Just an observation.]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=453Wed, 3 Dec 2008 11:12:06 -0600Catching up. . .
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Oh, yes. We were talking about the show. . . .
Afterward the city of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs threw us an opening night reception, and people treated us like stars. We didn't just get the usual "You did a nice job" types of comments; people really gushed. We'd thank them for coming out and they’d say, "No, thank YOU! That was amazing!"
Dada is dead, or so the audience is informed by one of the figures in white makeup and shabby suits. On his orders, we stand, while he's in the process of angrily explaining why we should immediately leave. At the back of the stage, an unrelated commotion is in full swing, setting the tone of uncomfortable audience participation and choreographed chaos.
Everyone stayed, and we were rewarded with an evening of surpassing strangeness. It would be hard to find a show onstage in Chicago right now more gleeful in both its disregard for the rules of narrative coherence and its enthusiasm for provoking and insulting the audience. The entire cast attacks with nonsense, shrieking songs, and bizarre poems. None of them are identified by name except for Jen Ellison as Dada Dabo, leader of the revels, but all are expert at the tricky stylistic balancing act of this production.
Some vignettes are funny; others are unpleasant and distressing. For a little over 90 minutes, we are living in Dada, and for about the first hour it’s an incredibly exciting experience.
Unfortunately, the show lacks a through-line, so scenes that are individually fascinating and engaging begin to wear thin about 30 minutes before the play ends. Despite this, one doesn't often have the opportunity to see such a sustained and entertaining attack on the audience’s usual expectations. It’s a dangerous world onstage at the Storefront, and those willing to take the risk will find the evening rewarding, despite its flaws.
If you’re more likely to indulge in the humiliations of "National Lampoons: Christmas Vacation" or "A Christmas Story" this holiday season and less likely to get a bit teary-eyed at "It’s a Wonderful Life" - the WNEP Theater’s presentation of Soiree Dada: Schmückt Der Hallen at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Storefront Theatre is probably for you.
The holidays prove to be perfect fodder for an interactive Dada celebration, as one Dada aptly explained, since both events promise to likely ’shame and exalt you.’
Chock-full of absurdity, chaos, audience participation (beware!), and chance elements, "Soiree Dada" features a talented cast of many performers and poets speaking (sometimes nonsense and oftentimes over one another) in terrifically thick German accents. Song, dance, poetry, storytelling, and a lot of noise await you - and it’s all especially acerbic for this time of year.
For those unfamiliar with the Dada art movement emerging in Switzerland around the time of the First World War, Dadaist theatrical tactics of chaos, chance, and simultaneity were meant to express an anti-war politic. The WNEP Theatre holds true to this tradition with occasional, satirical references to today’s crummy economy and ongoing wars. But, for the most part, it’s all good fun.
Outfitted in classic black outfits and white face-paint, the WNEP Dadas are a motley group resembling, for the sake of this holiday presentation, some kind of loose, dysfunctional family-structure. At the helm of the bunch is Dada Dabo, played with Fruedian authority by the very skilled and very funny Jen Ellison.
Ellison’s take on the "disillusionment" awaiting beneath the bright and shiny wrapping paper of a small gift given to another Dada is probably the smartest holiday parody I’ve seen in recent memory.
Then Fred, Sarah and Speedy came over, and we feasted like there was no tomorrow. Sarah brought her delicious mixed bean casserole, some tasty pumpkin bread and a pumpkin pie that, because we were so incredibly stuffed, we never even cut into. Auntie Speedy brought the essentials – you know, the brownies and beer. I cooked the turkey for the first time in my life, and thanks to my mom’s advice and a couple of tips that I found online, I must say that it couldn’t have turned out better. I also made my usual twice-baked potatoes and the Wagner family spaetzle, the recipe for which was given to me by Lori’s mom with love. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.
Take a look at the spread:
And also the mess (Sorry, Lori – I couldn’t resist):
Yes, indeed. . .
We were pretty much comatose by the end of the day.
And the rest of the weekend was like a mini vacation. It was just what we needed.
Maddie took care of her "babies". . .
Put on a puppet show for her little sister. . .
We got in some extra cheek-squishing time with the Bean. . .
and Mommy snuggled with her baby girl.
And now we're back at work.
BOOOO!
Have a happy Tuesday!]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=452Tue, 2 Dec 2008 10:44:03 -0600Like Big Sister, Like Little Sister. . .
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Case in point:
I took this photo of Maddie on June 25th, 2006:
And two days ago, I took this photo of Shelby:
But here are a couple of other things to consider:
This:
And this:
Have a happy Tuesday!]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=451Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:36:10 -0600Hello to you.
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Our show opens the day after tomorrow, and I’m seriously exhausted. Lori, too. We had 16 solid hours of rehearsal over the weekend and have been working our butts off ever since. Funny thing, though – I can’t wait to work again. I mean, let’s be honest; I am hurting. But I’m hurting in a good way. This show is a blast. I can guarantee that it’s unlike anything you’ve seen. There’s really no way to describe it; it just has to be experienced. I will say this, though – I’ve written an awful lot of it, and with the exception of opening and closing night (and possibly one or two nights in between), Lori and I will be performing on alternating weekends.
We felt like royalty when we walked into the space. As DADA Dabo (Jen Ellison) commented, it was as if Daddy Warbucks had adopted us and set us free in his mansion. This place rocks. A state-of-the-art, 100 seat theater with top-of-the-line lighting equipment, two light booths and an actual lobby. We even have our own dressing room with a private bathroom in it. It’s nuts. And the coolest thing is that it’s not costing us a cent! We’ve got this place rent free until the third week of December. And on opening night, the city is throwing us a party. I’m talking free food, beer and wine - Fox & Obel style. And we’re the guests of honor! Insane!
The girls are doing well. They’re finally about over their colds (I’m still fighting mine), and they’ve been real troopers about our hectic rehearsal schedule. So far, because of a flexible director, understanding cast and the best friends in the whole wide world, Lori and I have been able to make it work without having to sacrifice a whole lot of family time.
Shelby, dare I say it, is even mellower than Maddie was as a baby. That’s saying a lot. She smiles almost all of the time, and when she cries it’s for a darn good reason. She and I have gotten very tight. We can see right into each other’s souls. And not to toot my own horn (O.k., you got me – TOOT, TOOT), but I can make her giggle like no one else can.
Maddie continues to blow us away – not only with her ever-growing vocabulary and increasingly vivid imagination but also with her overall presence. She lights up every room she enters. Her smile is infectious, and her laugh could tame the fiercest lion. As “Uncle Don” said on the ride home from rehearsal the other day, she takes a big ol’ bite out of life.
In other news, we rearranged our apartment. We got rid of the big dining room table (it’s out on the deck – if you want it, it’s yours), which we hardly ever used, and we turned the dining room into a play area for the girls. My parents gave us a smaller table (I think it’s actually the one from the kitchen of my childhood home) that fits perfectly in our kitchen. Our apartment feels much bigger now, and Maddie feels like she has her very own space. She loves it.
By the way, remember that tooth Shelby got about a month ago? Turns out it’s not a tooth at all but a little cyst that’s fairly common in babies. Apparently, it’s nothing to worry about and will go away on its own. Guess we’ll have to change Shelby’s baby book.
O.k., time for another cup of coffee.
Have a happy Wednesday.
And check it out: NEW PHOTOS!! LOTS OF 'EM!!]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=450Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:29:26 -0600Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Been busy. You know the story.
But it's Friday, so that's cool.
Here's some live streaming video of a box full of puppies:
Have a happy weekend!]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=449Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:43:22 -0600The Dawn of a New Day
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"Come gather round, people, wherever you roam,
And admit that the waters around you have grown,
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you is worth savin’,
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone,
For the times, they are a-changin’.
Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pens,
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won’t come again,
And don’t speak too soon, for the wheel’s still in spin,
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’,
And the loser now will be later to win,
For the times, they are a-changin’.
Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call.
Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall,
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled,
And the battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls,
For the times, they are a-changin’.
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land,
And don’t criticize what you can’t understand.
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command.
Your old road is rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand,
For the times they are a-changin’.
The line, it is drawn; the curse, it is cast.
The slow one now will later be fast,
And the present now will later be past.
The order is rapidly fadin’.
And the first one now will later be last,
For the times, they are a-changin’."
- Bob Dylan, 1964, "The Times They Are A-Changin’"]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=448Wed, 5 Nov 2008 15:13:48 -0600By the way. . .
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It was pretty early in the morning. Lori and I hadn't yet gotten out of bed. Shelby had just woken up, and we could hear her stirring. Suddenly, she started making sounds we'd never heard her make before -- first a "d," then a "b," and eventually she landed on an "m." Apparently, she realized it was what she needed, because she stuck with it until she worked out what she wanted to say.
"Muh. Muh. M-m-m-ma. Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma."
I looked at Lori and said, "Is she trying to say your name?"
And then finally, clear as day, we heard it. She called for her mama. At least, I'd like to believe she did. And then she stopped. And then Lori jumped out of bed and went into the girls' room.
Have a happy Friday.
And by the way, Happy Halloween!]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=447Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:40:25 -0500I'm all over the place this morning.
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So there I am, on the corner of Clinton and Lake. I've just parked the car, and I'm on my way to work. I cut underneath the tracks at the Clinton stop, like any other day, and just as I reach the other side I feel a little tap, tap on the top of my hood. In the back of my mind, I know exactly what it is, but still I reach my hand up to check it out. And sure enough, it's a nice big dollop of bird poop. I catch my reflection in the window of my building and see that it's a doozie. And now it's all over my hand. Thank you, Mr. Bird. And a good morning to you as well!
By the way, have you ever noticed that, when driving to work, the lane you're in is always the slowest? Why is that? Just something to think about.
On another note, it looks like winter is upon us. Good thing our baby is an Eskimo.
For Halloween this year, I think I'm going to dress up as the "Guy with a Cucumber for an Eye."
And now, a story. . .
A few nights ago, I was getting Maddie ready for bed while Lori was in the back room feeding Shelby. Maddie finished brushing her teeth, and I told her to go and grab a book and meet me in her room. She grabbed two. One was particularly long. I told her we could either: a) read two shorter books or b) read the long one. And then I thought again and said, "You know what? Come to think of it, it's past your bedtime. I think we should only read one book tonight." She thought for a minute and figured out a solution. She opened one book and put the other inside of it. "There," she said. "Now there's only one."
All over the place. Told ya.
Have a happy Thursday.]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=446Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:31:40 -0500Back to the grind. . .
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WNEP Theater. I left the house at noon and didn’t get home until around 2:30 in the morning. What a day. But thank God for Don Hall. He stuck it out with me for the duration – from beginning to end. I couldn’t have done it without him.
Saturday was trick-or-treat day in our neighborhood. We spent the day with the Riter family. Chris and Becky brought over little Clara, and we got to meet her for the first time. She’s almost exactly two months younger than Shelby and is an absolute sweetheart.
On a quick side note, Becky tagged me with a meme. I’m supposed to list seven random and/or weird facts about myself. So. . . before I forget, here you go:
1. I once participated in a sweat lodge.
2. I can sing the old McDonald’s menu song word for word.
3. I used to be able to win the original Super Mario Brothers (on the old school Nintendo) in one guy.
4. I have broken my nose four times.
5. I sang in my high school choir (I was a tenor).
6. I once competed in an arm wrestling tournament and was quoted in the Lansing State Journal because of it.
7. I can touch my nose with my tongue.
And now, on that same side note, I’m supposed to tag seven other people. I tag Don, Jen, Clay, Bob, Speedy, Rebar and Jen.
So anyway. . . .
Our brilliant idea for Maddie’s Halloween costume didn’t exactly work out the way we wanted it to. We thought we had it all figured out, but in the end we realized we were in over our heads. The mask that we were going to attach to the front of her . . .
. . . was just too big. It wouldn’t stay on. And rather than force Maddie to wait against her will while we tried to figure out a solution (and it was looking more and more like we never would), we decided to pull out her dress-up trunk and let her choose her own costume.
She went as a fairy. A beautiful one at that.
All in all, we kept it pretty low key this year. We took our time strolling around the neighborhood, and when we got tired (and cold – man, was it cold), we strolled on home.
In other news (not new), Maddie and Shelby are getting closer and closer. Maddie's very protective of her little sister, and she loves her so much that she even lets her take care of Grover sometimes.
If you know Maddie, that’s a pretty big deal.
Yes, indeed. My girls are something else.
Have a happy Monday afternoon.
If you want to see some more photos, CLICK HERE.]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=445Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:34:42 -0500Between the last post and this moment. . .
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I wrote some stuff.
Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.
Maddie did the following funny things:
- Gave me a plastic ice cream cone (grape flavor) and said, "Eat it, Daddy. If you don't eat it, I'm going to take it away."
- Asked me if I wanted to lie down on the floor and sing, and after I did, started directing me, saying things like, "Sing da dum." "Sing toot toot." "Sing dah buh lee bee bee."
- Started breast feeding Elmo, acknowledging that there were "no boo boos in there."
- Said, "Don't tell me what to do."
- Gave Lori and me "grape flavored ice cream candy."
- Held two packaged tubes of diaper cream over her ears and said, "I am your father. I'm going to get you."
- Said, "I want to sing how pretty Shelby is," and then started singing the theme song to Little Einsteins.
- Named her dolly "DADA Boo."
- Put Grover in time out for pushing her.
- Said, "Guess what? Chicken butt!" without any prompting at all.
- Closed the lid of the bathroom step so "no alligators or crocodiles would get in there."
Both girls came down with colds.
Lori and I confirmed that we would be alternating weekends as principal cast members of Soiree DADA: Schmucken der Hallen, and I went to the first real rehearsal.
Lori and I took Shelby to the dermatologist to check out the birthmark on her back. Don't worry; it's fine. . . but if you're wondering, she weighed in at just over 13 pounds, 2 ounces!
I engaged in a couple of heated arguments about the presidential candidates.
Shelby smiled a lot.
Maddie and I started working on her Halloween costume (a baby on top of an old hunchback man). It's going to be awesome.
I said, "Have a happy Thursday."
And you did.]]>Generalhttp://gosscountry.com/blog/index.php?itemid=444Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:50:37 -0500
