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.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
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?
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?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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!
------------------------------------------
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!
------------------------------------------
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!
Monday, December 17, 2007
2007 - A BLANKtrospective
Hello, it's Keira again.
If anyone in this cast is going to sound like they're going all PR on you, it's going to be me. Forgive me - I'm designated publicist so it's compulsive behaviour. For hi-res images, press releases, interviews...
Another show that I really dug was "Bacon". And, lookee here, we're back to food! With Bacon and Ham, we’ve had two pig-based BLANKs, no less. "Pork" must be in waiting somewhere (but, dear audient, that is all up to you...).
Of course, "Bacon" was more about bakin' bread or bakin' on various illicit substances than it was about the meat. There was also an upstanding cop "bringing home the bacon" to his 'ho of a wife (FYI, we tend to have a few 'hos wind up in our shows because it's an easy rhyme) and a vegetarian/vegan/"I'm not sure which yet" who refused to eat anything if it comes from an animal. Unless it's dairy.
It may often be edible but, admittedly, BLANK isn't always delicious (*cough*Scapegoat*cough*Wisdom Teeth*cough* ... *ahem*). Sometimes things don't quite go our way. But two not-so-great shows out of sixteen in an improvised production's first year ain't bad at all. 
If anyone in this cast is going to sound like they're going all PR on you, it's going to be me. Forgive me - I'm designated publicist so it's compulsive behaviour. For hi-res images, press releases, interviews...
*ahem*
I'm going to look back on a year of BLANKs (wow - Seasons of Love from the stage musical RENT just started playing at random on my iTunes. Normally I'd hit skip, but it seems oddly appropriate right now). As this blog is an expression of our self-obsession, it seems like the right thing to do.
So, how do you measure a year in BLANKs?
Last Tuesday night's A Very BLANK Christmas show at The Roxbury Hotel was "Ham the Musical". Though we had an absolute ball, we did violate a policy we created a few months ago: "No more food BLANKs".
But I think we can forgive ourselves. Food vocab is incredibly evocative - rife with associations, puns and double-meanings. Someone should do a thesis on that and use BLANK as a case study. Or maybe they should go for a walk outside in the sunshine and enjoy themselves - I’ll leave it to them to decide.
But there has been a lot of food. Our first-ever full-length BLANK, at Coogee Arts Festival, was "Cucumber the Musical". Our second, at Twisted Melon Impro Festival, was "Bacon the Musical". And in rehearsals we've had "Cracker", "Corn", and "Coffee", among others.
But they're not all food. During our season at The Old Fitzroy Theatre we had "Camera" (what's with all the C-words? Somebody trying to tell us something?!), "Antarctica" and the even less edible "Undulating" (what were they thinking?!). I'm not sure you'd want to eat a "Tinkerbell" either (mmm, crunchy), which was one of our Cracker Comedy Festival shows.
Taking the show to BrizImprovFest was certainly not food-related. In fact, good food was very hard to find...
I'm going to look back on a year of BLANKs (wow - Seasons of Love from the stage musical RENT just started playing at random on my iTunes. Normally I'd hit skip, but it seems oddly appropriate right now). As this blog is an expression of our self-obsession, it seems like the right thing to do.
So, how do you measure a year in BLANKs?
Last Tuesday night's A Very BLANK Christmas show at The Roxbury Hotel was "Ham the Musical". Though we had an absolute ball, we did violate a policy we created a few months ago: "No more food BLANKs".
But I think we can forgive ourselves. Food vocab is incredibly evocative - rife with associations, puns and double-meanings. Someone should do a thesis on that and use BLANK as a case study. Or maybe they should go for a walk outside in the sunshine and enjoy themselves - I’ll leave it to them to decide.
But there has been a lot of food. Our first-ever full-length BLANK, at Coogee Arts Festival, was "Cucumber the Musical". Our second, at Twisted Melon Impro Festival, was "Bacon the Musical". And in rehearsals we've had "Cracker", "Corn", and "Coffee", among others.
But they're not all food. During our season at The Old Fitzroy Theatre we had "Camera" (what's with all the C-words? Somebody trying to tell us something?!), "Antarctica" and the even less edible "Undulating" (what were they thinking?!). I'm not sure you'd want to eat a "Tinkerbell" either (mmm, crunchy), which was one of our Cracker Comedy Festival shows.
Taking the show to BrizImprovFest was certainly not food-related. In fact, good food was very hard to find...
All the same, the tour to Brisbane was definitely a highlight of BLANK 2007 - aptly-titled "Light-Switch". I may never forget about ol' Grandpappy Slappy, the ancestor without vertebrae. How we got there from "light-switch" is really anyone's guess. But that's BLANK for you.
At the Old Fitz, I loved "Weasel" and "Hostage". Thanks to our special guest, Rebecca De Unamuno, we learnt how to weasel our way out of anything - including OCD and speech impediments.
At the Old Fitz, I loved "Weasel" and "Hostage". Thanks to our special guest, Rebecca De Unamuno, we learnt how to weasel our way out of anything - including OCD and speech impediments.
Another show that I really dug was "Bacon". And, lookee here, we're back to food! With Bacon and Ham, we’ve had two pig-based BLANKs, no less. "Pork" must be in waiting somewhere (but, dear audient, that is all up to you...).
Of course, "Bacon" was more about bakin' bread or bakin' on various illicit substances than it was about the meat. There was also an upstanding cop "bringing home the bacon" to his 'ho of a wife (FYI, we tend to have a few 'hos wind up in our shows because it's an easy rhyme) and a vegetarian/vegan/"I'm not sure which yet" who refused to eat anything if it comes from an animal. Unless it's dairy.
It may often be edible but, admittedly, BLANK isn't always delicious (*cough*Scapegoat*cough*Wisdom Teeth*cough* ... *ahem*). Sometimes things don't quite go our way. But two not-so-great shows out of sixteen in an improvised production's first year ain't bad at all.
Then, with a season back at The Roxbury, a reprisal at Cracker, more touring and a debut at Melbourne International Comedy Festival all slated for next year, the future of BLANK is looking pretty damn sweet.
Not surprisingly, then, at the end of 2007 we’re all feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves - and most grateful to you for supporting us.
Viva la BLANK!
Keira
Friday, December 14, 2007
Brydie BLANKS
I'm the only cast member whose name starts with B, so my name will always sound better with the word BLANK than any other cast member's name. I often wonder if that was why I was cast.
I also often wonder why Amanda feels the need to bash me on stage and why Jon uses puppets to feel people up in shows when he could just use his hands.
I occasionally wonder if our musos, Benny and Jason, secretly resent each other and if one of them will become a "rogue muso", just like Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It will probably be Jason, because Benny was there first and Jason has brown hair.
I also occasionally wonder if Pete and Keira were ever secret lovers. I hope they were, because there is not enough sex in the BLANK cast and I'm sick of picking up the slack.
I rarely wonder if Adam works for a fisherman pants company as an unofficial spokesmen- a sort of Cash For Comment scenario. I would wonder this more often, but I don't think there is such a thing as a fisherman pants company. And I don't know if underpaid hippies can afford to pay for publicity.
I have never wondered if Tim is actually a robot who can time travel and therefore goes into the future and returns with the plots of all our BLANKs, which he then performs and nudges us into performing, so that when people say "You're making it up? Really?" we're only sort of telling the truth because, in some pocket of time, every BLANK already exists and if the future can be considered as "solid" as the past and present, surely a time traveller COULD know information from the future and then be sent crazy because they are forced to re-enact the scenario they know to be inevitable, thus negating free will- both in life and in BLANKs. Now I have wondered it, so something I wrote only 20 seconds ago is no longer true. Way to make me question myself Tim.
MY CHRISTMAS TREE JUST ARRIVED!
I also often wonder why Amanda feels the need to bash me on stage and why Jon uses puppets to feel people up in shows when he could just use his hands.
I occasionally wonder if our musos, Benny and Jason, secretly resent each other and if one of them will become a "rogue muso", just like Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It will probably be Jason, because Benny was there first and Jason has brown hair.
I also occasionally wonder if Pete and Keira were ever secret lovers. I hope they were, because there is not enough sex in the BLANK cast and I'm sick of picking up the slack.
I rarely wonder if Adam works for a fisherman pants company as an unofficial spokesmen- a sort of Cash For Comment scenario. I would wonder this more often, but I don't think there is such a thing as a fisherman pants company. And I don't know if underpaid hippies can afford to pay for publicity.
I have never wondered if Tim is actually a robot who can time travel and therefore goes into the future and returns with the plots of all our BLANKs, which he then performs and nudges us into performing, so that when people say "You're making it up? Really?" we're only sort of telling the truth because, in some pocket of time, every BLANK already exists and if the future can be considered as "solid" as the past and present, surely a time traveller COULD know information from the future and then be sent crazy because they are forced to re-enact the scenario they know to be inevitable, thus negating free will- both in life and in BLANKs. Now I have wondered it, so something I wrote only 20 seconds ago is no longer true. Way to make me question myself Tim.
MY CHRISTMAS TREE JUST ARRIVED!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A day in the life of a BLANKer....
Hi. My name is Amanda and I BLANK.
I am probably best known for inappropriate dance moves and my desperate attempts at "Diva" moments. Anything to get noticed really. I also elbowed Brydie in the face once during a show - but it was not a BLANK so you know, don't hold it against me.
You know a lot of people, well, a few people, well, one person, actually, my Mum asked me when will I settle down and get a real job?
I say, Mum, I have a real job. And that job is keeping a dream alive. Thats a 24/7 affair my friend, and if you have a problem with that then maybe you don't really love me. And if you don't really love me, than what kind of mother does that make you Mum?
That didn't really happen. My Mum is awesome and if I hear of anyone saying anything about her, I will cut you.
I am probably best known for inappropriate dance moves and my desperate attempts at "Diva" moments. Anything to get noticed really. I also elbowed Brydie in the face once during a show - but it was not a BLANK so you know, don't hold it against me.
You know a lot of people, well, a few people, well, one person, actually, my Mum asked me when will I settle down and get a real job?
I say, Mum, I have a real job. And that job is keeping a dream alive. Thats a 24/7 affair my friend, and if you have a problem with that then maybe you don't really love me. And if you don't really love me, than what kind of mother does that make you Mum?
That didn't really happen. My Mum is awesome and if I hear of anyone saying anything about her, I will cut you.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ready for the BLANK
Hello and welcome to BLANK the Blog!
We always have a lot to say about ourselves, so we figured what better way to be egotistical on a mass scale than via a blog of our own? But we hope that you'll find our musings enjoyable and wholeheartedly invite you to comment as we go.
Last night we had our last show for the year - and our first in a few months. And, I think we all loved being together again and loved what ensemble spirit we've created over the course of the year and loved having a full house and loved mucking around and loved knowing we could trust each other in a beautiful, lovely, lovey, dovey, lovey, love-in kind of a way...
Feeling sick yet? Sorry. You see, my sugary prose come from the fact that, with this show, the ensemble maketh the show. So it helps that our gatherings are lovey love-ins. And stuff.
Don't worry, we still make crass jokes (the closing message of last night's show was "find your inner-Wang"), we still do silly dances, and we still sing bolshy rock/soul numbers. It's not all ballads, braiding and barley sugars.
If you've never seen our show, or have only seen it once, or if you don't know much about improvisation, the main thing to know is this: what we do is made up. Completely. On the spot.
When we step on stage, we honestly don't know anymore about what's going to happen than you do when you sit down in the theatre. This includes our musician and our lighting op.
There are no set characters, no plot, no framework, no score, no set numbers, no set dances, no set harmonies. We go from having nothing, to having one suggestion from you in the audience, to having an opening number, and then stories unfold, songs get sung, and by the end you have a musical - one that you'll see once and never again (unless we've filmed it and put clips online).
Absolutely everything you see is being created as it happens. And then it never happens again.
All of this raises the inevitable question that BLANKers (and improvisers generally) get asked...
"Are you insane?!"
Obviously, the answer is "Yes". But, as the improvisation teachers say, it's a "Yes, and..."
Yes and it's fun. Yes and, more often than not, it works. Yes and people seem to like watching it. Yes and some people think we're lying when we say it's improvised (which is really bizarre considering how, well... bizarre our shows can be). Yes and, above all, it's fun.
You should come check it out next year on 8th January at The Roxbury (182 St John's Rd Glebe), 8pm. You'll have a BLANKing good time.
I also promise we'll stop using BLANK puns at you.
Maybe.
We always have a lot to say about ourselves, so we figured what better way to be egotistical on a mass scale than via a blog of our own? But we hope that you'll find our musings enjoyable and wholeheartedly invite you to comment as we go.
Last night we had our last show for the year - and our first in a few months. And, I think we all loved being together again and loved what ensemble spirit we've created over the course of the year and loved having a full house and loved mucking around and loved knowing we could trust each other in a beautiful, lovely, lovey, dovey, lovey, love-in kind of a way...
Feeling sick yet? Sorry. You see, my sugary prose come from the fact that, with this show, the ensemble maketh the show. So it helps that our gatherings are lovey love-ins. And stuff.
Don't worry, we still make crass jokes (the closing message of last night's show was "find your inner-Wang"), we still do silly dances, and we still sing bolshy rock/soul numbers. It's not all ballads, braiding and barley sugars.
If you've never seen our show, or have only seen it once, or if you don't know much about improvisation, the main thing to know is this: what we do is made up. Completely. On the spot.
When we step on stage, we honestly don't know anymore about what's going to happen than you do when you sit down in the theatre. This includes our musician and our lighting op.
There are no set characters, no plot, no framework, no score, no set numbers, no set dances, no set harmonies. We go from having nothing, to having one suggestion from you in the audience, to having an opening number, and then stories unfold, songs get sung, and by the end you have a musical - one that you'll see once and never again (unless we've filmed it and put clips online).
Absolutely everything you see is being created as it happens. And then it never happens again.
All of this raises the inevitable question that BLANKers (and improvisers generally) get asked...
"Are you insane?!"
Obviously, the answer is "Yes". But, as the improvisation teachers say, it's a "Yes, and..."
Yes and it's fun. Yes and, more often than not, it works. Yes and people seem to like watching it. Yes and some people think we're lying when we say it's improvised (which is really bizarre considering how, well... bizarre our shows can be). Yes and, above all, it's fun.
You should come check it out next year on 8th January at The Roxbury (182 St John's Rd Glebe), 8pm. You'll have a BLANKing good time.
I also promise we'll stop using BLANK puns at you.
Maybe.
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