Captain Ersatz!

I stumbled upon this wiki page regarding Captain Ersatz characters (characters clearly based on other established characters), which references Colorful World.

Pretty weird, albeit kinda neat as well.

Himself a knockoff,

James "Stuporman" Comtois

Post-Mortem of Sorts/Open Forum

I was really hoping to do this massive post-mortem on Colorful World now that the show has gone up into the Great Production in the Sky, but I have found (much to my chagrin, albeit to nobody's surprise) a huge pile of work from my day job that needs to be done, so it looks as though such an exhaustive assessment on the show will not be happening anytime soon.

I know, I know, I'm as disappointed as you are.

(My super-short assessment: I loved what the cast & crew did, I was very happy with it, and even though we had good houses, I wish more people could see it.)

So, in the vein of Mr. Freeman's open forum on Star Wars, if anyone who saw/read the play is interested, and has any questions about the show, by all means, fire away and I'll see if I can natter about it in any coherent way.

Just be forewarned questions of the, "Why do you suck so badly, Comtois?" ilk will most likely be met with answers of the, "Because go fuck yourself, that's why," persuasion. Not that you can't ask those kinds of questions, mind you. I'm just saying that's how I'll answer.

Also be forewarned that my answers will be on the writing aspect of the show, not the direction, design, or acting angles. If you ask me why Overman did such and such, I'll answer you to the best of my knowledge and memory of what I was thinking while writing it. You can ask Patrick or Pete the very same question and they could (well, most likely would) give you a completely different answer.

But seriously, any of it's fair game. I'll do my best to answer. So, ask away!

Terrified he's just going to hear crickets,

James "Is This Thing On?" Comtois

Only Three More Chances

So get your tickets now!

Photos by Aaron Epstein.

For more production photos click here.

More On Colorful World From Our Resident Superhero

Patrick writes about our critical and commercial response thus far to Colorful World here. Check it the fuck out, cats and kittens!

(Warning: He does give spoilers.)

Confounding audiences,

James "For External Use Only" Comtois

Colorful Theatre

Last night the Vampire Cowboys came en masse to see Colorful World, which made it a particularly fun night for us here at Nosedive Central. Thanks so much, guys! You truly rock.

I'm feeling really pumped about this show and am really looking forward to more people coming to see it. So get your tickets soon.

Amidst being in production for the play and plugging the living hell out of it, I did have a chance to see two very good shows this week that I wanted to bring to your attention (especially if you've either already seen Colorful World or have already purchased your ticket in advance).

The first is Mike Daisey's How Theater Failed America, an absolute must-see for anyone who's worked - or is working - in theatre. In his show, which is a 100-minute monologue, Daisey talks about his experiences in theatre, ranging from his first post-college job running a theatre company with six other friends out in Nowheresville, Maine, his gig teaching theatre in high school, and jokes about how most stage actors literally work for cheese (hoarding up the blocks of cheese given out at the post-opening night receptions).

He also explains how theatre literally saved his life and offered him an identity in this world.

It truly is a funny, engaging, insightful and touching piece of theatre.

Despite the title, How Theater Failed America is actually a very upbeat and optimistic take on theatre in America. Or rather, I should say, I found the show upbeat and optimistic. I'm sure there are others who may disagree with me. Daisey actually opens the piece poking fun at the clichéd scapegoats we often like to pin on the decline of theatre's validity in our culture: arts funding ("Why can't America be more like Sweden? Over there the government shits money in the mouths of artists!"), modern media ("It's the iPod's fault!"), The New York Times ("Oh, Isherwood...Charles Isherwood Ruined Theatre!"), reminding us that theatre's apparent decline has not been caused by easily definable outside forces.

Although he points out the serious problems and flaws with our current model - the institutionalization of theatres, the growing number of theatre professors who have little-to-no "hands on" theatrical experience, the artists being removed from the equation in making theatre (some of which he discusses in his essay here) - Daisey offers some very practical suggestions as to how to keep theatre alive and strong (or rather, he reminds us that it still is and can continue to be).

One of them is to bring the artists back the equation and having repertory companies be a recognizable creative team (not unlike sports teams that fans recognize and can root for). In other words, use the Cult of Personality to theatre's advantage (rather than sulk and dismiss the concept). Another is to simply keep making as much theatre as possible.

Daisey's How Theater Failed America shows and reminds the audience what's so fun, vital and engaging about theatre. Many of his stories reminded me why I got into this bizarre gig in the first place.

How Theater Failed America is now playing at the Barrow Street Theatre on 27 Barrow Street. For tickets go here.

* * *

The other show I saw was the Beggars Group's Armor of Wills, written & directed by Randy Anderson, a bizarre funhouse mirror-maze of a show about a young man on the brink of death and trying to escape nefarious forces through the underworld.

In Armor of Wills, a young man named Kalib (Brian Morgan) is trapped in a purgatorial world after a violent accident and with the help of a creepy figure named Doc (wonderfully played by Harrison Williams) trying to escape his Maker - some characters dispute whether or not this is God or god or an entity completely unrelated to God - while trying to find closure with his family members, including his overprotective and zealous mother Norma (Jennifer Harder) and fiancée Beth (Kristi Funk).

The play also features Scott Rad Brown and Josh Krebs in ensemble roles.

Armor of Wills plays with the concepts of leaving people behind, family members abandoning one another, the power plays parents inflict on their offspring, theology, and metaphysics, but is in no way heavy-handed or belabored. The show (which is only about 70 minutes long) is fast-paced and filled with energy (both from the staging and the cast).

Also, being in the underground space that is UNDER St. Marks, you don't need to stretch your imagination too far to believe you're in some sort of subterranean purgatory.

Watching Armor of Wills, I realized that a.) it had been quite a while since I've seen Anderson's directorial work (with such companies as Stone Soup Theatre Arts and Stages 5150) and b.) I really missed it. He has a very distinct and imaginative visual style that works beautifully for the stage.

It has only three more performances, so I highly recommend you check it out before it goes up into that Great Production in the Sky.

Armor of Wills is playing UNDER St. Marks on 94 St. Mark's Place until Saturday, May 17. For tickets go here.

* * *

So, those are a couple shows I'm glad I caught before going back to the 78th Street Theatre Lab. Check them out if you can. Then go see my play (heh, heh).

Okay, that's it for me. I gotta set up the box office. Have a good weekend, folks.

Finding Applebees poetic,

James "Nervous Agnostic" Comtois

Charlie Willis Becoming A Superhero

Per this very fascinating discussion going on in the theatre blogosphere, Patrick, Colorful World's Overman, talks about the process of being a superhero in this brilliantly insightful and informative entry. Check it out.

Making Patrick's life a living hell,

James "Enjoy The Latex, Bitch!" Comtois

nytheatre.com Raves About Colorful World

Well, hey. The front page of nytheatre.com calls it a rave review, so we shall, too.

Mr. Richard Hinojosa says some very nice things about Colorful World, including calling the show "shrewd and funny," and saying that it left him "entertained and even a little introspective."

WOO-HOO!

Read the review here.

Then buy your damn tickets already.

Feeling relieved,

James "Now Onto Week Two" Comtois

Photo: Mac Rogers (left) and Jessi Gotta in Colorful World. Photo by Amanda Schwab.

Colorful World: Guy

Mac Rogers as Guy Madison in Colorful World.

"Face me."

—Guy Madison

And that's it for the Trading Cards. Collect all eight!

Get your tickets now.

Your worst nightmare,

James "Just...A Guy" Comtois

Colorful World: Ramses

Abe Goldfarb as Ramses in Colorful World.

"We need to remind the world that giants walk the earth."

—Jeffrey Michaels, a.k.a. Ramses

We're up and running. Get your tickets now.

His true self,

James "Persona" Comtois

Colorful World: Beelzebear

Zack Calhoon as Beelzebear in Colorful World.

"Blow it out your ass!"

—Oswald O'Hanlon, a.k.a. Beelzebear

We're up and running. Get your tickets now.

Keepin' it real,

James "Phony Baloney" Comtois

Colorful World: The Void

Marc Landers as The Void in Colorful World.

"I’ve just broken this punk’s middle finger. Who’s been selling drugs around here?"

—Charlie Richards, a.k.a. The Void

We're up and running. Get your tickets now.

A cypher in both the
theatre and comic book worlds,

James "Blank Slate" Comtois

Our First Mixed-To-Positive Review...

...of Colorful World is up.

Witty and funny in places,

James "Nitpicky Fan" Comtois

Well, we now have opening night under our belts, and the run of Colorful World is underway. WOO-HOO!

I’m very glad to have this show finally up and running and am looking forward to more people seeing this.

(And yes, I’ll be posting more "Trading Card" photos of the cast very soon.)

The space is very small. So get your tickets soon.

And also, unrelated to my flagrant self-promotion, congratulations to Mr. Matthew Freeman for this piece of news! Damn, Matt. You’re really becoming quite the published author!

Gettin' in the swing of things,

James "Bachelor Playwright" Comtois

Yes, Indeed...

...Colorful World opens tonight at the 78th Street Theatre Lab.

It's about damn time.

After some long hours getting all the elements put together, we here at Nosedive Central now need an audience for this. I'm really damn proud of this one (as are, it seems, the rest of the incredible folks involved in this).

Is it obvious I can't wait for people to see this?

So get your tickets now.

Shilling for his life,

James "Happy Huckster" Comtois

Colorful World: Tigress

Jessi Gotta as Tigress in Colorful World.

"What was the point of being a costumed crimefighter if we weren’t allowed to take any risks...?"

—Karen Fisher, a.k.a. Tigress

We open tomorrow. Get your tickets soon.

Annoyed that Jessi took stuff
from my wardrobe for her costume,

James "Sex Kitten" Comtois

Colorful World: Johnny Patriot

Christopher Yustin as Johnny Patriot in Colorful World.

"We’re supposed to be the good guys..."

—Johnny Patriot

We open tomorrow. Get your tickets soon.

Fighting crime wherever it lurks,

James "Lurking Death" Comtois

Colorful World: The Peacekeeper

Ben VandenBoom as The Peacekeeper in Colorful World.

"See you in the funny papers."

—Mick Catton, a.k.a. The Peacekeeper

We open Thursday. Get your tickets soon.

Dressing up in fatigues,

James "Flatfoot" Comtois

Cyber Interview from nytheatre Mike

And, in case you thought I wasn't pontificating enough about this show, here's an interview Mr. Michael Criscuolo conducted with me on Colorful World.

That's right: I'm invading both your ears and your eyes.

An assault on all senses,

James "Salty" Comtois

nytheatrecast on Colorful World

The podcast interview I did promoting Colorful World with nytheatrecast.com along with folks previewing Off The Hozzle, Lone Wolf Series, GayFestNYC, Everyman and 5 Borough Plays, is now up.

You can now listen to me blather on about Colorful World. I'm second on the list.

No Casey Kasem,

James "Howard Stern" Comtois

Colorful World: Overman

Patrick Shearer as Overman in Colorful World.

"Don't break the law. We're closer than you think."

—Tom Shanley, a.k.a. Overman

We open next week. Get your tickets soon.

Shooting things with mind bullets,

James "Fancyman" Comtois