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I directed
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at The
Chance Theatre in 2004; it was a huge hit, selling out show
after show -- they even added performances -- and getting great
reviews. The show was such a success that The Chance brought me
back to stage it again for 2005. Both productions were nominated
for the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble;
the 2005 production won that award and was also nominated for
Best Production of 2005.
The
Eight: Reindeer Monologues is a play by Jeff
Goode, the author of Marley's Ghost and Poona
the Fuckdog. Here's the blurb:
Accusations,
rumors and all-out attacks are flying fast and furious around
Santa’s toyshop this holiday season. What’s the
true story behind Rudolph’s unlikely rise to fame? Does
Mrs. Claus have a serious drinking problem? Can St. Nick himself
really be guilty of sexual harassment... against one of the
reindeer? And with all this going on, how can the spirit of
Christmas be saved? Go behind the tinsel and hear the truth
about Santa straight from the eight reindeer who know him best.
When a doe says “No”, she means “No Way, Sucka!”
As the title
suggests, the play is a series of eight monologues, one from each
of Santa's reindeer. The cast both years was mostly comprised
of Chance company members; some seriously talented and very funny
actors. We had a lot of fun developing blocking and business for
the characters -- Cupid was mixing a drink as he spoke, Dancer
was baking cookies -- that grounded the situation, provided opportunities
to play with rhythm and pacing, and got some extra laughs while
furthering the storytelling. The show was a blast.
Dasher
Cupid
 Hollywood
Blitzen
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Comet
Dancer
Donner
Vixen
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winner
of the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble of 2005
nominated
for the OC Weekly Award for Best Production of 2005
nominated
for the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble of 2004
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| "spirited,
distinct performances ... exquisitely humorous
... things do get intensely serious. Ultimately, Goode
is taking on the entire institution of Christmas, and
the sobering question he leaves us with is whether this
orgy of consumerism might just be an elaborate smoke screen
meant to disguise the rapaciously self-centered creatures
who’ve concocted a most noble myth for the most
ignoble of purposes. Did I mention it’s also really,
really funny?" |
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| "director
Josh Costello shows his affinity for Goode's stinging
humor. A year ago, Costello helmed the Chance staging
of "Reindeer," and although most of the same
actors are back in the same roles, this is a new interpretation,
keeping much of what made the 2004 production fly while
upping the ante with a fresh perspective on the material.
Goode's text is coarse, crude, vulgar and sidesplitting,
peppered with topical references specific enough to
be funny, yet not bound by current events ... In Costello's
hands, each reindeer is as complex as any human, each
monologue gradually building to an apex of anger or
indignation... refreshingly direct... funny and poignant...
right on target - and a refreshing rejoinder to the
many syrupy holiday plays that glut the theater scene
this time of year " |
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| "delivers
the withering irreverence of only the most well-honed
satire... the Chance Theater gives the spiky,
R-rated play a distinctive workout...Goode serves up
eight successive solo scenes, well-embellished by director
Josh Costello and his cast...Costello and company lend
the proper tongue-in-cheek irreverence and a wickedly
knowing comedic tone, well-balanced by occasional bursts
of intense solemnity...a hoof-kick to our gut...an evening
of rapid-fire bursts of laughter and intensity." |
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| "a
delicious hoof-stomper, flipping a jingle-belled bird
to the season’s most hallowed secular icon" |
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| "great
in-your-face seasonal merriment with perverse shock factor...
brilliant allegorical satire... hits its mark over and
over... wonderful" |
| —Northern
Lights (local weekly)
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DASHER
Casey Long
CUPID
Dimas Diaz (2004)
Jason Sechrest (2005)
HOLLYWOOD
Michael Irish (2004)
Pete Caslavka (2005)
BLITZEN
Alex Bueno
COMET
Carter Mason
DANCER
Sarah Moreau
DONNER
Richard Comeau
VIXEN
Heather Howe
Set
Design
Jeremy Golden (2004)
Katherine Futterer (2005)
Lighting
Design
Masako Tobaru
Costume
Design
Emily Sanford (2004)
Heather Howe (2005)
Sound
Design
Alisa Haase
Understudy
Dean Anderson
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Dancer,
Cupid, Hollywood, Donner, Vixen, Blitzen
Dasher, Comet
2004 |
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