A wave of fun

So, three more BLANKs under our belts. And what a fun time it has been. To be honest with you, I can't give a good review of the shows because I wasn't paying all that much attention. You see... we narrowly avoided Death the other night.

At the end of our show on Wednesday night ("Soot the Musical") we were backstage towelling down when one of the Princesses (that's what we call the girls from Princess Cabaret; we, in turn, are called BLANKers) received on her mobile phone a text message. It was read out as such:

"Tsunami warning for the East Coast"

Well, it was received with a mix of scepticism and fear. Phone calls were made, iPhones were put to good use, and the warning was confirmed. Fears were put at bay when we discovered the warning was for Lord Howe Island and the potential waves would strike between then and midnight. Over the next 15 minutes, however, the alert level was raised and the NSW coast (I feel I need not specify 'East coast' for I don't really think of NSW as having any other coasts exposed to the sea) was included.

Now, the important thing is to panic.

A moment before Princess Cabaret was to open, the producer heard the updated alert and decided to call the show off. The audience was informed (and greeted the announcement with a similar degree of scepticism and fear as did we) and everyone made an orderly panicked rush to lock up, jump into cars, and get up the hill to safety. Though I note that our hasty retreat was somewhat slowed by the man at the boom-gate who made us pay to leave.

The other (and probably more heavily-weighted) reason I cannot remember much of our three shows thus far - Towel, Soot and Tsunami (of course) the Musicals - is that I've been having too much fun with my shiny things during the shows.

Those who have seen many a BLANK will know that I have a habit of playing non-essential roles. I have continued to do so this week, playing an English-understanding cat and a grisled old man for much of the last two shows and pretty much playing around with the characters and not paying all that much attention to the other characters (or 'lead roles' as they are sometimes called). Which is fine, because they didn't pay much attention to me. An improv writer once called this "finding your shiny thing". It is something that Jon does very well, and I've been quite pleased with doing so myself.



Anyway, that tells you very little about the shows, doesn't it? And we haven't been videoing them. So really, the best way to experience a BLANK the Musical is to see one live. You've two nights left, so please waste no further time.

BLANK the Musical & Princess Cabaret at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre (which is still standing, despite the tsunami alert) tonight and tomorrow night from 8pm. Details at http://tumbleweed.org.au/

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!