200 Laughs in 45 Minutes

At Collaboraction we're a little bit better than half way through our rehearsal period for a show called 200 Funny Things. I'm directing and we've got a really great (fearless) cast that includes Drew Anderson, Audrey Bertaux-Skeirik, Mark Canfield, Jason Economus, Carolyn Hoerdemann, Ashley Moret, Stephanie Palko, John Wilson, Joe Zarrow and Walter Breitzke. Ever since I conceived the show I've been doing my best to come up with an adequate description of what it is and how it works. For better or worse the following will have to suffice.

There is no overarching story line to the show and the only real structure is that the actors know the progression of the scene setups (solo, duet, group, etc.) that will occur in any given performance. The actors don't have a clue regarding what will happen in any of these setups but they do know who they're playing. In rehearsal each actor has developed 3-4 different "entities". An “entity” goes well beyond the idea of “character”. An entity is a mini-universe that is continually evolving. It never manifests in quite the same way twice. There are no limits on range of expression when the actor is doing an entity. If a human being can do it, it can occur. The action often goes beyond “socially acceptable” behavior. The stage becomes a kind of asylum for abstract expression and interaction. The resulting environment looks somewhat like a very active day room in a mental institution devoted to laughter.

To say that 200 Funny Things is an actor dependent show is a vast understatement. The actors create the show right in front of the audience each and every performance.

In rehearsal the cast has had to assimilate an entirely new way of working. In every rehearsal they're tapping into resources they didn't know they have. For me, it's incredibly rewarding to see them putting all of the experimentation I've done over the last 30 years to good use.

In the next several posts I'll take you ever deeper into the work and the world of 200 Funny Things. In the meantime, go to collaboraction.org and click on 200 Funny Things on the home page for our performance schedule.

I'd like to make a correction relating to my last post about Two Birds Casting. Two Birds founders Hanna Fenlon and Erica Sartini have a background in theatre and acting but they are not actors. They are full time casting directors.

Here's a couple of snaps from 200 Funny Things in rehearsal.

Ashley Moret doing the entity known as Pleenta

John Wilson dong Zombie Acid and just behind him Audrey BertauxSkeirik doing Princess

Jason Economus (entity "Cosmos") and Mark Canfield (entity "Jan Brady")

Ashley Moret doing Pleenta and Joe Zarrow doing Party Guy