that the name of Vancouver’s newest up-and-coming comedy project is so aptly called:
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| Photo credit: http://blog.thecultch.com/ |
As part of my goal to try out new and interesting experiences in the city, I decided to take in my first show at The Cultch, one of Vancouver’s most innovative and respected theatres. Having pre-paid for my ticket, it was a sure fire way to keep me from bailing out at the last minute and I have to say, it was a great investment of both my time and money!
After stepping through the beaded doorway of the VanCity Culture Lab, I was immediately drawn in by its cabaret-style layout of high-top tables, red chairs and funky art. The air was electric with anticipation as I took my seat near the front of the stage. Sounds of chatter and laughter were intermixed with the occasional clinking of ice cubes as groups of youthful theatre-goers revelled in their merriment.
Now THIS is what I’m talking about!
After having just finished a run at one of the local “community” theatres, it was refreshing to see so many young people in the audience. Their care-free attitudes, mop-top hair and stylish threads were a welcome sight after having spent so many nights catering to their “grandparents”.
As the lights dimmed and the chatter began to dissipate, a video started playing on a big screen. Luckily for me, the fine folks at GIANTS Comedy decided to post their videos on YouTube, thus saving me the trouble of putting the following into words:
From screen to stage, the evening’s line-up of performers ranged from the wacky to the absurd. It included a mock news cast by Emmett Hall (Loved the weather report by-the-way!), a stand-up comedian (Thanks to Graham Clark for teaching me something new about Ron MacLean!), sketch comedy by the dynamic duo Chris Wilson and Peter Carlone (Fantastic dance and mime sequences guys!), MORE sketch comedy by Devin Mackenzie (Comedy that's totally beyond my reach!), a wicked rap-dance-custom-t-shirt-promo-number by the one and only Andrew Barber (Luv the jeux-jeux bro! Long live the Bejeweler!) and a hilarious performance by Kevin Lee and Sean Devlin in the show’s main attraction, “Town Hall: Attendance Mandatory”.
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| Photo credit: Andrew Barber |
Despite the few technical glitches at the start of the show, I was immensely impressed with the courage, motivation and wherewithal of these young, innovative artists. Not only did they have to conceive, create, and perform their material, but they also had to find a venue, market their wares and promote the evening’s line-up with the hopes of satisfying a potentially fickle audience while convincing them to come back for more!
Like I said, it takes guts to be an artist.
So many of us talk a good talk, but very of us ever bother to take action to bring our dreams to fruition. And that is what this evening symbolized for me. Had these talented young artists not taken action to bring these performances to life, I wouldn’t have had the privilege of sitting in the audience, experiencing the birth of something new and wondering what possibilities lie ahead for my own artistic endeavours.
Thank you guys for reminding me what is possible when you mix action with courage and really bad comedy.
Just kidding.
For more info on GIANTS and their upcoming shows, visit: http://giantscomedy.com/
Monday, October 10, 2011
False Pretences
Being part of a theatrical production is like having to attend a family event (you know the ones where your attendance is mandatory and your only motivation is to make it past dessert without strangling someone). But unlike Thanksgiving where you can say your good-byes at the end of the night, grab your left-overs and run for the hills, a typical community theatre production will have you starring in your own little re-make of “Ground Hog Day” for two to three weeks.
Same people. Same location. Same script. Repeat.
And just like family, there will be some members of the cast that you look forward to seeing night after night. They are the ones that greet you with a smile and genuinely care about your well-being and success. Then there are those whom you can barely tolerate and whose mere presence can cause you to break-out into hives.
Welcome to my recent experience with community theatre.
As an actor, I didn’t receive any monetary compensation for my time and efforts. I knew that right from the get-go and anyone who has every volunteered for a community theatre production knows that you can’t be in it for the money "Cause you ain’t gonna get any!".
Instead, actors like myself volunteer our time and talents in the hopes of receiving an enriching experience full of artistic growth, lessons learned and kindled friendships.
But when expectations fall short (and I mean REALLY short!) and your balance sheet records more debits than deposits, you’re forced to make a decision:
Shall I stay or shall I go?
A mentor actually suggested that I quit the production. After all she said, “Why should (I) stick around if I’m not having any fun? Why should (I) spend (my) time and gas money going to a theatre on the other side of town if (I’m) not being respected?”.
Well, I’m glad that I didn’t quit the play. Even though I didn’t experience the artistic growth that I had hoped, I did learn some valuable lessons.
The primary lesson that I had learned is that if you want to be loved, you have to show that you are open to it. For those of us who have experienced at an early age just how rotten people can be, this can be a very tough lesson to learn. After all, the natural tendency is to protect ourselves when we think we’re about to get hurt. But in doing so, we end up repelling the very thing that we are seeking.
Ironic isn’t it?
So even though I was oh-so tempted to indulge in my old behaviours, I’m glad that I didn’t. Instead, I reached-out, took a risk and more importantly, showed everyone including my inner child that I was open to loving.
Whether it’s on-stage or off, interacting with people will always produce opportunities for growth and reflection. But whether or not we benefit from these lessons will depend entirely upon our attitude and whether or not we possess an open mind.
In the end, my experience with the play was not what I had hoped it would be. But because I said “Yes” instead of “No”, I ended-up connecting with some very talented individuals who taught me the following lessons:
1.) Reserve judgement until you’ve taken a look at the bigger picture.
And
2.) In the midst of all the drama, always remind yourself that there’s always laundry that needs to be done.
To Bob and Sean: Thank you for your words-of-wisdom! You guys are the best!
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| Photo credit: Brian Campbell |
And just like family, there will be some members of the cast that you look forward to seeing night after night. They are the ones that greet you with a smile and genuinely care about your well-being and success. Then there are those whom you can barely tolerate and whose mere presence can cause you to break-out into hives.
Welcome to my recent experience with community theatre.
As an actor, I didn’t receive any monetary compensation for my time and efforts. I knew that right from the get-go and anyone who has every volunteered for a community theatre production knows that you can’t be in it for the money "Cause you ain’t gonna get any!".
Instead, actors like myself volunteer our time and talents in the hopes of receiving an enriching experience full of artistic growth, lessons learned and kindled friendships.
But when expectations fall short (and I mean REALLY short!) and your balance sheet records more debits than deposits, you’re forced to make a decision:
 |
| Photo credit: Brian Campbell |
A mentor actually suggested that I quit the production. After all she said, “Why should (I) stick around if I’m not having any fun? Why should (I) spend (my) time and gas money going to a theatre on the other side of town if (I’m) not being respected?”.
Well, I’m glad that I didn’t quit the play. Even though I didn’t experience the artistic growth that I had hoped, I did learn some valuable lessons.
The primary lesson that I had learned is that if you want to be loved, you have to show that you are open to it. For those of us who have experienced at an early age just how rotten people can be, this can be a very tough lesson to learn. After all, the natural tendency is to protect ourselves when we think we’re about to get hurt. But in doing so, we end up repelling the very thing that we are seeking.
 |
| Photo credit: James Rha (L-R: James Rha, Robert Sterling) |
So even though I was oh-so tempted to indulge in my old behaviours, I’m glad that I didn’t. Instead, I reached-out, took a risk and more importantly, showed everyone including my inner child that I was open to loving.
Whether it’s on-stage or off, interacting with people will always produce opportunities for growth and reflection. But whether or not we benefit from these lessons will depend entirely upon our attitude and whether or not we possess an open mind.
In the end, my experience with the play was not what I had hoped it would be. But because I said “Yes” instead of “No”, I ended-up connecting with some very talented individuals who taught me the following lessons:
 |
| Photo credit: James Rha (L-R: James Rha, Sean Ullmann) |
And
2.) In the midst of all the drama, always remind yourself that there’s always laundry that needs to be done.
To Bob and Sean: Thank you for your words-of-wisdom! You guys are the best!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Dandy Warhols Are Sound
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| Photo credit: spotibot.com |
ARTISTS: The Dandy Warhols
ALBUM NAME: The Dandy Warhols Are SoundLABEL: Beat the World Records
TRACKS: 13
DURATION: (53:37)
DURATION: (53:37)
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2009
RATING: 7
WEBSITE: http://www.dandywarhols.com/
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Burned" | |
2. | "Scientist" | |
3. | "We Used to Be Friends" | |
4. | "The Last High" | |
5. | "Wonderful You" | |
6. | "The Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone" | |
7. | "I Am Over It" | |
8. | "Heavenly" | |
9. | "Plan A" | |
10. | "Rock Bottom" | |
11. | "I Am Sound" | |
12. | "Insincere" | |
13. | "Pete Int'l Spaceport" |
It all started with a trip to the local library. In search of a new album to amuse, delight and tantalize my ear drums, I came across The Dandy Warhols Are Sound on the CD rack.
The banana on the front cover with its splayed zipper was all the motivation I needed to listen to this release and I’m glad that I did.
Whether it was intentional or simply a reflection of their West Coast roots, The Dandy Warhols Are Sound was chock-o-full of references to the all-mighty "budski". With its generous helping of low-octave vocals, repetitive chords and streaks of galactic-sounding embellishments, this psychedelic release should have been sporting a brownie instead of a banana on its front cover.
No other track exemplified this better than, “I Am Over It”. With its shameless incorporation of the bong and lighter, it was a total trip through the "greenery":
Now, according to the band's website (http://www.dandywarhols.com/news/the-dandy-warhols-are-sound/) Capitol Records (their label at the time) didn't approve of this release and instead, remixed the record to create, Welcome To The Monkey House (which explains why the Capital Records logo is scratched-out on the cover of The Dandy Warhols Are Sound). Even though I haven't listened to Welcome To The Monkey House, if their mix of "I Am Over It" is any indication of what I can expect from the rest of the tracks, I'll gladly take a pass:
I found this particular mix to be rather dirty and less refined than its "twin brother from a different mother". And while on the surface it appears that the band had been amicable about their creative differences with Capital Records ("They opted out of using our preferred mixes and remixed the record on their own to create Welcome To The Monkey House, a great album that we, and most of you, also love." Source: http://www.dandywarhols.com/news/the-dandy-warhols-are-sound/), the fact that the album cover is prominently sporting the word "BURNED" makes me think otherwise!
While listening to the release, I was surprised by the vocal range of lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor. Especially during the track, “Plan A”. Hearing Courtney hitting those higher pitches reminded me of the first time I head legendary folk singer Judy Collins on Sesame Street
Okay. Why does this feel so wrong?
Hmmmm..maybe it's because I'm showing a clip of little kids on a wholesome children's television show when reviewing a CD that pays homage to the "Toke-Puff-Bong".
(If you say it quickly enough, doesn't it sound like a Vietnamese law firm?)
Well, if I had to take a guess, I'd say that Judy inhaled during her protest days so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad.
All-in-all, The Dandy Warhols Are Sound is a fun little release that’s as easy on the eardrums as it is on the noggin.
Now breathe deep and hold it...hold it....h-o-l-d...i-t!
REVIEWED BY JAMES RHA
REVIEWED BY JAMES RHA
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