LITTLE SHOP OF TIME, STONED AND FUNKY

Suddenly it's Summer. And 2021. What happened? Time is out of joint. No, Time smoked a joint and we are all experiencing a mass contact high, where time flows backwards and forwards, and all things past, present, and future exist at the same time. 

We are all Doctor Manhattan.

Speaking of science fiction, I am directing a production of Little Shop of Horrors that opens tomorrow.  This is with Sasquatch Productions, the company I have with August Stoten. I am am the Left Foot, and he is the Right Foot. I love it. The company, the show, the whole enchilada. There is nothing so satisfactory as going to rehearsals and thinking "this is my show, for my company, and we hired everyone and they are all rock stars". 

They are. Don't take my word for it. Here, watch the video below.

https://vimeo.com/565878982

This show is rock-n-roll meets Science Fiction meets a world where Time is High and we all feed the plants that we shouldn't feed. 

It's groovy.

Still don't believe me? Cool. Watch this one then:

https://vimeo.com/566315606 

I see shows differently since the shutdown.

I see the world differently.

It's weird but cool and disconcerting and feels right but also... sort of scary. Like death is that much more real, life that much shorter, everything a little more intense.

And I find I need live theatre more. And art. And music. 

And I also find I don't really give a shit about things that used to seem so important.

What? You want another video about the show?

Fine.

https://vimeo.com/566812074

I want you to come to this show. And then hang out after. Tell me about your experiences. How Time feels to you. What it all means. 

And yeah, I got one more video:

https://vimeo.com/567004957

THEY SAY THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT

So, in the midst of what sometimes feels like the end of the world, I am directing a production of Little Shop of Horrors at the PACE with my company, Sasquatch Productions. I am the left foot of Sasquatch, and the right foot is my buddy August Stoten. I love having a theatre company. It has been one of the great joys of my life, profession wise. We started out a little over a year ago, and have done three shows so far: The Full Monty; Little Women; and Matilda. Matilda in particular did extremely well- garnering huge crowds, many nominations for awards, and setting our bar very high. We were all set to do Sound of Music in the fall, and then along came Covid.  So we're doing this weird little story of temptation, madness, and doom. 

It's awesome.

I've done this show several times, and I alway dig it. Because it's about those on the edge of society, the poor and oppressed. The damaged and lost. The meek.

My people.

In this production, we have to socially distance the actors from each other, and the audience. There will be masks. It will be different. And I couldn't be happier. Theatre, and art in general, is supposed to be about the world we live in. I suppose some theatre these days can be the equivalent of comfort food, thick and filling and giving momentary bliss that slowly morphs into fat. But I am not interested in that. 

Frankly, I never am. If I want comfort food, I'll make myself some Mac-N-Cheese and revel in the processed goo, and vow after to eat nothing but greens for a week.

But I care more about theatre than I do about my diet. 

So, I'm heading to Skid Row, where Seymour makes a deal with the devil, and Audrey can't find a place that's green. And I'm going to rock out, and explore new terrain, and hopefully share something pertinent to these mad times.

And they are mad. Our president has lost his damn mind, and seems to be holed up somewhere in the White House, tweeting away while watching several TV shows at once. 

But I feel hope. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is the election. 

We have had the shit kicked out of us this past year. And it ain't over. But we have had enough. On top of that, we were forced during the lockdown to find out what is important to us. And it ain't money, or burning fossil fuels, or doing better than the folks next door. What's important is living in a world where we can hug each other. Where we can breathe fresh air and marvel and the miracle that is our planet. Where we put down our phones and listen to actual voices in the room.

They say the meek shall inherit. Let's see if that's so.

Here's a song. It's The Meek Shall Inherit for Little Shop of Horrors.