Sacrifice

Buckers and Yardley thought they would hold us back for our latest BLANK, so the remaining five of us and Jason took to the stage on Sunday for an almost-matinee 7pm Roxbury show.

Quite fitting then that we should perform "Sacrifice the Musical".

I quite liked the title, as it gave us a strong theme to build from. The opening number saw Jesus (Jon Williams) lamenting his decision to be crucified; Susan / Sunita (Keira Daley) giving up her weekend to work for Mr Hodgeson (Tim Judge); and John (Tim) and Judy (Brydie Lee Kennedy) being held on detention by their teacher (Pete Lead) until one of them owned up to spilling the milk.

Summarising a BLANK never truly does it justice, and never makes as much sense as the show does on the night. So I won't attempt it here. But feel free to do so on your own blogs, or in email when you tell people about the show, and how they should come and see it. If you weren't there you missed some beautiful moments of scheming and remorse from Jesus and Judas, delightfully girlish manipulation from Judy and her Mum, and the timely growing of a pair from John. And there was also a beautiful kiss. (Followed by Sunita/Keira telling John/Tim: "You never need to speak again.")

Jason was on form playing a mix of hip-hop, Carribean groove, death march, ballad, tango, and a whole lot more. It's a true delight sharing the stage with this man, even if he does take up a whole corner of it and never moves. (Because he's too busy making you move... aw.)

And that's it for another month. Check out the other shows happening around Sydney, including Gorilla Theatre on Thursday 4 September 8pm at the Roxbury Hotel. Stay tuned, and we'll see you in September for the next BLANK the Musical.

Decay the Musical

Our first Sydney BLANK since before the Melbourne Festival, and it was a doozie. From the title "Decay" we discovered the importance of dental care (to ward off the temptations of the evil "tooth bear"), what happens when you scare everyone away from you, and why you shouldn't be so upright and evangelistic that your crippled son runs away. Sugar may be the tool of the devil, but it tastes so good.

My favourite bit was a touching moment where Jon's character told his daughter, Barbara (Brydie), that his wife died because she was never happy with what he did for her. And now Barbara's love, Billy (Adam), had done everything he could to make Barbara happy and yet whatever he did for her just made her demand even more. It was time for Barbara to realise that it was her problem, not his.

And then there was the moment when Tim's religious nutter revealed to Jessica (Amanda) that he too used to love sugar, and pulled out his dentures to reveal the consequences. And then a sugar-crazy street-dweller (Pete) stole them. It was then up to Amanda to (mis)interpret Tim for the rest of the show. It was good.

As good as all of this fun was, in the end we came to the conclusion that everything is good in moderation. And so it shall be, with a BLANK at the end of each month.

Mind you, if you want to see more there are plenty of other shows out there starring various BLANKers. Why, at the Roxbury Hotel alone there is Full Body Contact No Love Tennis twice per month (http://www.myspace.com/tennisimprov) and Gorilla Theatre once per month (www.twistedmelon.com.au). So, should you miss us, do pop in and see us sometime. We'll be around and about.

Take care now, and be sure to pack an umbrella.

More fun and GAMES (the Musical)

Yes, as Pete tells below, I am BLANK's champion of driving games. The secret really is to never, ever use the brakes.

A similar approach worked well for BLANK's season at the 2008 MICF (hold your applause for that segue).



If there were a prize for the Comedy Fest's most over-committed cast, BLANK should've won it - with some people starring in/directing/producing several shows simultaneously, and others doing a lot of stapling before BLANKs. And I mean a lot.

One day, I really hope we'll have cheap electronic-paper flyers that we can add things to digitally - ie: without the RSI of using a stapler. That'd make adding things such as pull quotes from reviews much easier (ready for another supreme segue?). Quotes such as these from Funny Tonne reviewers:

"if you like impro, this is as good as it gets"

and

"masters of impromptu"

Nice.

Speaking of games (my segue-gland has dried up), we did GAMES the Musical. And it involved computers. Good thing we visited Game On, huh? We can claim those tickets on tax as "research" now!

As for brakes (in improv, we call that reincorporation of ideas "shelving" - impro skillz are life skillz, okay?), a few of us also took a bike ride from St Kilda to Sandringham and back again in only two hours. Had we used our brakes, it would've taken much, much longer.

What we learned about video games

It was Wednesday - one of our two days off for the week - and cycling was the order of the day. However, it was Melbourne, and the sun was quickly replaced by wind and clouds. A second plan was concocted: head to the Game On exhibition at ACMI.

Game On is a (mostly interactive) museum of computer games. From the original arcade machine (an early version of Space Wars) through 30+ consoles to machinima. Before we even made it down to the exhibition we came across a two-player driving game.

Lesson 1: Being able to drive in real life means nothing to a machine.
Players:
Pete (11 years' driving experience);
Tim (Red P-plater);
Keira (failed her L test).

Keira and I raced first, followed by Keira vs Tim and finally Tim vs Pete. After the tournament Keira revealed her secret tactic, which was "never use the brakes". Tim revealed his secret tactic midway through the final lap of our head-to-head race for second place when he knocked the back of my car out on a sharp turn, sending me into a spin, careening into the wall, and finally resting facing the wrong direction. My own secret tactic, humility, served me better off the track than on.

Final Standings:
Keira Daley - Gold
Tim Judge - Silver
Pete Lead - DNF (so much for nice guys finish last!)

Lesson 2: Arcade games are racist
Well, old arcade games. For example Metal Slug, a side-scrolling (awesome) arcade shooter, in which you shoot people of Middle-Eastern descent. Actually, they're people of Middle-Eastern residence. So I guess that makes the American soldiers (or are they mercenaries?) the invaders and murderers. Which is just plain racist. But it's lots of fun, especially as you progress into zombie and alien levels. And we had unlimited credits. That's right. We may have paid $15 each to get in, but we would have pumped twice that into Metal Slug alone.

Lesson 3: Life is cheap when you have unlimited credits
A few nights later we walked past one of those tiny arcade parlours they have in Melbourne. No Timezone or Intencity this - just a barren store filled with arcade machines (and Asians). Now you must understand that after the few hours at Game On Keira was OBSESSED with Metal Slug. And the very front game at this arcade parlour, facing us - nay, taunting us - as we walked by was Metal Slug 5. Bam! In a flash Keira and Tim were facing the zombies or racists or whatever this sequel presented. And bam! a few flashes later the machine was asking for more coins. What? All of a sudden the importance of dodging bullets and saving your grenades dawned on the stunned pair.

They may never kill again.

Well, not entirely true. On the last night of BLANK Tim did pick up a gun again to make one final glorious mark on Melbourne. What happened? Find out soon on...
BLANK the Blog

Throwing Down the Gauntlet!

This is a challenge to all the BLANKers out there!
I feel like I could easily go into detail regarding the crazy last few weeks - the Melbourne Comedy Festival - the fact that we done did good and all that stuff. How we had great crowds, did great shows, got great reviews.
I could do that.
No problem.

But I CHALLENGE others to post about it. Go on. GO ON!

Am I right? I'm right, right? Right? Am I right? Its soooo easy.

BLANK About Town

Buckers is quite right - we have neglected this blog in the past few weeks. Here's why...

We've finished our January run. We packed houses, tried new things, and overall, had a splendid time. Cabaret BLANK was surely a highlight - having us all step up and kick some prepared musical comedy proverbial was a joy. And we finished the run on a most daring and fun BLANK with puppets venture.

The month was tops all round - so much so that we've scored a regular spot at The Roxbury Hotel. You can now get BLANKed there on the last Thursday of every month. Wicked. We're kicking it off with our first-birthday show on Thursday 28th Feb...

Yes, BLANK is 1 year old - awww, they grow up so fast.

It'll be a busy week because then we're hitting the Central Coast for a one-off show on 2nd March. We're BLANKing the world, one BLANK at a time.

And now, the weeks draw us ever closer to our Melbourne Comedy Fest debut. Look out Kaleide Theatre, we will BLANK you!

Where the BLANK are you?

I am wondering where the BLANKers have gone.

Everyday I check, and all I see is a lovely photo of myself and Rove. Sure, that instantly brings back good memories but I can just call Rove and have a chat and all is well in the world - what I want when I check the BLANK Blog is blogs from BLANKs. You dig.

I mean, I could post regularly about stuff - for instance, I was rear-ended last night on my way to my singing lesson and I am not using the term as a euphemism. (Keira, should that be an euphemism?) Luckily there was no damage to either vehicle and I made my lesson on time. But you know, you all don't necessarily need to hear about that.

SO I am putting a call out to the BLANKers. Where are you and what are you doing in the wee down time we have before we take on Melbourne. I want to know, nay, I NEED to know.

Apease me.

Quote of the Night

Last night was "INVENTION! The Musical" and I wish to quote my favourite line of the night -

"I'm a survivor" - Mitzi the Cabaret drag queen played by Jon Williams and Puppet.

"Yes, like Kate Moss, or ..... Dickens." - Ms Mahoney played by Brydie Lee-Kennedy.

Gold.

MICF Tickets NOW available

Yeah, thats right. BLANK! The Musical has early bird Melbourne International Comedy Festival tickets on sale now.

And there is even a pretty picture of Brydie and Jon.

What? Am I not pretty enough? Apparently. I don't care. Does Rove look bovvered?

PRESS STUD The Musical!

Jan 8th at the Roxbury bore witness to the first and final showing of Press Stud the Musical, a once-off, tragicomic extravaganza of improvised fun. The plot that remains memorable the following day is given below!
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Fashion designer with a heart of gold Jessica (Amanda Buckley) discovers press studs, immediately excited by their potential to combine fashion and philanthropy! She shares her excitement with exhausted Thai sweatshop worker Hung (Jon Williams), who is ambivalent about the increase in work. He wants to be seen as more than a cheap worker, he is a man with ideas and drive.

Meanwhile, celebrity Tina (Keira Daley) is utterly smitten with interview journalist and all-round press stud Brian Smiley (also Jon Williams) - and in a dark, dingy, and disreputable medical practice, the arrogant Dr Smythe (Adam Yardley) patches up photographer David's (Tim Judge) injured leg using revolutionary medical press stud technology.

At Tina's house, Jessica is cleaning for the star, mundanely funding her passion. The phone call with Brian Smiley, however, throws everything into disarray, Tina finds nonchalance difficult in the full blast of his smarm, even over the phone. With Jessica's warm encouragement, however, she sets up a date and chooses appropriate clothing. The girls agree (in song, naturally) that she should play it cool.

Back in the news office, David the photographer and the overbearing Brian Smiley have an utterly one-sided bragging competition; Smiley bears away the palm. Nonetheless, the crippled David scores a point reminding Smiley that Tina isn't like any of the multitudes of moronic muff he's scored on before; she has a mind of her own - she's something special. They hatch a plan for David to conceal himself during the date, snapping photos and whispering advice into an ear piece. Like more famous deformed lovers before him, this gives the unrequited David a chance to see his loved one happy.

The dark side of renegade Dr Smythe emerges in a telephone call with his press stud supplier as they work through some kinks in the master plan; a key issue being rust-proof metal. Fueled by megalomania, the increasingly evil Dr demands 6,000 press studs by the next day. His desire for greatness utterly spirals out of control... Whatever those fools at the AMA think, he'll show them... he'll show them all!

Tina and Brian's date looks to be on the brink of disaster, with the invalid David no more able to conceal himself than an epileptic walrus. Luckily, Tina's attention is entirely focused on the magnetic Smiley, and the evening turns to a bodice-ripping success, featuring perhaps the best song of the night, a love duet.

Dr Smythe learns from a terrified Jessica that the 6,000 studs are now in Germany thanks to clerical error, and flies into an incoherent paranoid rage, ranting furiously about invincible German soldiers able to repair themselves in combat. He demands 8,000 more studs, under threat of paramilitary attack. Jessica and the industrious Hung form a plan for defense and begin to fall in love. [Dr Smythe presumably arranges for mercenaries to intercept the shipment, since the next time we see him, he's commanding a thickly-accented soldier of fortune. Jessica and Hung contact the media.]

Immediately before the battle, Dr Smythe reflects on the patterns of history; Alfred Nobel and Oppenheimer both naively believed that their inventions would usher in eras of peace. Both were wrong, so too is the inventor of press studs.

In the ensuing combat, Brian Smiley is shot! His tragic death fills Dr Smythe with remorse, remorse which Jessica drives home. Hung sneaks in, confronting the evil doctor at his moment of greatest doubt. Jessica and Hung, David and Tina show that humanity's greatest asset is love and cooperation, not the hate and destruction Dr Smythe wrought. The Doctor, knowing that the military power of the press stud would corrupt anyone absolutely, commits suicide. The secret of the press stud's terrible power dies with him.

At the twin funeral of Brian Smiley and Dr Smythe, catharsis is complete. With renewed hope Jessica and Hung, Tina and David resolve to press themselves together for strength and support. A moving closing number and the epic themes are resolved!