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FUTURUM
Jesus Christ Ukulelestar TBA
K Brian Neel April 2011
1(2) Angry Man TBA
K. Brian Neel Feb 2011
The Prince of the Pond Pacific Northwest
Book-It Repertory Theatre Fall 2010
DEPRAESENTIARUM
META Performing Arts Camps
Northwestern Washington
Conway Muse 19 - 31 Jul 2009
Teaching acting, improv, and stage combat in the Bellingham area for students grade 3 and up. I think this is my fourth year. Amazing place, amazing people.
Luisa Miller
Pacific Northwest, USA
Puget Sound Opera 26 Jun - 18 Jul
MID FACTUM 22JUN10 7:00PM During the entire rehearsal process of this opera, I cannot count the moments of confusion and dismay on my fingers. The number of times I've been so overcome by the beauty of the music that I forget to do my job as director. The number of times a performer leaned into my ear and whispered, "You can't do that." The number of times I've starred dumbfounded at the libretto, swimming in Verdi's lovely cryptic poetry. This is because I'm a stage director. I barely read music and don't speak italian. I can sing, but only with a ukulele in my mitts. So why am I here, directing Luisa Miller? It's because of all of these things. It's because I lose track of my brain during some of the songs. That means those moments are spectacular without stage flourish. It's because I don't have a firm, experienced grasp. That engenders collaboration with the other artists. They stretch me, I stretch them. It's because I love Verdi's poetry. (The plot of Luisa Miller is flawless, by the way, even by contemporary standards!) So when I tell an opera singer to jump on the bar, strip naked, dance, fire a pistol into the air and sing an aria, and the performer whispers in my ear, "You can't do that." I respond: "Do it anyway. If it sucks, we'll do something else." Let me tell ya, it doesn't suck.
ANTEACTUS
Big Story Small
Seattle
Pony World Jun 24 - 26 Jul 2010
POST FACTUM 12JUL10 11:00AM This marks the first time I've written a play and have had no part in the process, nor did I even see the show. Big Story Small was an evening of famous plays adapted into ten minute pieces by various authors working closely with designers. Mine was Faustus in a shadow box. Here's what Brendan Healy, producer and playwright had to say: "Your play was in the very capable hands of the exceptionally smart Pamala Mijatov and you had a bang up cast. Really, I'm surprised some of the other plays didn't riot with the talent stacking going on in Faustus. They really just did a tremendous job. And having your version of Faustus in there was a terrific counter balance to all of the modern classics and absurdists that ended up in the line-up. The shadow box looked great but it took awhile to get all the tech kinks worked out. As far as the whole show/run went, the first night was a little rough, but the other two nights went very smoothly. We sold out 2 of our 3 performances. Audiences liked it. True, I think it's objectively accurate and fair to say the night was 'eclectic'."
Evenings With Carlotta
Seattle
Annex Theatre 30 Apr - 21 May 2010
Welcome to a very 'spayshul' evening with Carlotta Sue Philpott, of Late Night Wing Ding fame. She'll have Rice Crispie Treats and Vienna Sausages, and her uniquely un-P.C. ways. So come on over, wipe your feet off on the doormat, plop down your BE-hind on a fancy theater seat, and let Carlotta take good care of you. (It's a pleasure working with Troy Mink, the 'southern fried genius' once again. Directing should always be this fun.)
Ukelooza
Seattle
Rain City Projects 18 May 2010
Rain City Project's every-other-year event. It's a delightful evening of tropical-themed performances, featuring ukulele performances by John Ackermann (of "Awesome" and the Railroad Tycoons), Bhama Roget, Superfluous the Ukulele Cover Band, and myself & Meghan Arnette; a shadow playlet by Scot Augustson, performed by Gude/Laurance; a virtual Hawaiian vacation by Jana Hutchison; and more, all hosted by the glorious Rebecca Mmmm Davis. It's also the book launch party for Rain City Projects' fantastic Volume 2 of the THE MANIFESTO SERIES, edited by Steven Dietz, featuring plays by Holly Arsenault, Louis Broome, Alison Gregory, Brendan Healy, Laura Schellhardt, and Stephanie Timm. But what gets forgotten is that it's also got an astonishing auction, crammed with fat packages of stuff that goes for a song.
VAUD RATS
Reston, VA
CenterStage 5 May 2010
Cecil B., back on the boards, this time in the great state of Virginia, where theatrical entertainment was once a Dazzling Display of Heterogeneous Splendor.
POST FACTUM 20MAY10 10:00AM I felt like a king in Reston. No, that sounds so superior. I didn't feel superior, just welcomed and well taken care of. I felt like a sheep let into a really green pasture. No, that implies that I didn't do crap but graze. It was a full schedule, filling the two days prior to the concert. It's like you have this puzzle piece (your show) and it must go into this new puzzle (the theater). So you adjust lights and tweak sound and re-stage slightly to make it fit. In this case the show ended up looking like it had been part of the puzzle all along. The lighting system was gloriously tricked out, with the superb Linda Ifert at the helm. She's this mild mannered, mighty pixy on crack. The sheep metaphor also doesn't fit since it implies there are other sheep in the pasture too and I was doing a solo show. I was the only sheep. Well, unless you consider Tim Moore a sheep. He was my touring stage manager for the show. With his vast knowledge of sound and music, combined with the gloriously tricked out sound system at the theater and the adept technician, Alex Gomez, Tim was able to achieve the best sound Vaud has ever had. They did this thing in Sophie's Waltz where the canned uke would begin all tinny and flat, then zoom into booming surround. Teeth actually shattered. Tim also was a keen eye and apt sensibility for the show in its new surroundings. I felt like a well to do customer at a very fancy restaurant. Except that metaphor doesn't work because they actually did feed me very well. Every time I turned around there was a sandwich or a catered lunch or snacks. And they served steak before the show. I can't eat steak before a show! It's too heavy, I'd explode or vomit. But it was great. And I did eat some. Not a metaphor though, because it was real. I felt like a mink stole on the neck of an exquisite twenties flapper. Tim Mckee and Mark Brutsche were amazing running crew, helping with every sundry, as well as being responsible for the fog machine which sent Madame Flora to the moon so to speak. Mark also took the awesome photos from the wings (see above). Most importantly, they kept me from sinking into that lonely backstage solo performer panic. And got me tea when my voice was tweaking. Mostly I blame Damian Sinclaire. He's responsible for the great time had by all.
Alice In Wonderland
Seattle
Book-It Rep. 16 Apr 2010
As part of the Novel Workshop Series, this brilliant adaptation by Barb Lachman, where the character of Alice is split into two’Äîan innocent version and the 'Uncontrolled Alice' who eventually merges into the Queen of Hearts. Brilliant. I played the Mad Hatter and the King. Much fun.
SPF 4
Seattle
Theatre Off Jackson Mar 2010
I helped with a piece in the Best In Shorts evenings called The Riverboat Runs Aground written and performed by Wes Andrews. He's a great voice, telling a dynamically simple tale of high school life in Alaska.
Guilty Pleasures
Seattle
Book-It Repertory 15 Mar 2010
Under the Teatro ZinZani big top, I play a suspicious fiance, a gay mirror, and a car in an entertainment sampled from The Notebook.
Young Playwrights Festival
Seattle
ACT Theatre 11 - 13 Mar 2010
I've performed a few times in this fest, but this is my first directing stint. It's a great program and beautiful theater. I'm blessed with a marvelous play by high school senior Pauline Lai Heng called The Pseudo British Comedy, featuring the syncopated talent of Gavin Cummins, Erika Eie, Mike Jones, Matthew Middleton, and Sara Mountjoy Pepka, assisted managerially by Lauren Miheli. I love it when a plan comes together.
The River Why Seattle, WA
Book-It Repertory Theatre 9 Feb - 7 Mar 2010
POST FACTUM 11MAR10 10:00AM One of the characters I played, Rodney T. Flyrod, was simple -- all about the mustache. (My daughters didn't recognize me on stage!) Another character I played, Titus Irving Gerard, remained elusive to me even to the end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this. It made for a marvelous trek, which continued all the way to the last performance. Jeff Frieders, the actor playing lead in the show, commented backstage during the final performance that our scenes were always a jolt of fun since they were played differently every night. Hopefully this didn't frustrate our marvelous director too much; but for me, given Titus' cryptic quotations, yo-yo like quality to shift subject, and constant exploration of the spiritual unknown, this acting style seemed apropos. Nulla est hominy causa philosophandi, nici ut beautus sit. David Wittig documented the rehearsal and tech process with these amazing pictures. Frankly, I don't know how Book-It does it -- adapting novels to the stage. It was an honor witnessing the process. (Though I could have done without the re-writes up to opening.) Backstage life was lovely: thanks to Sam, Adam, Chelsea and Ruby for the chaos, Mark for the construction talk, John for the history, Tim for the constant entertainment. Admirable crew iced the cake.
VAUD RATS
Seattle
Balagan Theatre Jan 2010
A solo run on home turf for the first time in seven years. Very excited!
POST FACTUM 1MAR10 11:00AM Thank you Balagan for hosting a very successful run. Check out these great pics by David Silver. Thank you Justin Holt and the excellent Couchsurfing.org folk for a lovely post-show gathering. Here's an interview in SunBreak called The Only Tragicomic One Man Ukulele Operetta Worth Seeing. Lastly, touting my own horn, VAUD RATS' listing on ukulelia.com broke their daily hits record! "Clearly, the world has been waiting for the perfect tragicomic one-man ukulele operetta."
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