April 24, 2008

It was an encore performance for Café DaPoPo a la Bob and Lori's on Thursday evening, and what an evening it was. With many of our Café stalwarts tied up (gloriously) with Biography (great show, go see it), it was a brand new sort of Café experience. Steven Bourque, Andrea Dymond, Chris Ferrilll and myself (Keelin Jack) returned after hiatus of various lengths, teaming up with newcomers Andre Dumont, Meghan Hubley and Annie Valentina to create a pretty successful night of theatrical treats, if I do say so myself. 

Continuing the success of last month's rehearsal process, we focused on the scenes, and the rehearsal and feedback needed to present them effectively.

With no carry over of scenes between last month's and this month's Café, a lot of new material was learned, some was reviewed from months long gone, and some familiar material shown with a different cast. Although the list of material to be learned seemed daunting after the first meeting, almost all was accomplished. Many thanks to the brilliant and dedicated cast. 

Also many thanks to Ann Denny, Nathan Pilon and Garry Williams, who came to the Café as audience, but helped us out with Pretentious and Popular songs. 

The night started off at a pretty easy pace...delicious pizzas floating by from the kitchen, some intimate monologues, a only slightly skewed version of the Icarus/Daedalus scene from Apocalypse 2006... the only slight stress of an unexpected demand for Leonard Cohen songs (with puppet!) which I was luckily able to dig out of my bag and fake...with the help of Hubley, as singing, playing piano, turning pages and puppeting requires more hands than one person possesses. 

After that, I may not be the best person to comment on the overall feel of the Café, as I was running back to back scenes and monologues from this point onward. I can say, however, that everyone seemed lively, happy and entertained. There was a steady flow of orders, and a lot of new faces... great to see.  

Highlights include: the interruption of a highbrow Shaw scene by a random off the street looking for the bathroom (it was oddly appropriate... thanks to the ladies who ordered it, for their sense of humour); the Big Ensemble Scene, Everyman, and the audience members participating with their interesting interpretation of "penance"... a.k.a. what to do when you are handed a scourge; a new Happening "3 Monkeys" from returning Master of the Happening - Steven Bourque; delicious food provider and Bob and Loris proprietor Paul Rogers stepping in to provide us with a lovely rendition of "Ich grolle nicht"; and the ever in-the-wings Bonnie making her Café debut as an actor, complete with knitting and Southern accent, in a scene from Crimes of the Heart.

   ---  Keelin Jack

March 27, 2008 Café

And another new venue, Bob & Lori's Food Emporium, plays temporary host to the Café as the Mollyz re-opening date stretches us to edge-of-seat anticipation. Paul Rogers, one of the new Bob & Lori's co-owners hooked us up with this wonderfully cozy location. It was a relatively slow night comparatively, but such a delicate ambiance for patrons with soft yellow lighting diffused over intimate booths and an eclectic arrangement of chairs and tables.

Mike C. presided over the hot cider pot and the Bob & Lori's guys slung out sammies and yummies in the early evening. Our lusty legion of performers carried on valiantly, despite complications of illness running rampant through the cast. Steven Heisler joined us for the first time, jumping headlong into the fray with vigor and amazingly good spirit. Ann Doyle, awesomely, was back again for the second time along with a handful of old-timers and new-timers.

We had given more attention to rehearsal this month, with specific matching up of work with observers and a push on scenes. The new venue gave an extra incentive to pull performances into small spaces, a fun thing for DaBig Scene. This was a remounting of the L'il Caezr Teazr from last month, but with 7 cast members for the 10 roles. Ann Denny, the original Cassius, had to leave early, so when the order came in, Mike Chandler grabbed a script, tied a scarf around his waist, armed himself with a plastic sword and took on the role. This last-minute substitution in itself added to the hilarity of our honestly-acted but decidedly camped-up version of Act V. Unanticipated "mere flesh wounds," missing counterparts for dialogue, huge stage whispers and CPR on the dowel horse... you get the idea.

Highlights: Garry's voice student Najet came with a group of friends; chorale Auld Lang Syne caressing the hushed room; the comment "Now I want to see the play!" after a reading of a section of Biography; Nathan plays an intimate Bowie, amp and all for his folks; Ann Doyle dons the tin-foil cap THREE times; Sher in her hockey helmet and pink sunglasses as Young Cato... there are more.