Week #36 The Apartment - Comic

Way back in the early days of 2001, shortly before 9/11, I was living in New York City with Adam Beebe, James Call and James’ then girlfriend Barbara P. King. Three very creative people.

One night, right after we’d finished showing Barbara the last episode of Twin Peaks, we all got inspired and huddled together in front of my computer to create a surrealist story of our own.

We had all recently become very interested in comic books so we decided our story would be a comic. Although James and Adam we’re very good artists neither of them had the patients to draw and entire realistic comic book so we decided we’d create a photo comic. A comic book made up entirely of posed photographs and word bubbles.

The comic we developed was pretty awesome. It starred the four of us as roommates who wake up every morning in our apartment with no memory of how they got there or exactly who they where.

We did a couple of shoots for it but never got very far. I’ve included the whole script we came up with for the first issue below. It’s pretty awesome stuff.

Considering that we all live in different cities now (except me and Adam) there’s little chance we’ll ever finish it the way we wanted to. Still if we got some interest or inspiration we could always “recast” or have someone draw it as a normal comic.

“HOUSE” or “APARTMENT”

NO THOUGHT BUBBLES, NO NARRATIVE

We are stuck inside house : we never know what is going on and we always forget things.

There is something very bad outside, keeping us in!!!

Every morning, a different character is reading the newspaperr about a terrorist attack, India-Pakistan War, etc. This ALWAYS IS NEW to the characters, and the reactions of the characters to the news is revealing about their character, but always an “initial shock”

Perhaps there is a House of Consciousness to match the House of Ignorance?

Hearing screaming, but never recognizing it; as if screaming is alien to the charac ters, as infants

Characters are terrorized by outside weather

Barbara realizes hunger, and enters outside, sees an evil small girl. Upon returning, there is food in the house; Barbara begins to realize something about outside world, but the other characters deny it, and even to Barbara it is a mystery. For example, when she returns, the others say, “But, you were just in the bathroom,” and then she begins to doubt herself. Thus she is left with a sense that something is wrong (e.g., spidey sense), but cannot quite place it...

Children are evil. Animals are good.

Other characters enter and exit the household

plate breaking randomly in four pieces

CHARACTERS

Characters often use nicknames: “Dad,” “The Girl,” “That Asshole,” and “Junkie”

James (Enron)
- level headed, silent, strong
- Christian (moderate); strong moral system
- right wing; prepared for whatever happens
- Speaks many languages and knows literature; reads a lot

Damian (Ratso)
- drug addict; genuinely unhealthy
- feels dread when not on drugs

Barbara (Miss)
- high alert; curious; alarmed; “danger sense”; haunted by demons; ESP; i.e., archetype of “aware” hero (Dale Cooper, the Matrix guy, Peter Parker, etc.)
- visions

Adam (Sim)
- aloof jerk; cynical and bitter (like Jason Hogg or Albert)
- Manipulative. It is a habit and he manipulates without reason.
- Spontaneous, irrational
- Adam arranges chairs and other objects. Perhaps reflective of personality?

Relationships:

NO ONE EVER KNOWS why they relate to each other as they do, and the actions stemming from their relationships often come as surprises

Barbara and James are in a romantic / sexual relationship; adolescent
Barbara once had romance with Damian; Barbara (unconsciously) wants to maintain friendship but Damian (also unconsciously) wants to put the past behind.
Barbara and Adam = Brother and Sister
James is caring towards Adam, who tries to manipulate him but cannot, because of feelings of latent guilt
James and Damian disapprove of each other’s character.
Adam is slowly ruining Damian’s life, but Damian thinks he’s a great guy

When certain things are said (in presence of all characters), every character leaves the room and forgets what has just happened. Perhaps this reminds them of past disturbing incident?

Someone finds toilent clogged; all go into bathroom to stare. Someone then says, “Can you please leave? I’m trying to take a shower.” They’ve all forgotten what happens

Regional slang distinct to house

People occasionally raise memories, which scares them all who stop

It does not occur to the characters that they were children! The demons are all children... if childhood memories emerge, they upset all the characters

Talking dogs?

James turns into bowling ball?

Barbara sees face in window

People who come over are treated innoculously
They live outside “the city”; which city is never noted

As story continues, Barbara gains more consciousness, the story heats up... as it does, James, Damian and Adam vanish or go away.

One recurring character continues to check for Barbara’s pregnancy. These shots are MINIMAL, OFFSCREEN and MYSTERIOUS (completely to audience and even to most of the characters!)

Bill Clinton as potted plant?

Ana? as recurring character who brings basket of drugs. Relationship with Damian? (he would be ignorant, but not her)

Adam is always alone.

Tore as James’ incredibly right wing friend? dressed in fatigues.. SCRIPT - Story breakdown

1. Adam by himself, waking
2. Damian by himself, waking
3. James and Barbara by themselves, waking
4. Adam gets newspaper, sits in kitchen
5. Damian enters, and Adam says “blah di blah” (about the news event)
6. Damian says, “What’s news?” and looks inside empty cabinet (back of head shot)
7. Adam reacts “blah di blah” while Damian opens refrigerator; we see it is empty
8. Shot of Adam opening empty milk carton, while Damian responds dully from off-panel
9. Barbara’s hand
10. Barbara and James, silent; hand in same position. Barbara is contemplating hand.
11. Barbara’s face, confused (wondering if she is married)
12. James and Barbara, looking at each other, confused, feared. Barbara states “We’re not married.”
13. Another silent panel. SAME SHOT as last panel, as both characters contemplate situation.
14. Same shot. James says, “There’s a pain in my stomach,” and gets up out of bed.
15. James enters kitchen, and greets the others. All four characters are seen (Barbara seen through door). I.e, this shot is from hallway outside of bathroom. James says “Hello,” and the other two respond.
16. James tells others, “The young lady is in my bed.” The others respond. The dialogue should show that this event was unexpected and a revelation.
17. Barbara enters kitchen. She is surprised to see Adam and Damian. Adam, Damian and James are having a conversation about what they are going to do today (although they have no idea, and no idea what there is to do)
J: “So, what are you gentlemen going to do today?”
A: “Same thing I always do: Nothing!”
D: “There’s something I have to do today.”
18. Barbara walks into Adam’ room, looking for the bathroom.
A: “Do you have work?”
D: “I don’t think so, not today.”
A: “I’m not going to work today either. My stomach hurts.”
19. Barbara exiting Adam’s room.
B: (outloud, but not to others) “I thought this was the bathroom!”
20. Barbara walks to real bathroom.
D: “Way to go, Einstein!”
J: (laughing) “I can’t remember the last time either of you went to work!”
21. Three guys, uncomfortably laughing. (Barbara in bathroom)
J: “Or myself for that matter.”
A: “Where do you work?”
J: “The city.”
22. Barbara exits bathroom.
B: “I tried to vomit, but nothing came out of my mouth.”
A: “Do you have a problem with vomiting?”
J: “Mind your manners.” (to A)
D: (jokingly) “Yeah, shut up punk.”
23. All of them in the kitchen.
D: “I feel like I haven’t eaten in three days.”
B: “You haven’t eaten for three days. None of us have.”
24. All walk silently into living room.
25. All have sat down, and all are quite serious.
J: “None of us have eaten in three days.”
A: “Yep.”
B: “Well, shouldn’t we do something about it?”
A: (condescending) “We should eat.”
26. Same shot. Barbara alarmed.
B: “Wait. Where is the food?”
A: “The food’s outside, lady.”
J: “Some respect.”
D: “Someone has to go get food.”
27. Adam’s face. Angry, shocked.
28. James’ face. Concerned.
29. Damian’s face. Worried, queasy.
30. Barbara’s face. Alarmed.
B: “Well I am not going outside!”
31. James’ face.
J: “I don’t think it prudent for any of us to leave.”
32. Damian’s face.
D: “Fuck no.”
33. Adam’s face.
A: “Why don’t you guys go. I’ve got something to do.”
34. Same shot as 25-26.
D: “You don’t even know what you have to do!”
J: “Be considerate. We all have things to do.”
A: “Listen General, you don’t even know what ‘doing something’ is!”
B: “Be quiet be quiet be quiet!”
35. Same shot. Silence.
36. Same shot.
J: “Miss, are you alright?”
D: “Yeah, what is it?”
A: “That time of month again, or just crack?”
37. Damian gets up and goes to bathroom. James gets up and heads towards kitchen (Barbara looks at him). Adam goes as well, to finish reading newspaper.
D: “I’ve got to take my medication.”
A: “Maybe I should take your medication too.”
38. Barbara and James.
B: “Enron, where are you going?”
J: “Just... to...”
39. Damian emerges from bathroom with pills in hand
D: “Where is my tequila?”
B: (Holding bottle, very confused.) “Right here...”
40. Kitchen. Adam reading newspaper with James looking over shoulder.
J: “Say friend, what’s in the news today?”
A: “Nothing you’d like, understand or be interested in.”
J: “What is of interest to one man is of interest to all men. No value can be assigned to knowledge.”
A: “Totally. Write a book.”
41. Damian takes pill with liquor, as he walks back into living room. Barbara watching intently. Damian does not look at her.
42. Damian and Barbara in living room. Damian is irritated that she is watching him.
D: “I do this everyday, you know.”
B: “You do?”
D: “Oh.”
43. Barbara thinking.
44. Damian and Barbara, still in living room. Damian is leaving to another room.
D: “Where are my cigarettes?”
45. Barbara thinking.
46. Shot of the door.
47. Closer shot of door.
48. Still closer shot of door.
49. Damian re-entering living room.
D: “It’s time for you to go get the food. And get me some cigarettes while you’re out there.”
50. Barbara enters kitchen and begins putting on coat, etc.. James is still looking over Adam’s shoulder.
J: “Will you be doing the crossword?”
51. Barbara has put on coat and the others notice her. Damian enters from living room.
J: “That coat looks very becoming on you.”
A: “If I was on you, I’d be coming too.”
52. Different angle shot. Adam, Damian and Barbara laughing hysterically. James with arms crossed.
J: (under his breath) “Honestly.”
53. Laughing ends. Barbara nervous.
54. Barbara and door. Barbara looks at it.
55. Barbara’s face.
B: “Well, I’m going now.”
56. Shot of the others. All are nervous.
D: “It’s for the best.”
J: “Yes, that’s true.”
57. Shot of the handle of the door.
B: “Goodbye.”
58. ALL BLACK.
B: “See you later.”
59. Diagonal shot of hallway. Barbara is walking through it.
60. Same shot. Barbara is getting closer.
61. Same shot. Barbara is incredible close; perhaps so close that not her entire body appears in the shot (i.e., just her arm, face, etc.)
62. Shot of front door, from inside perspective. Perhaps with back of Barbara’s head?
63. Barbara’s hand on front door doorknob
64. Adam, Damian and James are standing and looking at each other. Their look should suggest that they are either concerned and worried, or perhaps conspiring!
65. Outside shot of front door. Barbara is sticking her head out, looking around.
66. Shot of Barbara’s face. She is stunned; she is looking up at other floors of building.
67. Shot of upper floors. Shot from Barbara’s perspective (i.e., person standing outside of front door looking immeadiately up)
68. Shot of Barbara’s eyes. (concerned; she senses something)
69. Same shot; Barbara’s eyes now blink, or seem weary.
70. Blurry shot of Barbara’s eyes, closing.
71. Shot of Barbara passed out on porch from little girl’s perspective. A small tuft of hair - the top of the girl’s head - can be seen at bottom of shot to establish her presence.
72. Upwards shot of little girl from from ground. Perhaps Barbara’s body can be seen on the ground from this perspective.
73. Close up on Barbara, waking up dizzily. Body or upper body.
74. Same shot. Barbara is horrified.
75. Straight-on shot of little girl. Now she holds a birthday cake.
76. Shot of Barbara with hand on the door.
77. Shot of hallway. Barbara entering door in haste.
78. Shot of Barbara stumbling to the ground.
79. Barbara crawls forward along ground. (upsetting angle perhaps)
80. Barbara reaches up to open apartment door.
81. The door is wide open. Barbara can be seen on the ground. The others are there in the kitchen. They are sitting around a table laden with good food. They look overjoyed.
J: “Just in time for dinner!”
A: “Manga manga!”
82. Shot of turkey carving or salad being tossed. Wine glasses are being toasted.
83. Shot of Barbara standing. She picks up a glass of wine but looks confused.
84. Same shot. Barbara is standing with a grin on her face and her glass of wine.
85. Toast? The toast should either be an old corny toast or perhaps foreshadowing.

The girl skips away. then she will re-enter to find her happy roommates with a huge dinner. She will suddenly be fine again, without knowing why, and remembering little.

Week #35 Zombie Town Opening - Play

This week is another project that’s well on it’s way to completion. In fact it’s a play that opens this Friday.

Zombie Town!

This is a Mockumentery play about a town overtaken by Zombies written with amazing a skill by Tim Bauer (The writer of last years hit “Magic Word”, otherwise known by the line I repeated over and over “Machesco”).

As far as a project for me this week, besides just opening the show and saying my lines, my real goal is to try and sell out our opening weekend.

So if you wanted to know what weekend to come... this is the one.

There will be Jello Shots!!!!

You can buy tickets here

Zombie Town
A documentary play, by Tim Bauer
Developed by the Catharsis Collective
& the people of Harwood, Texas

Watch our trailer video here
Exclusive promo comic by Larry Luna here & here

Opening Weekend Only!, a special pre-play screening of:
Hum Pop, a zombie short film by Yuri Baranovsky
Zombie Town
Fridays & Saturdays
Oct. 9th - Nov. 7th

The Exit Stage Left
156 Eddy @ Mason

(close to bart,
google maps proves it)

Shows: 8pm tix: $14 - 20
$1 zombie cocktail jello shots
Zombie Pin-up calenders for sale!

Reservations:
415 913 7272

www.sleepwalkerstheatre.com/tickets
($16 online)

Directed by
Tore ingersoll-thorp

with Alex Curtis,
Drew Lanning,
Damian Lanahan-Kalish,
Ariane Owens,
& Ian Riley
Special Guest Zombie:
Clay Robeson

Musical Accompaniment:
Emily Haltom (fiddle)
Ryan Beebe (banjo)
Lights: Ty McKenzie
Set: Ariane Owens
Costumes: Sarah Roland
Resident Texan:
Susan Brashear
Zombie Museum
curated by:
Hillary Frederich
Publicity: Erica Lewis
Artwork: Rob Sachetto
Video Trailer:
Sam Barnett

"zombie attacks are all fun and games... until they happen to you"

This production made possible in part due to generous contributions from Michael and Natalie Riley, Lucy and Larry Parks, David and Amy Kalish, Steven Cummings, and Ingrid Woods. We love you guys!

Week #34 - Zombie Comic - Comic Book

This ones kinda cheating since it’s actually pretty much finished so it’s not a project I want to do, it’s a project I’ve done.

Still I’m excited about it because, short as it is, it’s the first time I’ve had anything I’ve written turned into a comic (Drawn by the exemplary Larry Luna).

It was also made to promote a Sleepwalker’s play I’m in that I’m super excited about:

Zombie Town: A documentary play about Zombies! Running at the Exit Stage Left,156 Eddy St. San Francisco Fridays & Saturdays Oct. 9th - Nov. 7th

Here’s the comic:

Week 33 Experimental/Naturalism - Play

Last week we closed a show at the San Francisco Fringe festival. Our “sister” company Dark Porch was also doing a show called “Cockroach”. I went and saw it last week and it gave me an idea.

There show was an experimental movement piece with text, a meditation on homelessness and schizophrenia. It was very well thought out and performed. Still these sort of shows aren’t really my bag, I found myself drifting during performance.

The idea that came to me while I was watching there show was this:

A play in two acts. The first act is a sort of experimental performance thing like the Dark Porch show. All poetry and dance, an abstract meditation on a few characters and there relationships. Then the second act is all naturalism. The same characters, the same relationships presented the way sleepwalkers does best; a realistic slice of life.

I’m not sure what relationships and situations would work best for this but I find the structure totally intriguing. It would be an awesome thing for for Sleepwalkers and Dark Porch to do together. Or if anyone reads this maybe they could find a way to do it.

Week #32 Through the Looking Glass - Novel

A few months back I took a trip to New York city to attend a concert for my friend James Call’s 30th birthday. As a matter of coincidence that also turned out to be the same weekend that another old friend of mine, Mike Garlington, was passing though the city on his way back from Europe.

The trip was chaotic, fascinating, nostalgic, debaucherous and quite painful all at the same time. I slept so little and consumed so many damaging substances that I was having auditory hallucinations on the plane ride home.

The events of the trip seemed to all fit into a basic theme for me. They all reflected something I’d been thinking a lot about recently. What happens to all of us who’ve been spending our twenties behaving like it was a second adolescence when our bodies can’t keep up? What happens when the illicit desires we’d been slave to in our youth start to fade away and lose there luster?

I’d been wanting to write a novel about this for sometime. I’d written a few parts of a screenplay a while back about this subject. Interestingly a good part of the screenplay took place during the main characters return to New York. I suppose the city represents to me the hight of my youthful hedonism.

To add a little structure to this project I thought it would be good chance to do another thing I’d always wanted to do; base a story on Lewis Carroll’s less read sequel to Alice in Wonderland, “ Through the looking Glass and What Alice Found There”. I always had a soft spot for this book and it’s dream like plot with less well know characters made it an easier choice then it’s more popular predecessor.

Right now this idea is still mostly a nebulous blob existing more as few journal entries than anything else. I think the idea would be to follow the structure of the Carroll book for the stuff taking place during the weekend but also to include extended flash backs on my past with these people. The chances of me ever writing a whole novel are fairly slim but still writing the idea here makes it actually feel doable. Who knows!

Week #31 Breakupocalypse Fringe Show - Play

This weeks project is one that’s well under way and will in fact be presented to the public this Friday.

My theatre company Sleepwalkers Theatre is putting up a show at the San Francisco Fringe Feastival called “BREAKUPOCALYPSE”. It’s two plays in 30 minutes, both written by Maria Ferrari and both dealing with the subject of break ups.

I get to play a sort of stoner slacker dude, it’s the first time in years I’ve got to use my own mannerisms in a show. It’s a lot of fun.

Here’s our press release blurb for this thing:

Two exploding relationships in under twenty five minutes.

Written by Maria Ferrari

Runners [funny :)]

In the middle of a marathon, recent exes Hunter & Liz have one last knock down, drag out fight. While running. The whole time.

Directed by Tore Ingersoll - Thorp

With: Ariane Owens & Ian Riley

The Ugly City Game - [sad :(]

“The thing about cities is- you feel like they love you back…”

After a colossal heartbreak, Paul takes solace in the parts of Chicago others overlook.

Directed by Amy Marie Haven

With: Mallory gross, Tore Ingersoll - Thorp, Damian Lanahan - Kalish, & Leia Layus

The unjuried format of the Fringe Festival allows the artists to have total creative freedom when producing their work and provides for a unique theatre going experience. As a result of this boundary-free approach to creating theatre, the Fringe has become a popular development tool; encouraging artists to take risks, explore ideas, pose questions and tell their stories in new and exciting ways.

The complete schedule and descriptions of Fringe shows are available at www.sffringe.org

Please come see it! It’s Awesome!

Week #30 Reviewing the Reviewers - Website, book

I was pretty swamped last week with the Mishap Prom so that's why there was no post. But now I'm back (if maybe a day later than I would have hoped.)

This week's project is one that's still very much in it's larval stages. I came up with it a while back when I was looking for the phone number for the Li Po Lounge. The Li Po is a drinking establishment in Chinatown very close to my heart; after all this is where my theatre company Sleepwalker's Theatre was essentially formed. Still it is not a place oozing with swankyness, nor does it try to be.

It is my belief that all forms of criticism should be based on whether a project or place succeeds in what it's attempting to do. Therefore I was a little peeved when I saw on the Li Po Yelp page, next to some glowing semi-ironic ones, a few reviews disparaging it's dingyness, criticizing it's bathroom and even one that mentioned the "pervy chinatown ruffians".

After my initial irritation I began to wonder a little about the people who wrote these things. Where did there impulse to criticize come from? Where does that impulse come from in any of us?

To answer these questions, as well as give reviewers a little taste of there own medicine, I thought it would be cool to create a website where we review the reviewers. As a start I thought we'd review each person who's posted regularly to Yelp in a very methodical way. Read all their reviews and point out recurrent themes and make thesis's about where there impulses and quarks came from.

The natural extension of this would be to write a small book where you review famous critics in mainstream media the same way they review movies, books, food and music.

I'm not sure how hard this would be to do as a website but I do know the amount of work it would take to actually write the reviews might not be worth it. Still if this website existed I'd read it.