Mac Rogers' Fundamental Contradiction

Over at Larry Pontius' blog, Mac Rogers writes about feeling contradictorily ambitious yet lazy, and shares how he manages to get anything done when the urge to watch an Arrested Development marathon via Netflix becomes nearly insurmountable. Considering I spent last night eating Indian food while watching Arrested Development, I know what Mac is talking about.

Read the entry here.

I’d also tell you to go see BLAST RADIUS, the second amazing installment in Mac’s astounding Honeycomb Trilogy, but that shit’s sold way the hell out. Maybe you can get in by showing up early and making sad puppy dog eyes at whomever’s working box office. I’m seeing it a second time this Saturday. Yes, it's that goddamn good.

Have a good weekend, folks. I may catch you in the meat space.

Ambitious about his TV-watching,

James "Relentless Channel-Surfer" Comtois

Photo by Ben VandenBoom

We’re goin’ to the park. We’re gonna jam.

Monkeys at the Brick. Two shows left. Don't miss it.

(Video by Gavin Starr Kendall.)

Bringing his kit,

James "Mr. Comtois" Comtois

Monkeys at the Brick

Nosedive Productions & Impetuous Theater Group

in association with The Brick Theater, Inc.

Presents the play that started it all...



MONKEYS

By James Comtois

Directed by John Hurley

Three friends who can't stand each other yet can't function without each other spend all night — just as they do every night — in a 24-hour coffee shop that serves as both a haven and a prison. Nosedive Productions and The Impetuous Theater Group stage the debut absurdist comedy by James Comtois (Infectious Opportunity, The Adventures of Nervous-Boy) about the comforts and horrors of drinking coffee until dawn with the same people each night.

Featuring
Alexis Black – Pete Boisvert – James Comtois
Shashanah Newman – Gavin Starr Kendall – Brian Pracht
C.L. Weatherstone – Christopher Yustin

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT!

Friday, March 23 @8pm

Saturday, March 24 @8pm

Friday, March 30 @8pm

Saturday, March 31 @8pm

At the Brick

575 Metropolitan Ave. in Brooklyn

L or G train to Metropolitan / Lorimer Street

Tickets $18

Here's to 2012!

Happy 2012, everybody! I hope everyone's holiday was joyous, restful and/or festive, and that your fledgling New Year is so far treating you okay.

And heck. We're not three days into this new year and already shit, as the kids say, is going down.

As you know, Molotov's Fat Men in Skirts opens in two days at UNDER St. Mark's Theatre. Since it's only running a scant three performances, you should buy your tickets now.

In other news, I've just purchased my ticket for Gideon Productions' ADVANCE MAN by Mr. Mac Rogers. In other other news, I have an erection.

Are these events connected? None of your God damned business, you invasive bastards.

Giving you the pieces but leaving it up to you to put them together,

James "Hand-Holding Boner-Wielding Benefactor" Comtois

Little Bucky Comtois: Someone to Know

Over at his Visible Soul blog, Zack Calhoon explains to his readers why Kid Sister Becky Comtois is a Person You Should Know. Having known her literally her entire life, I am inclined to agree with him.

As an added bonus, she talks a bit about Mac Roger's upcoming ADVANCE MAN, the first play in his Honeycomb Trilogy. It is on. Oh, yes. It is on.

All about the nepotism,

James "Lil Theatrical Caesar" Comtois

Nosedive Brings Molotov's FAT MEN to NYC

Nosedive Productions Brings Molotov Theatre Group to New York
for Fat Men in Skirts Run in January

“Surprisingly Sweet Show about Rape and Cannibalism”
Is the First Traveling Show from Washington DC’s
Notorious Grand Guignol Horror Theatre Company

Washington, DC (December 8, 2011) — Nosedive Productions, New York City’s “Theatre for Sick Little Monkeys,” will host DC-based Molotov Theatre Group, America’s second-oldest Grand Guignol theatre of horror, for a three-show run of Molotov’s critically acclaimed Fat Men in Skirts, January 5, 6 and 7, 2012.

Molotov’s Fat Men in Skirts will be performed at 8 PM each day, at the UNDER St. Marks Theatre, 94 Saint Marks Place, in New York’s East Village. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased in advance online here.

Advance purchase for this extremely limited run is strongly recommended, although tickets may also be purchased at the door on a space-available basis.

The run time of Molotov’s Fat Men in Skirts is approximately 95 minutes with no intermission. Please pee before entering.

Nosedive Productions Co-Founding Co-Artistic Director James Comtois said, "The folks at Molotov make exactly the type of theatre that excites us here at Nosedive Central: sweet, funny and horrifying all at once. So we're thrilled to be bringing their delightfully effed up play up to New York from DC."

“We’re grateful to the kindred spirits at Nosedive Productions for helping us put this show on its feet in New York,” said Molotov Artistic Director Kevin Finkelstein. “UNDER St. Marks is the perfect venue for us – shadowy, quirky and right in the middle of all the action. That’s the perfect recipe for Molotov’s special brand of nonsense.”

Written by Nicky Silver, Fat Men in Skirts was Molotov Theatre Group’s fifth Capital Fringe Festival production, and the first ever Capital Fringe show to be “Helen Hayes Awards Recommended.” The Helen Hayes Awards are Washington DC’s most prestigious theatre community honors – what the heck is Molotov doing getting this kind of recognition?

Critics reviewing the Capital Fringe production of Fat Men in Skirts heaped awkward praise on Molotov’s staging of the bizarre dark comedy:

"...a wonderful piece of theater art that inspires laughter, tears and three hot showers after viewing..." Maryland Theatre Guide (5 star review)

“…Surprisingly sweet for a play about rape and cannibalism…”: The Washington Post

“…Just the right tone for a Fringe play — it’s edgy, raw and a little nonsensical…”: DCist.com

“…I enjoyed [it] as much as one can enjoy a play that involves mental illness, rape, murder, and incest…”: dctheatrescene.com

“…Rethink your own revulsion when it comes to eating dead babies”: Washington City Paper

Fat Men in Skirts features DC area actors Katie Culligan, Dave Gamble, K. Clare Johnson and Matthew Marcus. The play follows the Phyllis Hogan and her son, Bishop, stranded on a desert island in an increasingly “interesting” relationship. Rescued five years later, they discover the family’s philandering patriarch involved with a young porn star. Chaos, insanity, violence, cannibalism, and sidesplitting hilarity ensue.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE EMOTIONALLY OR PSYCHOLOGICALLY IMPRESSIONABLE OR FOR PEOPLE WITH CARDIAC OR NERVOUS CONDITIONS.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR COUNTER-CULTURAL, UNDERGROUND AND CULT FANS WITH PROPERLY WORKING HEART AND CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS.

FOR THE SAFETY OF THE ACTORS AND THE SEATED AUDIENCE, PEOPLE LEAVING THE THEATRE WHILE THE SHOW IS IN PROGRESS WILL NOT BE READMITTED.

About Molotov Theatre Group

Founded in 2007, Molotov Theatre Group is dedicated to preserving and exploring the aesthetic of the Grand Guignol, or French Theater of Horror. The company will strive to accomplish this in two ways:

• Through its ongoing project, “Grand Guignol DC,” to produce English translations of original Grand Guignol scripts to preserve and draw attention to this important, and essentially forgotten genre; and

• To apply ideals from the Grand Guignol to contemporary and classic works.

Molotov Theater Group will pursue these goals following the Grand Guignol model of employing a resident company of artists and working towards building a true rotating repertoire of plays. To our knowledge, no other company in the world is working to maintain this genre in such a traditional way. For more information, visit Molotov Theatre Group's site. Molotov Theatre Group is a not-for-profit professional theatre under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code — really!

Monkeys at the Monkey

Hey, folks. Tonight at 8pm at the Monkey Theatre, John Hurley will direct the opening scene from the debut play from Nosedive Productions, Monkeys.

Yes, this is the show that gave Nosedive it's logo.

Part One of Monkeys features Joe Mathers and Shashanah Dattilo. They're awesome. And awesome in this.

The excerpt will be part of Purple Rep's Dark Night Serials, which will take place for the next few Mondays (possibly longer) during the run of their latest show, The Myths We Need - or - How To Begin.

In addition to Yours Truly's show, tonight's Dark Night Serials feature excerpts from the work of Johnna Adams, Brendan Burke and August Schulenberg.

Next Monday features the work of Kristen Palmer, Adam Szymkowicz, Charlotte Miller and Larry Kunofsky.

And did I mention it's free?

The Monkey Theatre is on the 12th floor of 37 West 26th Street. A bunch of serialized plays by talented people are playing there tonight for free. So go there. And enjoy yourself. And be somebody.

Throwin' his poo art around,

James "Creative Biped" Comtois

Happy Thanksgiving from Nosedive Productions!

Well, friends, family and well-wishers*, before we settle all our affairs with our 11th season and send it off into that Great Season in the Sky, we here at Nosedive Central wanted to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving.

After doing three shows in three months — Captain Moonbeam & Lynchpin in June, The Blood Brothers present ... FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE in June & July and Infectious Opportunity in August — amidst personal health crises, we're both extremely proud of our 2011 season and quite relieved that we literally survived it. We are now ready and eager to move forward with our upcoming 12th season!

Since we could not have possibly done this massively ambitious endeavor without your continued generosity and support, we cannot thank you enough.

I can already feel it: 2012 is going to be a great year for Nosedive Productions. I'm currently writing — and almost finished — a number of plays at the moment, the details of which I shall offer very, very soon. But suffice it to say this will lead to the staging of a new original full-length show — possibly even more — as well as a new anthology of horror plays in October, we'll be embarking on a first-time endeavor for Nosedive in the beginning of the year: that of co-sponsoring a production from a visiting company.

Again, more details on that — beyond saying that we're incredibly excited about this — very, very soon.

Because of this, we need your help.

As it stands now, Nosedive needs at least $5,000 to both settle our affairs with our 2011 season and get started on our goals for our 2012 season.

If you could donate any amount to Nosedive Productions, which is now no longer under the umbrella of Fractured Atlas but now its own fully independent, not-for-profit company, you can now do so through the Network For Good site.

The new donation button can also be found on our website.

As always, your tax-deductible donation of any size helps, from $10 to cover the cost of printing the programs to $100 for a week's worth of rehearsal space.

Also, I wanted to thank you all again for your support during this particularly strenuous — but ultimately exciting and rewarding — year.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Regrettably looking and sounding
Absolutely nothing like Beyoncé,

James "Survivor" Comtois

*Well-wishers in that, like Moe Szyslak, you don't wish us any specific harm.

Coming this Halloween to a radio station near you...

This Halloween, FinalRune Productions and Aural Stage Studios presents an original horror story by Yours Truly...

Intensive Care

By James Comtois

Directed by Samantha Mason

Featuring
Nat Angstrom - Kristina Balbo - Janice Gardner
P.G. Lorusso - Hannah Kramer - Dave Marshall

Music by Barb Truex and Matthew J. Boudreau

Sound design by Matthew J. Boudreau

Recorded at the North Dam Mill in Biddeford, Maine, courtesy of mill owners and the City of Biddeford.

More details on the show, including where to hear it, can be found here.

Scaaawing your ears off,

James "Aural Nightmare" Comtois

Adventures of Nervous-Boy Now Available as E-Book!

And in Further Adventures in Naked Capitalism, my play The Adventures of Nervous-Boy is available online at indietheaternow.com.



Read the script now for mere pennies!

Offering you deals left and right,

James "Concerned Capitalist" Comtois

First Round of Reviews for Infectious Opportunity

Hey, folks! With our first sold out performance of Infectious Opportunity down, some of the reviews are already in - with many being of the "Quite Positive" variety! Huzzah!

"An enjoyable, thought-provoking play brought to life by a very talented team."
-Theatre Is Easy

"A definite must see this FringeNYC."
-New York Theatre Review

"Uses artful storytelling to show ambition at its most twisted and ethics at its lowest level."
-nytheatre.com

Like I said, our opening night completely sold out, so get your tickets now. Our next show's this Thursday at 2 p.m.

Yes, this post is about the current show that's playing. I'll most likely write about the Other Big Thing that happened last week at a later date.

And yes, I know the photo is a bit much, but fuck it. I just couldn't resist. Your mamma.

Some chump who enjoys
validation from strangers,

James "Quietly Needy" Comtois

Tickets for Infectious Opportunity are Now On Sale!

Hey, gang! Your guardian from the gulag, Little Jimmy Comtois here, very pleased to let you know that tickets for our play, Infectious Opportunity, are NOW ON SALE!

You can get them by going here, and clicking on the performance you want to see.

It's like Fandango. Only, y'know, it's theatre.

This is a show we are incredibly proud of and ultra-thrilled to be remounting it. I think I can say with confidence that it's one of the best plays we here at Nosedive Central have done in our 11 years as a company. And we're very grateful to the NYC International Fringe Festival for letting us play in their (very large) backyard!

Since the show does indeed have a limited run, and the Fringe tends to be a madhouse, it's a good idea to get your tickets as soon as possible.

See you soon, my lovelies.

Cute as a freakin' button,

James "The Type of Button You Press, Not...Wear" Comtois

Two Blood Brothers Shows Remain

Hey, gang! Your tantamount to the tantalizing, Little Jimmy Comtois here, reminding you that there are just Two Shows Left for The Blood Brothers Present...FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE, playing as part of EndTimes Productions' Vignettes for the Apocalypse V.

That's right. We're offering disturbing nudity, depraved behavior, severed limbs and spraying blood just two more times - this Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 8pm - at the Kraine Theater on 85 East 4th Street before it goes up into that Great Production in the Sky.

Don't miss what Trav SD considers "by far the best" he's seen of the series. Get your tickets today!

See you there. Bring a poncho.

Rolling around in his own filth like a good theatre person,

James "Subhuman, Playwright, What's the Diff?" Comtois

Trav S.D. on The Blood Brothers

Although Captain Moonbeam & Lynchpin has closed, we've still got three more performances of The Blood Brothers present...FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE, playing over at the Kraine on East 4th Street in Manhattan.

Trav S.D. has just written some very kind words indeed for the show, calling it "by far the best" he's seen of the series. Wow. Thanks, Trav!

The next performance is tonight at 8:30. Get your tickets.

Post-Moonbeam Thoughts

And once again, a show has gone up into that Great Production in the Sky. We just closed Captain Moonbeam & Lynchpin (along with Brian Silliman's brilliant and beautiful Savior) mere hours ago, and I miss it already. It was a very short run indeed, but quite a sweet one, in my humble, jaw-droppingly-biased opinion.

The last few days before we opened the show, I had the same problem that I always have with a show of mine just before opening: I started worrying about if the show made sense to anyone who wasn't me. Like I said, I get this way with every Nosedive show, but in this case I found the feeling much more pronounced.

This is not meant as a slight on the cast, director, or Ben VandenBoom (who more or less served as our One Man Crew, Stage Manager, Designer and Set Builder). If anything, I felt they were helping make my very odd script make more sense. But in a way, Captain Moonbeam is a piece that seems to go out of its way to offer mixed signals to the audience.

The show pretty much tells a story about grief & childhood trauma giving way to alienation then mental instability through the lens of a comic book superhero origin story. In other words, in a sense we're telling a tragedy taking place in the mundane real world by using the storytelling cues and methods of thrilling fantasy adventure tale.

So, no. As you can see, I wasn't just being abstractly paranoid. We were telling a story with deliberately conflicting cues.

The one downside to acting in this piece is that it meant I'd be backstage for 99% of the show, which meant I would have to take audiences at their word as to how they responded to it (when I'm sitting in the audience for my shows I can kinda tell if people are feeling it or not). So not only could I not see the crucial/pivotal scenes in the show, I couldn't see how the audiences were responding.

Silly me for volunteering to be in the cast.

Fortunately, based on talking to audience members afterward, the story appears to have been properly conveyed. That is to say, people got what we were trying to do with it. (Whether they liked it or not is a different story.)

Having said that, more than one person suggested it was (is) incomplete, something I had contemplated myself. It's a short piece - only about 25 minutes - and there are several places I've thought of where it can be expanded easily. Hell, after the first table read with the cast, I added about five minutes to the script.

So, yeah. This is definitely a piece I'll return to and expand upon.

I want to again thank Leigh Hile for being a particularly excellent director on this, doing so much research on this show to give it an emotional depth and weight not found in the text alone (word on the street is she's a shitty waitress, but I can attest she's a freakin dream to work with in the theatre world), Ben VandenBoom, who did about 99.9% of the behind-the-scenes work on this (I was really a producer-in-name-only on this show), Pete Boisvert for taking production photos and mocking up all those comic book panels (while he was already bogged down with doing everything for The Blood Brothers) and the rest of the cast, Jordan Ungerer, Rick Cekovsky and Christopher M. Czyz, who made insanely fast costume- tone- and age-changes seem effortless.

And of course, I want to thank the Brick Theater for allowing us to participate in the Comic Book Theater Festival and to everyone who came out to see it. You bitches are all awesome.

Well, awright. Enough Reminiscing. We've still got Blood Brothers to tend to, and there's still a lot of preproduction work to for Infectious Opportunity.

Resting only for a moment,

James "Navel-Gazer on the Run" Comtois

Bloodbeam Saloonchpin

So we've got a pretty full Saturday. The Blood Brothers show is today at 5:30 over at the Kraine Theater in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, over at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn, Captain Moonbeam and Lynchpin is today at 5.

So no, you physically can't go to both. Or can you...?

Because it just so happens that if you can't choose, excerpts of both will be at the Saturday Night Saloon: Last Call tonight at 8.

That's right. We're overbooked. Because we're looking out for you. Either that, or we just don't know how to organize a schedule. You know. Whichever.

Usurping your weekend,

James "Theatre Tyrant" Comtois

Trav S.D. on Savior & Moonbeam

And Trav S.D., that delightful Jerk-in-Progress, offers up some very kind words for Savior & Captain Moonbeam.

Thanks, Trav!

Anyway, we've got another show tomorrow (Friday) at 7. See you there.

Apparently well-cast as crazy,

James "CAR IN THE EAR! CAR IN THE EAR!" Comtois

nytheatre.com Reviews Savior & Captain Moonbeam

Wow, that was fast. We just opened the double-bill of Savior & Captain Moonbeam and Lynchpin (featuring the animated short "The Confetti Myth") last night, and Ed Malin's review is already up on nytheatre.com. Check it!

Gotta say, last night was a whole lot of fun. Brian and I were pleasantly surprised at tech to see just how well our pieces fit together as part of an entire evening.

And even with Gavin Starr Kendall's very funny animated short film buffering our one-acts, the whole night is a little under an hour. To quote Brian: you can't beat that with a stick. You can try, but you will fail.

So get your tickets. There are only three shows left.

Inspiring you to do good,

James "Good Citizen" Comtois

Captain Moonbeam Opens This Tuesday

Hey, folks! Just wanted to give everyone the head's up that Nosedive's entry in the Brick Theater's Comic Book Theater Festival, Captain Moonbeam & Lynchpin, is opening this Tuesday at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg!

Since this is a very limited run (four performances), if you haven't got your tickets yet, now's the time to do so.

Captain Moonbeam is also playing as part of a double-bill with Brian Silliman's Savior, featuring Mac Rogers and Kristen Vaughan.

Tonight, of course, is our second performance of The Blood Brothers present...FREAKS FROM THE MORGUE, over at the Kraine Theater.

See you there!

Puttin on his cape,

James "Dandyman" Comtois

Saturday, June 25 - The Saturday Night Saloon: Last Call

It pains me to report that the Vampire Cowboys has decided to give up its space, the Battle Ranch, up to the Great Space in the Sky.

After rehearsing there and performing so many serial plays as part of the Saturday Night Saloon for so many years, the Ranch has felt like just as much of a home to Nosedive Central as it was to the Cowboys. I'm definitely gonna miss going to this space.

But alas, nothing lasts forever, especially in New York.

So, for everyone who would like to celebrate the life the mourn the death of the Ranch, the Vampire Cowboys are presenting The Saturday Night Saloon: Last Call on on Saturday, June 25:

As always, the party's free, the all-you-can-drink beer (or until we run out) is only $5, and the shows are always crazy fun!

Why drink at a bar when you can party it up at The Saloon?

For this one-night only event, the Saloon features performances, poetry, and pieces by some of the Saloon's most beloved All-Stars:

James Comtois, The Blood Brothers (Pete Boisvert & Patrick Shearer),
Dustin Chinn, Jon Hoche & Robert Ross Parker,
Mac Rogers, Brian Silliman, Crystal Skillman, and more!

SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH @ 8PM

at THE BATTLE RANCH
405 Johnson Avenue, 2nd Floor
(2.5 blocks from Morgan stop off L train)

FREE!!!