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Can entertainment bring healing?

2/3/2012

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This picture has gone across facebook today in the theatre community. I saw my brother Elic's repost of it. The thing is pretty powerful - a note regarding a tech rehearsal from a theatre production that puts the healing power of storytelling into perspective.

Everyone who creates art in some way will have their own take on this story and the meaning of it, and so here's mine: We may not ever be able to see it as clearly as it is described in this paragraph, but do not be mistaken about it - the storytelling that we do, be it in video, theatre performance, podcasting, writing, poetry, dance - you name it - it accesses the healing power that can only be found from a loving God who wants to be in relationship with us.

The reason that we storytellers love to tell stories is on the off-chance that a moment like the one described in the picture could occur - that God would work in an incredible way. He does, He is, He will.

We just have to be brave enough to keep telling the stories, no matter the cost.

If your computer is "image impaired", here is a transcript of the note that was taken during a tech rehearsal for this show: "It was generally agreed by all that the show was "kind of rough" (tech wise). But after the show we learned that there was a 5 year old autistic child in the house. He had never spoken. But as the lights went down, he began to talk. In full sentences. He called the teacher by name. She had no idea he even knew her name. He was engaged in the show - at one point commenting to the teacher that if there is a dragon then there will be fire. And there was fire. He talked all throughout the show. When the lights came back up - he quit talking and returned to his world. So, yes, I could list all the little things that went wrong today but that is not what this show is about. And that little boy certainly didn't see those things as he sat talking in the dark theatre watching Harold and his Purple Crayon."

Keep story-telling, storytellers.

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Children of Eden

9/19/2011

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Several years ago I had the opportunity to direct the musical "Children of Eden" at Porchlight Music Theatre. It was so much fun, and very rewarding, as a guy who worked at a church to be able to bring my point of view to a work about the first couple of families in the Old Testament. With a score from Stephen Schwartz, the writer of "Wicked" among other great musicals, it was a blast.

The show uses its Act One to tell the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. In the second Act, we visit Noah and learn all about the flood. It's a great story of generations and relationships of family. The show chooses to cast God as "Father", interacting among his "children" in the early stages of planning his great wonderful world. It's when we get in our own way that things get interesting. And no one seems immune. Not even, in this show, "father."

At church we are in a series called "Love at Last Sight", and it's all about making changes in our relationships to make love last - certainly a lesson that this show communicates.

This past weekend, Epic Theatre Company opened our production of the musical, to a standing ovation on the first performance! It runs one more weekend, with three more shows only! You can see the show on:
Friday, September 23rd at 7:30, or
Saturday, September 24th at 8pm, or
Sunday, September 25th at 3pm.
Don't miss it! Click on any one of the dates above to reserve tickets in advance (which isn't a bad idea to make sure you get a seat - after great word of mouth, I suspect that we will be filling the gymnatorasium with lots of Children of Eden fans! (Including my parents, as four of their five grandchildren are in the show!)

Here is a video preview: a segment from the song that closes Act One, "Children of Eden." Get your tickets today!

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Porchlight Theatre needs a "kickstart!"

8/12/2011

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Many of you know that I am an artistic associate with Porchlight Theatre, the premiere music theatre of Chicago. I was there at the very beginning, directing the first show Porchlight ever produced with a bunch of friends from college and a ton of new friends from the city.

Porchlight is in a "kickstarter" campaign right now, and is trying to raise a mere $5000 through this innovate (relatively new) website. You can see a very cool video highlighting this season's show selection, and in particular the first show, Stephen Sondheim's "Putting It Together." This is the first production under the leadership of new artistic director Michael Weber. No other Chicago theater company in the last 17 years has produced more work by the master of American music theatre.

I am so excited about the new direction of Porchlight through Michael Weber's leadership, and I am asking all of my friends and blog readers to join in this campaign - even a small donation can help to make this season happen. As you might guess, making theatre is expensive, and yet, Porchlight succeeds in many ways by stretching every dollar to its maximum impact.

Would you go to this website RIGHT NOW and contribute? Thanks!

CLICK HERE TO GIVE PORCHLIGHT A KICKSTART.

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Less Than a Week Away! Irma Vep!

7/15/2011

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Last night at rehearsal I was shocked and excited to realize that a week from last night, we will have opened the show! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!

For those of you living in a cave not near Naperville or any Bramletts whatsoever, I'm talking about next week's Epic Theatre Company production - July 21-24 at the Naperville Yellow Box Theater. My brother Elic and I are starring in a two-man show called "The Mystery of Irma Vep." It's a comedy that pokes fun at gothic melodrama and penny-dreadful tales of "horror."

We chose the show to follow Community's recent series on the supernatural and paranormal called "Fringe." And we chose it, because, quite frankly, (1) I've always wanted to do it and (2) I've always wanted to perform it with my brother.

The story follows a lovelorn werewolf, a campy vampire, and an Egyptian princess with a secret, who greet Lord Edgar's new bride as she tries to escape the deadly fate of his first wife in this side-splitting spoof of gothic melodrama. It is directed by the incomparable Lynda Christopher.

The entertainment flows from the comedy of the script itself and the fact that Elic and I play all the roles. Men, women, ghosts, you name it. We play it. Trust me - this is one show you do not want to miss.

You can purchase tickets online RIGHT NOW by clicking this link. Get them now! We are in a smaller space and I suspect that tickets will sell out fast. At least, I hope so!

All shows are at 7:30pm. Tickets are available for $15 for Adults, $10 for Jr. and Sr. High Students, and $5 for kids.

The show is LESS than a week away! Check out the new promo we shot, and get your tickets TODAY!

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The Mystery of Irma Vep - Epic Theatre Next Month!

6/16/2011

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Couldn't be more excited about the next Epic Theatre Company production - July 21-24 at the Naperville Yellow Box Theater. My brother Elic and I are starring in a two-man show called "The Mystery of Irma Vep." It's a comedy that pokes fun at gothic melodrama and penny-dreadful tales of "horror."

We chose the show to follow Community's recent series on the supernatural and paranormal called "Fringe." And we chose it, because, quite frankly, (1) I've always wanted to do it and (2) I've always wanted to perform it with my brother.

The story follows a lovelorn werewolf, a campy vampire, and an Egyptian princess with a secret, who greet Lord Edgar's new bride as she tries to escape the deadly fate of his first wife in this side-splitting spoof of gothic melodrama. It is directed by the incomparable Lynda Christopher.

The entertainment flows from the comedy of the script itself and the fact that Elic and I play all the roles. Men, women, ghosts, you name it. We play it. Trust me - this is one show you do not want to miss.

You can purchase tickets online RIGHT NOW by clicking this link. Get them now! We are in a smaller space and I suspect that tickets will sell out fast. At least, I hope so!

All shows are at 7:30pm. Tickets are available for $15 for Adults, $10 for Jr. and Sr. High Students, and $5 for kids. The show is not inappropriate for kids by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a show for kids necessarily. (So, it's cleaner than Super 8 but it's no Cars 2...)

So, you coming? How many people are you bringing?

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A Let It Be Christmas Weekend! (I Haul, U-Haul)

12/6/2010

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Well it's been quite a month this week!

This week we were in tech and dress for this year's concert tour of Let It Be Christmas. We have such a great cast and crew, and we opened at the Lemont High School on Saturday night. It was a great night, and a huge turnout (nearly 500!) for a city where Community doesn't have a campus... yet! We are excited to be launching a new location in Lemont in the spring, and Let It Be Christmas ended up becoming a catalyst to announce our presence in that magnificent city. It was a blast, the high school was a great host, and (particularly cool for me) our new campus pastor for Lemont is an old great friend, Dave Richa. When I was first hired at Community, Richa was the Student Ministries Director, and we've been friends for a long time. You can check out his specific take on Let It Be Christmas and the Lemont connection right here. oh, and here's a youtube trailer for the show you can share with your friends and invite to the show:
And now, a short story about a U-haul. So we rented a truck to carry Lighting gear and other things out on the tour. I was driving it home after dropping off all the gear at Romeoville. (we had two great shows last night in Romeoville!) So it's around 10:45pm, and I'm 6 or 7 blocks away from my house on Washington, and boom. Transmission goes out on the truck, and I'm just revving, as though in neutral. I was in the left hand lane, and had no option with a 17 foot truck that was on a slight incline.
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So there I was stranded - I called U-Haul and was beginning the process of getting one of their mechanics out to check it out. Awesome. Again, I remind you that I am 6 or 7 blocks away from my house. Where my bed is. Where I should be sleeping right now. But instead, I'm waiting for a U-Haul mechanic.

And I would have to wait longer, because the Naperville Police showed up. It turns out that they are not "down" with the idea of having a giant U-Haul in the middle of the road in downtown Naperville. They were very helpful, called U-Haul and commandeered the vessel. They brought their towing company, and took it away. But they wouldn't let me leave until the towing turck was there. So around 12:30am, I was ready to go. But I needed a ride home.

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So I "got to" ride home in a squad car after this adventure. Happy to say it was my first, and I pray it was my last. It was ridiculously uncomfortable. But I did get home, I got some sleep, and the happy ending is that when I went to U-Haul to "close my contract" (read: Hi! I don't have a truck to return to you!), they completely refunded my money with no questions asked. Good job!

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So the moral of the story is, GO SEE LET IT BE CHRISTMAS! Get your tickets RIGHT HERE! We have shows this week throughout the western suburbs (Thursday in Yorkville, Friday in Plainfield, Saturday in Shorewood, and Sunday in Montgomery), and then next weekend we close out the show at the Naperville Yellow Box (Friday through Sunday, Dec. 17-19). Don't be someone who misses it!!!!!

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Don't forget the STORY

7/2/2010

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I'm very excited about the STORY conference this year. I met Ben Arment a few years ago and loved his passion for the creative class. Last year my brother Elic and I had an opportunity to be a part of many brainstorming sessions leading up to the event, and participated onstage through some comedic bits that helped pay tribute to the sponsors who made the thing happen. In addition, our church's theatre company (Epic Theatre) provided actors who strolled the downtown Aurora area as conference-goers were entering and getting registered. (in fact, a great photo was taken of our boys last year, and it was used in this year's promotional packet - I'll post it here at the end of my post)
This year, the conference moves from Aurora to Chicago - at Park Community Church's fantastic (and relatively new) space. It's going to be great! The speakers are incredible, and very inspiring to the creatives out there trying to tell the one great story in imaginative ways. Here's the list of Speakers:

Dan Allender - best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School
Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
John Sowers - president of Donald Miller's The Mentoring Project
Shauna Niequist - former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet
David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
Leonard Sweet - futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University
David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
Sean Gladding - member of Communality, a new monastic community
Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
Gary Dorsey - founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX
Chuck Swindoll - best-selling author, pastor (appearing via hologram)
Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker

And... I just finished a phone call with Ben, and Elic and I are in the process of figuring out a really cool way to contribute to the theme through a performance piece. I'm hoping it will all come together - would hate to not do something creative at a creatives conference!

Sign up today, while there's still early bird pricing! You can do that by clicking here.

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That seems about right.

4/15/2010

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The guys from South Park are writing a musical. To be staged on Broadway. About "The Book of Mormon." Wow. Read more here.
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Oh no! Lloyd Webber is on the loose

3/8/2010

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Just saw this article about a sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Read about it here. Is there any chance that this is even remotely a good idea?
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