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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crocodile who wrote (65759)	11/5/2004 1:54:47 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

Got an email from a friend I met in a production two years ago and thought it was a funny coincidence since we had just been speaking of fringe theatre again. come see Ochen Chotto Schpiel, which is a collection of original plays, each about two minutes long or less, performed live by the Abbreviated Enlightenment cast of playwrights, improv artists, dancer, musicians, and visual artists. There are two shows every Saturday night, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., beginning THIS Saturday, November 6th! There will be about 30 plays per show, but each show will be different depending on the order in which they’re presented (YOU THE AUDIENCE CHOOSE THAT ORDER!) and who’s in each week’s plays. I’m in the shows on November 6 and 13, and I sure hope you can make it out to see me, and to get addicted to this great form of live theatre and nonstop entertainment! Back in the summer, we took Dallas by storm, earning a rave review from the Dallas Morning News and “critics’ picks” from the Observer, The Guide Live, and KERA arts beat. Lawson Taitte of the Dallas Morning News reported that the little plays are “very funny indeed – all written by the performers, based on their own real-life experiences,” and that “connoisseurs of the hip and the odd” will find that /ochen chotto schpiel/ “is as strange and amusing as its moniker.” This is an audience-driven show, and we promise to deliver to you all the quality elements of fringe entertainment in one convenient dose. There is some mature content and language because, after all, we write about stuff that’s actually happened in our lives, but it is always tempered by intellect. Does this sound anything like something you might see there? Don't know if we'll get to go since I have my own musical for the next two weeks and then Dan and I are heading to Europe for ten days. (London, Paris, and Edinburgh. Can you believe that we arrive on the day X starts for home!) He has some business stuff, and I am just tagging along, and then we will take a few extra days just to play. Very excited. We haven't just "played" in a long time! One of the events is high tea at the Ritz and they have kindly included me, so now I am panicking about what to wear, high tea not being a regular event for me. High wine, maybe. But for that I put on a bathrobe.

To: Crocodile who wrote (65759)	11/12/2004 12:08:45 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 71178

Something happened before the show last night that is bothering me, so I think I will toss it out. We have both believers and non- here, all of whom are respectful of each other's choices-- so I don't anticipate problems even though it is on the no-no subject of religion. I am just curious about reactions from both sides. It's fairly traditional in theatre to have "circle" before a show. I'm not crazy about this kind of fuzzy stuff, but it doesn't bother me-- usually. A few people will say things like, Oh, I love everyone, and this has been so great, and there is usually a weeper. And sometimes casts say this little prayer- “There is magic in the theatre. And the Theatre is magic. Blessed are those who have the ability to create that magic. The gift you have is a gift from God. What you do with that gift is your gift to God. Break a leg. Amen.” Which I can live with. But last night, the cast circled up and had the band join them. They did some warm fuzzies, and then someone said, "It's traditional to say the Lord's Prayer". (For whom is this traditional???) I was really uncomfortable. I know we have a Muslim in the cast- she's been fasting for Ramadan-, and I know there are a couple of non-believers. I was surprised the directors allowed it. MOstly it just struck me as very wrong. Of course, sports teams do this all the time, so I don't know why it surprised me. I guess because I've never encountered it in theatre before. I just stayed quiet last night. The conductor muttered to me that she liked the band tradition better. They just say, "Don't suck" to each other before a performance. I agreed that was much more efficient. Still- I am feeling more and more uncomfortable about tonight. And I wonder now how hard it is for non-Christian young people in this situation. It must feel very alienating and exclusionary.