How to Help the Rogues...for Free!

Lots of people have been asking me what they can do to help the Rogues lately, and besides the obvious (and very, very welcome) method of simply making a donation, there's actually a whole lot you can do! And best of all: none of the suggestions in this post will cost you a cent!

One thing you can do is replace your usual search engine with GoodSearch. Just visit goodsearch.com, enter "Rogue Artists Ensemble" into the "who do you GoodSearch for?" field, and click "verify." That's it! Now, every time you search for something using their website, the Rogues get a small donation. Use it often--it really adds up!


Another REALLY HELPFUL method is to register your Ralph's Club Card (they're free!) online. Just click the link above (or visit http://www5.kroger.com/EnterpriseLoyaltyWeb/crenrollment?divId=703), type in our NPO number (84744), and enter your information the way you filled it out on your card application. Whenever you shop at Ralph's, a sizeable portion of the money you spend comes to us, at no extra cost to you! This really does help. We've made hundreds of dollars from this program alone, but we can always use more help!

The last option is to use our special Rogue link when you make purchases on Amazon.com. Bookmark that link and use it anytime you make an Amazon purchase...again, we receive a portion of the sale, and it helps us immesurably.

Just think, by making a few minor adjustments, you could be funding the next Rogue blockbuster! On behalf of all of us, thank you so much for your support. :)

Mr. Punch Tech Meeting

I am currently sitting mired in the depths of a tech meeting for Mr. Punch. How, you may ask, am I able to blog and mire myself simultaneously? Well, see, I'm not teching Mr. Punch, so I don't actually need to pay attention. Mystery solved!

I showed up today to help tape the floor (since the show which was in here last week [Cornerstone's Someday, a fabulous work] has struck their set, we are now free to take over! Mwah ha ha ha!), and am hanging out because the Rogues are such wonderful people to hang out with, even when they are mired in a meeting that I have no part in.

But let me tell you: this is going to be an awesome show. They are dancing in the house while the techs meet in the lobby, and I feel surrounded by extra-ordinary ideas, out-of-the-box ideas, innovative, Hyper-theatrical ideas.

Man, I love this company!

(Oh yeah, and as Box Office Manager of this wonderful show, I feel it is my duty to remind everyone to buy tickets--and sell them too!)

Heat Wave

Can we turn off the air conditioning at the BOOTLEG so we rehearse just like we usually do? Beats going on a diet. Nobody needs to do that.

Grandpa

Feeling Punch-y

Dear Lord, why am I involved with this company!? What ever possessed me to audition in the first place!?

Since I have been involved with this show (after seeing the first incarnation last year) I have been forced to: play with inanimate objects and bring them to life; wander around in weird-looking masks, forced to "interact" with "people" (ew!); freely and openly discuss story concept and ideas; play a hunchback, a talking larger-than-life badger and a falsetto-voiced cockney puppet; hit on a mermaid (metaphorically and literally); discuss literary characters and authors; explore the human psyche and memory; learn outlandish and multi-faceted character- and story-based choreography; work with ten-year-olds; immerse myself in strange, dark, brilliant theatrical settings; and mingle with people who LIKE doing all of this stuff and would probably be quite content doing it for the rest of thier lives.

Why in God's name did I sign up for this?

Oh.

Oh, right.

That's why.

; )

The face!!!!!! What we do for PUNCH!

OK so last night I had my "face done." Ha! And between the whispers of "oh man its not drying" and "it's gonna take longer" and "hold the straws up in his nostrils so he can continue to breathe," I found myself in a very surreal situation. So here's pics of the process.

Kerr Seth Lordygan ("Morton")

An Ode to Nate Hodges

Some of you might already know Mr. Hodges (what exactly are the demographics of this blog readership, anyway?), but for those of you who don't, he's the Rogue Artists Ensemble choreographer. And he's amazing. Not only does he run his own successful dance company (Rhetoracle!), he's one of the nicest dudes ever.

Anyway. It's been widely established that I am possibly the worst dancer of all time. I've nearly failed every class I've ever taken (even with perfect attendance and a positive attitude! I thought that was supposed to count for something...), and I can't learn choreography to save my life. I think if my life literally depended on being able to learn a six-step combination, I would actually die. It's that dire.

So imagine how well I did last night when Nate taught Don, Matt, Tom, Sean, Connor, and me a three-minute (maybe? I don't know, it felt like hours) piece that involves backflips and explosions. Seriously! OK, the explosions are sort of just mimed. But the backflips are real!

Other things the piece contains, courtesy of Nate's own special language:

• "Glitter-BAM!"
• "Take a pony! Take a pony!"
• "Pirate skips,"
• "Pull the rope,"
• "Row the boat,"
• "Throw the pixie dust!"
• "Twinkly fingers,"
  
• and, yes: "Jazz hands!"

Come on, I think that list right there is worth the price of admission alone.

Mr. Punch

Yes, the script is much richer. More explanatory, funnier, and oh-oh, bloodier. Not the same show at all. Very fantastical, "goth," and wonderfully entertaining!

Dana Jr ("The Grandfather")

Mr. Punch (the Remix): First Rehearsal

OK, so technically, it's a remount, but I like thinking of it as a remix. It's actually a more appropriate term in this case--we're not just putting up the same show you saw last summer; we've got new cast members, new video, new masks, new puppets, new scenes...and it's going to be great! You really don't want to miss it.

Saturday was the first rehearsal, and the first time many of us had read the new script or seen the theater. I think everyone was really pleased by both. There were some familiar faces (hi Dana, Tom, Nina, and Miles!) and some new ones (welcome, Connor, Sean, Don, Kerr, and Matt).

I'm a visual learner, so here are some photos to help you feel like you were there:

Above: Nina Silver (reprising her role as the mermaid) sits in the lobby of the Bootleg; Tyler Stamets (technical director), Mel Domingo (lighting designer), Dana Kelly (the grandfather), and Don Allen (the bottler) all see something exciting just to the left.

And as a reward for sticking with the entry for so long, here's some exciting news: in addition to all the other new stuff Punch 2.0 has going for it, there are two more updates I haven't shared with you yet. First, we're going to have a Punch podcast launching soon, so you can keep up with all the latest news on your iPod! And second, we've got musicians lined up to play every Friday during the run--not just at the gala anymore! So far, we have Figureone, Marcela Carmona, and Jesca Hoop (wow!). The best part is, we have some other amazing bands in the works...but I don't want to spoil all my surprises at once. Good things come to those who wait! :)