Cheer Up, Bitches!

Rather than solely plug my own stuff (buy your damn tickets already), I'd like to offer a few shout-outs to some of my fellow Antidepressant Festival brothers and sisters.

Just read Matt Freeman's Antidepressant play, Glee Club last night. It's definitely a play that starts off seeming like a lark and goes into quite dark territory, but not in the way that you'd expect. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it and really curious to see how people respond to it (as I'm sure Matt must be, too). I most certainly won't be giving anything away about it here, but I suspect folks will be divided on it.

When I say Glee Club gets dark but not in the way you'd expect, I mean those expecting violence or some graphic sex scene or some profanity-laced climactic monologue won't get anything like that (although there is swearing in it). Some folks may find it silly. Some may find it horrifically offensive and in really poor taste. Some may find it a darkly funny comment on the need to fit in with people you shouldn't be interacting with in the first place.

And of course, this is my guess based solely on reading the script. I can't comment on how it'll look and feel before the cast and director Kyle Ancowitz bring their goods to the table.

Another show I'm looking forward to is the latest installment to Gyda Arber's Suspicious Package interactive show/walking tour, Suspicious Package: Rx. Whereas last year's show was an interactive noir story, this one takes its cues from the Twilight Zone and E.C. Comics' Weird Science-brand of sci-fi. Last year's show was so much fun, so I have complete confidence that this year's incarnation will be no different.

Full disclosure: I actually wrote some filler scenes/monologues for this, and Kid Sister Becky Comtois acts in some of the flashback scenes as well, though I still have no idea what the final product will look like.

And of course my good pal Danny Bowes is involved in not one but two shows at the Festival. He's written and is performing in Booze, Sports and Romance, about said substances that's apparently part aural essay and movement piece. As the press materials put it, "You know, just like every other show you've ever seen in indie theatre." Directed by Chris Connolly and choreographed by Guinevere Pressley.

Mr. Bowes will also serve as actor for Richard Lovejoy's Adventurequest (directed by Adam Swiderski). Here's what the press materials say about this show: "The town of Perilton has been invaded by an evil wizard, and only our hero can save it! Cheer as he fights for the hand of the mayor's daughter! Gasp as he infiltrates the bloodthirsty Octopus Cult! Watch as he meticulously collects inventory items! Shift uncomfortably in your seat as the narrative gradually implodes! Glance around nervously as characters are brutally murdered for no particular reason! Despair as your faith in a meaningful, ordered universe is shaken! Evoking the Golden Age of home computer gaming, Adventure Quest is both a nostalgic treat and a glimpse into the yawning Void."

Yeah, I'll freakin see that.

There are a bunch of other shows going on (17 mainstage shows in all), so check them out here. I'm hoping to see as many as possible.

Cheering you bitches up,

James "Rapey The Clown" Comtois