And We're Off!

Tonight is the dress rehearsal, but I'm sure many of the directors, actors, and artists who have spent the last two days in tech rehearsals already have tons of stories to share. Over at Bowery and 4th, our show - two simultaneous versions of CONQUEST OF THE UNIVERSE, OR WHEN QUEENS COLLIDE by Charles Ludlam, directed by Chris Mirto and (me) Gabriel Shanks - are finding their way through silver jumpsuits, cowboy hats, tranny punk drag, paisley umbrellas, satanic fire women, and the curious absence of a lampost on the northeast corner, where most of our interstellar galactic battle takes place.

Even weirder is figuring out how the audience will travel from our piece down 4th Street to VIET ROCK, a different kind of war altogether, without anyone getting run over by oncoming traffic. But that's what dress rehearsals are for, right? :-) I hope other directors and collaborators will post their experiences in the days to come. With 25 (!!!) pieces and a 2 1/2 hour tour, it's going to be a doozy!

THE MULBERRY BUSH

We had our tech rehearsal on Second Avenue last night. Some people passing by yelled out, "it's a play!" and stopped to watch. We were rehearsing projecting our voices to be heard over the traffic, so each of us did one speech to the others (not how it'll be in the actual performance), and people from Dempsey's Bar came out to watch, joining the actors as an audience. We also got a lot of double-takes, as people passed by and heard the word "bitch" and phrase "go to Hell."