Monday, September 3, 2012

Non-Profit of the Month: Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.

Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate. On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

I will neither confirm nor deny that I saw Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's A DERBY CAROL five or six times.

It was just that every time a friend or friends said that they were going, I wanted to go with them. Not just because I loved that show that much, but because I wanted to see my friends' faces when they caught certain jokes and to see how they reacted to this surprise or that. Most of my friends were, at the time, Le Petomane newbies-- I wanted to watch them become Le Petomane converts. It only takes one show.

Am I a superfan? A groupie? Am I a stalker?

Yes. Yes. And if so, I need a better disguise because they recognize me all the time.

The first article I ever wrote for The Paper was about Le Petomane and their production of 5 THINGS. It's still my favorite article. I had such a good time watching them rehearse. I had so much fun figuring out how to best represent their unusual process in the article. And it was that article that introduced me to Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble-- I was a newbie then myself--  which I now know is one of the most consistently excellent theatre organizations in town-- if not THE most consistently excellent.

But, you know, I can't help it if part of the reason that I like them so much is that I like them so much as people.

And that's also why I'm so happy that Le Petomane applied to be this month's Non-Profit of the Month.

The 2012-2013 Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble season opens on September 6 at the Bard's Town theatre with TIME FLIES. Here's what their Facebook page says about it:

... and boy, are their arms tired. Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble returns to the Bard's Town for their season opener, Time Flies, September 6-16. Four weary travelers race through time from beginning to end, from the prehistoric muck to the great beyond, with a few layovers along the way. Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble proudly presents a comedic exploration of the Annals of Time through song, dance, and bare-knuckle boxing.

Le Petomane has six members, and each show features different combinations of these performers. This show is being brought to you by the same foursome who performed in last season's ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: Heather Burns, Tony Dingman, Kristie Rolape, and Kyle Ware.

TIME FLIES hits the stage September 6-10 and September 12-16. All shows are at 730p, and admission is by sliding scale from $8-$20. Heck, $8 is cheaper than a movie, and I'll vouch that the Bard's Town bar makes a dandy and reasonably priced Manhattan.

As I said, last time I went to a Le Petomane show, I ended up going five or six times... and that was because I brought friends who loved it so much they told more friends, and more friends, and so on. A Le Petomane show is pretty much a sure bet.

The second show of the season will be a relaunch of 5 THINGS in November, a show which ranks right up there with Actors Theatre's CHAD DEITY as one of the best things on stage in the 2011-2012 season.

Le Petomane only does comedy and almost always does wholly original comedy (they'll slip in a Shakespeare now and again). That means that every member of the six-member ensemble is a writer, a director, and a performer. TIME FLIES was built from the ground up by Burns, Dingman, Rolape, and Ware-- script, music, lyrics, choreography and all.

Reserve tickets at: us@lepetomane.org or by calling 503-454-4477. Here's their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LePetomaneTE

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