Godly Acres and other Chester Horn Musings...
From the Desk of Paul Weissman...
On the weekend of Jan 29 to Feb 1st, I, along with other members of Point of You, had the pleasure in taking part in Theatrerats “Fourth Annual Chester Horn Short Play Festival.” I was in a play called Godly Acres about Greek gods in rehab. I played Ares, G played Zeus, Jeff directed and played Cronos, Johnny played Hermes, Lee played Dionysus and Meghan played Willow, who had to keep us all in order. It was quite an amusing satire on rehab. We all came out in our togas, but with the ever present bathrobes you see people wearing on all those rehab shows (great call, Jeff).
We had about six rehearsals to get the piece into shape. Now, I haven’t performed in theater in a while. I spent all of last year writing and working on Sunset Motel. It was so much fun to work out bits and discover things with the other POY actors. We cracked each other up constantly. Even on stage, it took all my strength not to burst out laughing at Lee’s meltdown.
When it came time for the show, all I can say is Alexis and her crew at Theatrerats couldn’t have been nicer. They were very welcoming to everyone, our tech ran without a hitch. They even let us all sit and watch the other plays during the run through since, of course, we would not be able to see them otherwise.
And backstage, I got to meet friends, old and new. Imagine my surprise... actually, don’t imagine it, I’ll tell you... to see my old friend Kevin Shinnick there. He was one of the first people that I worked with in theater when I first got to New York. He is a wonderful director and actor and a fabulous human being. We have been in email contact for a couple of years, but the last time I saw him was in 2003 and the last time I was backstage with him was in 1997. I also met a compadre that I was in a not very good play with many years ago. We would bond over said play’s awfulness by drinking every night. Luckily, I drink less. . . probably because I do better plays now. He was fabulous as a grumpy grim reaper. And then a fellow acting student played a female Elvis impersonator. I ended up chatting with the directors of a couple of pieces and writers of a couple of others.
And my fellow POY actors? Heelarious. G was a regal, randy Zeus, Johnny channeled Steve Buscemi, Meghan nailed her character’s desire to just get out of this alive and unmolested, Lee’s jocky yet weepy Dionysus was a riot, Jeff’s Cronos... well, let’s just say he turned me off of chicken for quite a while. And myself? I tried my best to imbue Ares with a sense of hurt pride. And I got to throw a chair and imitate The Hulk.
And the piece that Marc directed was quite fun as well. Johnny playing a ninja who happens to be a video store clerk, the faboo Katie Currie as the put upon wife who just wants a regular visit with her mother in law, played with élan by Tina Trimble Savoy. Very, very funny stuff.
All in all, a very good time was had by all. And it served as a reminder to me what the gift of theater is about. Collaboration.
You can visit TheatreRats at http://www.theatrerats.com/.
On the weekend of Jan 29 to Feb 1st, I, along with other members of Point of You, had the pleasure in taking part in Theatrerats “Fourth Annual Chester Horn Short Play Festival.” I was in a play called Godly Acres about Greek gods in rehab. I played Ares, G played Zeus, Jeff directed and played Cronos, Johnny played Hermes, Lee played Dionysus and Meghan played Willow, who had to keep us all in order. It was quite an amusing satire on rehab. We all came out in our togas, but with the ever present bathrobes you see people wearing on all those rehab shows (great call, Jeff).
We had about six rehearsals to get the piece into shape. Now, I haven’t performed in theater in a while. I spent all of last year writing and working on Sunset Motel. It was so much fun to work out bits and discover things with the other POY actors. We cracked each other up constantly. Even on stage, it took all my strength not to burst out laughing at Lee’s meltdown.
When it came time for the show, all I can say is Alexis and her crew at Theatrerats couldn’t have been nicer. They were very welcoming to everyone, our tech ran without a hitch. They even let us all sit and watch the other plays during the run through since, of course, we would not be able to see them otherwise.
And backstage, I got to meet friends, old and new. Imagine my surprise... actually, don’t imagine it, I’ll tell you... to see my old friend Kevin Shinnick there. He was one of the first people that I worked with in theater when I first got to New York. He is a wonderful director and actor and a fabulous human being. We have been in email contact for a couple of years, but the last time I saw him was in 2003 and the last time I was backstage with him was in 1997. I also met a compadre that I was in a not very good play with many years ago. We would bond over said play’s awfulness by drinking every night. Luckily, I drink less. . . probably because I do better plays now. He was fabulous as a grumpy grim reaper. And then a fellow acting student played a female Elvis impersonator. I ended up chatting with the directors of a couple of pieces and writers of a couple of others.
And my fellow POY actors? Heelarious. G was a regal, randy Zeus, Johnny channeled Steve Buscemi, Meghan nailed her character’s desire to just get out of this alive and unmolested, Lee’s jocky yet weepy Dionysus was a riot, Jeff’s Cronos... well, let’s just say he turned me off of chicken for quite a while. And myself? I tried my best to imbue Ares with a sense of hurt pride. And I got to throw a chair and imitate The Hulk.
And the piece that Marc directed was quite fun as well. Johnny playing a ninja who happens to be a video store clerk, the faboo Katie Currie as the put upon wife who just wants a regular visit with her mother in law, played with élan by Tina Trimble Savoy. Very, very funny stuff.
All in all, a very good time was had by all. And it served as a reminder to me what the gift of theater is about. Collaboration.
You can visit TheatreRats at http://www.theatrerats.com/.
Labels: TheatreRats
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