Godzilla Interviews Mothra

Oh hell's yes. Matt Freeman interviews Mac Rogers here.

Listening to that right now,

James "Hell's Yeah" Comtois

Shipping Out

Well, I've shipped off the second episode of Entrenched to the folks at Nosedive Central and the cast & crew. It'll most likely need rewrites, but fortunately, time's not a factor just yet. I still need to send off a short vignette for the upcoming Blood Brothers show (hopefully today) and my longer piece (hopefully next week).

Tonight, I head off to Maine, where I'll be for the next week. As always, I plan to do a whole lot of nothing, except stare at the mountains and ocean, eat a lot, and of course, write as much as possible (hopefully while staring at said mountains and ocean).

Maybe when I get back I'll do my part to make the theatre blogosphere less boring by starting flame wars and dust-ups.

Nah, probably not.

In the meantime, have a good weekend, folks. I'll be thinking of you all fondly.

Way too nice,

James "You're Going DOWN, FREEMAN!" Comtois

Wrapped Up And VIRAL Trailer

Our final performance of Infectious Opportunity has come and gone, and I'm of course experiencing those obligatory mixed feelings of relief and sadness. This was such a fun show to stage and show to people, and we'll most likely revisit it again in the future (once the bounds of Equity rules free us). Many, many, many thanks to everyone who came out to see this. And to everyone on the team who made this show, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to all you sexy bitches. You guys all brought your A+ Game to this, and I love you for it. Congratufuckinglations.

I'm getting ready to head off to Maine for a week, where I'm hoping to do precious little except stare at the ocean and write my Blood Brothers pieces for this October and perhaps another episode of my upcoming Vampire Cowboys Saturday Night Saloon serial, Entrenched. I kinda need to step away from the Rotten Apple for a little bit, if only for a little while.

And holy crap, how psyched am I to see this:

The answer is very. Very psyched.

Living under a cyberbridge,

James "Internet Troll" Comtois

Note of Congrats, Final Plug

Before I begin my final plug for Nosedive's show, I wanted to offer my congratulations to all my peeps who have been nominated for New York Innovative Theatre Awards, including Johnna Adams and Flux, Mac Rogers and the cast & crew of Universal Robots, Gyda Arber, David Ian Lee, a bunch of people from the Brick, and actually many many others.

Now, onto the shameless self-promotion, for the last time. For this show, anyway.

Well, gang. The time is upon us. We've come to the end of the road, as the Boyz once said. Tonight is our final performance of Infectious Opportunity before it goes up into the Great Production in the Sky. There will be no extension of the extension, sadly, so this really is your last chance to catch it.

"Cheers, fuckface."

It's tonight at 8 p.m. at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg. Buy your tickets here. And come out and drink with us afterwards.

And finally, damn, Qui and Abby. That's an adorable baby in person. The photos don't convey how tiny that little guy really is.

All over the map,

James "Theatre Explorer" Comtois

Interviewed by Flux

Gus Schulenburg from Flux Theatre Ensemble interviewed Pete, David Ian Lee, Kid Sister Comtois and Yours Truly as part of Flux's "Exploding Moments" series, where we break down the nuts and bolts of one scene from Infectious Opportunity from the writing, directing and performing angle. Check it out here.

And thanks again for asking us to participate in this, Gus! It was a lot of fun.

Okay. I now need to shower, eat, then head up to the Brick for our penultimate performance of said show. Hope to see some of you there, if not this afternoon, then on Tuesday.

Slapping his cast and crew around,

James "Cruel Mistress" Comtois

There's A New Tiny Vampire Cowboy In The World

Congratulations to Qui and Abby!

Already looking forward to babysitting,

James "Uncle Jimmy" Comtois

Last Two Chances To Catch Infectious Opportunity

Hey, gang. Well, it's been a fun run, but the final two performances for Nosedive's latest portrait of a likable sociopath, Infectious Opportunity, are upon us.

Because there are only the two shows left (Sunday, July 19th at 3 p.m. and Tuesday, July 21st at 8 p.m.), and because space at the Brick Theater is limited, now's the time to get your tickets. We still have tickets available, but that's looking to change in the not-too-distant future.

I'll see you soon!

Your captain of creepiness,

James "Ambiguous Touch" Comtois

* * *

Nosedive Productions
in Association with
The Brick Theater

Presents

Infectious Opportunity

By James Comtois

Directed by Pete Boisvert

Renowned screenwriter Wes Farley realizes that having AIDS would solve a whole lot of his problems...

"Comtois turns the perception of HIV+ on its head and makes it the mandatory element in building a successful career. What's more, he does so convincingly and with nuance in a neatly structured, witty drama populated with a talented cast. What more can you ask for?"
— nytheatre.com




"Like any good roller coaster ride, Infectious Opportunity leaves the audience with a racing heart, exhilarated, and a little bit nauseated."
— stagebuzz.com

At The Brick Theater
575 Metropolitan Avenue
(between Union Avenue & Lorimer Street)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Two Additional (Final) Performances:

Sunday, July 19 @ 3 p.m.
Tuesday, July 21 @ 8 p.m.

For Tickets Go Here.

Photos by Aaron Epstein. Featuring DR Mann Hanson, David Ian Lee, Andrea Marie Smith, Matthew Trumbull

Chicago Nervous-Boy Update

Director Jamie DesRocher posts an update on rehearsing Gorilla Tango Theatre's production of The Adventure of Nervous-Boy in Chicago here. It sounds like they're in pretty good shape. And she even posts a photo of the cast! (Yes, they look sexy, even with the image a little blurry.)

And I gotta say, I really dig the title card.

So, for anyone in the Chicago area this August, it plays for four Mondays during the month. You should check it out. I'll be at the Aug. 10th performance, just FYFI.

Looking for a date,

James "A Date That Likes Deep-Dish Pizza" Comtois

FIght Girl Redux!

Congratulations to the Vampire Cowboys gang for a kicking off their remounted run of Fight Girl Battle World with a bang.

This is one of my favorite shows to ever be staged, and had so much fun watching it a third time. Newcomers to the cast, Jason Liebman and Bonnie Sherman, fucking rock. Oldcomers to the cast are also brilliant. It's great. I love it.

It's sold out, so show up early and hope some catastrophe befell on someone who bought their ticket in advance.

Encouraging evil thoughts for awesome,

James "Captain Redundant" Comtois

Infectious Opportunity: Round Three

Finally, I'm back to using this weblog as an outlet for shameless self-promoting. And you all thought I'd forgotten. Pish-tosh, dear readers. Pish. Tosh!

So yes. We here at Nosedive Central are in fact gearing up for our third round of (extended) performances for Infectious Opportunity at the Brick Theater. I'm really glad we're able to have more than just four performances for this show, as it's been playing like gangbusters. I'm quite pleased and humbled by the very favorable reviews and enthusiastic audience responses to this one.

Considering Patrick and I were wondering with genuine sincerity how this would play in front of folks about a week before we opened, I'm also pleasantly surprised by the audience reaction. We thought some people may find it curious and introspective, but we didn't really expect overall approval. It is, after all, a show about a guy faking being HIV-positive that's not quite a comedy (although there are parts that are funny), definitely not an "issues" play and certainly not an outrageous carnie geek show (although a few people have found it outrageous).

These next two shows — on Sunday, Jul 19 at 3 p.m. and Tuesday, July 21 at 8 p.m. — really are our final performances before this goes up to the Great Production in the Sky, so don't make the mistake of thinking a re-extension will be taking place in August. Perhaps, sometime next year or the year after, we'll revisit/remount this show, but for all intents and purposes, we close on Tuesday.

For reals this time.

As I type this, there are still tickets available, but judging from past experience, that will change soon, so it's a good idea to get your tickets as soon as possible so as to not be left out on the skin-crawling fun that is Infectious Opportunity.

A shoulder for the world to cry on,

James "Sympathetic Confidant" Comtois

New Information on Viral, Countdown to Fight Girl

Well, I filled my weekend with playgoing (The Europeans by the Potomac Theatre Project,) filmgoing (Bruno, which I liked, though not as much as Borat), bad movie-watching (a double feature of On Deadly Ground and Dreamcatcher) and script workshopping (as part of Flux Theatre Ensembles' "Flux Sundays").

Now it's Monday. Which means back to work, and back to blogging about fun and exciting theatre-related goings on about town.

I know. It's okay, you can admit it: you've missed me.

Gideon Productions' latest, Viral, now has a Web site and photos up for your enjoyment while you wait for its opening at this year's NYC International Fringe Festival.

In the meantime, I'm counting down the hours before I get to see this tomorrow. Oh. Hell's. Yes. I'm glad I already got my ticket, since it looks to be damn near all sold out.

I'll return to plugging my own stuff on this site shortly. In the meantime, go get your tickets for Fight Girl Battle World while you still can and check out the site for Viral.

Tired of the way his pantyhose keeps bunching up,

James "Prissy Little Princess" Comtois

Friday Roundup

Well, it's Friday. I'm quite relieved. Aren't you?

It looks as though I'll be attending The Potomac Theatre Project's production of Howard Barker's The Europeans tonight. The New York Times just gave it a glowing review, so perhaps this means I'm in for a good evening. Perhaps. I've been known to disagree with the Newspaper of Record's assessment before.

I'm gunning to have the second draft for the book of the metal musical, Anton Craven's Ghastly Scheme, finished by the end of the day. Will I be successful in achieving this goal? We shall see. I'm dancing as fast as I can.

If I am successful in this (and all coy douchebaggery aside I'm pretty confident I will be), this gives me the rest of July to write my installments for this year's Blood Brothers Present show (about which I'll speak more later) and the first episode of Entrenched, my World War I/Time Travel serial for this year's Saturday Night Saloon series.

Anyway, that's it for me (for now, anyway). Have a good weekend, folks, and if you haven't already, you should get your tickets for one of the two new performances for Infectious Opportunity.

Getting writer's cramp,

James "Compulsive Masturbator" Comtois

Atheist Remount

Dan Trujillo's excellent play, The Honest-To-God True Story of the Atheist, directed by Isaac Butler, is being remounted for this summer's Capital Fringe Festival in DC.

I saw the production of the show at UNDER St. Mark's last year and wrote about it here:

"Is The Honest-to-God True Story of the Atheist a deconstructionist take on faith and one's submission to the will of God, an examination on our culture's sick obsession with pharmaceuticals, or the longest dick joke in theatrical history? Whatever it is, Dan Trujillo is playing a very crafty shell game with his newest play, The Honest-to-God True Story of the Atheist. It's kind of brilliant."

Although Dan has said that there have been some minor revisions made to the script, it's more or less the same show (with the same director and cast, which includes Abe Goldfarb, Infectious Opportunity's own Daryl Lathon and Jennifer Gordon Thomas).

I'm looking forward to revisiting this show again at their open dress before they take it to our nation's capital. If you're in, or are going to be in, the metro DC area this month, get your tickets here.

Gettin' a boner,

James "Horny for Theatre" Comtois

Fluxing Tonight

I'm going to Jimmy's #43 to see this tonight. Even Nosedive's own Pedro will be directing something. Join me?

See? Ya see? I can talk about stuff other than my own shit! I can, I tells you!

Still talking about his own shit,

James "Poop Scoop" Comtois

Wow, Thanks, Daniel!

Hey! In all the hubbub I totally missed this. The best thing you’ve seen in a goodly amount of time? Wow. Awesome. Thanks, Daniel!

And of course, many thanks to everyone who's come out to see the show and has said nice things about it, both in person and electronically. I'm so glad there's now a Round Three coming up.

Pretty soon, I'll be taking a (short) break from plugging my own stuff to plug upcoming events from other folks, including this and this.

What, you were expecting a break from self-promoting to discuss Howard Barker? That's for those smart theatre blogs, you silly (albeit sexy) readers!

Hitting on his readership,

James "Cyberslut" Comtois

More Exciting (And Mythical) Than Chinese Democracy

About. Fucking. Time.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Miss Xua!

Needing his copy,

James "Doug" Comtois

StageBuzz Reviews Infectious Opportunity

Byrne Harrison has written a very nice review of Infectious Opportunity for StageBuzz.com.

He writes:

"Like any good roller coaster ride, Infectious Opportunity leaves the audience with a racing heart, exhilarated, and a little bit nauseated."

He also says a lot of very nice things about everyone in the cast and crew as well. Read the whole thing here.

We've got two more performances. Do as the man says, and buy your tickets early.

Making reviewers sick,

James "But In A Good Way" Comtois

Infectious Opportunity Extends!

Hey, gang. I know I'm posting on the weekend (and on the 4th, no less), but I wanted to send out the announcement: Infectious Opportunity is extending for two more performances at the Brick Theater this month!

That's right. For those of you that didn't get a chance to see this show during our limited run, you'll have two more chances:

Sunday, July 19 at 3 p.m.

and

Tuesday, July 21 at 8 p.m.

We're all super-thrilled about this and hope those of you that didn't get a chance to see it to check it out at one of these new dates.

So, if you've seen the show and liked it, tell your friends! And of course, if you've seen the show and hated it, tell your enemies! And if you haven't seen it yet, come see it and make up your own mind about it.

Tickets will be on sale soon.

In the meantime, happy fourth of July, everybody!

Down and up again,

James "Theatrical Yo-Yo" Comtois

Infectious Opportunity Photos!

All by Aaron Epstein, featuring David Ian Lee and Andrea Marie Smith. That one with three people feature the same folks plus Daryl Lathon.

More to come!

And it looks as though we're sold out for tonight's "closing" performance.

Being all cryptic with the air quotes,

James "Mysterious and Alluring" Comtois

Final Show, Three-Day Weekend

I'm quite happy about the impending three-day weekend (which, for me, technically starts at 3 today, as my office is releasing us early). Also very happy to have the show back up and running, with last night's show being quite ass-kicking, if I do say so myself. Many thanks to everyone who came out last night in droves (and even being fine with sitting on the floor)!

We still have some (but not many) tickets left for our Friday (final) performance, so I hope to see you there!

So, until Monday, have a great weekend, folks, and have a happy Fourth of July!

Cramming as many hot dogs as he can into himself,

James "Whatever Holes Work" Comtois

Sean Rants on Infectious

I just found this. Wow. Thanks, Sean! Look at me. I'm all blushing and shit.

We reopen tonight at 9. Get your tickets.

Blushing and shit,

James "Scarlett Mascara" Comtois