Waiting For Barbara
The press copy for Waiting For Barbara looked like this:
This show was nuts! When Max, Julie and I took our curtain call, we were all bleeding from different parts of our bodies. Max accidentally lacerated my face with a metal belt buckle while whipping me with his pants. Julie shattered a whiskey bottle on the floor and, with full knowledge of said shattering, crawled on her bare hands and knees across the wreckage to reach a baggie of fake cocaine.
What started as a sarcastic Myspace conversation about Condoleeza Rice and Ann Coulter soon morphed into a rather twisted exploration of privilege and self-hatred amongst upper-class homosexuals. I used it as an opportunity to explore the Theater of Bitchiness (ie: Absolutely Fabulous, Edward Albee, The Golden Girls), which I'd always enjoyed, but never attempted. And so, Bryce and Davenport spend the better part of an hour psychologically torturing each other, saying terrible things about themselves and everyone else, and, honestly, it's a comedy.
It was also my first real attempt at conventional theater, with the same characters on stage for more than ten minutes at a time, experiencing an arc of emotions and all those other things real characters do in real plays. It was a surprisingly fun challenge.
My only big regret about this show was that we only got to perform once. Soon after we workshopped the piece, I got the Six Points Fellowship to develop The Last Chanukah, which promptly consumed my life. I hope that, despite my calendar, Bryce and Davenport have a future on the stage...
Monday, December 4, 2006, 8:00pm (FREE)
Galapagos Art Space (70 North 6th St. BKLN)
Off-Stage Fright Productions Presents:
WAITING FOR BARBARA
an upsetting new comedy by DAN FISHBACK
starring Dan Fishback & Max Steele, directed by Michael Schulman,
with a special guest appearance by Julie Lake.
The president's daughter loves her some gays. And they love her back! - especially Davenport Rosenfeld (Fishback) and Bryce Oliver Wilson (Steele). But when she's late to pick them up for a party celebrating the bombing of Bagdhad, our heroes begin to freak out. Will they destroy each other in a frenzy of queer vitriol and repressed Ivy League rage? - or will they do lots of coke, make out, and forget what happened the next morning? There's only one way to find out.
"Waiting For Barbara" is the latest in a string of queer political performances by playwright Dan Fishback, including last summer's "PLEASE LET ME LOVE YOU," about Michael Jackson and the war in Iraq. Also a high-powered secretary, Fishback based "Waiting For Barbara" on workday Myspace conversations with fellow receptionist and co-performer Max Steele.
This WORKSHOP PREMIERE will be followed by a talk-back, so stick around to help the artists develop their deranged comedy.
This show was nuts! When Max, Julie and I took our curtain call, we were all bleeding from different parts of our bodies. Max accidentally lacerated my face with a metal belt buckle while whipping me with his pants. Julie shattered a whiskey bottle on the floor and, with full knowledge of said shattering, crawled on her bare hands and knees across the wreckage to reach a baggie of fake cocaine.
What started as a sarcastic Myspace conversation about Condoleeza Rice and Ann Coulter soon morphed into a rather twisted exploration of privilege and self-hatred amongst upper-class homosexuals. I used it as an opportunity to explore the Theater of Bitchiness (ie: Absolutely Fabulous, Edward Albee, The Golden Girls), which I'd always enjoyed, but never attempted. And so, Bryce and Davenport spend the better part of an hour psychologically torturing each other, saying terrible things about themselves and everyone else, and, honestly, it's a comedy.
It was also my first real attempt at conventional theater, with the same characters on stage for more than ten minutes at a time, experiencing an arc of emotions and all those other things real characters do in real plays. It was a surprisingly fun challenge.
My only big regret about this show was that we only got to perform once. Soon after we workshopped the piece, I got the Six Points Fellowship to develop The Last Chanukah, which promptly consumed my life. I hope that, despite my calendar, Bryce and Davenport have a future on the stage...
Tax Deductible Donations
Dan Fishback is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Dan Fishback may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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