Internet Research

The fastest way for an actor like me to get immediate dramaturgical immersion in the crazy ass world of a play like Agent G is to hit up Wikipedia and Youtube.  Here is some preliminary research I've culled from The Cloud.

WIKIPEDIA
The Vietnam War
This page is historical background and major events.

Boat People
This one has a wealth of "External links" to follow up on the Vietnamese immigration experience (some of them first hand accounts).

Viet Cong
The villains of Agent G.

South Vietnam
Basically background on the South before the Fall of Saigon, which effectively ended the war and led to the reunification of North and South.

YOUTUBE
Choson Ninja
This is a Korean "ninja technique" tutorial channel with some very strange but interesting moves.  The earlier videos are interesting to me.

"California Gurls" Katy Perry(feat. Snoop Dogg)
They wouldn't let me embed this video, but you can watch it here.  Then again, you probably know the song already.


viewer discretion advised

The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G: First Bite

art by Jeremy Arambulo whose stuff is consistently amazing

So this is the poster for Vampire Cowboys' next show (lovingly amended to "Agent G")  the First Bite workshop of which will be next week at the Battle Ranch at 8pm Monday and Tuesday.  The website has all the details.

It's been a long time in table/reading development and we're hard at work trying to give it a stage life now.  We'll probably be presenting only the first act, but already there's film noir, sci-fi, Miss Saigon, James Bond, Pirandello, Katy Perry and horribly funny plays within the play.  Oh, and some amazing fights that take place basically in a box.  No shortage of edgy, fun theatre candy here.

The action sequences are really good so far and I thought I would preview the process a little by offering my notes on what is historically known as "The Beer Fight."  

SECTION ONE

1. Ninja Running w/ looks and katas

2. Two sword dodges (Amy)

3. Nunchuck dodge into left crescent (Jon)

4. Right roundhouse (Amy)

5. Paper block/hand block/paper strike (Bonnie)

6. Nunchuck dodge/paper parry/nunchuck dodge/paper tap (Jon)

SECTION TWO

1. Right sword kick parry into left crescent (Amy and Jon)

2. Simultaneous knife disarm and paper strike (Bonnie)

3. Sword block, twisty move, spin paper strike (Amy)

4. Take nunchuck hit into running (Jon)

SECTION THREE

1. Triple paper/knife attack (Bonnie, Amy, Jon)

2. Hand grab into double hand neck chop (Bonnie)

3. Backward dodge (Jon and Amy)

4. Head/hair slam (Bonnie)

5. Outside shoulder tap, inside fist (Amy and Jon)

6. Take stomach hit into running (All)

SECTION FOUR

1. Running sequence right then left

2. Pop up into right cross (Bonnie)

3. Catch return punch, fist crunch, domino kick 

4. Take superman punch to the ground

5. Neck grab, human shield left then right

6. Right kick and toss away

7. Nunchuck dodge left and right, disarm, right nuts kick

8. Over the shoulder reset

9. Nunchuck strike right (reset under), strike left (reset under), strike left with nunchuck pop out

10. Flourish!

By this time I will be a complete mess, but the show must go on.  We'll all be addicted to five-hour energy shots by the end of this week.  That's three weapons, unarmed combat and a shitload of running.

Feel free to print this out and bring it with you if you would like to follow along ;)

Spring/Summer Listings of Shows in the NY Times

Qui first pointed me to this "things to look for this summer" spread in the Sunday Times, and as I read it I noticed many of my favorite companies and many artists from my cohort were represented with some really amazing shows, not least of which is Ma-Yi's Rescue Me (p.8 online).

Big Ups to:

Ensemble Studio Theatre, Lenin's Embalmers
Vampire Cowboys, Alice in Slasherland
The Play Company, Enjoy
Kristoffer Diaz and his play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Second Stage


I am sure there are more, but these are all shows I know personally through having workshopped or read them, and I'm so excited for such a talented group to come out strong in the next few months.

2009 People of the Year

So much to talk about!

First up, Martin Denton and the good people at nytheatre.com have named me one of 2009's People of the Year!

At the New York Innovative Theatre Awards Martin and Rochelle gave a rousing, articulate speech about the hard work and commitment that goes into making art. I remember sitting in the audience and really digging what they were saying. "They really get it and believe in it," I thought. And that is part of what makes this recognition so special for me. We're all in it together and although they're not performers, they're a big part of who we are and what we do. They understand the struggle and participate themselves. Their staff sees a zillion shows a year and I know I am one of the great multitude who rely on this website for the word on what is going on in the community. I remain completely floored.

Two of the three shows mentioned in my POY bio were shows I did with Vampire Cowboys (Soul Samurai and Fight Girl Battle World) and I have to say I owe a huge debt to them. They are a tremendous group who have done outstanding work for many years and taken me along for the ride. Part of what makes them so special is the quality of the collaboration, and in both of those shows I was a member of an incredible, true ensemble. The third show was Temar Underwood's The Brokenhearteds and again, all of us were up there as one and they all blew my mind. We did it all together.

Secondly, two shows are lined up for next season. The first is Robert Ross Parker's production of Goodbye Cruel World in January with Roundtable Ensemble. The play is an adaptation (Robert's) of a play called The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman and it's fast, furious, and physical in the best comic traditions. It'll be at The Arclight Theatre on 71st street, more details to come.

Following on the heels of that will be the Off-Broadway premiere of Michi Barall's play Iph, Then with the Obie-award winning Ma-Yi Theater. Visionary director and, ahem, Obie-award winner Loy Arcenas, who directed their brilliant production of The Romance of Magno Rubio and the workshop of I__NY, will return for this as well. That'll be sometime in March/April at The Ohio. More details to come.

October is Here

So updating the blog was definitely not on the menu for tonight, but I'm excited to announce a few things.

1. I will be joining the Vampire Cowboys in presenting their First Bite workshop of Alice in Slasherland at the end of October at the infamous Battle Ranch in Bushwick. Wow, that's a lot of branding. Expect more of what you love from this amazing company in full effect in three weeks. Details here!

2. I will be joining Dan Rothenberg and The Play Company in work-shopping Aya Ogawa's translation of Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada's Enjoy, also in October. I've always wanted to work with them and especially after their masterful co-production of Lloyd Suh's American Hwangap this year. Man, oh man. The Enjoy workshop will be in-house, so not open to the public, but I'm still really excited. I think some people I really admire are in it too, and just to be in the room with them is going to be a total trip.

3. The VC Saloon series is back and the great Dustin Chinn's Let's Ninja Science Ranger Team Get! will have yours truly as the Blue Ranger in a time-traveling, irreverent, Voltron-esque comedy. Can't wait. Details.

4. There's more brewing but I'll wait on that. Saw a bootleg version of Ong Bak 2 my sister let me borrow? Pretty amazing stuff. More later!

FGBW

"Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes agaaaaaain...."

Ah, those places we missed. Ticopria. Il Nova 7. Dancorprium. Pena 15. Qward. Blark. Flimrack. Milkshake.

It's been a long strange trip putting together a full-on remount for only 6 performances, but the reward is getting to feel that goofy, improbable joy of being ridiculous again. Feeling the energy and love from the audience. It's amazing and addictive and unforgettable. We're not done with the run, but I just wanted to thank everyone who stepped up and made it possible. People who traveled, people who took on more responsibility, people who urged friends to come (and came a second time themselves), people who joined the team, and of course, the people who put up with us while we were working on this beast.

Good hard work, everyone.

This Year's Outstanding Featured Actor is . . .

. . . Napoleon Beazley!

  

Well, some sweet day, I guess.  

However, (among others!!) the whole cast did win the Outstanding Ensemble IT Award last night, and considering the nature of the show and how hard we all worked, I'm glad none of us was recognized above the others.  I was going to accept on behalf of the cast, anyway :-)

Since only six of the nine of us were there and it was an ensemble thing, it was a bittersweet victory.  But to be onstage in the bright lights, to be in such great company, to have Kate there, and to receive the award from the legendary Bill Irwin (clown genius, guys)... Man, it was like winning the lotto.  

I should know.  Because I did win.  Today.  This morning.

Joanie and Charlie Benson (Kate's aunt and uncle) sent me five scratch tickets for my birthday and, by God, I won 55 bucks!  I wanted to do a Howard Dean "Yeeeargh!"  (First stop on the money train?  Oasis Falafel: $3.  Nice.)

So: I'm Moneyman instead of Featured Actorman.  I'm cool with that.  For now.  Some of that mojo or karma or whatever is definitely in the air.    

Don't we look young?

Don't dream it--be it, people!

The Winners

FIGHT GIRL BATTLE WORLD

The battle is over.

Four weeks of highly physical performances, four before that furiously rehearsing, and somehow we all came out victorious on the other side. Victorious over our expectations, our circumstances—even our own bodies. What are some jammed fingers, bruised ribs, or a little light pneumonia when the feeling you get every night is this good and the company you keep is this talented? Ribs shmibs. Does it really matter that you’re out of breath, your legs are burning from a slow-motion knee bend and you’re curled up in a fetal position for the sightlines if out of the corner of your eye you can watch your fellow really nail a laugh line? I’ll tell you: it matters not at all. Because it was worth it. Because you did your part and now they’re doing theirs and we’re all on the train going to the same place, full steam ahead.

Everyone did really hard, good work and I’m planning on stealing their best bits for my own the next time I go out of town for a gig. Because imitation is the highest form flattery. And because I’m ruthless like Brando when he made that poor English extra his best friend just to get his accent right during Mutiny on the Bounty.

The show was also a Critical victory, and below are some select press quotes that deal with my work specifically. For a comprehensive breakdown of the criticism, Qui Nguyen’s blog Beyond Absurdity (http://www.beyondabsurdity.blogspot.com/ ) has full-text links embedded in his post about the reviews and they’re organized very neatly. It’s a great blog, too. You can also see a lot more at http://www.vampirecowboys.com/ .

Huzzah to everyone involved. The day is ours.

**********

“…Nguyen’s script has funny moments . . . many of which go to the android LC-4 (Paco Tolson), the play’s walking homage to The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…”
—Variety

“Especially memorable is Paco Tolson as the robot sidekick, LC-4, who has some of the most laugh out loud moments of the evening.”
—NYTheatre.com

“How the General, E-V, and Adon-Ra eventually succeed …is the stuff of much merriment. It involves a particularly snarky blue-haired robot LC-4 (played to perfection by Paco Tolson)…”
—TheatreMania


“Paco Tolson turns in a scene-stealing performance enlivened by his priceless robot noises.”
—Show Business Weekly