Too Many Cooks Spoil the Melting Pot

Go see Mary Scrugg's "Missing Man"!

2008-02-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to urge you all to see Mary Scruggs' one-woman show, "Missing Man," before it ends its run at Live Bait Theater (through March 2).

Here's the log line: "Missing Man is based on a cross-country motorcycle trip solo artist Mary Scruggs took with a group of Vietnam Vets to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It's a story of one woman, 300 motorcycles and a lot of emotional baggage."

I saw it last night and was blown away. I'd heard some of Mary's stories about the trip, but the show goes far beyond funny anecdotes. It's a great show—funny and moving, and Mary's in great form. And it's not just my take--it's one of the relatively small number of current productions that are "Jeff recommended."

Info about reservations and such are below

So go, already!

--J. P. Stephenson

Mary Scruggs' One-Woman Show!

2008-01-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

Missing Man

Written and performed by solo artist Mary Scruggs, Missing Man is based on a cross-country motorcycle trip Scruggs took with a group of Vietnam Veterans to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It’s a story of one woman, 300 motorcycles and lots of emotional baggage. Directed by Edward Thomas-Herrera.

Missing Man opens Thursday, January 24th, 2008.

Closes Sunday, March 2nd, 2008.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 3pm.

Tickets are $20 on Friday and Saturday; $15 on Thursday and Sunday.

For reservations call (773) 871-1212.

Michael Larimer Eats Mud?

2008-01-23T16:28:00.001-08:00

Michael's latest show!

"Eat Mud"
a sketch comedy revue written by David DeVries
directed by Elizabeth Bell & David DeVries
Starring:
Noellen Parenteau
Marty Lawless
Michael Larimer
Elizabeth Bell
David DeVries

Fridays & Saturdays thru January @10pm
Gorilla Tango Theater www.gorillatango.com
located at 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave.
*at the corner of Milwaukee, Western, & Armitage.

Megan's show, redux (Age of Entitlement)

2007-10-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

This in from Megan (posted a bit belatedly but in time for the second and third of 3 performances):

"Size Eight, sketch comedy written and performed by me and Kerri Van Auken, is proud to present the second premiere of our premiere show, The Age of Entitlement, for only three Thursdays nights:

October 11, 18 and 25 at The Spot on Broadway and Montrose in Chicago.

The Spot has a full (and scrumptious) dinner menu and, more importantly, a full bar.

This time, The Age of Entitlement is longer, faster, and bustier -- something for everyone in a show that's been dubbed a "I Can't Believe You DID That!" sensation by rabid fans and "Charmingly Inappropriate!" by...well, us.

Friends who are far-flung and far-out: send your Chicago pals to see us! We promise a hand-written thank you note with pressed flower will arrive in your mailbox.

And to our local coterie: join us for dinner, martinis...and bling."

SIZE EIGHT

presents

THE AGE OF ENTITLEMENT
sketch comedy with bling

written and performed by
Kerri Van Auken and Megan Powell

directed by
Katie Hawkey

choreography by
Phil Seidman

video by
Eric Patterson, Jamie Weber, Mars Sanford

stage managed by
Jennifer Maravegias

Size Eight's The Age of Entitlement combines the cynicism of Thomas Hobbes, the flair of Kimora Lee Simmons, and the wit (and wit's end) of two women who are mad as hell and just aren't going to take it any more. Oh, and the sass of Willona, the neighbor lady from Good Times. Except from white girls. Who wonder why some people have every little thing handed to them on a silver platter, while the rest are still working at a desk all these years later, just with better computers. Fat vs. thin, rich vs. poor, Botoxed vs. cracked, desperate losers and determined gold diggers—none are spared in this multi-layered, multi-media, multi-celled comedy show. No, let's call it a comedy experience. There ya go.

With special guests DAK Attack

Thursdays
October 11, 18, 25
8 pm

The Spot
4437 N. Broadway, (at Montrose), Chicago

$10 at the door

Visit us, darling, at

http://www.myspace.com/sizeeight

Mikey Handles Love

2007-08-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

More Skybox love from Michael Larimer:

"Love Handles"
Thursdays @10:30pm
The Second City, Skybox Stage
August 16 - September 20

***

Megan Finds Entitlement

2007-08-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

Dearest Friends,

Size Eight is my two-woman sketch comedy and musical project. We are proud to present our premiere show, The Age of Entitlement, Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1 at the Theatre Building in Chicago.

My co-creator Kerri Van Auken and I would be deeply honored and gratified to have your support next weekend. It's an exhilarating and just a wee bit fearsome experience to, after working for what seems like a glorious lifetime, present the fruit of our labor and the inside of our brains.

This world premiere will feature sketches, video shorts, dancing, singing, and a little bit of skin. Something for everyone in a show that's been called "Charmingly Inappropriate!" by...well, us.

But perhaps you'll think so, too.

SIZE EIGHT

in association with Brown Couch Theatre Company's

How Now, Brown Couch: The 5th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival

presents

THE AGE OF ENTITLEMENT

written and performed by
Kerri Van Auken and Megan Powell

directed by
Katie Hawkey

choreography by
Phil Seidman

Size Eight's The Age of Entitlement combines the cynicism of Thomas Hobbes, the flair of Kimora Lee Simmons, and the wit (and wit's end) of two women who are mad as hell and just aren't going to take it any more. Oh, and the sass of Willona, the neighbor lady from Good Times. Except from white girls. Who wonder why some people have every little thing handed to them on a silver platter, while the rest are still working at a desk all these years later, just with better computers. Fat vs. thin, rich vs. poor, Botoxed vs. cracked, desperate losers and determined gold diggers—none are spared in this multi-layered, multi-media, multi-celled comedy show. No, let's call it a comedy experience. There ya go.

The Theatre Building
1225 W. Belmont Avenue
8pm
$15

The ticket includes admission to the festival at 8pm, with the sketch show concluding the evening immediately after (approximately 10pm)

advance ticket sales: 773.327.5252 / www.theatrebuildingchicago.com

Visit us, darling, at

http://www.myspace.com/sizeeight

Michael Larimer and his beard are in a new show!

2007-07-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Thunder and Lightning Ensemble presents:
"The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek"

@Trap Door Theatre

1655 Cortland

Thursdays-Sundays 7:30pm
thru July 22nd

Call (773) 332-9939 or http://www.thunderandlightning.org/ for tickets or contact Michael and he'll reserve the tics for you!

Michael's the understudy but he gets to do the last four shows! July 19, 20, 21, and 22nd! He says, "It's one last chance to see the ridiculous beard that is almost down to my shoulders now."

Time for another stroll down Kyle Lane...

2007-06-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

This just in from Kyle:

I have a show this weekend in Lincoln Park at the Vida Lounge -- it's a new room we're starting.

It's at 1248 W.George St -- basically Lincoln and George -- and it's this Friday the 8th, beginning at 8pm. Would love to see all you guys. We need a good audience because TimeOut magazine is coming to review us.

I also have a pilot that is premiering at the Musicbox theatre on July 20th at 10:30pm. We pitched it to all the networks so it's kind of a big deal. Would also love to see all you guys there.

Megan's new show!

2007-06-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Gettin' Paid, an Improvised Musical

Recapitulation
and
The Second City Training Center proudly present:

GETTIN' PAID
An Improvised Musical

directed by Mike Descoteaux — music by Stephanie McCullough

Sundays
June 3 - June 17*
8pm

Donny's Skybox
The Second City
(Pipers Alley, North Avenue at Wells -- enter off North and take the escalators and stairs up til you can't no more)
$10 ($8/students; $5/Second City Training Center students)

**a Sunday night double-header followed by the Second City Music Improv House Ensemble**

Buy tickets

online:
https://chitickets.secondcity.com/Online/default.asp?brand=Skybox

phone:
312.337.3992

go to:
The Second City Box Office, 1616 N Wells.

A double bill of original improv and sketch comedy every Sunday.

From SC's Web site: "The Second City Training Center presents Gettin' Paid: An Improvised Musical - a production that explores the hilarity in everyday, slice-of-life situations and relationships at the 2nd/4th Bank. Performed by graduates of the Second City Training Center's Music Improvisation Program, the show offers an action-packed set of improvised scenes, songs, dance, and satire performed by some of the sharpest musical talents in the city."

followed by

The Music Improv House Ensemble (open run)

From the SC Web site: "The Second City Musical Improv House Ensemble is a showcase for some of the best singprov talent in the city. Starring improvisers from every musical troupe in Chicago, this bonanza of short-form mastery will change the world, one hilarious improvised song at a time. "

Michael Larimer's new show!

2007-05-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

This in from Cooks alum Michael Larimer:

Check out this creepy, weird, funny show I'm in:

"We Put the Laughter in Manslaughter"
Friday nights at 10:30pm
in Donny's Skybox Theatre at The Second City
May 25th-June 22nd

More Cooks News--Jessica and Regan's show!

2007-01-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

This just in from Jessica Dittrich: She and Regan Davis are in Something Prestigious for the next 5 weeks. Be there!

Michael Larimer encounters the Dark Side?

2007-01-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Michael Larimer's latest, hottest, newest, endevour!!

"Earl the Vampire" - A dark comedy about a family of vampires trying to survive in the modern world.

Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night @7:30pm until February 11th.

The Side Studio in Rogers Park. 1520 W. Jarvis Ave. Steps away from the Red Line Stop. Get tickets in advance @ http://www.thunderandlightning.org/ or call 773-332-9939

Jessica and Megan Get Sensitivity Training

2006-10-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Jessica Dittrich and Megan Powell are in a new SCTC show opening tonight, October 13. Break a leg, ladies!

SENSITIVITY TRAINING
A sketch comedy revue
Presented by The Second City Training Center
directed by Mary Scruggs

Fridays at 9 pm, Oct. 13, 20, 27, Nov. 3 & 10

Donny's Skybox
The Second City
(enter Pipers Alley off North Avenue
& take the escalators up to 4th floor)

Tickets $8, $5 for students, $4 for SCTC students

To order tickets by phone: 312.337.3992
Also available at The Second City Box Office
at 1616 N Wells, Chicago
Online ordering (i.e., entering Handling Fee Hell)
not recommended

New projects

2006-09-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Kyle for this update:

"Regan and I got into Mary's next project, 'Family Treason.' It's a proposed show in the Donny, and if all goes well they plan to take it to another theatre after this one. It should be hilarious, and it involves all the same writers from Monkey See Productions. It goes up on Oct. 21st, and runs until Dec. 2nd.

I also just wrapped up on the feature Sketch that I have been working on. Hopefully we can get a distribution deal, so all the world can see it. Regan, Jessica, Mike, and Mary are all actors in the film."

The synopsis is at http://www.mindlight.com/sketch.html.

Standup alert: a stroll down Kyle Lane

2006-09-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Kyle Lane has just returned from performing at a corporate gig in Columbus with Joe Canale (from Second City's Mainstage), who talked about the gig on the new Ruby Streak/Second City podcast. Canale said that these corporate affairs are typically PG in sensibility, so he was caught off guard when Kyle really got filthy (and got a lot of laughs) with his standup.

The podcast is available online at http://secondcity.com/?id=theatres/chicago/features (Kyle gets a mention about 16 minutes into the podcast).

Here's what Kyle writes about the experience: "Columbus was insane, apparently insane enough to make a podcast! We had a blast though, and it was great."

He adds, "This Friday [September 15], I am doing a show at the Cork Lounge at 1822 W. Addison. It has some really good comics, including my filth. It starts at 8 or 9 I think."

Michael Larimer's new show

2006-09-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Michael Larimer's new show!
Title: Me, Myself, and iPod
Time: Fridays @ 10:30pm
Run: Sept. 8th-Oct. 13th, 6 shows

At Donny's Skybox Theatre
1608 N. Wells St.
Piper's Alley, 4th floor

From the Donny's Skybox Web site: "'Me, Myself, & iPod' is an intelligent and energetic exploration of society’s growing dependence on technology. The show examines this dependence and its effects on interpersonal relationships, and ultimately, our own identities."

Great run!

2006-09-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had our 5th and final performance last week--not quite a sellout, but a good turnout considering a lot of folks were out of town for the Labor Day weekend. Since Director Mary Scruggs was on vacation, Andy Miara, a Second City Training Center faculty member who taught Writing 3 for most of the show's writers, held a mini-commencement and gave the writers certificates certifying our successful completion of the SCTC writing program. The writers thanked cast and crew with a gift bag that included a coffee mug with the "Too Many Cooks" poster design.

It was a bittersweet evening saying goodbye to "Cooks," but we're all looking forward to future efforts.

Coming soon, technical challenges permitting, audiofiles of the songs.

Also, Watch this Space for updates on what the Cooks are up to!

--J. P. Stephenson

7th inning stretch

2006-08-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Three shows down, 2 more to go. Last week, on a dreary rainy Friday night, we had another sellout. Every show has been different--not surprising, given all the variables--the weather, the audience's intelligence and energy level, what kind of week the cast had, and so on. We also had a new element added to the line-up: another blackout, that recent events inspired Al to write. --J. P. Stephenson

Sellout!

2006-08-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

We just finished the second of five shows--a sellout crowd, helped in no small part by a "party bus" of 50+ from Milwaukee, friends of Al Correa, one of the writers. The audience was great and the cast has never been better--timing was sharp, especially in making adjustments so the audience's laughter didn't drown out subsequent lines. -- J.P. Stephenson

Rounding the corner

2006-07-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Bereaved...

and aggrieved...

Getting carried away....

We didn't come here just to fish, did we?

We're rounding the proverbial corner and heading for home! Just a few rehearsals left before opening night. We did back-to-back Saturday/Sunday rehearsals this weekend, including full blocking of all the sketches. We now have a running order, and our cast went through the show several times to work out the rough edges.

Our final two rehearsals are back-to-back again on July 29-30, and we'll be joined by our Musical Director Laura Kessler, as well as using props for the first time. You always wish you had more time to tweak the show... but there's no snooze alarm for opening night. The clock is ticking for August 4th!
-- Michael Costa

More song work, more blocking

2006-07-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

Megan samples the amusing little house wine...

There's a potty over here, a potty over there...

Laura Kessler and Mark Lobo set the mood.

Director Mary Scruggs sees all, knows all.

The cast spent a good part of last Saturday's rehearsal working on the show's two songs and blocking a sketch that also has some song snippets. Re-blocking one of the songs really had a transformative effect, by bringing the two opposing points of views into focus. Our music director, Laura Kessler, planned to work with the actors in her studio on the songs during the week.

We have one or two more sketches to block and blackouts to choose--and only 2 more weeks until we open. We're all looking forward to doing some run-throughs to get a feel for what the complete show will be like.
-- J.P. Stephenson

Adding the tunes

2006-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Michael, Regan, Jessica, and Kyle take a break.

Practicing gibberish.

Rehearsing a song with Music Director Laura Kessler

We have two original songs in the show and at the last rehearsal, we started working on one of them with our music director, Laura Kessler. Laura had made a CD demo of herself playing the piano and singing the song (melody and harmony) for the actors to take home to help them learn it.

Only 3 more weeks until we open--and so much to do before then. It seems daunting, but our director, Mary Scruggs, assures us we're about where we ought to be at this point. -- J.P. Stephenson

Show posters, postcards, and program

2006-07-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to
graphic designer
Melanie Bender for
a terrific design
for our poster,
postcards, and program!

Explore and heighten: the process continues...

2006-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

We completed blocking on two more sketches, and are now off-book on seven of the scheduled 10. The ability to get away from reliance on looking at the scripts for lines allows for a whole new level of scene development to take place. The writers have finished building and populating a world, and establishing a story. Now the actors use their talents to breathe life into those characters and make them interact with that world. It is an amazing thing to watch, and gives one a profound respect for the craft of acting.

It was particularly interesting to see how improvisational skills can be used effectively to help the actors explore the basic goals of their characters, as well as their relationships to other characters. We saw that whole Second City approach put into practice right before our very eyes with impressive results.

Well, for the writers it's now one weekend off for the Fourth of July. For the actors, it is another week of memorizing lines, and thinking about how to take their new personas to places we can only imagine.

--A.J. Correa

Jessica and Andrea warm up...

Michael to Regan: You forgot the batteries.

Kyle and Jessica discover modern relationships are very complicated...

___________________________________

A collaborative process

2006-06-21T14:06:00.001-07:00

We're still in the relatively early stages of preparing the show. So far, Mary has blocked 6 sketches, which means all of the writers have had an opportunity to see our work up on its feet. Still to go: 4 more sketches, 2 songs, and any blackouts that make the cut. So there's a great deal of work to be done before we're ready to open.

It's been a kick to see the staging evolve and how much the director and actors bring to the process--how they flesh out the characters and the worlds we've created.

--J.P. Stephenson

Worship at the Church of Comedy?

"Those massive arms--that's a good look in a man."

Someone needs a brewski.

You say libido, I say libido.

---------------------------------

Another opening, another show

2006-06-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Six writers, six actors, a director, a music director + 8 weeks of rehearsal = a sketch review, opening August 4. We're students of the writing program at Chicago's legendary Second City, and our show (title to be determined) will be the culmination of more than a year's study and hard work. We're now in the last class of the sequence, which involves producing a sketch review that includes some of the sketches we've written and revised over the previous 4 terms. We cast the show at the end of the 4th term--we've got a great cast (the photos above show most of them)--and have started blocking and rehearsing. Our director is the incomparable Mary Scruggs, the head of the Second City writing program. Laura Kessler is our music director, and will be composing the music for two songs that will be in the show.

A couple of the writers in our class have also done some acting/improvisation/stand-up, but for the rest of us, producing this show is a new view into the performance end of things. It's been a fascinating process watching the director and actors morph words on a page into some pretty zany characters. Today we observed the Second City approach in the flesh, as actors improvised on aspects of one of the sketches to help clarify the characters and their motivations as a tool for further revisions that the writer will make to the sketch.

--J.P. Stephenson

---------------------------