Tympanic Theater Company Blog

I have always been more apt to act, direct, or be a proverbial cheerleader for new work as apposed to classical works or already published plays.  This is mostly due to selfishness and partly because this is the stuff Chicago breeds on. And if I were to be completely honest with myself, because I like the idea of a play getting published, making if big and knowing I was a part of the process (I mean, let's get real, right?). As an artist, there are few things more enticing to me than sitting in a room full of individuals focused on shaping a new piece of writing into something truly original and whole.  I want to be there every step of the way, to see the play evolve, take shape, and ultimately come to live in front of an audience.

As we close out our first week of round table discussions for Verse Chorus Verse I find myself becoming more and more enthralled with this script.  This is my third time in the past year to be working on one of Randall's plays and the third time I have found myself becoming obsessed with the world he's laid before us.  What I discover time and time again to be most captivating about his plays is the absolute raw and truthful way he portrays his characters.  Their psychology.  Their dirty secrets.  Their ugly actions that make you know you should hate them but only make you love them more, because who hasn't had those same thoughts but were too cowardly to act on them?

Aside from having (in my humble opinion) one of Chicago's most exciting new playwrights in the room we are also joined by four incredibly talented and intelligent actors and our charmingly truthful and intuitive director – who seems to be channeling the same wave-length as Randall every step of the way.  Watching them talk about the script is reason enough be in the room for these workshops.  Thanks to our 'motly crue', our first act has already received a huge face-lift.  Our second act is set for some major reworking as well.  As we pick away at the play, line by line, we start to see the…thing…this play is shaping into.  And while the astrological signs have changed and my psychic abilities have been spun out of wack, I am willing to test the universe and say that Verse Chorus Verse will be a damn fine play.

Hi Folks!

It's been nearly a lifetime since we've caught up to let our loyal followers know what's shaking over at Tympanic's Ainslie House and else where.  We've closed Muerte del Maestro after a successful run at The Side Project and have been in full swing for Wonderful, to be performed at Rhino Festival as well as the Incubator Workshop Reading for Verse Chorus Verse in conjunction with The DCA.

For those of you who haven't heard, here's our official cast and masterminds for the workshop:

POLLY:  Victoria Gilbert

FRIEND:  Neal Starbird

GARRETT:  Kevin Crispin

MOIRA:  Susan Myburgh

MASON:  Dennis Frymire

Playwright: Randall Colburn

Director: Kyra Lewandowski

Producer: Daniel Caffrey

Dramaturg: Jamie Bragg

They're a good looking bunch and judging by the work that's been done thus far it's going to be a pretty awesome month of workshoping which will culminate in an even more awesome fully realized production later this year at The Side Project.

We will be documenting our workshop process on this blog, so be sure to check back and see what' we're up to and how the play is evolving!  Also be sure to come check out the reading at The DCA Studio Theatre on Janurary 31st.

In the meantime, we leave you with this morsel of inspiration for the play!

Thanks for reading!

Susan

We're getting close, Folks!  So, so, so very close.  Muerte Del Maestro opens in EXACTLY two weeks from today.  We can't believe it either!?!?!  This weekend Adam Webster, our fearless director, and the actors started moving into The Side Project, where the show will run through December 22nd. Designers came by for a run-through to jot down notes and make last minute adjustments before we load-in and move into tech week.

As I was lurking around backstage and in the lobby, probably being more distracting than helpful, I couldn't help but get all giddy at the thought off seeing the whole picture come together in just two weeks.  This script has always been awesome and Josh has made some wonderful adjustments since the last time I heard it to make it even more bad-ass than it already was.  It's already giving me chills and we don't even have set, lights, sound, or costumes yet.  I managed to sneak a few pictures of everyone in action.  They may not look like much right now, but I can guarantee you that this is going to be one stellar show!

Ellen and Charlotte (our puppeteers)

Meet our designers. They're real friendly.

Paul (Kay Kay) and Chris (Arturo) showing off...mostly

To read more about Muerte Del Maestro or to reserve tickets visit www.tympanictheatre.org

Thanks for reading!

Company Members Paul E. Martinez and Chris Acevedo shoot the shit on what makes Arturo and Kay Kay, the two dudes at the center of the drama in Muerte del Maestro, tick and how that effects their relationship.  Read on fellow blog-lings!

In three sentences or less, tell us about your character? 

Paul (Kay Kay): Kay Kay is a young Spaniard with every intention of becoming the country's next great matador. If I had to draw a parallel to, say, Star Wars, Kay Kay would be Han Solo: Hot-headed, cocksure, and startlingly handsome.  He also has a bit of a problem with alcohol, as did Han Solo, though they dropped that whole storyline from the Star Wars.

Chris (Arturo): Arturo is a dreamer who wants bigger and better things in life.  He doesn’t want to succumb to the same fate of his parents who work for meager wages and have miserable lives.  He is also devilishly cute, and irresistibly charming…kind of like Fievel, but with bigger ears.

Who would win in a drinking contest? 

P: Kay Kay would win hands down.  Arturo would puke.  Or pee himself.  Or start crying. 

C:  Kay Kay would, because Arturo would be wasted after the first two beers.

These boys got the moves!

 Who would win in an arm wrestling? 

P: Kay Kay again.  And for the same reasons.

C: Definitely Arturo.  He’s stronger and more agile than Kay Kay.  Plus, Kay Kay fights like a girl.

Who is the brains and who is brawn? 

P: Kay Kay is the brains and the brawn.  Arturo is the Heart, like Ma-Ti, the lame fifth Planeteer, except Arturo can't telepathically speak to animals.  They do look similar, though.

C: Arturo is the brains, and Kay Kay is the idiot.

Match made in Heaven?

Who is more likely to bluff and get away with it? 

P: Kay Kay doesn't need to bluff.  If he did, though, he'd easily get away with it.

C: I mean, Kay Kay is so dumb, you could probably date his sister, and he wouldn’t even know it…

Overall, how would you describe Arturo and Kay Kay's relationship?   

P: If we're going with the whole Star Wars thing (which I've decided we are), Arturo would be Luke Skywalker.  Young, slightly naive, a little sensitive, but willing to take his fate seriously and put in the hard work required to be a great Jedi… I mean matador. 

C: Their relationship can best be summed up in this crazy thing that happened to them both.  Kay Kay started, one day, to exhibit strange, erratic behavior.  So Arturo went to seek help from a doctor.  They realized the strange behavior was due to Kay Kay experiencing a potentially lethal internal distress.  Kay Kay had not fulfilled the birthright of his culture to wed at childhood.  If Kay Kay didn’t get married, he would die.  So Kay Kay went back to his home, driven by this crazy behavior.  Arturo swiftly followed him, and was invited to the wedding.  Unfortunately for them both, Kay Kay’s bride announced she would rather marry a 1st generation Spaniard.  The bride then evoked her right to have Kay fight for her.  However, she chooses Arturo as her champion.  Arturo reluctantly agreed, knowing his friend was too weak to fight anyone else.  It was only then that he was informed that it was to be a fight to the death.  The fight ensues, and Kay Kay quickly demonstrates physical superiority.  The doctor realized that Arturo wasn’t used to fighting in this part of Spain, so he gives Arturo a tri-ox injection.  During the fight, Kay Kay killed Arturo.  Arturo’s body was then taken back to his home by the doctor.  Once Kay realizes what he’s done, he gave up his bride to the 1st generation Spaniard,  and he solemnly returned to Atlantia, Spain.  But to his surprise, he found Arturo alive and well, having been injected, not with tri-ox, but with a knock-out drug which simulated the signs of death.  Overjoyed, Kay Kay smiled and utterd a delighted “Jim!” (the doctor’s name) before returning to his controlled, logical self.  They both learned that day that they would be best friends forever.

For more information on Muerte del Maestro and the antics of Artutor and Kay Kay visit www.tympanictheatre.org

Thanks for reading!

We are giddy as a gaggle of school girls to have such a rad design team for Muerte del Maestro.  The technical elements of the show can be daunting at first glance, but our designers haven't shown an ounce of hesitation… 

Create a bull fighting ring in a 30 seat store front theatre?  HELL YES! 

Build a six foot tall bull puppet?  OF COURSE!

Design intricate matador costumes galore on a budget the size of penny?  IN A HEART BEAT!

These dudes are commited to creating a fully realized environment so that our audience will really feel transported to the town of Atlantia, Spain that Josh has so wonderfully illustrated in his script.  Here are a few pictures of our set design by Dustin Pettigrew to get you jazzed for November 28th.

Yep, we're pretty freaking excited.  For more information of Muerte del Maestro and our 4th season just click here.

Thanks for reading!

If there's one thing you should know about Joshua Mikel,  it's that he's one insanely busy and even more insanely talented dude.  When looking over his many accomplishments, at the ripe age of 26, it's a wonder that he finds time to sleep.  Don't believe us?  Just read his bio ( I need a nap just after reading it). You'll see why Tympanic is extatic to have Muerte del Maestro be the kick off to what is sure to be one hell of a 4th season. 

This is Joshua. Joshua likes to smile.

Joshua Mikel, from Conyers, Georgia, graduated in 2007 with honors from Florida State University's Theater and Creative Writing programs. His other plays include The Monster Hunters (Playscripts Inc.), Good Good Trouble on Bad Bad Island (Playscripts Inc.), Quentin G (Playscripts Inc.), Bethlehem Motor Community, My Brother's Knife, and PIRATES! Theodore Thud and the Quest for Weird Beard (Playscripts Inc.). He is Endstation Theatre Company's resident playwright. His play The Monster Hunters was commissioned by the Omaha Children's Theater and won the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival's Theater for Young Audiences award in 2007. His play, Quentin G, was a runner up for the 2006 John Cauble Short Play award at the KCACTF, won the Cody Allen Harris award from the FSU creative writing department, and was recognized by the Atlantic Coastal Conference as one of the best undergraduate honors thesis projects of 2006 at the first annual ACC Meeting of the Minds. His play Bethlehem Motor Community won the 2006 KCACTF southeastern region's short play award. His first full length My Brother's Knife was produced by Endstation Theater Company in the summer of 2009. Good Good Trouble on Bad Bad Island presented by Endstation Theatre Company world premiered at the 2010 New York City International Fringe Festival. Muerte del Maestro was a Princess Grace Fellowship semi-finalist. Aside from writing, he acts, does freelance art and design, and was the long time drummer for the rock band Look Mexico who released their sophomore record on Suburban Home Records in March of 2010.

Despite popular belief, Joshua is NOT a girl.

TWO truths and a lie about Joshua…

1.) When he was seven his best friend hit him in the face with a baseball bat.
2.) When he was twenty five he stuck his hand in his bike spoke, flipped over his handle bars and landed on his head. He's been turned over to creditors.
3.) When he was seventeen he tripped and landed on a fork that stuck in my leg. Completely ruined Chinese for him.

Joshua is very hygenic.

Check out some of Josh's rad art work too at http://www.merchline.com/joshuamikel/.  He's really good…pinky promise.

Wanna learn more about Muerte del Maestro and Tymanic's 4th season just go here!

Thanks for reading!