If you want to sing out, sing out: Le Petomane performs their Greatest Hits in concert

I am so lucky that the people I love are so genuinely talented. It makes endorsing their events so guilt-free.

A little less than two years ago, I was assigned to write an article for The Paper about Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's show "5 Things." I'd heard of Le Petomane, heard amazing things in fact, but had never seen them.

For the article, I went to a brainstorming rehearsal, observed their process, met Greg and Abigail Bailey Maupin and Kyle Ware... and fell in love. With all three of them. And their process. And the production. And the Le Petomane concept.

And soon thereafter, I fell in love with Kyle Ware for real.

Le Petomane is one of the best-regarded theatre companies in Louisville. Except for their occasional adaptation of Shakespeare, all of their plays are ensemble-written from the ground up, including the songs. The original music has often been the highlight of their productions-- think They Might Be Giants style smartness with a theatrical bent.

So for the final show of their 9th season, they are reprising their greatest musical hits for a two-night concert next weekend. I'm told they'll be wearing custom-made jumpsuits a la The Brady Bunch or the Partridge Family.

They've chosen the best of the best songs from their productions-- songs that can stand on their own with little context. So don't worry about being a Le Petomane newbie; you'll still "get" it.

The six-person ensemble will be joined by the musical stylings of Brian Lilienthal and the ubiquitous Scott Anthony.

From their press release:

By popular demand, Le Petomane closes its ninth season with a one-weekend-only event: a live concert evening featuring a ridiculous number of original songs from the ensemble’s past shows.  

Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble drew upon songs from nine seasons of original, new work to create an evening of audience favorites. Le Petomane's Concert-ed Effort will feature live music by Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble members Heather Burns, Tony Dingman, Abigail Bailey Maupin, Gregory Maupin, Kristie Rolape and Kyle Ware, along with special guest ringers Professor Scott Anthony and Dr. Brian J. Lilienthal. 

Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble was named Best Theater Troupe in the 2010 and 2011 LEO Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards, and has been described by The Courier-Journal as "simultaneously...hysterical, physical and thought provoking." 

Performances at The Bard's TownMay 31 at 7:30 p.m.June 1 at 7:30 p.m.Tickets$8 – 20 at our cheap and reliable sliding scale*
Contact Us@LePetomane.org or 502-609-2520 for show reservations or more information, or find them on Facebook. For pre-show dinner reservations, please contact The Bard’s Town directly at 502-749-5275.

* a word or two about the sliding scale: one pays what one a) thinks fair and b) can afford; we make a reasonable amount either way. The low end is no higher than the price of a movie ticket; the high end is not such an issue - as a non-profit we will gleefully accept any amount above $20 one cares to give, and will cheerfully provide a receipt of said donation for tax purposes.

Louisville: My Funny Town

"They are also unimpressed by the Golden Globes."
@usernamelesser

It's January, so over at Consuming Louisville, the lovely and talented Ms. Michelle Jones is featuring her annual column "One Thing I Love About Louisville." I participated a bunch of years ago back when I was still blogging anonymously and before I ever knew anyone here in town; it was actually how I ended up meeting Michelle, who has since become a dear friend and who helped to change my Louisville life.

I've always wanted to participate again, but I'm always flummoxed. How do I come up with ONE thing I love about this city that I love SO MUCH.

Inevitably, after the deadline to volunteer passes, I think of something. And of course, I've thought of that something this year.

One thing I love about Louisville: Louisville is full of funny people.

Google the "funniest actor in Louisville." The top search result leads to my boyfriend. (Who, in my humble opinion, also deserves the title "best laugh in Louisville" and maybe even "most unsung altruist in Louisville.") Sometimes, when I mention that to someone – "you know, my boyfriend's been called the 'funniest actor in Louisville'– people will respond: "Well, IS he?"

And the answer, I think, is yes. He also happens to be a very funny person when not in character. It's what drew me to him in the first place. And it's one of the many things that keeps me psyched about loving him on a day-to-day basis.

I gravitate toward funny people. I like to think that I'm a funny person myself. But the people I love most in the world– and in this city–  are the people who make me laugh hardest and longest.

And it's not just the "expected" people; I spend a lot of time with actors and performers and writers and "public figures," and it's not surprising that they're quick with a quip.

It's my friend who graffitis her Twitter pictures with images of cats.

It's the fact sometimes I will lose whole hours at work because my co-workers (all of whom are my "superiors" at work, so I feel justified in playing along) get on a roll with funny stories.

It's my favorite mom and our friends rewriting the rulebook for the Montessori school her daughter attends.

But no joke, the funniest thing I've seen all year is local twitter humorist "Brokey McPoverty" (best handle ever!) and her #RespectableHipHop meme.

I have to admit, I follow then unfollow Brokey all the time. She's a prolific tweeter, and sometimes when she's on a roll, it is pure gold. And sometimes I'm so busy that her prolificness is just too much for my feed, and I pull the plug.

But after this most recent "roll," I may never pull the plug again.

Genius.

From her blog:

Last night, much of Twitter united to reclaim and rewrite our favorite less-than-progressive rap and hip hop lyrics.  It was a beautiful thing.

It all started when I was listening to 2 Chainz, which I do when there’s no one around to judge me for it, and I thought about the line “She got a big booty, so I call her big booty.”  I thought to myself, really?  You can’t find a more inventive nickname than that?  This is what’s passing for a rap lyric these days?  Then I thought to myself–how fucking rude.  You strip her of her name–her entire identity–and refer to her by her ass??  Inappropriate, 2 Chainz.  Not cool at all.  So, I revised it for him.

Then figured, why not help out some other misguided hippety hop rappers, too.  Thankfully, Twitter joined in on the campaign and what we got was a few of the most hilarious hours of tweets I’ve seen in awhile.  Not putting all of them here was tough, but here are some of the best.

I laughed so hard I hurt myself. That's the best kind of ouch in the world.

We have a lot of "professionally funny" people here in Louisville. We're lucky to have the Comedy Caravan and The Bard's Town. I'm not too broken up about the loss of The Improv on 4th Street Live! because we have these two homegrown venues. We have the Louisville Improvisors and Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  Hunter S. Thompson was funny. Muhammad Ali was and is hilarious at times.

There's Kentucky for Kentucky and Lebowski Fest. And we're about to host Pee Wee Over Louisville.

Joseph Ley's, Why Louisville, even the recently-departed and WAY-controversial Lynn's Paradise Cafe: funny stuff.

We're a funny town. We're a smart town. And I love that so often I will meet a new person and think: "Wow, that's the funniest conversation I've had in...."

In what? A week? Maybe? At most?

I love that Louisvillagers makes me laugh. For all the right reasons. Y'all are funny, funny people. Thank you for entertaining me.

Some things are important: Slant Culture Theatre Festival

Some things are just important.

The Slant Culture Theatre Festival is one of those things.

It's important because we are a theater-loving, arts-supporting community, and we deserve something like this.

It's important because we're the home of the Humana Festival, and we should have a home-grown equivalent.

Side note: the Humana Festival 2013 schedule was announced today. Check out Erin Keane's coverage here. The exciting news is that, except for an anthology performance, all the playwrights featured are new to the Fest.

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel in this post. I already covered the Slant Culture Fest in an article for the Louisville Paper. Check it out here.

But it is important. We should support it. We want it to come back next year and for many years to come. It features five of the best and most exciting local theatre companies in rep, including my beloved Le Petomane performing my favorite play of theirs, 5 THINGS. (Also, check out Le Petomane's snazzy new website!)

I went to the launch and heard the fabulous Joel Henderson and the 40 Gallon Baptist and the sublime Cheyenne Marie Mize. I saw 5 THINGS and BUY THE BOOK last night.

There's still a full week left. Get a day pass, a weekend pass, or a pass for the whole shebang. You'll want to check out more than just one thing.

But, go. Support. Enjoy. We deserve this.

GUEST POST: Kyle Ware on the Hows of Le Petomane

As with previous Non-Profits of the Month, My Loueyville is proud to feature a guest post from one of the members of this month's NPOTM-- Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble. 

Kyle Ware is a Louisvlle-based actor, artist, and educator. He is a co-Producing, Founding Artistic Director of Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble; serves as Executive Director for Tourism Honors Academy, an academic leadership program for high school seniors in Louisville; and is a freelance artist, illustrator, and designer. 

If I were a betting man—which I’m not, but if I were, and you asked me—I’d wager our most frequently asked questions here at Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble Headquarters fall somewhere in the category of “how do you do that?” with the “that” in question most often being a production of WhateverWe’veJustMadeUp.  To that point, it’s one of the things Melissa Lou suggested I talk about for this very post.  Sometimes the question is “Why would you do that?” depending on the show, but that’s another matter entirely.  And the “how” is actually easier than the “why” anyway, which I’m happy to share with you here.  For your consideration: How to Build a Show Like Le Petomane in 3 Easy Steps:

Step 1: Find somewhat like-minded friends, with enough variation in background and skills to make things interesting. 

Step 2: Set a performance date.

Step 3: Play with aforementioned friends until performance date arrives.

Now, to be fair, I may have glossed over a few things.  Step 2, for instance, can be tricky in Louisville, where performance spaces are tough to come by and hotly contested by the bevy of quality theatre groups in town.  For our current show, TIME FLIES, we’ll be back at The Bard’s Town (1801 Bardstown Rd).  This will be our fourth show there, and I don’t mind telling you, Scot and Doug are good people and very supportive of the arts community across the board.  We’ve been fortunate there: Ken and Sheila Pyle at the Rud, the good people at the Speed and their Art After Dark series, the producers of Actors Theatre’s now-defunct, sorely missed Late Seating, and on and on.  All great people.  We’ve been lucky.  And to the scarcity issue I mentioned before, there is good news on that front: a promising new space, Vault 1031, which should open in the neighborhood of soon.  Vault 1031 has been our base of operations for our last week of TIME FLIES rehearsal, and Jon and Barb have some exciting things in store for all of us.

Step 3 is a little more involved and changes with each show.  Some shows may require more research; others may need to gestate in a room consisting of various combinations of the six of us and seeing what happens by the end of the night.  Some are heavily scripted; others closed years ago and still don’t have a full script.  All of that is dictated by just a few factors: what’s the show about, what’s it need, and who’s available to do it?

For TIME FLIES—September 6-16, every night but Tuesday, all shows: 7:30—it was a combination of heavy research and attempting to make each other laugh while in the room together while fashioning all of that into a story statement with a dramatic structure, such that it is.  We travelled to different art museums for inspiration; we discussed the history of time; eras of civilization; what it means to have lived and be alive; who celebrates our first step onto the world’s stage and who will remember us past our final bow.  We scrawled our notes and discussion points on a giant roll of paper, with dates and facts and figures alongside characters, scenes, and ideas yet unformed.  Most of that won’t make it to stage, by the way, but all of it informs “play,” and that’s what you’re paying your $8-20 sliding scale (call  609-2520 or us@lepetomane.org for reservations) to see.  

And here’s the thing about Step 2: it only really works with due diligence and care on Step 1.  Step 1 is the one that makes the show what it is.  If the show is your recipe, Step 1 is your list of ingredients.  The way we work, that means your writers, directors, designers, costumers, choreographers, composers, producers, as well as your singers, dancers, and actors:  you drop one out or add one in, you get something a little bit different.  And you’re going to need people you respect.  People whose work you enjoy and admire.  People you know will work with the same dedication and passion that you have.  People with whom you may have disagreement of taste or aesthetic from time to time, but never of their motivation to produce the best work possible.  People you like spending time with long past any reasonable expectation, because you’ll see them more than anyone else.  Friends.  You do that?  You’re golden.  

There was a great article with our pals over at Theatre [502] in The Paper (shouts to all), in which they talk about much of this.  “How do you work with three Artistic Directors?”  “Well, we all like and respect each other…” seemed to be the sum up.  To which we say a collective, “Yep.”

We came together back in 2005 for one show, a 6-person adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, brilliantly and beautifully cut by our own Greg Maupin.  A mutual professional friend asked what we would be doing next, and well, there was no next—that was to be it for us.  She paused for a while, looked up and asked, simply, “Why not?”

We didn’t really have a good answer for that. 

And so we stayed, the six of us. More family now than company (helped along by two-thirds of us being married to each other already).  Or a theatre gang, which may be about the least threatening thing this side of West Side Story or the backup dancers in “Beat It.” (“Officer!  There’s a group of people doing high kicks and a box step.  With a knife!”) That’s what I think we’ve cultivated over the years.  And I think ultimately, that’s what you see when you come to a Le Petomane show. 

Not coincidentally, there happens to be a way for you to see for yourself.  Our season opener, in case I haven’t said, is just around the corner: TIME FLIES, at The Bard’s Town (1801 Bardstown Rd), September 6-16, all shows: 7:30.  

Episode 4: Louisville, Not Kentucky

Good mamas don't play favorites. But I am not a good mama. This episode of LOUISVILLE, NOT KENTUCKY is my favorite, thus far.

Linda and I talked about the Jug Band Jubilee, one of my favorite events in the city. We talked about the Tyler Park Jazz Festival. And Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble was gracious enough to let us give away two tickets to their new show: TIME FLIES  (You need to follow us @LouNotKY on Twitter and then tweet us to win-- enter by 9/10! We hope you'll "like" us on Facebook too!). We also jibber-jabbered about Louisvillagers on Reality TV-- go #TeamGunnar!

But the highlight of Episode 4 was our guest podcaster, Scott Kirkpatrick (aka Bro. Stephen) a local musician and a bartender at Rye.  Scott was such a great interview that our podcast ran 20 MINUTES over its usual run-time. We talked about his life and what brought him to Louisville and about narcolepsy (which he suffers from) and his guilty-pleasure music.

If you can't listen to the whole podcast, you need to listen starting at 40:00, where Scott plays a beautiful new song based on LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, one of my favorite books.  "Contagion" is lovely and will give you chills.

Scott brought two drinks for us to try during the "What are we drinking?" segment-- a drink that's on the menu at Rye called the Schnitzelberg and another off-menu drink called the "Alma Lesch" named after a folk artist featured prominently in the KY Museum of Arts & Crafts, downtown.

Scott was the best first guest we could have hoped for-- chatty and sweet and already a LOUISVILLE, NOT KENTUCKY listener.

Hope you enjoy this supersized episode of LOUISVILLE, NOT KENTUCKY.

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

Le Petomane Does Derby

The first article I wrote for The Paper is probably still my favorite. Not only did it introduce me to the always-fantastic Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's work, it also led to me getting to know six really great people who I now count as friends. (Awww... yeah, there's all kinds of awww going on here.)

But I became a fan before I became a friend.

Speaking of the Paper, have you picked up this month's Derby issue?  If you have, then you know that the Le Petomane folks don't need to be on stage to be funny... and that they know their Derby.

Their next show throws A Christmas Carol, Hunter S. Thompson, and local Derby lore and legends into a blender-- what comes out is a Gonzo, satirical roast of the entire Derby season.

Unfortunately I missed the WFPK Live Lunch preview of three of the songs, but Roommate listened in while he was in Portland, OR (yay, interwebs!), and he said it was fantastic. I had an in-person preview of Kyle Ware's song. The name escapes me right now, and I am totally NOT going to email him and ask him what it was called because I was singing it for DAYS. Serious earworm there.

This is the last show of the 2011-2012 season for Le Petomane, and what a great season it was (you can read all my posts about Le Petomane's season here). It's going to take one hell of a show, though, for this one to top the amazing 5 THINGS-- which was not only my favorite thing I've seen from Le Petomane, but also goes on my list of top ten favorite theatre experiences ever. Yeah... that good.

A DERBY CAROL runs from April 19-29 (no show on the 24th) at 730p at the Bard's Town. For reservations (recommended!) call 502-609-2520 or email Us@lepetomane.org. Yes, there's a show the night of Thunder. Yes, people have already reserved for that night.  And on April 23, Le Petomane will participate in World Book Night. Because they're book nerds. And we love them for it.

UPDATED: Le Petomane PSA: Once in a Blue Moon Postponed

UPDATE: The show WILL go on... it will just open FRIDAY 2/10 instead of tonight.  Good news, everyone!

Unfortunately, this week's opening of the new Le Petomane show has been postponed.  From the Le Petomane Facebook page:

Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's Once in a Blue Moon - Venue Change Due to MSD Work on Oak Street!

The combined Unstoppable Forces of Tuesday's full moon and the Metropolitan Sewer District have thrown us a challenge we heartily accept. Due to unforeseen circumstances that will make safe parking and restroom access problematic, it will be necessary for us to change the venue and dates for performances of Once in a Blue Moon. 

We are looking at options and will share more details about performances as soon as humanly possible. You can also reach us at Us@LePetomane.org or input your own sewer jokes on Facebook.

I know how much love, time, and art went into crafting this new production-- one created with this particular space in mind.  Let's make sure we support one of our favorite local theater ensembles and come out in droves when they open.  I'll keep you posted. Good luck to them!

Le Petomane: Once in a Blue Moon

For the past six months or so, I've been so thrilled to do some reporting for The Louisville Paper.  It's a beautiful publication with thoughtful and interesting coverage of the Louisville that makes me proud.

The very first article that I wrote for The Paper, "Marooned Five" was about Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and their production, 5 THINGS. I'd heard all kinds of good things about Le Petomane-- how could you not when they'd won the LEO's Readers' Choice award for best theatre group in 2010 and 2011? -- but I'd never seen a show.

Here we are, six months later, and I'm a Le Petomane convert... maybe even a groupie.

Not only did 5 THINGS knock my socks off, so did their next show, A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAY SPECIAL. And now I'm one of those people who will see any show with the Le Petomane name attached to it.

Their next show, ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, opens next week at the Rud. Here's what their promo material has to say about the show:

Filled with original music and laughs a-plenty, Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's latest original play revolves around Ruby Blue-- a gem of a girl. Ruby is special-- why else would we tell her story, right? Everything is just peachy until a piece of her is stolen, and it's up to our intrepid hero to go get it.  

This show features four members of the ensemble: Heather Burns, Tony Dingman, Kristie Rolape, and Kyle Ware.  ONCE IN A BLUE MOON runs February 9-11 & 16-18 at 730pm at the Rudyard Kipling (422 Oak Street). Industry night is Monday, February 13 at 730p. Shows are $8-$20 on a pay-what-you-please sliding scale. For more information email US@LePetomane.org.

Power 2 Give: Support the Arts this Holiday Season

I admit, I have a knee-jerk bias against just about anything that subs numbers/letters for words (unless it's the title of a Prince song).  But, I'll squash that sentiment for the rest of this post because I do love this opportunity to support the arts.

Power 2 Give (see, I just had to go back and delete "to" and replace it with "2"... sorry, squashing) works kind of like Kickstarter or Donors Choose.  It lists projects that need funding in the local arts and sciences, and you can choose which ones you would like to contribute to.  Or more precisely, from their website:

A project of the Arts & Science Council (ASC), power2give.org empowers you to give directly to local arts, science and history projects you are passionate about. Nonprofit organizations post projects that are in need of funding. You help bring them to life with a gift.

What I like most about this website for this holiday season is that you can purchase gift cards in $25 denominations so that your friends, employees, family, Secret Santa recipient, etc can choose the project that they want to support.  

Many of the projects are also supported by matching gifts from local and national sources. Some organizations have opted to eschew matching gifts from corporations, which is also cool. 

I admit that I have a wee bit of a personal bias involved in this recommendation (No I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm a woman of mystery.), but if you're not sure which organization to support, you can't go wrong with Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  Get those actors some damned pants!

An Embarrassment of Theater Riches: Le Petomane, Theater [502], Walden

I know I blog a lot about theater and have a lot of friends in local theater, but I'm still not necessarily wise to the ways of theater people. One question that's been at the forefront of my mind lately is: why does it always seem a "feast or famine" issue for local theater here in Louisville? Who decides what a "season" looks like, time-wise? Who makes these schedules? I know many of the local theater companies participate in group auditions; why is it that these same companies don't participate in a group scheduling workshop at the beginning of each year?

I voiced this concern yesterday to Roommate, and he said, "You should do it."

Turns out he misunderstood what I was saying. He thought that I was saying that someone be in charge of keeping a master schedule of what's going on when and where in theater in Louisville. Not necessarily a bad idea, but that wasn't the point that I was trying to make. I was saying that someone should be the gatekeeper of that schedule. When he said, "You should do it," my wheels started to turn, and I imagined myself in a dark leather wing chair behind a massive desk, perhaps stroking a white Persian cat, with the leaders of all the local theater groups assembled before me waiting patiently while I doled out Louisville theater calendar real estate.

So, Louisville Theater professionals, I'm just putting this out there. If you need a Godmother of Theater Calendar Dispersal, you just let me know, okay?

Because maybe if I was the Godmother of Theater, we wouldn't have the glut of absolutely fantastic theater offerings that awaits us in the coming weeks.  We could spread out our theater love a bit more. (And right before the holidays, too, when we're all paying a little more attention to our pocket books and our discretionary spending...)

The must-see theater over the next couple of weeks...

First up, we have Le Petomane's A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAY SPECIAL (with new special short masked piece, EN ROUTE).  I am terribly late to the Le Petomane bandwagon, I'm afraid. After years of hearing nothing but good things about them from friends and from the LEO Best of's, I finally got to check out 5 THINGS, their most recent show, and write an article about them for The Paper. And now I'm a believer. I have to admit, I liked the three people from Le Petomane that I interviewed so much that I fretted about seeing the show. I wanted them to be as smart and fun and funny on stage as they were in person, and they were... in spades. From their press release:

A Very Special Holiday Special features all you would expect from a Le Petomane season-appropriate outing: snappy tunes; a giant atomic beast crushing cities; baffled scientists pointing skyward and shouting. And a message of love. It isn’t Plan 9 from the North Pole; it isn’t Rankin-Bass’s Godzilla; but it’s not far away.

A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAY SPECIAL runs from November 9-20 (dark on the 15th) at the Bard's Town Theatre at 730p. Tickets are a sliding scale of $8-$20. For more information visit: www.lepetomane.org

My work with The Paper also led me to interview Mike Brooks, the director of the second of Theatre [502]'s shows, HUNTER GATHERERS. And I had a similar "I like you so much, please don't suck" feeling when finally seeing the show. Again, Mike is smart and thoughtful in person, and his directing absolutely did not disappoint.  Theatre [502]'s third show launches at the Parkside Studios inside of Iroquois Amphitheater November 11, 12, 14, 18, and 19 at 8pm. BROADSWORD, directed by Amy Attaway, is billed as a "Heavy Metal Play." From their press release:

Four former friends have gathered to mourn the puzzling disappearance of one of their own. What dark secrets of their heavy metal youth still scrape and bang in the basements of their lives? Their childhood dreams of rock and roll glory long fallen by the wayside, the former line-up of the shoulda-coulda-woulda band find themselves in an awkward, maybe even sinister reunion gig. Richie disappeared late one night leaving nothing but the smell of ozone - or was it sulfur? - and his partners in rock may hold the only key to his salvation. Now, pitted between two mysterious strangers, the guys must decide: do they have the strength to burn out, or will they just fade away?

I saw the joint Theatre [502]/Le Petomane staged reading of IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE at the Parkside Studios, and I'm so excited to see how they use the space (it's a climate-controlled space on the Amphitheater stage) for a full production. This is another don't-miss-it show. More info at www.theatre502.org

Is that not enough for you?  Wait! There's more!

From the Walden website:

Phantom Band is Walden Theatre’s latest Slant Culture Series play. A laboratory for new plays by rising playwrights that feature complex teen characters, the Slant Culture Series encourages young actors to seek inspiration from a fresh, inward angle. Previous selections include The Disappearance of Daniel Hand by Dan O’Brien, My So-Called So-Called Life by David Murray, and the powerful, tragic When In Disgrace (Haply I Think on Thee) by Damon Krometis.

I saw and loved SO-CALLED and WHEN IN DISGRACE, and I'm a huge, huge fan of the Slant Culture Series because of it. I always try to make it out to as many Walden plays as possible, but that this play is also directed by Alec Volz makes this a must-see for me. Performances are at Walden November 10, 11 at 8pm and Nov 12, 17, 18, 19 at 7:30p and 12 & 19 at 2pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students/seniors. More info: www.waldentheatre.org

Three can't-miss theater productions in two weeks. Louisville, you're an embarrassment of theater riches!

(I have to admit, though, that I'm a little ticked off... all shows close by the 20th, and Mama Lou is visiting from the Northern Hinterlands starting the 21st! Booo!)

It Can't Happen Here: One Night Only

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Federal Theatre Project, two theatre groups here in Louisville are uniting for a reading of Sinclair Lewis's IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE.

Le Petomane and Theatre [502] will be offering a staged reading at the Iroquois Amphitheater at the Parkside Studio on Monday, October 24 at 8pm.  Tickets are just $1 and are available at us@lepetomane.org or 502-609-2520.

Last I heard, there are more than thirty local actors lined up for this reading, directed by Le Petomane's Greg Maupin.

This past weekend, I caught Theatre [502]'s HUNTER GATHERERS at the Victor Jory, which was rich and dark and delightful.  There are still three showings left of HUNTER GATHERERS-- go, go, go! (But note that the content is decidedly adult). And I'm already on record as being a (tragically late) recent convert to the wonderfulness of Le Petomane.

There's no way I would miss this reading based on those credentials alone.  The fact that they are repurposing an outdoor theatre space and creating a more intimate, quasi-indoor setting? So interesting!

The Paper: Le Petomane article

Just an update to today's post:

The whole article about Le Petomane's "5 Things" is up now at The Paper's website.  Enjoy.

Always Comedy: Le Petomane's Season Opens.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to sit in on a rehearsal for Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's original comedy 5 THINGS. If you've picked up the September issue of The Paper, you'll see the article that came out of that afternoon. Unfortunately, that article isn't online yet and 5 THINGS opens today at the Bard's Town Theater. So, I asked the lovely The Paper folks if I could reprint an excerpt here. This is the short version... the version in The Paper is twice as long...


5 Things is being put together with butcher paper and duct tape on a peeling plaster wall. There will be a script, eventually. There’s always a script, eventually. But right now it’s just Sharpie on butcher paper.


Abigail Maupin, co-founder and Artistic Co-Director of Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble says the process is a bit like “magnetic poetry,” and it’s an apt analogy. The storyboard, if you can call it that, is taped over and rearranged a half dozen times in the two hours I spend in Le Petomane’s rehearsal space.

Before they start rehearsal for the three-member show, Abigail Maupin, Greg Maupin, and Kyle Ware give me a rundown on the plot. 5 Things is about three retail workers-- one each from a bookstore, a record store, and a video store-- who’ve been marooned on an island. As you might guess from the title, it’s a riff on the “Desert Island Discs” party game. Each character has been allowed to bring “5 things” to the island. Over the course of the play, they explain and justify their choices. But how did they get there? Is it a voluntary marooning (after all, “5 things” implies some planning)? Greg smiles and says, “You’re asking all the right questions.” And then he doesn’t answer them.


Rehearsal isn't rehearsal so much as a brainstorming session. All three members have already explained the ensemble's "group think" or "hive mind," and now here it is at work. Sentences are rarely completed (at least by the person who started the sentence). The actors often seem to be speaking in code.

Two hours of focused artistic imagination. Almost no side trips or digressions-- how often does that happen when you put three smart people in a room and light a fire under their creative process? At the end of the rehearsal, when they say that they hope I’ll come see the play, I respond: “Are you kidding me? Of course, I’m going. I’m dying to know what this play is really about!”

Abigail and Greg Maupin founded Le Petomane in 2004. “I think I was there for Le Petomane's first show in Louisville, back when the ensemble numbered two: Greg and Abigail themselves,” says David J. Loehr, artist-in-residence at the Riverrun Theatre in Madison, IN and purveyor of the website 2AMtheatre.com. “That show began with nearly 20 minutes of near silence, except for the audience's laughter.”

Le Petomane has since grown to six members, and productions feature varying combinations of performers. In the course of a Le Petomane season, cast members change, venues change, styles change. There’s one thing that doesn’t change. “Always comedy,” says Abigail.

“As the ensemble has grown, it's been exciting to watch them develop their aesthetic,” says Loehr. “It's more than just ‘new wave dell'arte,’ whether it's an original, experimental ‘tango noir’ like Ban: An Appeal or a wildly inventive adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream for a cast of six, multiplied by the clever use of masks. They maintain a balance, designing shows for modern sensibilities with classical underpinnings.”

Loehr adds, “They also played ukuleles before ukuleles were cool again.”

The only instrument better-suited to a desert island than a ukulele is, of course, a lobster claw harmonica (“I got it in Maine!” says Greg, as though that explains... anything). Based on only two hours spent watching Le Petomane’s creative process, I cannot confirm that either will make it into the final product. But based on only two hours, I’m reasonably certain that the final product will be some strange kind of genius.




5 Things is the first show in Le Petomane’s 2011-2012 four-show season and will be the first show they’ve launched at the Bard’s Town Theater. Performances are September 7-12 and 14-17 at 7:30pm. Tickets are on a pay-as-you-can sliding scale, $8-$20. For tickets, visit: thebardstown.com or call 502-749-5275. For more information on Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and their upcoming season, visit their website at lepetomane.org

Launch Party for September The Paper

The September issue of the new Louisville indy paper, The Paper, comes out tomorrow, and the folks behind this 'good news' publication are having a launch party at Please and Thank You on Market St. during Friday's Trolley Hop.  Swing by and pick up a copy and visit with folks from The Paper and their contributors.

It's been a long time since I wrote something for print, but this issue of The Paper features my article about Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and their upcoming production of 5 THINGS.  I haven't seen the final version, but I'm looking forward to it!

I'll post more about 5 THINGS later this week, but mark you calendars: the production starts September 7 at the Bard's Town Theatre.  I haven't been this excited about a theater production in a while.