Late Spring/Early Summer Preview (of Shows Not By Yours Truly)

You'd think that having a bunch of shows going on would mean I'd have a ton of things to blog about. Well, oddly enough, not only have I been too busy to blog (with both the shows and the new day job, which has remarkably little-to-no downtime) but I don't have a lot to report, aside from the fact that Blood Brothers and Captain Moonbeam are in rehearsals and you should get your tickets for both.

In the meantime, I figured I'd take a break from plugging my own stuff to plug a few other shows of note from some buds and co-conspirators going on this summer. Believe me, I'm looking forward to making what little time I have to go see these.

Standards of Decency 3: 300 Vaginas Before Breakfast
Various writers and directors
The Blue Coyote Theater Company is doing a follow-up to their immensely popular—and potentially offensive—Standards of Decency series, where nine playwrights (including fellow homies Mac Rogers, Matthew Freeman and Adam Szymcowicz) create new short plays meditating on new media and pornography. (And if those Blue Coyote boys keep "meditating" like that they're going to go blind.)
Runs May 31 - June 18 at the Access Theater (380 Broadway). Click here for tickets.

Cut
by Crystal Skillman, directed by Meg Sturiano
And we here at Nosedive Central thought we were being prolific. In addition to her entry in the Blood Brothers show and her TWO entries in the Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival, The Management as residents of Horse Trade Theater Group just opened Crystal Crystal's latest play about three reality TV show writers—of course reality TV has writers—having to recut and essentially rewrite the season finale of their crap show. I'm seeing this on Friday. Join me?
Runs through June 4 at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place). Click here for tickets.

Tulpa, or Anne & Me
by Shawn C. Harris, directed by Sarah Lyons.
A comic book author has the woman of her dreams, Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway, climb into her apartment through her television set. If only Kate Winslet could do the same for me. But of course, there are some...problems...that develop along the way as their friendship develops. I saw a workshop production of this compelling show last year and am eager to see this again in a full production.
Runs June 2-19 at at the Robert Moss Theatre (440 Lafayette Street). Click here for tickets.

Ajax in War
by Ellen McLaughlin, directed by August Schulenburg
As a follow-up to their incredibly successful and brilliant Dog Act, Flux Theatre Ensemble continues their fourth season with a mash-up of Sophocles' Ajax and the modern war in Iraq. According to the promotional postcard I just received in the mail, the play follows the parallel narratives of the ancient Greek military hero Ajax and a female American soldier, both undone by the betrayal of a commanding officer. According to this company's past work, I'll sure as hell be there.
Runs June 3-25 at the Flamboyan Theater (107 Suffolk Street at Rivington). Click here for tickets.

Death Valley
by Adam Scott Mazer, directed by Dan Rogers
Wild West meets zombie apocalypse. Seriously. Oh hell's yes. I saw the serialzed version of this show when it went up at the Vampire Cowboys' last Saturday Night Saloon and enjoyed the hell out of each episode.
Runs June 23 - July 10 at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr Street, Brooklyn). Click here for tickets.

Everything Else in The Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival and EndTimes' Vignettes for the Apocalypse V.
This isn't just a back-door plug (now there's an image) or a case of licking the hand that feeds you. There's a great deal of things in both festivals that I am quite pumped to see, from Derek Ahonen's The You Knows Know and Jerrod Bogard's The Madhouse in Vignettes to John Hoche's Galactic Girl In: ATTACK OF THE STARBARIANS! and Piper McKenzie's Bubble of Solace in the Comic Book Fest. I gotta say, I'm really pumped I get a discount to see these shows (right, respective festival curators?).
The Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival runs June 2 - July 1 at the Brick Theater (575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn). Click here for tickets.
Vignettes for the Apocalypse V runs June 9 - July 3 at the Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street). Click here for tickets.

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of other shows going up this summer, so screw it: let's open up the floodgates. If you have a show going up in the Greater NYC area this June and July, feel free to plug to your heart's content in the comments section!

No time for going to Splish-Splash this summer,

James "Bathing Suit Area" Comtois

The Post on the Comic Book Festival

I can't believe I missed this: just as the New York Press offered a nice write-up for Vignettes for the Apocalypse V, the New York Post has written a nice write-up of the Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival.

Both festivals are starting very, very soon.

Anyway, carry on and enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend, folks.

Sweating like a sweaty guy,

James "Sweatshop" Comtois

Blood Brothers Shout-Out in the NY Press

Well, hey! The Blood Brothers present...FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE gets a nice shout-out in the NY Press' Summer Theater Guide. Check that out!

And we're with the Press: don't worry about deciding. Just buy your tickets.

(I'm kidding. There's actually a number of shows playing at the EndTimes Productions' Vignettes for the Apocalypse V that you should check out. I'm not, however, kidding about suggesting you to buy your tickets for Nosedive's show.)

Makign your summer,

James "Summer Dream" Comtois

Leigh's Thoughts (And Mine) On Going Into Moonbeam

Although I haven't been blogging in a while (I've been Tweeting, but that's different), I wanted to direct your attention to Captain Moonbeam & Lynchpin director Leigh Hile's blog entry on our impending first rehearsal and her thoughts on directing the show before the inherent chaos and madness ensues.

I for one can't wait to get started on the show proper (we've already laid all the administrative groundwork; now it's time to get this thing up on its feet).

Reading Leigh's entry makes me feeling increasingly confident and excited about our upcoming production. As I think I've mentioned before, this is a very odd (but I think very good) short play that seemed doomed to be orphaned and abandoned.

Ben VandenBoom and I had staged a truncated version of Captain Moonbeam for Vampire Cowboys' Revamped series back in 2006, and were very happy with the result and response. But aside from being part of that one-night-only event, it didn't look as though Nosedive would ever give it a full production.

Since we had already mapped out our next couple of seasons, since it's a pretty short one-act (that is to say, under 45 minutes and too short to present on its own), and since at the time, Nosedive Central co-pilot Pete didn't quite know what to make of it (though I think he liked our 2006 staging; at least he said he did), it looked as though our Revamped performance was going to be its one and only live presentation.

Still, it was (is) a script I really wanted to produce. It's a weirdly personal script (the reasons for why are hard to explain). It's a very odd play that's tough to describe yet somewhat to pitch (as it deals with comic books and superheroes, and is both funny, sad and violent, but it's not really a "superhero play" - or maybe it is). It engaged people at the Revamped show better than I could have imagined.

So, I found it incredibly fortuitous that the Brick decided to make its summer festival comic book-themed, and fortuitous still that they accepted our submission into said festival.

Like I said, I'm incredibly happy that this show has a chance to be presented in its entirety for a few performances. I'm also incredibly happy that Leigh is on board directing this show, giving it the fresh perspective it needs. (And judging from her blog entry, her perspective is quite fresh and insightful, exactly what this script needs.)

At any rate, I'll let you guys know how our first rehearsal goes when it happens. I'll also most likely offer more scattershot thoughts on the play itself (although I think Leigh seems may offer much more articulate and insightful observations).

Over at the other show we here at Nosedive entral are staging, rehearsals for The Blood Brothers present...FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE are already underway, and I plan to sit in on rehearsals for my two contributions, "Otty" and "Daddy's Bad Medicine," this weekend. I'll let y'all know what I think next week.

Anyway, have a good weekend, folks. I'll catch y'all on the flippety, provided the impending Rapture doesn't completely wipe out my weekend.

Having no time for no Goddamned Rapture,

James "Get Bent, Rapture" Comtois

The Blood Brothers present ... FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE

From Nosedive Productions

and EndTimes Productions…

THE BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT…
FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE

Written by James Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams,
Mac Rogers, Brian Silliman & Crystal Skillman

Directed by Pete Boisvert, John Hurley & Patrick Shearer

AS PART OF

ENDTIMES' VIGNETTES FOR THE APOCALYPSE V

JUNE 11 – JULY 3 @ THE KRAINE THEATER

A young beat cop follows up on a routine call, only to stumble upon a scene of unspeakable depravity. A child plays with her abductor, but where does the game end and reality begin? And a girl goes off in search of her little sister, only to discover that men really ARE pigs.

These tales and others make up this year's BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT... horror anthology series. Following the tradition of the original Grand Guignol Theatre, James Comtois (The Little One), Stephanie Cox-Williams (The Zombie Project: The Story of Icarus Phoenix), Mac Rogers (Viral), Brian Silliman (The Magic of Mrs. Crowling) and Crystal Skillman (The Vigil, or The Guided Cradle) write new stage plays based on stories ripped from the headlines, where even the monster under your bed is real.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT…FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE features nudity and graphic violence and is recommended for adults only.

Featuring Leah Carrell, TJ Clark, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Stephanie Finn, Marc Landers, Abraham Makany, Samantha Mason, Collin McConnell, Judy Merrick, Ingrid Nordstrom and Ben Schnickel.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT…FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE is part of The EndTimes Productions' Vignettes for the Apocalypse V at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between Second Ave. and Bowery). Show times are Saturday, June 11 @2pm; Friday, June 17 @6pm; Tuesday, June 21 @6:30pm; Saturday, June 25 @5:30pm; Tuesday, June 28 @8:30pm; Saturday, July 2 @2pm and Sunday, July 3 @8pm. Tickets are $20 ($15 for students) and may be purchased online or by calling 866-811-4111.

“For sheer playful fun, make this gory confection your Halloween treat." Time Out New York

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www.nosediveproductions.com
www.endtimesproductions.org

Nosedive Productions Presents: Captain Moonbeam and Lynchpin

NOSEDIVE PRODUCTIONS

PRESENTS

Written by James Comtois
Directed by Leigh Hile

AS PART OF
THE COMIC BOOK THEATER FESTIVAL
JUNE 2-JULY 1 @ THE BRICK

When Alex was just an adolescent, his father killed himself while dressed in a superhero costume. His suicide note claimed he lived a double life as the costumed crime fighter, Captain Moonbeam. Now in his 20s, Alex obsesses over his father’s secret diaries and wonders, was his father just crazy, or did he genuinely live his life heroically?

Photo by Ben VandenBoom

Featuring Rick Cekovsky, James Comtois, Christopher Czyz and Jordan Ungerer.

CAPTAIN MOONBEAM & LYNCHPIN is part of The Comic Book Theater Festival at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union and Lorimer, Brooklyn). Show times are Tuesday, June 21 @ 7pm; Friday, June 24 @ 7pm; Saturday, June 25 @ 5pm; and Sunday, June 26 @ 2pm. CAPTAIN MOONBEAM & LYNCHPIN will play as part of a double-bill with SAVIOR, written by Brian Silliman, directed by Jordana Williams and featuring Mac Rogers and Kristen Vaughan. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online or by calling 866-811-4111.

“Comtois & Co. are mining in Gogol’s vein: They may make us laugh, but that’s what happens when keen-eyed city dwellers tickle a seedy underbelly." Time Out New York

“By thumbing their noses at the status quo with fast, cheap, and sharp humor, Comtois and his colleagues at Nosedive Productions continue to demonstrate why they're a company to keep an eye on." nytheatre.com

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www.nosediveproductions.com
www.bricktheater.com